Uber customers in the United States can now book hotels directly through the app, one of several new features announced Wednesday that go beyond the company’s original mission of ride-hailing and deeper into the lives of its users.
Uber announced a new hotel booking feature Wednesday during its brand-heavy annual Go-Get event in New York City. At launch, Uber customers will have access to more than 700,000 hotels worldwide in partnership with Expedia Group, the travel company led by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi for 12 years.
Uber said rental listings from startup Vrbo will be added to the app later this year.
And in terms of selling more customers to its Uber One subscription, Uber said members will receive 20% discounts at a list of 10,000 hotels when booked through the app. Members will also earn 10% Uber Credits on every booking.
“We are no longer just a boarding app, or two apps, either [a] a family of ride-hailing and dining apps,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi during the company’s event.
“Uber is now the app for everything, where you can go, you can find and now you can go,” he said.
Hotel reservations, a new AI-powered voice booking feature, and a widespread search tool are among several new products unveiled Wednesday that have gone from concept to launch in the app within months thanks to AI tools like Cursor, Uber chief technology officer Praveen Neppalli Naga told TechCrunch.
“What we’ve seen in the last few months is a fundamental reset, a new way of building software,” Naga said, adding that the change began late last year with the emergence of agent AI.
Naga said a feature like hotel booking would have taken at least a year to develop – a long process that includes initial development, build, then testing and fine-tuning before rolling it out to customers. That time is cut in half; and now you expect more developers to adopt these AI workflows, it will move very quickly.
“Our problems in general at Uber are not a problem of lack of ideas, there are many things we want to build,” he said. “It’s always a problem, we don’t have enough time or resources to build these things.”
During its Go-Get event, Uber also introduced a tour mode, which provides users with a guide that includes tourist attractions, local favorites, and other useful information directly related to where they are visiting. Uber has expanded the travel mode to its Uber Eats delivery product as well, adding a “room service” hub that features often-forgotten items. This feature will eventually include curated restaurant recommendations and the option to reserve a table through OpenTable.
The company is also introducing a feature called “Eats for the Way,” which allows customers who have reserved Uber Black to re-order a drink or snack that will be in the car when it arrives.
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