The Eric Estegassy group is accelerating its focus on artificial intelligence.
AI lets you break out of the frame explains him. How? In the way we book business travel.
From now on, booking a trip does not “get searched for” but “is asked for”: with Openbooking.io, the user can formulate their request in natural language, without going through the filters and the usual interfaces of booking tools, in writing or simply by voice.
The platform notably allows searching for flights, trains, hotels or a car rental, taking into account the expressed needs and the company’s travel policy. Openbooking.io is also accessible from assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, thanks to a connector based on the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This enables the assistant to interrogate the platform’s services without the user having to open its interface directly.
“Reserve my usual hotel in Paris next Tuesday, with breakfast.” Openbooking.io understands, takes into account the company’s travel policy -instantly integrated- and traces the journey from the request to the reservation, then to the voucher deposited in the wallet, explains Eric Estegassy.
This solution targets direct companies, very small businesses (TPE), and SMEs and touts agency-fee-free bookings and direct connectivity with hotels. If the technology is central, the leader recalls that «behind AI, there is a real agency and human teams. Openbooking.io relies on a French, family-owned and independent group, strong with nearly thirty years of travel experience.»
AI lets you break out of the frame explains him. How? In the way we book business travel.
From now on, booking a trip does not “get searched for” but “is asked for”: with Openbooking.io, the user can formulate their request in natural language, without going through the filters and the usual interfaces of booking tools, in writing or simply by voice.
The platform notably allows searching for flights, trains, hotels or a car rental, taking into account the expressed needs and the company’s travel policy. Openbooking.io is also accessible from assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, thanks to a connector based on the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This enables the assistant to interrogate the platform’s services without the user having to open its interface directly.
“Reserve my usual hotel in Paris next Tuesday, with breakfast.” Openbooking.io understands, takes into account the company’s travel policy -instantly integrated- and traces the journey from the request to the reservation, then to the voucher deposited in the wallet, explains Eric Estegassy.
This solution targets direct companies, very small businesses (TPE), and SMEs and touts agency-fee-free bookings and direct connectivity with hotels. If the technology is central, the leader recalls that «behind AI, there is a real agency and human teams. Openbooking.io relies on a French, family-owned and independent group, strong with nearly thirty years of travel experience.»
UCP Created by Google: The First Technical Specifications for Booking Lodging
This strategy sits within a broader movement.
Through Openbooking.io, Eric Estegassy also examines the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) created by Google and aimed at standardizing exchanges between AI agents, commerce platforms and merchants. The ultimate goal: enable a user to search for and purchase a product or book a service directly from an AI interface.
Since the end of September, the first technical specifications for booking accommodations via AI have been published. Google, of course, but also Booking, Expedia, Amadeus, Marriott or Hilton, are taking part in developing this new standard.
Eric Estegassy does not want to miss the train, and already he has positioned himself as a contributor to business travel use cases. “ We are working with two pilot hotels: CASA MOHO Juan les Pins, owned by Yariv Abehsera, and Opus99 Paris, owned by Gregory Mavoian, and many others have already expressed interest.
For hotels, the UCP represents an opportunity: ultimately hoteliers could publish their offers in a standardized format, directly accessible to AI agents.
The agents would then be able to check availability and book with the establishments, with a direct payment to the hotel, reducing the use of intermediaries. It is, so to speak, their holy grail. » explains Eric Estegassy.
Through Openbooking.io, Eric Estegassy also examines the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) created by Google and aimed at standardizing exchanges between AI agents, commerce platforms and merchants. The ultimate goal: enable a user to search for and purchase a product or book a service directly from an AI interface.
Since the end of September, the first technical specifications for booking accommodations via AI have been published. Google, of course, but also Booking, Expedia, Amadeus, Marriott or Hilton, are taking part in developing this new standard.
Eric Estegassy does not want to miss the train, and already he has positioned himself as a contributor to business travel use cases. “ We are working with two pilot hotels: CASA MOHO Juan les Pins, owned by Yariv Abehsera, and Opus99 Paris, owned by Gregory Mavoian, and many others have already expressed interest.
For hotels, the UCP represents an opportunity: ultimately hoteliers could publish their offers in a standardized format, directly accessible to AI agents.
The agents would then be able to check availability and book with the establishments, with a direct payment to the hotel, reducing the use of intermediaries. It is, so to speak, their holy grail. » explains Eric Estegassy.
This evolution could shift the balance of power in distribution.
Hotels could gain visibility and sell more directly to customers, while traditional platforms would face new booking channels. Nevertheless, the UCP protocol does not signify the disappearance of intermediaries: Booking.com and other industry players are themselves involved in its development.
« The objective is to confront UCP journeys with the realities of establishments: room availability, understanding tariff conditions, transmission of traveler information, and the integration of booking, payment and invoicing.
Hotels could gain visibility and sell more directly to customers, while traditional platforms would face new booking channels. Nevertheless, the UCP protocol does not signify the disappearance of intermediaries: Booking.com and other industry players are themselves involved in its development.
« The objective is to confront UCP journeys with the realities of establishments: room availability, understanding tariff conditions, transmission of traveler information, and the integration of booking, payment and invoicing.
These experiments should help identify operational needs to be addressed in the protocol contributions. For participating hotels, it is also an opportunity to prepare a new access to professional clientele and to help construct the exchanges that will accompany it. We also aim to enrich the protocol with the needs specific to business travel: negotiated rates, travel policy, authorization management and invoicing.
» concludes Eric Estegassy.Novalife: Payment Solution for Tourism Professionals
Eric Estegassy does not settle for exploring only the booking side of business travel. He has also rolled out a payment solution called Novalife.
Cashback, prepayment or credit, a card on file and settlement, with this product « French and independent », the leader notes, it targets all leisure and business travel agencies, whether independent or network members, tour operators, receptive operators, as well as companies and tourism suppliers.
Novalife offers cashback, both on prepayment and across all credit terms offered. This allows the agency to adapt its payments to its cash flow cycle while earning a return on its expenses. The card-on-file plays a central role in this approach, according to a press release.
Novalife also provides online payments, payment links, and multi-currency transactions. For hotels, tour operators and receptive operators, the journey also enables locating a payment associated with a reservation and collecting it from a secure access, without transmitting the card number.
Finally, the solution simplifies the administrative and accounting management of transactions and is connected to the various back-offices in the market.
Cashback, prepayment or credit, a card on file and settlement, with this product « French and independent », the leader notes, it targets all leisure and business travel agencies, whether independent or network members, tour operators, receptive operators, as well as companies and tourism suppliers.
Novalife offers cashback, both on prepayment and across all credit terms offered. This allows the agency to adapt its payments to its cash flow cycle while earning a return on its expenses. The card-on-file plays a central role in this approach, according to a press release.
Novalife also provides online payments, payment links, and multi-currency transactions. For hotels, tour operators and receptive operators, the journey also enables locating a payment associated with a reservation and collecting it from a secure access, without transmitting the card number.
Finally, the solution simplifies the administrative and accounting management of transactions and is connected to the various back-offices in the market.
Publié par Céline Eymery Rédactrice en Chef – TourMaG.com Voir tous les articles de Céline Eymery
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