Steve Hafner and Paul English introduced Lola, a conversational travel, dining and experiences assistant that combines real‑time availability, booking and a membership model with partner inventory from Booking Holdings and other vendors.
It offers free access plus two paid tiers: Plus at $5/month and VIP at $25/month, which include preferred hotel rates, priority restaurant reservations and concierge access.
Lola searches hotels, restaurants and more than 200,000 experiences with real‑time availability and pricing, and allows booking directly inside the same conversation.
Launch partners include Booking Holdings brands (Booking.com, OpenTable, KAYAK, Priceline, Agoda, FareHarbor) and third parties such as SeatGeek and GetYourGuide.
# What Lola is and who built it Steve Hafner and Paul English, the co‑founders of KAYAK, have launched Lola, a conversational assistant for travel, dining and experiences. Booking Holdings backs the product and has integrated its consumer brands into Lola's inventory. The service is headquartered in New York City.
# Product idea in plain terms Lola provides personalised recommendations for trips, restaurants and events while showing real‑time availability and pricing. Users can compare options and complete bookings within the same chat. The company positions Lola as an assistant that moves beyond answering questions: it aims to help people decide and book in one flow.
# Membership model and pricing Anyone can sign up for Lola for free. Paid plans add perks and preferred pricing:
Paid members receive preferred hotel rates, priority access to restaurant reservations, concierge services and discounts on airport and concierge offerings. The paid tiers are built to bundle inventory and perks across hotel, dining and experiences.
# Inventory and partner network
Launch partners include Booking Holdings brands — Booking.com, OpenTable, KAYAK, Priceline, Agoda and FareHarbor — and third‑party partners such as ResX, BLADE, Aero, SeatGeek, GetYourGuide, Nuitee and Ten Group. Paid members get access and preferred pricing on the partner inventory listed above.
# How users interact with Lola The product is conversational: users describe preferences, and Lola provides personalised options with availability and price information. The conversation can continue through decision points until the user books hotels, restaurants or experiences directly within the same chat.
Steve Hafner summarized the approach as giving "everyone the advantage of being well connected," adding that assistants should understand what a user is looking for, help them decide, and make it happen. Paul English said Lola learns each member's preferences and searches across categories to find options worth their time, with member rates and perks attached.
# What this means for travelers and hospitality businesses Travelers get a single interface that combines search, price comparison and booking across multiple categories. The paid membership model bundles access and perks into a monthly subscription rather than charging per booking.
# Immediate takeaways
# What to watch next Adoption and retention rates for the paid tiers, the extent of any human concierge service, how inventory and pricing compare to direct channels, and which partners are added after launch will determine how widely Lola is used by travelers and how hospitality partners value the channel.
Booking Holdings has spent years trying to stitch a trip together across separate apps. Lola wagers one assistant built from scratch, with a membership model and human concierge service, can finally hold it together.
Dutch founders Loes Daniels and Jorik Schröder launch Away.ai, an AI platform that books complete flight-and-hotel packages in minutes based on personal preferences, with a 2-4% travel credit rewards model.
Planning to visit Osaka with your family this fall? That could mean hours spent booking flights and accommodations and putting together a list of destinations in advance. A new travel app aims to make that process easier. Oh Hyuk, CEO of local tour company Les Vacances and the pioneer who founded Auction, Korea's first
Instinct, a freshman AI assistant that has Silicon Valley buzzing, can book and rebook trips from a text thread. Key lesson for travel: Talking about frictionless booking isn't the same as delivering it.
The ALL Concierge is an “end-to-end conversational travel companion” that helps guests discover and book hotels and serves as a point of contact throughout their entire stay.
NEPCON ASIA 2026 will bring together 600+ exhibitors, 200+ new products, and global industry leaders to showcase electronics manufacturing innovations, sourcing opportunities, and emerging technologies.
Loading more related stories...
Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.