“Find me a luxury hotel in Napa Valley with a Michelin-starred restaurant and private spa suites.” That’s not a hypothetical query. It’s how today’s travelers discover their next stay. Search is evolving from link collections to direct dialogue. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews are fundamentally changing how guests find and evaluate luxury accommodations.

While some still navigate to your website directly, an increasing number are receiving curated recommendations without ever clicking a traditional search result. This isn’t about abandoning SEO. It’s about recognizing that your “audience” now includes AI systems deciding which properties to recommend when travelers describe exactly what you offer.