Radisson launches AI price-matching tool for direct bookings
Mon, 6th Jul 2026 (Today)
Radisson Hotel Group has launched an AI-driven, real-time hotel price-matching tool on its direct booking website. The feature is available across the group's properties worldwide.
The system detects lower publicly available room rates for Radisson properties on third-party booking sites and matches those prices instantly on RadissonHotels.com. It removes the usual requirement for guests to file a claim, provide screenshots or wait for a manual review under a best-rate guarantee scheme.
The move automates a long-established hotel booking practice at a time when hotel groups are trying to persuade travellers to book directly rather than through online travel agencies. Direct bookings are typically more valuable to hotel operators because they reduce reliance on intermediaries and can improve customer retention.
How it works
When a traveller finds a lower rate for one of its hotels on an online travel agency or through a search platform such as Google Hotels, the AI system verifies the difference and automatically applies an eligible lower rate. The user is then redirected to the hotel's own website without further action.
The price-matching tool currently covers rates listed by major booking platforms including Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Agoda, Priceline, Trip.com and MakeMyTrip, as well as other third-party sellers. The feature is already live across all of its hotels worldwide.
The group operates in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, with more than 1,600 hotels in operation and under development across more than 100 countries. Its brand portfolio includes Radisson Collection, art'otel, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson and Prize by Radisson.
The launch puts pricing transparency at the centre of the booking process. In traditional best-rate guarantee programmes, customers often have to identify a lower rate themselves and then complete a claims process, which can be slow and may discourage follow-through.
Direct booking push
Hotel groups have spent years trying to shift bookings away from online travel agencies, which offer broad distribution but also charge commissions. Loyalty schemes, member-only rates and direct booking perks have become standard tools in that effort, and automated price matching adds another way for brands to reduce booking friction.
For guests, the main change is speed. Instead of comparing rates across multiple sites and then submitting proof of a lower offer, they are presented with a matched price during the booking journey if the system finds an eligible discrepancy.
For hotel operators, the change may reduce the staff time spent checking rate claims by hand. Radisson also said the model gives hotel teams more visibility into pricing performance and customer behaviour, which could help them assess how direct booking strategies are working.
Gianni Di Fede, Global Chief Commercial Officer at Radisson Hotel Group, linked the launch to changing customer expectations around booking online.
"Today's travellers expect speed, simplicity and confidence when they book," said Gianni Di Fede, Global Chief Commercial Officer at Radisson Hotel Group.
He said the new system is intended to remove doubt for travellers choosing to book through the company's own channels.
"Price matching is our commitment to ensuring that guests who choose to book directly with us never have to wonder whether they could have found a better deal elsewhere. By automating the process in real time, we are making direct booking simpler and more transparent while delivering greater value to both guests and hotel partners," Di Fede said.
Wider strategy
The launch forms part of a broader digital strategy at Radisson, which has been investing in automation and AI tools across customer-facing operations. In hospitality, companies have increasingly used AI for revenue management, customer service and marketing, but consumer-facing pricing tools remain a more visible test of how automation can shape booking behaviour.
The company framed the product as a replacement for its legacy Best Online Rate Guarantee model. That suggests Radisson sees the direct booking proposition as needing not just lower prices but also a simpler process, particularly as customers become more accustomed to instant digital transactions.
Competition on room pricing remains intense, especially as inventory is distributed across hotel websites, online travel agencies, metasearch platforms and regional sellers. In that environment, even small pricing inconsistencies can affect where a booking is completed.
Radisson said its automated approach is intended to strengthen direct relationships with guests while removing a manual process that has historically sat between rate discovery and booking completion.
The group's loyalty programme, Radisson Rewards, has more than 28 million members, giving it an established direct customer base that could be influenced by easier price matching at the point of purchase.