I’ve spent enough time in hotel technology to recognise our favourite mistake. A guest wants something simple, and we give them an app to download, an account to create or a tablet by the bed to figure out. I don’t think AI should be our next version of that.
If my AI knows how I travel, I’ll want to take it with me. I think of it a bit like a direwolf in Game of Thrones: you travel with your own. You don’t get assigned a new one at reception.
I come from hospitality tech. I’m not a coder by trade, but rather than wait for somebody else’s demo, I built Glass Lantern. Finding the hotel is a question in its own right. What interested me was what happens after my AI finds it. So I gave the hotel tools my AI could use to ask about a room, get a price for my dates and start a booking.
Before the stay
Video 1 Can an AI Agent Book a Hotel Direct? A WebMCP Demo With OpenAI Codex
I asked Codex for a sea-view room in Kamala for two adults, 25–28 November 2026. Watch the hotel side of the screen: while my AI is still checking, the suite and decorations are already there. I can see what I’m buying without hunting through a gallery. The picture with flowers is the Bloom package; I chose Birthday Touch, with balloons, a small cake and a card.
See the two moments side by side
Three nights at ฿6,500 plus ฿1,500 for the birthday came to ฿21,000. I asked for a payment link and used Apple Pay in Stripe’s test checkout. When checkout asks for an email, Apple Pay lets me share the address I want the hotel to use for my confirmation as I pay. I also tested a route where I approve the amount once and my agent pays. In the films, I pay myself. Either way, I keep the dates, room and price we’ve already agreed. I can also step in and speak or type directly to the hotel.
After booking
Video 2 Can my AI book an airport pickup from my hotel confirmation email? | Glass Lantern
This time I started with the hotel’s confirmation email. Its private stay link let my AI check which day I was arriving. I gave it the flight and luggage details. The hotel quoted ฿1,200 for the car. I paid, and the confirmed transfer appeared on the same stay. Nobody asked me to type the booking back in.
With my booking already there, it was easy to add the airport pickup to my stay, which is one way a hotel can earn ancillary revenue.
The hotel tools, the on-screen handover, the SendGrid confirmation email and the Stripe test payments worked. The rooms, rates and car were simulated. No money moved. For a real hotel, I’d connect the website to its reservation system, such as Cloudbeds or Mews. Here’s how I’d do it.
Different guests will bring different AIs. Some will be able to book; others will only be able to read. My test for the hotel is simple: when my AI gets as far as it can, can I pick up from there?