HafH Launches 'HafHie,' an AI Assistant, as a New Feature

KabuK Style Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Kenji Sunada; hereinafter 'KabuK Style'), provider of the subscription travel service 'HafH,' launched 'HafHie,' an AI travel assistant, as a new feature on May 16, 2026. Users can simply speak in natural language, such as 'hotels where pets can stay,' 'hotels where children can sleep with parents,' or 'hotels with good access from New Chitose Airport,' and HafHie, the AI assistant for travel in the chat search function, will suggest hotels. The AI service 'HafHCchi,' which allowed travel consultations on the official LINE, has been discontinued with the release of 'HafHie'. ■ Features of the Chat Search Function In addition to conventional structured data such as price, facilities, and location, the AI assistant 'HafHie' analyzes experiential UGC (User Generated Content) including stories from travelers. Through semantic search technology, it has made it possible to search for travel contexts and experiential values that were previously unsearchable, such as 'it was easy to stay with a dog' or 'children were delighted at the aquarium'. Search for hotels with natural conversation By simply conveying conditions in everyday conversational language, such as 'resorts in Okinawa where children can go' or 'business hotels in Osaka where one person can stay,' HafHie will suggest optimal hotels. Learned from over 10,000 stories HafH's stories are a feature for members to share their travel experiences and the charm of accommodations. Over 10,000 stories have been posted daily, and HafHie has learned from them and can now interact with them. The story tag function, released on April 24, 2026, also allows AI to analyze the content of stories and automatically assign tags such as 'breakfast,' 'co-sleeping,' 'hot spring,' and 'solo travel'. April 24, 2026 release information: https://www.hafh.com/topics/26581 ■ Engineer's Comment 'HafHie' was developed with the aim of providing a natural conversational experience, not just a simple search, but as a 'travel consultant.' Even when users haven't decided on a destination, its characteristic is that it can help organize and suggest destinations from vague feelings like 'I want to relax in a hot spring' or 'I want to spend time looking at the ocean.' In development, we focused not only on conversational design utilizing LLM but also on integrating with map UI and hotel data, emphasizing the 'experience of naturally expanding travel ideas.' Instead of overtly showcasing AI, we carefully adjusted the conversation tempo and naturalness of suggestions so that users can feel like they are 'consulting with someone about travel.' It is still evolving, but we hope to nurture it into a service that can increase opportunities for users to travel. To realize the experience where AI understands ambiguous phrases like 'an inn surrounded by nature where one can spend quietly' and finds the optimal one from HafH's database, we designed the mechanism for natural language intent interpretation, meaning-based accommodation search, and encountering a destined inn through conversation from scratch. Instead of narrowing down conditions with a search, the destination is decided through conversation. We hope HafHie will be the first step towards that. ■ KabuK Style Inc. 'HafH (Home away from Home)' is a 'subscription travel service' that allows users to stay at accommodations worldwide for a fixed monthly fee. As of the end of March 2026, it is available in 130 countries and over 1,900 cities, with more than 20,000 facilities (from luxury hotels to traditional inns and guesthouses). https://www.hafh.com ◆ HafH Official Instagram Account https://www.instagram.com/hafhglobal/ ◆ HafH Official X Account https://twitter.com/HafHtheWorld Company Name: KabuK Style Inc. Representative: Representative Director Kenji Sunada Founded: January 8, 2019 (Established February 5, 2018) Service Start: April 1, 2019 Business Activities: Operation of the subscription travel service 'HafH,' travel agency business Travel Agency Registration Number: Commissioner of Japan Tourism Agency Registered Travel Agency No. 2144 (Class 1 Travel Agency) Affiliation: Regular Member of the Japan Association of Travel Agents, IATA Accredited Agent Keywords: