The rise of AI agents is transforming how travel products are discovered, evaluated, and booked. But according to Felix Shpilman, CEO of Emerging Travel Group (ETG), this shift does not spell the end for the intermediary layer in travel distribution. Speaking at the 2026 TravelDaily Conference on September 22, Shpilman argued that as consumers, businesses, agencies, hotels, and distributors all deploy their own AI agents, the need for a central aggregation layer will only intensify.
Distributors as the connective tissue
Shpilman, who joined Joseph Xia, Managing Director of VariFlight Global, for a panel on AI's impact on distribution efficiency, was unequivocal when asked whether AI agents could bypass distributors entirely: “Absolutely not.” He envisions a future where nearly every participant in the travel ecosystem operates its own agent—personal AI assistants for travelers, enterprise-level agents for corporate booking, and specialized agents for agencies, hotels, and distributors.
These agents will need to interact, but that does not mean the intermediary layer disappears. In fact, Shpilman believes the aggregation layer may become even more indispensable. The reason is simple: without it, a consumer's personal AI agent would have to connect individually with a vast number of hotel-level agents. ETG's own system, for example, covers more than two million hotels.
“The last thing a human wants is for their personal AI agent to communicate directly with hotel-level agents,” Shpilman said.
As the number of agents multiplies, the complexity of connecting them grows exponentially, making a central hub not just useful but essential. This perspective aligns with broader industry trends, as AI agents shift hotel discovery from search to delegation, and recent surveys suggest that AI augments, not replaces, travel agents.
ETG's evolution and scale
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in the UAE, ETG has grown from a B2C hotel booking business into a global travel technology group. Its three main brands—RateHawk, ZenHotels, and Roundtrip—serve more than 220 source markets, with a workforce of over 3,900 employees. RateHawk, in particular, has become a cornerstone of its B2B distribution platform.
Shpilman's remarks come at a time when the travel industry is grappling with the implications of AI-driven distribution. While some fear that direct agent-to-agent communication could render intermediaries obsolete, Shpilman's counterargument is that the aggregation layer will be the glue that holds the system together. This is especially relevant as AI agents and NDC reshape travel tech, with global bookings projected to hit $1.8 trillion.
For travel professionals, the takeaway is clear: rather than being displaced, distributors that can effectively aggregate and connect AI agents will remain vital. The challenge lies in building the technical infrastructure—such as MCPs (Model Context Protocols)—to enable seamless interoperability between agents from different stakeholders.
Shpilman's vision suggests a future where the distribution layer evolves, not disappears. As he put it, the aggregation layer may become “even more important” as the agent ecosystem grows. For now, the industry is watching closely to see how this plays out in practice.
