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US: Booking Holdings has launched AI travel startup Vayo and plans to invest up to $100 million in the business, subject to its continued development and market conditions.
The Seattle-based company has opened a waitlist for its free, invite-only private beta. Booking Holdings has positioned Vayo as a personal travel agent capable of organising and monitoring reservations made across different platforms.
Vayo connects to a user’s email inbox and turns travel confirmations into a single itinerary. It can monitor reservations for price changes and availability, while identifying how delays or cancellations could affect other parts of a trip.
The platform works with Booking Holdings brands but can also organise reservations made through competitors including Expedia. Vayo said it could direct users to an accommodation provider’s own website when that offered the more suitable option.
Users can currently search for flights and hotels through Vayo before being transferred to the relevant supplier to complete the transaction. Direct transactional booking for flights and hotels is expected to be introduced during the beta period.
Restaurant reservations are currently completed through Booking Holdings-owned OpenTable, although the company plans to add further providers.
Mike Fridgen, co-founder and CEO of Vayo, said: “To be a trusted orchestrator of your travel life, a travel agent that works for you, it has to have access to everything, and it has to add value across all your bookings.”
Fridgen co-founded the business with CTO Allen Chen, the former chief technology officer of Fanatics Collectibles.
Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel said Vayo’s ability to work across bookings made through different businesses would help it build trust with travellers and identify points of friction across the wider journey.
The launch demonstrates how AI agents could sit above individual booking channels and influence where travellers complete accommodation reservations. This could create new distribution opportunities for property managers, while making the visibility and accessibility of their inventory to AI platforms more important.
Vayo does not currently carry sponsored advertising and has not confirmed its future revenue model. The company is considering different options, including a possible subscription service.
The platform only accesses travel confirmations within connected inboxes, according to Vayo, and users can withdraw access at any time. The company said personal data would not be used to train its wider AI model.
General availability is expected during the first half of 2027. Future developments could include group-trip planning, connected loyalty accounts and a native mobile application.
Highlights
- Booking Holdings has launched AI travel startup Vayo.
- The company plans to invest up to $100 million, subject to product progress and market conditions.
- Vayo is currently available through a free, invite-only private beta.
- It organises travel confirmations from users’ inboxes into complete itineraries.
- The platform can monitor bookings made through Booking Holdings brands and competing channels.
- Flight and hotel transactions are expected to be added during the beta period.
- Vayo has not yet confirmed its long-term revenue model.
- General availability is expected in the first half of 2027.
