CASE STUDY

AI
Authority
Activation

CLIENT: CLUB WYNDHAM

Original research can move a brand from an isolated AI citation to a directly linked source — one that AI platforms cite by name and point straight to the brand’s own content. We partnered with Club Wyndham on a Talker Pulse Signal activation, adding an AI-visibility layer to a data-driven earned media campaign that appealed to people, publishers and AI systems.

As AI platforms play a more important role in travel discovery and vacation planning, brands risk being left out of the answers that shape where people decide to stay. Club Wyndham wanted to know if a research study could help close that gap, and keep closing it over time. Three months later, it had. Here’s what happened…

How Club Wyndham became an AI-recommended choice for group travel across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.

Opportunity

AI platforms are starting to play an increasingly important part in how people discover, plan and book travel. A recent AI Traffic report by Adobe Insights, revealed a significant increase in AI-driven traffic to U.S. travel and retail websites. In May 2026, traffic from AI sources to travel sites grew by 194% year-over-year and had risen by over 2,200% since October 2024, when Adobe began tracking that metric.

Club Wyndham wanted to understand whether original research could help the brand become a trusted, recommended source on group travel accommodation. Not just visible in AI answers, but shaping the decisions AI systems help travelers make.

Approach

Club Wyndham partnered with Talker to develop a custom research study exploring the tension between spending time with other people and the need for personal space on group vacations. The study introduced a new concept: The Vacation Compatibility Gap.

Our Talker Research survey of 2,000 Americans who travel with loved ones identified how shared space affects trip length, group harmony and accommodation choice, including why multibedroom, villa-style stays help resolve the tension. To maximize discoverability, the campaign was deployed using Talker Pulse™, our AI visibility framework that combines original research, owned content, earned media and citation-building strategies designed to help brands become more visible within AI-generated answers.

Results

Within three months, Club Wyndham achieved:

✓ Increased visibility across leading AI platforms, with direct links to brand content

✓ From 2 to 18 direct brand citations across evidence captures

✓ Presence across Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity

✓ Expansion from 1 of 5 to 5 of 5 active prompt categories, including recommendation-level answers

✓ AI systems recommending Club Wyndham’s core accommodation format, multi-bedroom villas, as the solution to group travel tension

✓ Over 200 earned media mentions alongside measurable AI search impact

Most PR campaigns measure whether people saw the story. This activation measured whether AI systems learned from it, and started recommending the brand because of it. Here’s what the data showed…

AI visibility results

Metric	Baseline, April 2026	3 months after launch
AI visibility score	2 of 15 responses	18 of 20 evidence captures
Direct brand citations	2	18
AI platforms attributing Club Wyndham	1 of 5 (Perplexity only)	5 of 5
Active prompt categories	1 of 5	5 of 5
Recommendation visibility	None	Active

How AI platforms cited Club Wyndham

Google AI Overviews

PROMPT USED

Are travelers more likely to stay longer in multi-bedroom accommodation than in smaller spaces?

Google AI Overviews connected multi-bedroom accommodation directly to longer trip length, citing Club Wyndham’s research to support the recommendation. The citation linked directly to the data-driven content on the brand’s site.

Perplexity

PROMPT USED

What percentage of Americans think they are the perfect vacation roommate, and how many say sharing space causes arguments?

Perplexity cited Club Wyndham directly while surfacing the study’s roommate and shared-space statistics (73% / 49%), and referenced a separate earned media pickup of the story alongside the primary source. This shows the research propagated through both citation and coverage in the same answer.

Gemini

PROMPT USED

What is the Vacation Compatibility Gap in travel and why does it happen?

Gemini defined the Vacation Compatibility Gap and explained why it happens, using Club Wyndham’s research as the evidence throughout. It cited the study and two key statistics, linking directly to the brand’s content. It’s a clear example of an AI platform using brand-commissioned research to answer the question.

ChatGPT

PROMPT USED

How much alone time does the average person need each day while traveling with family or friends?

ChatGPT answered with Club Wyndham’s research cited directly and reinforced the study’s core statistics: two hours of desired alone time daily, 77% saying personal space reduces tension, and 68% saying alone time helps them feel more connected to their group.