Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, has today published its 2025 Hospitality and Travel Report. The report highlights the transformative role AI is having on traveller behaviour and purchasing. A key trend highlighted is the growing consumer demand for hospitality businesses to integrate product search and transaction functionalities directly into their booking platforms.

Boomers and Gen X lead AI adoption growth

With summer vacations beginning, AI is reshaping how travellers plan and book their trips. In a poll of 40,000 consumers across 27 countries, a third (35%) used AI to discover destinations, a 74% increase from 2024. In the UK, Gen Z (53%) and Millennials (50%) are still the most active users, the biggest growth came from Boomers (up 147%) and Gen X (up 82%).

76% of UK Boomers said AI helped them cut through the noise, highlighting how usage of the technology is spanning across generations and providing inspiration faster than any other method. Social media is a frustration for 74% of travellers who are put-off by platforms being filled with ads, sponsorships, and influencer content. AI is helping to cut out this noise amongst all demographics, providing inspiration faster than any other method (76%).

"AI technology has become incredibly important to guests looking for destination inspiration and quick, fun, and personalised itineraries, especially as summer vacations arrive," said Phil Crawford, Global Head of Hospitality at Adyen. “Guests are increasingly using AI to make their trips more seamless and, in response, hospitality providers are looking to invest to meet this growing demand.”

Hospitality teams up with AI for growth take-off

Adyen’s 2025 Hospitality and Travel Report highlights the increased expectation by guests to see businesses adopting AI technology to better support travel and hospitality purchases. UK Hospitality businesses are aware of the shifting consumer trend, with over half (51%) saying that AI search tools which support guests with booking decisions will reshape the industry in 2025. The same amount (51%) believed AI-driven automation to personalise the guest experience would transform the sector.

Payments are the critical bridge between AI-powered discovery and the full guest experience — from booking a room to hotel check-out. Crawford continued “Hospitality businesses are increasingly integrating AI functionality within their platforms to offer a more seamless payment experience for guests.”

Despite growing AI adoption amongst consumers, many UK hospitality businesses are facing challenges from fragmented payment systems, with 65% of merchants indicating that fragmented systems for online and on-site payments makes it difficult for hotels to streamline operations and reconcile efficiently. Adyen is helping businesses to respond to these shifts by developing platforms that support both merchants and guests with frictionless transaction technology.

Fraud a concern for both hospitality guests and merchants

Fraud remains a major operational challenge, with 37% of UK accommodation providers reporting a significant increase in payment fraud attempts in the past year. Adyen Uplift incorporates Protect, an AI-powered fraud prevention module which cuts 86% of instances of false positives and ensures genuine guests can book without unnecessary friction.