Booking Holdings has launched Vayo, an AI-powered travel agent, with a planned $100 million investment. The Seattle-based startup is now accepting applications for its invite-only private beta.
Co-founded by CEO Mike Fridgen and CTO Allen Chen, Vayo organizes travel reservations from users’ inboxes into trip itineraries. It monitors bookings for price drops and availability changes, alerting travelers to potential savings or openings.
How Vayo Works
Vayo integrates with Booking Holdings’ brands and competitors like Expedia. It tracks delays and cancellations, adjusting related plans accordingly. The platform also draws on users’ travel history to suggest future trips.
During its beta phase, Vayo handles restaurant reservations through OpenTable and captures flight price drops for refunds. While users are currently directed to suppliers for bookings, Vayo plans to introduce transactional booking for flights and hotels soon.
Vayo’s Unique Approach
Vayo targets high-frequency leisure travelers, focusing on a vertical travel experience. Unlike horizontal agents like ChatGPT or Meta’s Muse, Vayo emphasizes proactive capabilities and deep integration within the travel ecosystem.
Fridgen highlights Vayo’s ability to provide a visual approach, particularly for significant trips. This contrasts with text-heavy alternatives, offering a more engaging way to plan travel.
Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel describes Vayo as “traveler-centric”, focusing on organizing experiences around user needs rather than transaction points. This strategy aims to build deeper customer relationships by addressing pain points throughout the trip.
Vayo joins Lola in Booking Holdings’ AI portfolio, with both startups operating independently to support agility. Fogel notes that this structure allows for faster testing of assumptions without being constrained by existing models.
Vayo is exploring monetization options, with Fridgen stating they are focused on building a product users love during the private beta. Fridgen assures that the platform accesses only travel-related inbox data, with user privacy and control as key priorities.
Future plans include a “multiplayer mode” for group travel, loyalty account integration, and a native app. Vayo is expected to launch publicly in the first half of 2027.
Vayo’s Integration and Future Plans
The platform’s focus on user privacy is evident in its data handling practices. Vayo accesses only travel-related information in users’ inboxes, keeping other data private and allowing users to revoke access at any time.
Booking Holdings’ AI Strategy
Vayo is part of Booking Holdings’ broader AI strategy, which includes Lola, an AI assistant for experiences. By establishing separate startups, Booking Holdings aims to support agility and innovation in product development, allowing teams to design AI-native propositions from the ground up.