Uber expands into hotel bookings with Expedia partnership and AI voice assistant

Uber announced a hotel-booking service and an AI-powered voice assistant for booking rides during its annual Go-Get event in New York City. The features represent the company's latest effort to expand beyond ride-hailing and delivery into a broader travel platform. The hotel service, developed in partnership with Expedia Group, will initially launch in the U.S. Uber app and enable users to book more than 700,000 hotels worldwide. Users will see 20 percent discounts on a rotating list of 10,000 hotels when booked through the app, and Uber One members will receive 10 percent back in Uber Credits on all bookings. Uber also introduced an AI-powered Voice Booking Assistant for hands-free ride booking. Chief Technology Officer Praveen Nepalli Naga said the features would have taken a full year to develop, test, debug, and launch using traditional methods, but the adoption of agentic AI cut that timeframe in half. The booking process mirrors the existing ride-hailing flow. Users enter a destination, view hotels on a map or through personalized filters, and see prices including taxes, fees, and discounts. Uber Credits are delivered within 24 hours after hotel check-in. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber is evolving into an app for everything by "helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place." Additional features announced include Travel Mode for local and tourist restaurant recommendations, international Uber One benefits starting June 1, a Shop for Me feature for requesting items from any store, and One Search across Uber and Uber Eats. Uber rides will be integrated directly into the Expedia app by early June, and vacation rentals from Vrbo are expected to be added later this year.