Try it yourself: five questions to find out whether AI recommends your hotel

Before you start: ask like a traveler, not like the owner

• Open a new chat, in temporary mode or logged out, so the AI doesn't use what it already knows about you.
• Make sure web search is switched on, so the AI looks things up online and shows you its sources.
• Run the test on all three: ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Your guests don't use just one.

The five questions

1. The discovery question. "Which hotel would you recommend in [area] for [type of trip]?" Don't mention your hotel's name. This is the most important one: it's how someone who doesn't know you yet asks.
2. The direct question. "Tell me about [hotel name] in [city]." Does it describe correctly what kind of hotel you are, your category and your location?
3. The fact question. "Does [hotel name] allow pets? Does it have parking? What time is check-in?" Pick two or three facts you know the answer to.
4. The comparison question. "Which is better for a family, [your hotel] or [a competitor]?" Look at the arguments it uses.
5. The other-language question. Repeat the first question in the language of your main market, such as German, French or Spanish. Sometimes the answer changes completely.

What to look for in each answer

• Does it name you? Above all in the discovery question.
• Is what it says correct? A wrong "doesn't allow pets" is a lost booking, and the traveler won't check.
• Where did it get it from? Look at the links or the list of sources. If you see Booking.com, Tripadvisor or travel blogs but not your website, AI is describing you with someone else's data. And the booking link takes the guest to the intermediary, with its commission.

How to read the result

• You appear, the facts are right, and your website is among the sources: you're on the right track. Repeat the test from time to time.
• You appear, but your website isn't among the sources: AI is describing you with what booking platforms, review sites or travel blogs say about you, sometimes with mistakes. Your own website isn't being read. This is the most common result.
• You don't appear in the discovery question: for AI, in that search, your hotel doesn't exist.

If you got result 2 or 3

You're not alone, and it rarely comes down to spending more. There are two ways forward:

• Do it yourself. In What hotels get wrong when travelers ask AI where to stay we explain why AI can't read most hotel websites, and in How hotels can stop being invisible to AI we go through six steps to fix it. Then come back and repeat the test.
• Let us measure it. The test tells you whether AI recommends you, but not why. The TADI index analyzes your website the way an AI assistant would, gives it a score out of 100, and gives you a prioritized list of what to fix first.

If your website isn't among the sources, AI is talking about your hotel using other people's information.