[Answers for lodge owners](https://nicetofindyou.com/truth)

# Does a booking-site listing help AI find your lodge? AI sent travellers to booking sites 13% of the time, own websites 43%.

Your own website does more: in October 2026, when AI assistants named a place to stay in Southern Africa, they sent the traveller to the business’s own website 43% of the time and to a booking site 13% of the time [\[1\]](https://nicetofindyou.com/ "Nice to Find You, October 2026 Index").

Facts checked 22 October 2026. Each number in brackets links to its source.

## Where do AI assistants send travellers?

To the business’s own website 43% of the time, and to a booking site 13% of the time, in October 2026 [\[1\]](https://nicetofindyou.com/ "Nice to Find You, October 2026 Index").

When the guest then books through a booking site, the lodge pays commission on the whole booking [\[2\]](https://partner.booking.com/en-us/help/commission-invoices-tax/commission/understanding-our-commission "The largest booking site's partner help, commission"): 15% as standard on the largest one in South Africa, 18% or 23% for more visibility [\[3\]](https://www.compcom.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CC_OIPMI-Final-Report.pdf "Competition Commission, Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry, final report").

## Why your own website matters to AI assistants

The assistant companies say their web answers cite the pages they used: ChatGPT [\[4\]](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9237897-searching-the-web-with-chatgpt "OpenAI Help, Searching the web with ChatGPT"), Google [\[5\]](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features "Google Search Central, AI features and your website"), Copilot [\[6\]](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/privacy-faq-for-microsoft-copilot "Microsoft Support, Copilot privacy FAQ"), Perplexity [\[7\]](https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352895-how-does-perplexity-work "Perplexity, Crawlers and How does Perplexity work") and Claude [\[8\]](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/10684626-enable-and-use-web-search "Anthropic Help, Enable and use web search").

Bing asks for the important information to be visible on the page itself [\[9\]](https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a "Bing Webmaster Guidelines"). Google builds business profiles partly from the business’s own website [\[10\]](https://support.google.com/business/answer/2721884?hl=en "Google Business Profile Help, where information comes from").

## What to do with your booking-site listing

Keep it if it brings you guests, and make sure every fact on it is also on your own website, where AI assistants can read and cite it [\[9\]](https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a "Bing Webmaster Guidelines").

Since 13 August 2024 the largest booking site may not stop you offering a lower price on your own website [\[11\]](https://www.compcom.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BOOKING-COM-AND-COMPETITION-COMMISSION-REACH-SETTLEMENT-ON-ONLINE-INTERMEDIATION-PLATFORMS-MARKET-INQUIRY-APPEAL.pdf "Competition Commission, settlement statement"). Read [can a booking site stop you charging less on your own website](https://nicetofindyou.com/truth/booking-site-price-parity).

## More answers for lodge owners

-   [Can you pay to appear in ChatGPT’s answers?](https://nicetofindyou.com/truth/pay-to-appear-in-chatgpt)
-   [How do AI assistants choose places to stay?](https://nicetofindyou.com/truth/how-ai-chooses-places-to-stay)
-   [Can a booking site stop you charging less on your own website?](https://nicetofindyou.com/truth/booking-site-price-parity)
-   [How do guests reach your lodge, and what does each route cost?](https://nicetofindyou.com/truth/how-guests-reach-you)
-   [Every answer for lodge owners](https://nicetofindyou.com/truth)

What we do for a place to stay, for one flat monthly fee: [the Playbook](https://nicetofindyou.com/playbook).

## Sources for this page

1.  [Nice to Find You, October 2026 Index](https://nicetofindyou.com/). Dated October 2026; checked 22 October 2026.
2.  [The largest booking site's partner help, commission](https://partner.booking.com/en-us/help/commission-invoices-tax/commission/understanding-our-commission). Dated updated about June 2026; checked 22 October 2026.
3.  [Competition Commission, Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry, final report](https://www.compcom.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CC_OIPMI-Final-Report.pdf). Dated July 2023; checked 22 October 2026.
4.  [OpenAI Help, Searching the web with ChatGPT](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9237897-searching-the-web-with-chatgpt). Dated 20 October 2026; checked 22 October 2026.
5.  [Google Search Central, AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features). Dated 10 December 2025; checked 22 October 2026.
6.  [Microsoft Support, Copilot privacy FAQ](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/privacy-faq-for-microsoft-copilot). No date shown; checked 22 October 2026.
7.  [Perplexity, Crawlers and How does Perplexity work](https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352895-how-does-perplexity-work). Dated 28 August 2026; checked 22 October 2026.
8.  [Anthropic Help, Enable and use web search](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/10684626-enable-and-use-web-search). No date shown; checked 22 October 2026.
9.  [Bing Webmaster Guidelines](https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a). No date shown; checked 22 October 2026.
10.  [Google Business Profile Help, where information comes from](https://support.google.com/business/answer/2721884?hl=en). No date shown; checked 22 October 2026.
11.  [Competition Commission, settlement statement](https://www.compcom.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BOOKING-COM-AND-COMPETITION-COMMISSION-REACH-SETTLEMENT-ON-ONLINE-INTERMEDIATION-PLATFORMS-MARKET-INQUIRY-APPEAL.pdf). Dated 13 August 2024; checked 22 October 2026.

---

Page: https://nicetofindyou.com/truth/booking-site-listing-and-ai (Does a booking-site listing help AI find your lodge? AI sent travellers to booking sites 13% of the time, own websites 43%.). Published by Nice to Find You, https://nicetofindyou.com