"We see AI as a tool, not a threat. It comes to help humans become better and to do more valuable things."
These are the words of Idan Zalzberg, Chief Technology Officer of Agoda, explaining the company’s progress as a global technology platform now moving towards offering comprehensive travel services in the AI era.
Agoda is a popular choice for booking hotels, flights, and various travel activities. Beyond elevating travel services, the company fully embraces innovation. Current CEO Omri Morgenshtern is committed to building both the company and Thailand into the Silicon Valley of Asia.
Many recognize Agoda as a global company operating in Thailand, but the platform actually began in Phuket, founded by one of the co-founders as a tour company. It developed into one of Asia’s first hotel booking websites, evolving through many stages to become a tech company now valued at several billion U.S. dollars.
This article from Thairath Money’sHow to Make Moneycolumn introduces the startup born from the passion of two founders who loved Thai travel, and explores Agoda’s AI-driven approach to becoming more than just a hotel booking site—transforming into a full-service travel assistant.
Back in late 1996, everything began with Michael Kenny, who wanted to start a bicycle tour company in Phuket after moving to Thailand and developing a passion for travel. This business, called Tropical Trails, became the foundation for future success.
"Phuket was beautiful then, with great weather, delicious food, friendly people, and a growing tourism industry. It was an excellent starting point," Michael Kenny said. He moved from the U.S. to work in hotels after studying business and economics, which gave him deep insight into Thailand’s hotel market.
Soon, Tropical Trails was thriving. Seeing the potential of the internet, Kenny leveraged his tourism industry reputation to negotiate hotel rates and launched PlanetHoliday.com, an early online hotel booking business in Thailand. Its initial customers were mainly Western tourists from Europe and the U.S. visiting Thailand.
Initially, the platform relied on search engines to attract users seeking affordable hotels, which gained popularity. As user numbers grew, services expanded across Asia. However, copycat competitors emerged, and events like 9/11 in 2001 and the SARS outbreak reduced Asian tourism. Kenny then sought new markets.
In 2003, he launched PrecisionReservations.com, an affiliate hotel booking website partnering with over 1,000 websites. To grow further and attract talent, Kenny moved operations to Bangkok.
That same year, Rob Rosenstein, an e-commerce and digital entrepreneur who had invested in Kenny’s hotel booking ventures, joined the team. The two merged PlanetHoliday.com and PrecisionReservations.com to form Agoda in 2005.
From a small Phuket e-commerce startup, Agoda rapidly grew into a global travel platform. A key strategy was contracting directly with hotels to control inventory, enabling better prices and more available rooms than other online travel agents (OTAs).
Agoda’s major transition continued after its 2005 founding. As business grew, the leadership moved the headquarters to Singapore to support global expansion, while maintaining Thailand as its largest office.
In 2007, U.S.-based giant Booking.com, known as the Priceline Group, acquired Agoda. The purchase price was undisclosed. Since then, Agoda has generated over $2 billion in annual revenue.
From the start, Agoda evolved from a hotel booking platform for tourists visiting Thailand to a leading Asian travel business, expanding services on its platform. For example, in 2014, it acquired Qlika, a micro-marketing startup, to strengthen its data-driven marketing capabilities.
In 2017, Agoda added new accommodation types under the Homes feature—including apartments, villas, and alternative lodgings—to meet diverse traveler needs. By 2019, it launched Flights, transforming Agoda into a comprehensive Travel Marketplace where users can also book flights. The company also expanded into B2B by partnering with Rocket Travel to offer membership programs and airline miles accumulation.
Shortly after, in 2021, Agoda introduced Activities, allowing users to book tours, attractions, and experiences worldwide all within one platform.
Thairath Money had the opportunity to speak with Idan Zalzberg, Agoda’s CTO. He explained that today Agoda defines itself not just as an OTA but as a "global technology platform for travel." With AI playing an increasingly important role, Agoda has been continuously developing in this area.
Agoda began its AI journey 4-5 years ago, even before the ChatGPT moment. Its strategy follows an Inside-Out Framework, starting with AI use internally, then extending to products and future innovations. Starting with employees showed quick results in productivity and technology adoption, also helping reduce employee fears about AI by shifting perspectives to "AI as a tool, not a threat."
Agoda has invested heavily in internal AI tools—from ChatGPT integrated into Slack shortly after ChatGPT’s launch, to enterprise AI platforms, data analytics tools like Query Assist, automated support systems, and big data processing tools. Over 85% of employees now use AI weekly.
A key milestone is AI-assisted software development: today, nearly 100% of Agoda’s code is created using AI-assisted coding. This shifts developers’ roles toward specification and harness engineering. Agoda also developed an AI Code Reviewer that checks over half of all code.
"In the long term, Agoda aims to go beyond being an OTA, aspiring to become a Travel Companion that helps users plan comprehensive trips—not just book accommodations," Idan Zalzberg said.
Agoda applies GenAI use cases across all departments, processing trillions of tokens, reflecting large-scale usage. The company employs over 7,500 staff from 100+ nationalities across 50 offices worldwide. Recently, it relocated its Thailand office to One Bangkok.
Today, Agoda calls itself a Global Technology Platform for Travel, with over 6 million accommodations worldwide and around 90 million monthly users. Having grown for over 25 years, the company is valued at over $1.5 billion and aims by 2026 to evolve beyond a hotel booking platform into a comprehensive travel platform.
Source: Agoda [1][2][3][4],Seven Peaks
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