June 22, 2026, 3:35 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Dreamy pools, pristine beaches, and rooms that exude luxury significantly influence many travelers’ decisions when booking their trips online. However, there might be more behind some hotel images than just skillful photography. A recent analysis shows how often AI is apparently already being used in accommodation photos–with potential consequences for travelers.
Analysis of Thousands of Hotel Photos
About one in five images of accommodations on travel platforms shows signs of AI generation or subsequent editing with artificial intelligence. This is the result of a study by ABCD Agency and ContentGuard.me, as reported by BILD.
For the evaluation, 4,778 photos were analyzed. The basis was a sample of a total of 25,550 hotel images from 100 randomly selected hotels each in Crete, Mallorca, Sicily, Usedom, and Alanya, as well as in Berlin and Hamburg.
Crete with the Most Notable Hotel Photos
Among the destinations, Crete topped the list for suspected AI cases. There, 23 percent of hotel photos showed signs of artificial intelligence use. Of the 4,139 images examined, 960 were deemed suspicious.
In Mallorca, the proportion was significantly lower. There, about one in eleven photos, or 9 percent, were notable. In Alanya, the rate was 13 percent, in Usedom 12 percent, and in Sicily 11 percent.
However, the highest overall values were recorded in Hamburg with 36 percent and Berlin with 27 percent. According to experts, this could be because city hotels more frequently use AI-generated depictions of well-known landmarks like the Hamburg Michel or the Berlin TV Tower.
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AI Can Influence Travelers’ Expectations
According to experts, the main issue is that AI enhancements can make rooms appear more upscale than they actually are. Beaches might seem closer, pools larger, and the sea a more intense blue.
The result: Travelers may experience disappointments on-site, demand refunds, or choose other providers.
“Hotel photos have already been optimized with traditional image editing in the past. However, AI image editing takes this optimization to a new level,” says Jens Kramosch, deepfake expert and founder of ContentGuard.me.
He warns, “Travelers should take a closer look.” Additionally, edits on platforms must be transparently labeled in the future.
EU Regulation to Introduce Labeling Requirement
With the “EU AI Act,” the handling of AI-generated or heavily AI-edited images within the European Union will be regulated in a binding manner in the future.
From August 2, 2026, such images must be labeled on booking platforms. The requirements also apply to smaller hotels.