LISBON—The NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, in collaboration with RateGain Travel Technologies Limited and HEDNA, announced the release of the third edition of the industry benchmark report, The State of Distribution 2026.
Based on insights from over 270 hotel brands and 58,000+ properties across 141 cities and 53 countries, the report represents one of the most comprehensive views into how commercial teams across the hospitality industry are navigating technology investment, AI adoption, distribution complexity, and changing traveler behavior.
In Europe, the report found that OTAs continue to bring in the majority of bookings for properties versus direct channels, while hotels in the United States also have an opportunity to fully capitalize on demand driven via AI search.
The report stated that more than half of hotels now use or are procuring generative AI, a sign of how quickly technology has become part of everyday work. Yet fewer than one in ten say it has reduced their manual work by more than 30 percent. Most hotels reported seeing small gains rather than a change in how their teams operate.
Key Findings
Key findings from The State of Distribution 2026 include:
- Hotel commercial teams are becoming more connected, but their data remains fragmented: Marketing, sales, distribution, and revenue management teams are collaborating more closely and reviewing performance together more frequently. However, disconnected systems, disparate data, and vendor fragmentation continue to hold them back.
- Reporting remains hospitality’s most persistent inefficiency and clearest opportunity for AI-led automation: More than 80 percent of commercial teams still spend one to two days a week producing and analyzing reports manually, and fewer than 30 percent have invested in dedicated reporting tools.
- AI adoption is high, but transformation is rare: More than half of hotels use or are procuring generative AI, yet fewer than one in ten report reductions in manual work above 30 percent. Hotels increasingly trust AI for assistance, but not autonomy.
- Hotels are spending more on technology, but on optimization, not expansion: Technology budgets are rising for most hotels, and their leading priorities are improving existing systems, increasing productivity, and reducing integration and vendor complexity rather than adding new platforms.
- Hotels have tools for direct bookings, but OTAs still win demand: Core direct-booking infrastructure is nearly universal, yet OTAs generate close to twice the bookings of hotel-owned digital channels.
- AI search is producing bookings before hotel strategies have adapted: AI-originated search now contributes a measurable share of reservations, while 55 percent of hotels report no or only a minor change to their distribution strategy.
The report also identified mid-sized hotel chains as a potential commercial “sweet spot”. These organizations appear large enough to invest in systems and specialist capabilities, but agile enough to avoid some of the silos and integration complexity affecting larger chains. Mid-sized chains reported stronger cross-functional alignment, greater reporting automation, more mature AI governance, and the highest incidence of meaningful AI-led reductions in manual work.
Statements From Leadership
“Buying AI is easy. Getting value from it is not, and this report shows most of the industry is still stuck between the two. The advantage will not go to the hotels with the most tools. It will go to the ones that turn their technology into better decisions and give their teams their time back. That shift has not happened yet, and it is the single biggest opportunity in front of the industry,” said Bhanu Chopra, founder and managing director, RateGain.
Oscar Ganuza, senior vice president—revenue, Europe, RateGain Travel Technologies Limited, said, “The findings we are sharing in Lisbon reflect what commercial teams are living every day. They have built strong direct booking infrastructure, yet OTAs still bring in most of the demand. At the same time, AI search is starting to send bookings their way before they have changed anything about how they distribute. The teams that will do well are the ones that close the gap between what their technology can do and what their people are able to act on. The State of Distribution gives them a benchmark to measure against and the evidence to act on.”
Vanja Bogicevic, clinical associate professor and director of HI Hub Exchange, NYU School of Professional Studies, Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, added, “This third edition reflects how quickly hotel commercial operations are evolving. AI is reshaping how travelers discover hotels, how commercial teams work, and how pricing and demand decisions are made. This year, we expanded the research to examine these emerging realities, including zero-click search, AI governance, behavioral pricing, data privacy, and regulatory oversight. Together, these new benchmarks show where hotel commercial strategy is heading and where operating models have yet to catch up.”
“Unbiased data beats hype. HEDNA exists to give our industry a shared, honest picture of where distribution stands and why it matters. Three years of this research show that commercial teams are becoming more connected and technology investment is growing, yet fragmented systems and manual work remain deeply embedded. This report is not just data; it is our mission in action and a benchmark for where the industry must go next,” said Lisa Murphy, HEDNA president.
