AI is moving very fast. What is D‑EDGE’s core conviction?

 

Jean-Dominique Brivet, Chief Product Officer at D‑EDGE:

We see AI as a fundamental shift in the distribution value chain, comparable in some ways to what happened with the arrival of the Internet.

But our objective is not to put AI everywhere simply because the market expects it.

For a hotelier, the real value comes when AI helps make distribution easier to understand and manage.

So the question we ask ourselves is not “Where can we add AI?” but rather “Where can AI genuinely improve a commercial decision?”

 

Why does D‑EDGE believe it has a particular role to play?

 

Because distribution cannot be optimised in isolation.

D‑EDGE already connects many of the elements involved in a hotel’s commercial performance: market and competitor data, pricing, the Channel Manager, Booking Engine, direct digital acquisition and the systems used to manage rates and availability.

Our vision is to progressively make these different components work together more intelligently.

That is the real advantage of a Distribution Platform: AI can understand the whole picture, not just one part of it.

 

What does that mean concretely for hoteliers?

 

A first example is Price Recommendations.

The product combines competitor pricing, the hotel’s own historical data and occupancy information to recommend rates over the coming months. The hotelier remains in control and chooses whether or not to apply the recommendation.

 

More broadly, we see a three-step evolution.

First, AI can surface the information that matters.

Then it can recommend actions (current phase).

Eventually, agents may be able to execute some of those actions automatically.

But we intend to move progressively. Distribution is too strategic to turn into a black box overnight.

 

So D‑EDGE is not rushing into fully autonomous AI agents?

 

No.

There is a lot of excitement around agentic AI, but this is precisely where we believe it is important to remain pragmatic.

If AI tells a hotelier, “Your occupancy is 90%; consider changing your distribution strategy for this room category,” the hotelier can understand the recommendation and decide.

Allowing an agent to change rates and inventory without human intervention is a different level of responsibility.

We believe trust has to be built step by step.

 

What should hoteliers do today?

 

Do not wait for the market to be completely settled, but do not chase every new AI announcement either.

Focus first on the areas where change is already visible.

Make your hotel understandable to AI engines. Develop richer, more precise content. Continue investing in the acquisition channels that are still performing. Protect your direct price proposition. Keep control of your indirect distribution.

And choose technology partners able to connect these decisions rather than adding more fragmentation.

 

The future is not about having more AI tools. It is about using AI to make the entire distribution strategy work better together.