number of hotel rooms available, number of flight seats available, or number of cars available) to service providers. A Global Distribution System, or GDS, is a computerized network that facilitates transactions between travel service providers and travel agents (both online travel agents like Expedia and human travel agents). Global Distribution System. Through online marketing with TripAdvisor, Trivago, ... (Global Business Travel), HRG (Global Hotel Programme) and WIN Travel Network. Sign up to our blog and receive regular updates on the content you're into. We connect your property with one of the industry’s largest collection of online distribution systems and the best global online booking sites. Many companies organising trips for their staff will use the GDS as their preferred booking method. What is the meaning / definition of Global Distribution System or GDS in the hospitality industry?. Would you like to continue browsing in Spanish, or view the home page? The main purpose of a global distribution system is to help travel agents search for hotel accommodations that fit a set of criteria. We distribute your property’s reservation information in real-time via all Global Distribution Systems to all traditional travel agencies and online travel agents in the world. … Amadeus has the biggest global footprint of any of the GDSs, with a potential reach to millions of guests. Before you investigate the true benefits of the GDS, you first need to know it’s relevant to you and a good fit for your hotel. Using a GDS to make your hotel visible Even though the sectors are incompatible, their customers are not dissimilar and there is often an opportunity for a crossover of business. Now, I do not need an employee to update the inventory everyday. Hotels generate more revenue through a GDS because it places the hotel’s information, availability and rates in prominent locations where it is easy for travel agents to find. Due to the high market penetration of the Sabre and Apollo systems, owned by American Airlines and United Airlines, respectively, Worldspan and Galileo were created by other airline groups in an attempt to gain market share in the computer reservation system market. More than 600,000 travel agents plug into the GDS every day on behalf of companies to book flights, hotels, car rentals and destination activities. As a leading GDS, Worldspan provides travel distribution, technologies and services for thousands of travel companies worldwide, including travel agencies, corporations, travel suppliers and travel websites. Global distribution systems (GDSs) are the travel industry data networks that connect service providers (airlines, hotels, cruises, car rental companies, tour companies) with travel agents. Worldspan transforms global travel distribution and transaction processing with industry-first fares, pricing, shopping and booking technologies, and a portfolio of interactive shopping tools that enable travel companies to reduce costs, increase productivity and build revenues. A ship is just a floating hotel, right? Hotels need to be on travel agents’ radars if they want to drive extra bookings. Here’s a checklist to ensure you’re using the GDS to its full potential: With a GDS connection that supports pooled inventory, you can market all of your rooms to all of your distribution channels at one time. 6. Want insights delivered straight to your inbox? Global distribution systems (GDS) have been a mainstay in the travel industry since travel agents began using the systems in the 1970s. Global Distribution System Market in Brief. Your guest pays you, then you pay your agent. As soon as a reservation is made on the GDS or an online booking website, the channel manager instantly reduces inventory across all channels, including the hotel’s own website, and automatically delivers the reservation details back into the PMS or central reservation system (CRS). Stay updated with HotelSimply Front Desk Manager Move in the cloud with state of the art system. 3. SHR Windsurfer CRS gives hotels access to a powerful global travel audience by connecting to Global Distribution Systems (GDS) like Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport, greatly increasing their visibility to guests, helping to increase bookings. At first glance it may seem like the hotel and cruise industries are quite alike. Here are some of the best. Every year, more agents are realising that this is the best way to easily connect with hotel properties from around the world. Global distribution system enables the retail travel agency and OTA business models. The company is a market leader in the electronic processing, management, distribution, sales and marketing of hotel inventory, rates and content across different sales channels to include direct bookings via hotels’ branded websites, voice, travel agents (GDS), OTAs and metasearch partners. Most prominent is your hotel description, which will act as your hotel’s electronic brochure. This simplifies the process for you and allows you to effectively implement and manage your distribution strategy. Through the GDS, the agents have access to live rates and availability, and they can easily book rooms for their clients. Complete PMS integration for hotels means that using a distribution system to connect with more travel agents around the world is cost-effective and stress-free. Global Distribution System A distribution channel for reservations that provides worldwide distribution of hotel reservation information and allows selling of hotel reservations around the world, usually accomplished by connecting the hotel reservation system with an airline reservation system ( Eg - Amadeus, Saber, Galileo/Apollo or Worldspan etc.) Fully integrated hotel management systems with seamless global distribution connectivity make it possible for real-time rates and inventory data to be automatically released to a global distribution system (GDS) and then published on connected OTAs so ambitious travelers can easily book their next trip. Cruises tend to rely on more conventional channels like travel agents to reach and convert guests. Live rates and availability are sent from a hotel’s property management system (PMS) directly to the GDS and online booking websites via a channel manager. Improve your occupancy rates by making human travel agents work for you — tap into massive GDS databases, including Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport (Galileo, Worldspan, Apollo) with OnRes simplified GDS connectivity. It appears travel agents are driving most of this success, with 70% of cruise bookings made via this channel. By using the right provider, you eliminate the frustration of signing up with each individual platform, and you can connect to all of the top providers without paying the individual fees. It has been around for more than four decades and has since acquired Travelocity, a popular provider of online travel reservations. Abacus was founded in 1988 and became a leading provider of travel solutions and services in the Asia Pacific region. Because cruise travellers rely heavily on travel agents for their trip arrangements, it’s highly likely any hotel bookings will also be made through this channel. In a matter of moments, you will be partnered with Sabre, Travelport, Amadeus and many more! The latest Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking Index, undertaken by Greenview, examined the industry’s consumption of energy, water and carbon.Â. The major GDS companies are Sabre, Amadeus, Apollo, Galileo, Worldspan, and Abacus. Do not choose a partner that forces you to pay a commission fee simply for delivering the booking to your hotel’s property management system (PMS). 3 Speen Street, Suite 300, Framingham, MA 01701. February was an exciting month for us with the launch our newly designed websites in the Middle East and beyond, great news in the Indian sub-continent as SriLankan Airlines joined the Altéa community, and the fascinating industry debate that took place at the Amadeus Airline Schedules conference. The global distribution system (GDS) market is expected to register a CAGR of 5.5% between 2019 and 2027.The GDS market is projected to be driven by the large and structurally growing travel & tourism sector, and increasing importance and expansion of LCCs. The GDS mainly uses real-time inventory (e.g. Increased Access to Travel Agents for More Bookings. What is the meaning / definition of Global Distribution System or GDS in the hospitality industry?. Without it, the shutters are down. Our Channel Manager detects rate fluctuations and converts currencies instantly which guarantees rate accuracy across all the channels. Global Distribution System Market in Brief. Galileo, Worldspan and Apollo merged in 2008 to create a single entity called Travelport, however the original GDS networks that comprise TP still operate as separate entities. You also need to get a few things right regarding the way you represent your hotel on the GDS. Global Distribution Systems. © 2020 Questex LLC. This is a central reservation system that allows travel agents to access hotel rates and availability as well as prices for flights, trains and rental car companies in real time. This large network is responsible for transmitting the hotel’s room inventory and rates to online travel agencies and sites. It is a business-to-business system used by companies to stay on top of real-time data about the availability of travel arrangements, such as hotel rooms, to sell them to customers planning to travel. Travel agencies traditionally relied on GDS for services, products and rates in order to provide travel-related s… It is a business-to-business system used by companies to stay on top of real-time data about the availability of travel arrangements, such as hotel rooms, to sell them to customers planning to travel. Each GDS has its own set of connection fees and requirements to sign up. The Galileo system was moved from Denver, Colorado, to the Worldspan data centre in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2008, following the merger of Travelport and Worldspan (although they now share the same data centre, they continue to be run as separate systems). The main purpose of a global distribution system is to help travel agents search for hotel accommodations that fit a set of criteria. Hotels and other travel entities can use technology solutions to capitalise on this trend, tapping into all GDSs, including the likes of Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan by Travelport. GDS Global Distribution System. The instant access to bookings online means that hotels are simply notified after a reservation is complete instead of having to accept them manually. Using a software provider to tap into the GDS saves a lot of money and time. Direct connection with no third-party interfaces means immediate rate and inventory updates, one point of support and stable pricing. Sabre is seen as a pioneer for online travel agencies, corporate booking tools, revenue management, and web and mobile itinerary tools, to name a few. Your rooms are sold through all channels connected through the GDS e.g. More travel agents are relying on the GDS to find the best places for their clients to stay. Here's a guide for what to look for. Look for a provider that allows you to trial the GDS for a short time and measure results before continuing your subscription. HotelSimply’s Front Desk Management solution keeps a check on all sold and unsold inventory and also tracks the sources of sale whether through an OTA, website booking engine, travel agent or a walk-in. Through real-time, automated transactions, these companies help us book more than 60 million hotel rooms, 50% of all flights worldwide, and countless cruises, car rentals, and tours. Integration with Property-Management Systems. Global distribution systems are also the back end of most Internet-based travel services. This blog will take you through the ins and outs of OTAs and what they can mean for your hotel. The main purpose of a global distribution system is to help travel agents search for hotel accommodations that fit a set of criteria. The main purpose of a global distribution system is to help travel agents search for hotel accommodations that fit a set of criteria. Guests at the Synergy Chelsea can scan a QR code on a Volara-powered Google Nest Hub to access menus for delivery from Butler Hospitality kitchens. Channel Manager We connect direct! The best systems will connect your hotel directly to the world’s most prominent GDSs – like the ones mentioned above – so you don’t have to worry about signing up to each one individually. global distribution systems Get access to more than 500,000 travel agents globally through @hotelBest | GDS Solution. A GDS is a worldwide conduit between travel bookers and suppliers, such as hotels and other accommodation providers. This means choosing a provider that can offer a comprehensive range of GDS services. Wrong, they’re actually considerably different, with separate inventory systems, staffing processes, purchasing and selling methods, and distribution strategies. When it comes to these hotel bookings, 63 percent of those polled indicated they tend to book away from hotels that don’t offer the best rate on global distribution system channels. Global distribution systems are also the back end of most Internet-based travel services. Instead of the expense and time demands of creating a new marketing campaign, a hotel can immediately access a bigger share of the travel reservation market by signing up with a global distribution system to get in front of more travel agents. It is a business-to-business system used by companies to stay on top of real-time data about the availability of travel arrangements, such as hotel rooms, to sell them to customers planning to travel. Furthermore, many of the leading distribution systems are capable of complete integration with the property-management system, which helps manage the daily operational tasks of a hotel. We connect your property with one of the industry’s largest collection of online distribution systems and the best global online booking sites. Powerful and full featured but easy to learn. This is a central reservation system that allows travel agents to access hotel rates and availability as well as prices for flights, trains and rental car companies in real time. Not only does this benefit the travel services and … Global distribution systems were originally set up for use by the airlines but were later extended to travel agents. Global distribution system connect is important for your hotel to tap beyond the local travel marketplace. The technology allowed agents to easily compare rates and amenities on one, easy-to-use interface. Today, the systems allow users to purchase tickets from multiple different providers or airlines. Our hotel channel manager updates all your hotel inventory details across all your connected OTA channels, hotel global room distribution system and also your website booking engine to boost sales and room occupancy. The company is headquartered in Singapore and owned by Sabre Holdings, after Sabre acquired a full stake off 11 Asian airlines who were holding a majority share. They create a common entry point for multiple travel agencies and travel agents to access accurate information about travel reservation availability and prices. Global distribution systems (GDS) have been a mainstay in the travel industry since travel agents began using the systems in the 1970s. This connective service links buyers with hotels, airlines, and car rental services all in one system. Understanding how a GDS fits into your distribution strategy will help increase your hotel occupancy. It seems a global distribution system (GDS) is a valuable channel to achieve this. Boost your hotel’s share of the global distribution system channel with TravelClick’s Travel Agent GDS Solutions, proven tools that reach travel agents at the point of sale. In many cases, hotel operators discover through the GDS that there are traveller market segments interested in their products that they couldn’t previously reach. Don’t know what a global distribution system is or how to use one to win more bookings and revenue? It is based out of the U.K., but it is mostly used in the U.S market for hotel reservations. Use a + to require a term in results and - to 1. There are several major global distribution systems that house and process the majority of data from hotels, airlines, and other distributors. Online travel agencies (OTAs) are the preferred method of booking trips and accommodation for the majority of travellers. The cruise industry is booming This article will answer all the questions you have. A lot of travel agents who specialise in corporate travel use a GDS to get their clients booked quickly and efficiently. A GDS will be most relevant to you if your hotel is centrally located and/or near an airport, with ties to the corporate market, There are a number of technology providers that enable a single point of entry to the GDS, Make sure you choose a provider with a comprehensive range of GDS services, A GDS can also be used to capture bookings from other travel markets. Download the cheat sheet to see how to use the GDS to attract corporate bookings. exclude terms. We help you navigate the distribution landscape with two-way GDS connectivity to Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus and Worldspan by geographical strength, putting your inventory in front of thousands of agents (and OTAs) worldwide, quickly and seamlessly. Information and translations of global distribution system in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. We connect with Galileo, Worldspan, Amadeus & Sabre. Check your inbox, we've sent you an email. A Global Distribution System (GDS) is a wonderful tool that properties should use to reach customers easily. The history of global distribution systems dates back to the 1960s when a more sophisticated method was needed to keep track of flight schedules, availability, and prices. Almost immediately I could see the increase in business. Cruises do all the hard work to book their guests but often they will arrive a day or two early or depart a day or two after their cruise, booking at hotels for the extra time. GDS (Global Distribution system) is a worldwide computerized system that works as a central point to access all travel related services like booking airline tickets, car rental, hotel … Global Distribution System for Hotels. Why it’s relevant to hotels Therefore the GDS system can link to all the three travel sectors that is airline reservations, hotel reservation and car rentals effectively. This means that a hotel does not have to increase its reservation intake staff in order to receive additional reservations. Sabre Travel Network is its global business-to-business travel marketplace and consists primarily of the GDS and a broad set of solutions that integrate with the GDS. Atul Gupta is a technical project manager for Chetu with more than 11 years of software development experience in the hospitality industry.