Everything AI in Travel

In this episode of the “9 Free AI Tools to Attract High-Value Visitors” series, we enter the Outreach phase of the framework and review one of the most practical tools for organic growth: the Social Media Expert AI.This AI is designed to transform long-form destination content (blog posts, itineraries, guides, articles) into ready-to-post social content — single viral posts or full multi-day campaigns — tailored to the platform you choose.In this walkthrough, we use the ongoing case study (Ecuador as the destination, Germany as the source market) and take an existing long-form blog article created earlier in the series: “From Cobblestone to Volcanoes: A 7-Day Andean Journey from Cuenca to Quito”Then we use the Social Media Expert AI to turn that single article into a 10-day Facebook campaign, with posts that are:Short, emotional, and highly readable on mobileBuilt with a consistent format (hook → story → CTA → hashtags)Optimized for engagement (questions, prompts, lightweight emojis, clean spacing)Easy to copy/paste directly into FacebookCapable of generating image prompts so you can create original visuals to match each postYou’ll see the AI guide you step-by-step:  Choose your starting point (text, image, idea, or “find trending topics for me”)  Confirm the post angle (story-focused, responsible travel, photogenic route, etc.)  Build a day-by-day campaign plan before writing anything  Apply platform best practices (format, timing, CTA style, hashtag strategy)  Generate the final posts in clean, publish-ready form  Create one-by-one image prompts and refine visuals without adding unwanted text overlaysThe key idea: long-form content becomes dozens of outreach assets, and you finally get consistency without burning hours every day. Access all 9 free AI tools here:  santiagoR.com/freeAITools Want help implementing these tools into a real content system for your destination or tourism business? I offer coaching + staff training to help you use AI faster, better, and with a repeatable workflow.If this episode helped you:  Like  Subscribe  Comment with the platform you want to grow (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn) and I’ll share the best post formats to start with.

In Episode 7 of the “9 AI Tools to Attract High-Value Visitors” series, we introduce a different kind of AI: the How-To Articles Writer (Educational AI) — a tool designed specifically to help DMO teams, tour operators, and tourism stakeholders understand and overcome real, everyday professional challenges.Unlike the previous tools in this series, this AI is not about external promotion. It’s about internal alignment, training, and capacity-building — because attracting high-value visitors also requires knowledgeable staff, confident partners, and shared ways of working.In this walkthrough, you’ll see how the How-To Articles AI:Helps you explain complex tourism challenges in a clear, step-by-step wayCreates short, practical educational articles your teams can actually read (and apply)Covers themes like AI adoption, marketing, distribution, sustainability, technology, and productivityIncludes built-in research, structure, and editing guidance, like working with a professional editorAutomatically generates a cover image so the content is ready for blogs, internal newsletters, Slack, or training portalsUsing a real example, we build an article on: “How tourism professionals can use AI in simple, practical ways every day — without tech overwhelm.”The AI walks through:Common mistakes teams make when approaching AIWhy “spectacular” automations often fail in real workplaces6 realistic daily AI habits for DMO staff and tour operatorsClear calls to action that encourage small, immediate winsThis tool is ideal if you want to:  Train staff and partners consistently  Share your professional point of view publicly  Align stakeholders around new tools and practices  Build internal confidence with AI before scaling it externally Access all 9 free AI tools here:  santiagoR.com/freeAITools Need help applying these tools inside your organisation? I also offer 1:1 coaching and staff training to help tourism teams accelerate their AI learning curve and use these tools effectively in real workflows.If this episode is useful, like, subscribe, and share it with someone in tourism who’s responsible for training, stakeholder engagement, or internal transformation.

In this episode of the Everything AI in Travel podcast, we dive deep into the vacation rental world and the fast-changing landscape of property management systems (PMS) with guest Shahar, founder of Boom, an AI-native operating system for vacation rental managers.From Miami, Shahar shares how he went from doing hundreds of millions in real-estate deals to “accidentally” building a vacation rental management company—then vertically integrating management, construction, cleaning, and a $50M fund—before spinning out the tech and ultimately selling his management business to Casago. Today, that same tech powers Boom, now live in 20 countries across five continents.We talk through:​ What PMS looked like in 2017 – basic channel managers and unified inboxes – and why that wasn’t enough for serious operators​ Why traditional PMS + a dozen disconnected tools (pricing, tasks, guest comms, accounting, etc.) breaks down—and how Boom’s “business as software” view ties it all into one data model​ How AI agents can only work if all the operational data is structured and connected (cleaning, tasks, GPS, inspections, payments, owner P&L, trust accounting, reviews and more)​ How Boom is already automating 80% of guest communication, and what true agentic AI looks like in property ops​ Why their ICP starts at 50+ properties, what they’re seeing from leading operators, and how they’re rolling out globally​ The future of OTAs, trust and discovery – from filter-based search (“Miami, Dec 23–Jan 1, max $600/night…”) to open-text intent (“I want a 2-hour flight, kid-friendly activities within walking distance, ocean view, pet-friendly”) – and how LLMs will sit between guests and inventoryWe also cover Boom’s recent $13M Series A, backed by heavyweights including the former CEO of Hilton, major real-estate families, and top vertical SaaS founders—and why combining deep ops knowledge with frontier AI talent is their core edge.If you:​Run a vacation rental management company (50+ doors and up)​Work at a PMS, channel manager, or OTA and want to see where the puck is headed​Are thinking about how agentic AI will reshape operations, distribution, and guest experience…this episode is a masterclass in where vacation rentals + AI are going next. Guest: Shahar – Founder, Boom (AI-native PMS / operating system for vacation rentals)Connect with him on LinkedIn  If you got value from this conversation:​Subscribe to the channel​Leave a comment with your biggest insight or question about AI in vacation rentals​Share it with someone in your network who manages properties or builds tools for themAnd don’t forget to subscribe to the Everything AI in Travel newsletter for weekly deep dives on AI, travel tech, and creator-driven distribution.

In Episode 6 of the “9 Free AI Tools to Attract High-Value Visitors” series, we review one of the most practical tools in the entire framework: the Self-Guided Tour Creator AI — built to help you create real, walkable, time-logical itineraries your visitors can use on the ground once they’re already in your destination.This tool sits in the “content” phase of the framework, but unlike inspirational blog articles, this is utility content: self-guided walking tours that improve the visitor experience, reduce friction, and help your destination deliver more value while people are there.In this walkthrough you’ll see how the AI:Starts with a destination prompt (example: Cuenca, Ecuador) and a defined target market (example: German visitors aged 25–50, culture + nature + local life)Lets you choose between a pure walking route or a route that includes short transportBuilds a realistic route with space/time logic: stop sequence, walking times, visit durations, and total tour lengthWrites engaging descriptions for each stop (and lets you refine tone, style, and format as you go)Generates a title + short platform-ready tour description you can paste into a brochure, app, website, or tour platformOptionally creates a quiz to add interactivity and engagementFinds Creative Commons licensed images for each stop (with source links)Translates the whole tour into simple, friendly German (or any language), and can even add practical info at the top of each stop: address, time to visit, next stop, and walking timeBy the end you’ll have a complete self-guided tour you can publish as: a web page a PDF handout a tour-platform listing a destination app experience content your staff can reuse in visitor support Access the 9 free AI tools here: santiagoR.com/freeAITools Want help implementing this for your destination, hotel, or tourism business?I also offer 1:1 coaching and staff training so you can apply these tools faster, with better outputs, and with a real content system behind them.If this episode helps you, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who works in tourism and wants better visitors and better visitor experiences.

In this episode of the Everything AI in Travel podcast (now sitting in the top 3 travel-technology podcasts on Apple Podcasts), Tony sits down with Healy Cypher, co-founder & CEO of BoomPop, a company that just raised $25M to make planning in-person events, offsites and group travel radically easier with AI.We dig into Healy’s wild founder journey — from growing up in Saudi Arabia, to selling his first startup to eBay just seven months after joining, to rolling out those touchscreen kiosks in McDonald’s, Wendy’s and more (including the legendary “temptation cookie” upsell)… and why all of that led him to build BoomPop.Then we zoom out to the big shift: post-pandemic hybrid work, half-empty offices, and $1.7T in “freed” office spend that companies are quietly redirecting into in-person experiences, offsites, sales kickoffs and client events. Healy explains why group travel & meetings are the last undigitised corner of travel, and why AI is finally the unlock.You’ll hear how BoomPop uses AI to:Turn a simple prompt (“Offsite within 2 hours of SF in Q1, X budget, Y vibe”) into venue options, dates, full itineraries and a live event websiteMatch corporate events with hotel “need dates” so everyone wins on price and occupancyLearn a “taste graph” for organisers and companies to recommend better venues and experiences over timeHandle all the messy coordination: negotiations, blocks, RSVPs, guest messaging, packing lists, dinner changes and more— plus how a 35-person human planning team plugs in when you need a real expert, not just an agent.We also talk about the future of event agencies and travel advisors in an AI world, the incumbents like Cvent and the old-school RFP process, and what a new competitive landscape looks like when AI-native platforms start hitting escape velocity.If you’ve ever:Burned months of an EA’s time on a single annual offsiteRun a remote or distributed team that lives for its one big IRL gatheringWorked in hotels, DMOs, or meetings & incentives and wondered “why is this still done by fax and spreadsheets?”…this conversation will be painfully familiar and seriously hopeful. Listen now to learn how AI, group travel and in-person experiences collide — and why this is one of the ripest opportunities in travel tech. GuestHealy Cypher – Co-founder & CEO, BoomPopBoomPop: AI-powered platform for offsites, retreats & corporate eventsPodcast: Don’t Be a Jerk – conversations with high-performers who prove you can win in business without being an asshole. If your team has an offsite, retreat or client event coming upBefore you sacrifice six months of someone’s job to planning it… check out BoomPop and see what AI can take off your plate. If you enjoy this episode:Subscribe to the channelDrop a comment with your biggest takeawayShare it with someone who organises events and desperately needs their life backAnd don’t forget to subscribe to the Everything AI in Travel newsletter for weekly deep dives on AI, travel & creator commerce.