실제 호텔을 예약하는 AI 여행사를 만들었어요

[Sitemap](https://medium.com/sitemap/sitemap.xml) [Open in app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.medium.reader&referrer=utm_source%3DmobileNavBar&source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------------------------) Sign up [Sign in](https://medium.com/m/signin?operation=login&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40sorin_14830%2Fhow-i-built-an-ai-travel-startup-that-actually-books-real-hotel-11ccd963ba86&source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------global_nav------------------) [Medium Logo](https://medium.com/?source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------------------------) Get app [](https://medium.com/m/signin?operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2Fnew-story&source=---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------new_post_topnav------------------) [Search](https://medium.com/search?source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------------------------) Sign up [Sign in](https://medium.com/m/signin?operation=login&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40sorin_14830%2Fhow-i-built-an-ai-travel-startup-that-actually-books-real-hotel-11ccd963ba86&source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------global_nav------------------)  # How I Built an AI Travel Startup That Actually Books Real Hotel [](https://medium.com/@sorin_14830?source=post_page---byline--11ccd963ba86---------------------------------------) [Sorin](https://medium.com/@sorin_14830?source=post_page---byline--11ccd963ba86---------------------------------------) Follow 5 min read · 2 hours ago [](https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F_%2Fvote%2Fp%2F11ccd963ba86&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40sorin_14830%2Fhow-i-built-an-ai-travel-startup-that-actually-books-real-hotel-11ccd963ba86&user=Sorin&userId=c8226e34bfc3&source=---header_actions--11ccd963ba86---------------------clap_footer------------------) 1 [](https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F_%2Fbookmark%2Fp%2F11ccd963ba86&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40sorin_14830%2Fhow-i-built-an-ai-travel-startup-that-actually-books-real-hotel-11ccd963ba86&source=---header_actions--11ccd963ba86---------------------bookmark_footer------------------) [Listen](https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2Fplans%3Fdimension%3Dpost_audio_button%26postId%3D11ccd963ba86&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40sorin_14830%2Fhow-i-built-an-ai-travel-startup-that-actually-books-real-hotel-11ccd963ba86&source=---header_actions--11ccd963ba86---------------------post_audio_button------------------) Share Booking travel today is broken. Not because there aren’t enough options — but because everything is built around filters, static lists, and fake “personalization.” You still end up opening 20 tabs, comparing hotels, and second-guessing every decision. So we tried to build something different: an AI travel agent that doesn’t just suggest things — it actually lets you book real hotels. This is the story of how Traveleon came to life, what went wrong, and what it actually takes to build something like this from scratch. ## Before Traveleon: a failed startup and a lesson Before Traveleon, I was working on a startup called Trippin. It was… ambitious. Maybe too ambitious. We tried to build a social platform for musicians, a distribution platform, and a streaming service — all in one. Basically a Frankenstein product duct-taped from too many ideas. We even tried talking to investors early. That went exactly how you’d expect: no revenue, no traction, no interest. At the time, I didn’t fully understand why it failed. Now I do. We were trying to do too much, without clarity, and without focus on something real people needed right now. Eventually, the project fell apart. Co-founders disagreed, tensions built up, and we shut it down. That experience hurt, but it changed how I approached everything after. ## The idea: not just another AI demo After that, I started working on something new with a close friend I had made music with. We had great chemistry — we had even released music together that got some traction — and we both wanted to build something in AI. At first, we didn’t even know what. Then came the idea: an AI travel agent. It sounded obvious. Almost too obvious. So we built a simple version: an AI that suggests hotels and activities and then redirects you to other platforms using affiliate links. And technically… it worked. But it wasn’t enough. It felt like just another layer on top of existing systems. Not a real product. Not something people would actually trust or use end-to-end. That’s when we realized: If we wanted this to matter, we needed to handle real bookings. Press enter or click to view image in full size  ## Reality check: getting hotel inventory is hard This is where things got real. We thought: “we’ll find a hotel API, plug it in, and we’re done.” That assumption was completely wrong. Getting access to real hotel inventory is not like plugging into Stripe or some public API. It means partnerships, contracts, certifications, and trust. And at that point, we didn’t even have a company. We reached out everywhere. Most providers didn’t even reply. Eventually, we found Emerging Travel Group (ETG). They were the only ones willing to actually listen to what we were trying to build. But there was a catch: we needed a company to move forward. ## Making it real At the time, I was still closing down my previous company. So we made a decision: we create a new one and go all in. That’s how Traveleon officially started. From that moment, this stopped being an idea and became a real product with real constraints. ## Building the product I was working full-time as a software engineer. Typical day looked like this: * Work until ~9 PM * Go home * Work on Traveleon * Weekends = building No team. No funding. Just time and persistence. On the technical side, this wasn’t a simple “AI app.” ## Get Sorin’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. Subscribe Subscribe Remember me for faster sign in We had to build: * a full OTA (online travel agency) booking flow * payment handling inside the platform * a hotel ingestion pipeline (static data, availability, pricing) * an Elasticsearch setup for search * deployment pipelines and staging environments All of this as essentially a single developer. Press enter or click to view image in full size  ## Certification: the invisible wall One of the hardest parts wasn’t even coding. It was certification. To actually sell hotel inventory, you need to meet strict requirements from providers. Data accuracy, booking flows, error handling, edge cases — everything gets checked. It’s not something you can hack together. It took time, iteration, and a lot of back-and-forth. But eventually, we passed. And it’s worth saying: the team at ETG was incredibly helpful throughout the process. Without that collaboration, this would have been much harder. ## Launch… and nothing happens We launched. And then… nothing. No users. No bookings. Which, in hindsight, makes perfect sense. Why would someone trust a completely unknown platform with their credit card? This is something a lot of technical founders underestimate. Building the product is only half the battle. Trust is the other half. ## Setbacks and going solo Around that time, my co-founder decided to step away. There’s no drama there — I’m grateful for everything we built together. But it meant one thing: I had to continue alone. That’s a different kind of pressure. Every decision, every bug, every improvement — it’s all on you. ## The turning point: first real booking After a long period of building, fixing, and iterating… the first booking happened. Not a test. Not a friend. A real customer. That moment changes everything. Because it proves one thing: this is not just an idea anymore. ## What I believe now After going through this, my view on AI in travel is very different. Most “AI travel” products today are just wrappers: * chat interfaces * recommendations * affiliate redirects They don’t own the actual transaction. But the real value is not in suggesting. It’s in completing the journey: from intent → to decision → to booking. That’s what we’re building with Traveleon. ## What’s next Right now, Traveleon is still early. We’re starting to see traffic, starting to see bookings, and continuing to improve the product. The goal is simple: make travel planning feel like talking to someone who actually understands what you want — and can act on it instantly. Not just suggest. Execute. If you’re curious, you can check it out at [traveleon.ai](https://traveleon.ai). This is just the beginning. 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