As travel patterns continue to evolve across Asia, better access to technology and demand insights can help hotels and destinations understand where new growth opportunities may lie.
Speaking at ITB Asia 2026’s Tech Leaders’ Panel: The Tech Shaping the Future of Travel on 21 October, Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President, Supply, Agoda, discussed how technology, data and local partnerships can help accommodation providers better understand traveler demand, reach diversified guests and identify new opportunities for growth. With that in mind, we’ve distilled three key takeaways from Andrew’s discussion below, with comments available for attribution.
1. Global technology needs to be grounded in local customer behaviour
For Andrew Smith, effective use of technology starts with understanding the customer. Global scale and local understanding have to grow together especially in Asia where no two markets are quite the same. Expectations around language, payments and accommodation can differ considerably across markets. Technology can help businesses respond to these differences and deliver experiences that feel locally relevant.
“We combine our global reach and leading technology with the local knowledge of our teams and partners to understand what travelers really need. Together, these strengths help hotels reach guests from around the world and adapt as travel demand evolves.”
2. AI is creating a more conversational way to plan travel
Travelers are increasingly using longer, more detailed searches, describing the experience they want rather than relying only on short destination or hotel queries. Agoda uses traveler insights to surface more relevant properties and content, while our newly rolled out Agoda AI Assistant allows travelers to explore ideas, compare accommodation, flight and activity options, and continue planning as their trip develops.
“For me, technology should help you find the trip that suits you, book in ways you’re comfortable with and discover more when you arrive. Our AI Assistant is part of that, alongside local knowledge and an easy way to reach a person. It should give you more time to enjoy the place you’ve come to visit.”
3. Good technology starts with strong foundations
While emerging technologies such as AI are creating new possibilities for travel, Andrew emphasized the importance of getting the fundamentals right. Innovation should be grounded in strong foundations and focused on solving real problems for travelers and partners. Investing in these foundations may require more upfront effort, but can ultimately give businesses greater confidence and flexibility to innovate as technology and customer needs evolve.
Beyond the perspectives above, Andrew’s commentary explores how technology and traveler insights can help accommodation partners better understand evolving demand, reach travelers across diverse source markets, and identify new opportunities for growth.
We’re sharing these insights for your consideration should they be relevant to upcoming coverage on hotel technology, distribution, changing traveler demand or growth opportunities across Asia. The quotes in bold above are available for attribution to Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President, Supply, Agoda.
