How Travelers Use ChatGPT for Trip Planning (And How to Get Recommended)

Sarah opens ChatGPT: "Plan a 3-day trip to Barcelona for two adults, budget $2,000, focus on authentic food experiences."

ChatGPT recommends 6 restaurants, 3 hotels, and 2 cooking classes. Your restaurant isn't mentioned. You lose the booking to a competitor who is.

This happens 47 million times per day. Travelers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini for travel recommendations. AI responds with specific businesses.

If you're not in that list, you don't exist.

How Travelers Actually Use ChatGPT for Trip Planning

Old way: Google "best hotels Barcelona" → Click 10 TripAdvisor tabs → Read 50 reviews → Compare prices → Make decision.

New way: Ask ChatGPT "best boutique hotels in Gothic Quarter under €150/night" → Get 5 specific recommendations with reasons → Click one → Book.

The research phase collapsed from 2 hours to 5 minutes.

Real ChatGPT Travel Planning Conversations (What Your Customers Are Asking)

Scenario 1: Family Vacation
"We're a family of 4 (kids ages 7 and 10) visiting Rome for 5 days in July. Need hotel recommendations near Vatican, kid-friendly restaurants, and activities that aren't too touristy."

ChatGPT lists 4 hotels with family suites, 6 restaurants with kids' menus, and 3 food tours. Families book based on these recommendations.

Scenario 2: Solo Business Traveler
"Where should I eat dinner alone in Tokyo? I want authentic ramen, not touristy, walking distance from Shibuya, open past 9pm."

Perplexity recommends 3 specific ramen shops with addresses, hours, and signature dishes. Solo diner walks to the first one.

Scenario 3: Anniversary Trip
"Planning our 10-year anniversary in Paris. Need a romantic restaurant with Seine views, tasting menu under €200 per person, reservation for 2 on Saturday night."

Gemini suggests 5 restaurants with booking links. Couple books the first available option.

Notice the pattern? Specific requests → Specific recommendations → Immediate booking intent.

Why ChatGPT Recommends Some Businesses and Ignores Others

ChatGPT doesn't have opinions. It has training data.

When someone asks "best seafood restaurant in Miami," ChatGPT searches its training data for mentions of Miami seafood restaurants. It looks for:

• How many times your restaurant is mentioned across different websites
• What context surrounds those mentions (positive reviews vs. complaints)
• How authoritative the sources are (New York Times vs. random blog)
• How specific the information is (menu details, prices, atmosphere)
• How recent the information is (2024 mentions vs. 2019 mentions)

More high-quality mentions = Higher chance of recommendation.

Zero mentions = Zero chance.

How to Get Your Hotel/Restaurant/Tour Mentioned by ChatGPT

These aren't "SEO tricks." This is content distribution. You need ChatGPT's training data to include your business.

1. Get Reviewed on High-Authority Sites

ChatGPT trusts:

• TripAdvisor - 100+ reviews with 4.5+ rating
• Google Business Profile - Updated weekly, photos from last 90 days
• Yelp - Detailed reviews mentioning specific dishes/rooms/experiences
• TimeOut, Eater, Condé Nast Traveler - Press coverage from travel media

Bad review: "Great place! 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"
(Useless to AI. No context.)

Good review: "Stayed here for our anniversary. The rooftop suite had a private terrace with Duomo views. Breakfast included fresh-baked cornetti from the café downstairs. Staff arranged a cooking class for us. Perfect for couples visiting Florence."
(ChatGPT can extract: rooftop suite, Duomo views, breakfast included, cooking classes available, good for couples, Florence location.)

Encourage customers to write like the second example. Send them a template: "Tell us about your favorite part of your stay/meal and what type of traveler would love this experience."

2. Update Your Website's About Page (This Is Where ChatGPT Looks First)

Your About page is your pitch to AI. Make it detailed.

Bad About page:
"Bella Vista Hotel has been serving travelers since 1985. We offer comfortable rooms and great service in the heart of Florence."

Good About page:
"Bella Vista Hotel is a 15-room boutique hotel in Florence's Oltrarno neighborhood, 8-minute walk from Ponte Vecchio. We occupy a restored 16th-century palazzo with original frescoed ceilings. Our rooftop terrace offers 360° views of the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio. Rooms range from €150-€320/night and include breakfast made with ingredients from San Lorenzo market. We're popular with couples celebrating anniversaries (40% of guests) and solo travelers seeking local experiences. Our concierge arranges private cooking classes, wine tastings in Chianti, and early-access museum tickets."

The second version gives ChatGPT everything it needs: location specifics, price range, unique features, ideal customer type, nearby landmarks, amenities.

3. Get Mentioned in Travel Blogs and Local Guides

ChatGPT reads thousands of travel blogs. Get your business mentioned in them.

How:

• Email local travel bloggers: "We'd love to host you for a complimentary meal/night in exchange for an honest review"
• Pitch local tourism boards: "We can contribute a guest post about [topic relevant to our area]"
• Get featured in "Best of" lists: Reach out to TimeOut, Culture Trip, The Infatuation, Eater
• Create partnerships: "Stay at [Hotel], eat at our restaurant" packages mentioned on partner websites

One feature in TimeOut Tokyo is worth more than 100 generic TripAdvisor reviews to ChatGPT's algorithm.

4. Allow AI Bots to Crawl Your Website

Check your robots.txt file right now. Is GPTBot allowed?

Go to: yourwebsite.com/robots.txt

If you see this:
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /

You're blocking ChatGPT from reading your site. Remove it.

AI bots you should allow:

• GPTBot - ChatGPT
• Google-Extended - Gemini/Google AI
• Anthropic-AI - Claude
• PerplexityBot - Perplexity AI

If you block them, they can't learn about your business. You become invisible.

5. Create a Detailed FAQ Page (Answer Questions ChatGPT Gets Asked)

Travelers ask ChatGPT the same questions repeatedly:

• "Is [restaurant] good for vegetarians?"
• "Does [hotel] have parking?"
• "Can I walk to [landmark] from [hotel]?"
• "What's the dress code at [restaurant]?"
• "Is [hotel] good for families with kids?"

If these answers exist on your FAQ page, ChatGPT includes them in recommendations.

Example FAQ structure for a restaurant:

Q: Do you accommodate dietary restrictions?
A: Yes. We offer gluten-free pasta, vegan options for all appetizers and mains, and our chef can modify most dishes for allergies. Call ahead if you have strict requirements.

Q: What's your dress code?
A: Smart casual. Jeans are fine, but we don't allow beachwear or athletic clothing at dinner service.

Q: Do you take reservations?
A: Yes, book via OpenTable or call +39 055 123 4567. Walk-ins welcome before 7pm, but we fill up quickly Friday-Sunday.

Specific, detailed answers = ChatGPT cites you.

What Happens When You're Mentioned by ChatGPT (Real Numbers)

A boutique hotel in Lisbon started tracking AI mentions in January 2024.

Before optimization: ChatGPT mentioned them 0 times in 50 "best hotels Lisbon" queries.

After 90 days of optimization (updated About page, 40+ new TripAdvisor reviews, featured in 2 travel blogs):

• ChatGPT mentioned them 7 out of 10 times for "boutique hotels in Alfama"
• Perplexity cited them 4 out of 10 times for "where to stay in Lisbon for couples"
• Direct bookings increased 34%
• 23% of new bookings mentioned "I found you through ChatGPT"

That's not abstract "brand awareness." That's direct revenue from AI recommendations.

Different AI Tools, Different Behaviors

Not all AI search works the same way.

ChatGPT: Uses training data (updated every few months). Recommendations are static until next update. Good for established businesses with long track records.

Perplexity: Searches the web in real-time. Recommendations reflect current content. Good for new businesses with fresh reviews and recent press.

Google AI Overview: Uses Google's index. Prioritizes businesses with strong Google Business Profile, recent updates, and SEO optimization.

Strategy: Optimize for all three, but track which one drives the most bookings for your business type.

Your 30-Day AI Visibility Action Plan

Week 1: Audit

• Check robots.txt - Confirm GPTBot, Google-Extended, PerplexityBot are allowed
• Ask ChatGPT: "Best [your category] in [your city]" - See if you're mentioned
• Set up xSeek to track AI bot crawls and mentions

Week 2: Content

• Rewrite your About page with specific details (see example above)
• Create/update FAQ with 10+ detailed Q&As
• Add photos from last 90 days to Google Business Profile

Week 3: Reviews

• Send review request template to last 20 customers
• Respond to all reviews from last 6 months
• Aim for 10+ new detailed reviews this week

Week 4: Authority

• Email 5 local travel bloggers with hosting offer
• Pitch 2 "Best of [city]" lists (TimeOut, Culture Trip, local magazines)
• Update all booking platforms with consistent info

By day 30, ask ChatGPT your original query again. Track improvement.

The Travelers Who Book Through AI Are Different

They're not comparison shopping. They're not clicking through 10 TripAdvisor tabs.

They asked ChatGPT for a recommendation. They got 3-5 options. They picked one. They booked.

Decision time: 5 minutes.
Booking intent: Very high.
Commission fees: $0 (if they book direct).
Conversion rate: 3-4x higher than generic Google searches.

The question isn't "Should I care about AI visibility?"

The question is "Can I afford to be invisible when half my potential customers are asking AI where to go?"