Uber has formally entered the hotel business, allowing customers in the United States to book accommodations directly through its app. This strategic expansion, announced during the company's annual Go — Get event held in New York City, signifies a bold move beyond its foundational ride-hailing services and into a broader lifestyle platform. The introduction of hotel bookings, among other features, positions Uber as an increasingly comprehensive service provider, aiming to integrate deeply into its users' daily lives and travel plans.
At launch, the new booking functionality grants users access to an extensive network of over 700,000 hotels globally, facilitated through a direct partnership with Expedia Group. This collaboration leverages a long-standing relationship, as Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi previously led Expedia Group for 12 years. Further expanding its travel inventory, Uber plans to incorporate vacation rental options from startup Vrbo later this year. To incentivize usage and deepen engagement, Uber One subscribers are offered 20% discounts on a rolling list of 10,000 hotels booked through the app, alongside receiving 10% back in Uber Credits on all accommodation bookings.
This foray into the hospitality sector solidifies Uber's stated ambition to transform into an 'everything app,' seamlessly integrating various services into a single user interface. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi articulated this vision during the event, stating that Uber is no longer just for rides or eats, but for an encompassing travel and delivery experience, allowing users to 'go, get, and now travel.' This strategic pivot reflects a broader trend among tech giants to create super — apps that cater to diverse consumer needs.
For the AI community, the underlying story of Uber's swift product expansion is a compelling demonstration of agentic AI's transformative power in software development. Praveen Neppalli Naga, Uber's Chief Technology Officer, revealed that features like hotel bookings, which traditionally would take a year or more to develop and bring to market, were brought from concept to deployment within months. This accelerated timeline was directly attributed to the adoption of agentic AI tools, specifically mentioning Cursor, which fundamentally reset how software is built at the company.
Naga described this shift, which began in late 2023 with the emergence of agentic AI, as a 'fundamental reset' and a 'new way of building software.' He emphasized that the development process for such features typically involves extensive stages of initial development, building, testing, and debugging before a customer launch. Agentic AI workflows have effectively cut this lengthy process in half, and the company anticipates even faster development cycles as more engineers adopt these advanced tools. This addresses a long-standing challenge at Uber, where, as Naga noted, the problem is not a lack of ideas, but often a scarcity of time or resources to bring those ideas to fruition.
Beyond hotel bookings, agentic AI also played a role in the rapid development of several other new products unveiled at the Go — Get event. These include an AI-powered voice booking feature and a widespread search tool designed to enhance user experience. Additionally, Uber launched 'Travel Mode,' an in-app guide covering tourist hotspots, local favorites, and other helpful information for visitors. This travel functionality extends to Uber Eats, offering a 'room service' hub for commonly forgotten items, and eventually incorporating curated dining recommendations with the option to book tables via OpenTable. Another innovative feature, 'Eats for the Way,' allows Uber Black customers to pre-order drinks or snacks that will be waiting in their vehicle upon arrival.
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