Jaya House River Park in Siem Reap has marked its tenth anniversary by publishing a decade of guest booking data, and the headline finding is that 60% of its guests now use ChatGPT or another AI platform at some point while planning their trip.
For UK business travellers, and the SMEs booking on their behalf, that figure is a useful marker of how quickly trip discovery has moved away from the search engine and the online travel agent. It also suggests independent properties, long reliant on reviews and recommendation, are now surfacing in places they previously could not afford to buy their way into.
The independently owned Cambodian hotel has spent ten years building its reputation the traditional way, through guest experience, online reviews and word of mouth. Its anniversary analysis indicates the qualities that made that approach work have not changed. They are simply being found differently.
Direct bookings rise as travellers check what AI tells them
Booking behaviour is shifting alongside the research habit. Jaya House has recorded an 11% year-on-year increase in direct bookings, suggesting that while travellers increasingly begin with AI, many still want the reassurance of dealing with the property itself when confirming a complex or long-haul trip. Anyone who has used a chatbot for early inspiration and then gone to the source to verify rates, room types and cancellation terms will recognise the pattern.
The hotel also found that 10-12% of guests had discovered it before deciding to visit Siem Reap at all, picking a distinctive property first and letting that choice shape the destination. That inversion matters for bleisure planning, where the hotel is often the reason a trip gets extended rather than an afterthought. Jaya House has leaned into that positioning with its work in regenerative hospitality and community projects around Angkor.
Independent hotels compete on substance, not spend
Christian de Boer, Managing Director of Jaya House River Park, said: “AI is quickly moving from a source of inspiration to a genuine travel-planning tool, particularly for travellers looking beyond major hotel brands and more obvious destinations. Travellers are no longer necessarily beginning with an OTA or Google; they’re asking AI to identify hotels that match highly specific interests, values and priorities. This gives independent hotels an opportunity to compete on substance rather than advertising spend.”
He added: “Experiential travel – the kind of authentic, personalised experiences that independent boutique hotels are uniquely positioned to provide – continues to create outstanding guest reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations, building an even stronger foundation for success in the age of AI-driven travel planning.”
The trend is not confined to Cambodia. Research published in June by MMGY Travel Intelligence found that 52% of British travellers now use AI tools to support travel planning, up from 40% in 2025 and the fastest growth among the major European markets surveyed. ChatGPT was the most widely used platform, at 35%.
What it means for UK bookers
The corporate side of the market is moving more slowly. Only one in ten travel buyers currently trusts AI-generated recommendations for bookings or itineraries, as research presented at the Business Travel Show America found, even as demand grows for automation and disruption alerts. The practical position for most SMEs sits somewhere in between: AI is a fast way to build a shortlist of properties that match specific requirements, but rates, availability and policy detail still need checking at source.
For anyone acting on a shortlist that includes Cambodia, note that a visa is required and travellers arriving by air at Siem Reap must submit an electronic arrival card within seven days of arrival, according to Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office guidance. Passports must be valid for at least six months from the date of entry.
