In the present date of online sales, where physically existing travel agent shops / kiosks are losing importance and a new trend of bookings through online travel portals & airline reservation systems, is developing very fast. This has created huge opportunity for travel technology companies to build great online reservation systems (airline reservation system, hotel reservation system, & holiday packages reservation system) with top GDS systems / Global Distribution Systems. Apart from cutting edge technology, the user engagement model, displaying the vest pricing and offers are key points for any reservation system to succeed. Airline reservation system, commonly known as ARS, is generally considered to be the user side system for any airline or GDS. It consists of the exchange of data through the GDS system, which consolidates the worldwide airline data and share through unique web services API. This is an effective and efficient way of consolidating the global airlines availability and pricing, which is combined together with best GUI interface and published for end users on any airline reservation system (GDS based).
In online travel services marketing & sales, airline reservation system is a part of comprehensive travel reservation system, which consist-off hotel reservation system, transfer system and sightseeing module. GDS system, which is known as global distribution system is the interface between a travel reservation system and the end airlines, because it consolidates the data including the availability and pricing. The end buyers can check the availability and do the booking, which in turn is forwarded to airlines console through GDS. Advanced airline reservation systems offer the features like oneway, roundtrip, multi-destinations all together. Thus also providing the end users the better deals / offers on every booking, they do. Most of the reservation systems are also offering the dynamic packages like airline + hotel, hotel + cars, hotels + holidays packages, clubbing the packages together. This helps the buyers to plan the travel in a better way. Amadeus, Galileo / Travelport, Sabre and Abacus are among the top GDS systems available today. GDS consolidates the data for airlines, hotels, cars, packages and cruises. This consolidated data, is then shared to end travel reservation software / travel portals through their proprietary web services APIs. Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects.
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Global Distribution System / GDS System is computerized and centralized web service that provide travel related transactions covering airline reservation, hotel reservation, cruise reservation and car rentals. In brief, central reservation systems that book and process the PNR for global airlines are known as Global Distribution Systems / GDS Systems. Originally, GDS systems were set up for airline reservations but later its extended to process hotels, cars, cruise and holiday packages. GDS system makes it convenient for users to purchase tickets from different airlines or providers thereby forming the backbone of internet based travel booking services. GDS system reaches out to more than 300,000 plus IATA registered travel agents powered by four major GDS networks like Sabre, Amadeus, Worldspan and Galileo. Thus the GDS systems today, are used by travel agents and online customers all over the world to book flights, hotels, rentals and other travel related services. The key point here is that any GDS system will not hold the inventory, but the inventory is held on vendor’s reservation system itself as GDS has real-time access to the vendor’s database.
GDS can also be understood as a network operated by a company that enables automated transactions between booking agents and vendors so as to provide travel related services to end consumers. A GDS system usually links rates, services, bookings consolidating products and services across the major travel sectors like hotel reservations, car rentals, airline reservations and other activities. GDS system’s primary customers are mainly travel agents, who are either following OTA model or using a web based software to connect to GDS. To understand, how global distribution system works, take for example the case of Amadeus GDS. Amadeus is used globally by over 90,000 travel agency locations and over 32,000 airline sales offices for distribution and selling of travel services. This service processes more than 480 million transactions per day, which is huge and over 3 million total bookings per day. GDS along with Online Distribution Data or ODD in the form of connectivity modules allow hotels to connect with Travel agents and online customers. GDS are owned and operated as joint ventures by major airlines, hotel groups, companies and car rentals. Sometimes they are also called as automated reservation system or ARS or computerized reservation system or CRS. Modern GDS system typically allow users to take advantage of booking hotel rooms, rental cars, airline tickets, as well as for other activities like outdoor tours. They also provide access to railway and bus reservations in some segments of markets, although these are not always integrated with the main system. For many years, GDS had a dominating position and role in the travel sector. To avoid high GDS fees airlines have started to distribute flights directly from their websites through web services or APIs, thus bypassing GDS to a large extent, another way of bypassing is by facilitating direct connections to the travel agencies. Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects. Online hotel booking system software saw a consistent growth in the last few years, more because of increased usage of internet and huge growth of smartphones and mobile devices. This has created an opportunity for travel management companies to develop and deploy online hotel booking system for end users and B2B agents. The whole process of calling the hotels directly and doing the bookings manually has changed to opening a hotel portal, searching for the best deals and booking it directly to get an instant confirmation. Hotels /motels and resorts are also benefited as they don’t have a-lot of unused inventory to sell at throw away prices. For the B2C user perspective, below is work flow, which they see during the booking process-
The whole online hotel booking system being 100% web based model, it was profitable rather than conservative method. Major business models, B2C, B2B, B2B2B and B2B2C are used widely across the globe. There have been a consistent debate about, which one is better but most of the leading travel agencies are actually using both. Professional travel portal development companies, which are offering online hotel booking system are now clubbing the system with mobile apps based on android and iOS operating systems. Most of the working and corporate professionals prefer to get the booking done on the go and thus mobile apps are far more helpful rather than web version. Online hotel booking systems which are openly definable and customizable to cater to their specific business needs. Multilingual hotel booking systems are widely used in USA, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Dubai UAE, India and Singapore. A combo of robust hotel booking system and mobile app can certainly keep you ahead of competitors. Regarding Author: Author is a senior business analyst and an expert in travel portal development and marketing strategy implementation. Online travel software means a web based online reservation system to book the travel related services. OTA also stands for online travel agency, which means a travel agency operating business through online process. Over the last five years, mobile apps have seen great surge in terms of usage. iPhone and Android devices are almost in every hand and people are browsing the information more than ever. So travel agencies are seeking the services of mobile app development companies to build them a best in class tool. Online travel software offers search and booking facilities of flights, hotels, transfers, sightseeing, cars, cruises and holiday packages. Ticketing systems powers real-time booking of travel deals. Mobile apps use the same web services, which are used by travel software and bring the desired information for the end user. A travel software is a web based system to store & retrieve travel related contents including flights, hotels, transfers, sightseeing and other services. Mobile apps are connected to the same database and access the web services from the GDS & APIs directly. The data may come from the ticketing system's database or it may come from the Global Distribution Systems, hotel APIs providers or third party suppliers. Ticketing system may process the transactions related to flights, accommodations, transfers, cars, cruise and other travel related services. There are three kinds of travel software systems, which are most widely used today.
A travel software, while issuing any ticket connects to primary flights / hotels / cars data to find real time availability and pricing. Once the availability is confirmed, users can proceed to make payment to confirm the booking. This whole process is automated and end users get the booking confirmation / PNR or voucher in no-time after making the payment. Below are distinct advantages of travel ticketing system.
Same advantages are extended through the mobile apps, which does not only help in making the booking process easier but also help in brand recall. Regarding Author: Author is a senior business analyst and an expert in travel software development and marketing strategy implementation. People are travelling more and more, for business, leisure and even just for the sake of it. All, for various reasons, don’t always approach the bog travel agencies to book their flight tickets and reserve hotel rooms. Many resort to local and independent travel agents whom they know well. But the small and medium players have to keep pace with the ever-changing trends in the travel industry. If you are aspiring to start an online travel agency of your own or to expand your present travel business, below are some important points Travel business has changed a lot in recent times. The travel agencies no longer just informs the customer about the availability of the flights, their schedule, issue the ticket and get commission from the airline. Now with the online travel agency software, customers can book online. That’s why most of the travel startups are actually following the OTA model. With these online travel software, new doors leading to profit have been opened for travel agencies. You can turn to customized package tours, holiday packages, cruises, hotel packages, tours for your locale or some specific places, and so on. You can work on your own or for another agency. You can specialize in pilgrimages, leisure travel, business travel or any niche ones. You select your sector and then you can start your own travel agency with your niche offerings. Focusing on what best you can offer, is the key to success. Best hotels in a specific geography, top sightseeing and transfer tours. You can give them personalized service. This will make the customer take you as a reliable agency and they will feel more secure during their travel. Your customers should feel confident that you will arrange everything possible for them: hire a car, find their favorite cuisine, and so on. Here are some points in starting a new travel agency:
Regarding Author: Author is a senior business analyst and an expert in travel software development and marketing strategy implementation. How far does the integration of GDS has helped in shaping the new era of travel technology?27/9/2016 The reliance on the GDS systems including Amadeus gds have increased significantly over the years. Travel agencies across the world, are more and more using global distribution systems (GDS). GDS systems are enabled to provide online travel deals and data through a single source. A more traditional way of calling the provider to confirm the booking, was used, which took considerable efforts and time per booking. Today, latest travel technologies from the leading consolidators (aggregators) including Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan have become popular among the travel agencies and services providers. Out of all, Amadeus GDS has emerged as the most preferred by travel agents around the world to make flights, hotels, car rentals, holiday packages, ferry, cruises or other travel services booking. The volume of the ticket bookings through Amadeus system such that all the leading airlines are actually connected with Amadeus GDS system. A growing travel agency must integrate Amadeus gds web services on travel website. Apart from the generic travel contents, Amadeus GDS web services provides availability, pricing, details and online reservation module to travel agencies. Nowadays, travellers prefer a one-stop service, and request rich information to make a right decision. Information from the GDS system helps them to navigate, select and book, what they like. The travel agent has to provide detailed, real-time information to enable the consumer to choose an option that is suited to all his/her needs. Amadeus travel system just makes everything easy. Amadeus had maintained its position as the global leader in travel technology and travel distribution solutions for tourism industry, by constantly introducing innovations. Set of solutions like e power suites, web services, APIs and other value added services, let client choose – what they like. Amadeus tools are built to deliver the professional travel booking solutions. It helps the agents to deliver comprehensive travel itineraries quickly and efficiently. For travel technology companies also, Amadeus GDS is a top choice and companies can deliver the custom made solutions to travel agents. With great technical support, that it offers – things can be big for Amadeus. Integrating Amadeus gds web services will definitely take the travel agency to another level, as it can access the huge set of travel contents governed by Amadeus GDS. Regarding Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects. The reliance on the GDS systems including Amadeus gds have increased significantly over the years. Travel agencies across the world, are more and more using global distribution systems (GDS). GDS systems are enabled to provide online travel deals and data through a single source. A more traditional way of calling the provider to confirm the booking, was used, which took considerable efforts and time per booking. Today, latest travel technologies from the leading consolidators (aggregators) including Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan have become popular among the travel agencies and services providers. Out of all, Amadeus GDS has emerged as the most preferred by travel agents around the world to make flights, hotels, car rentals, holiday packages, ferry, cruises or other travel services booking. The volume of the ticket bookings through Amadeus system such that all the leading airlines are actually connected with Amadeus GDS system. A growing travel agency must integrate Amadeus gds web services on travel website. Apart from the generic travel contents, Amadeus GDS web services provides availability, pricing, details and online reservation module to travel agencies. Nowadays, travellers prefer a one-stop service, and request rich information to make a right decision. Information from the GDS system helps them to navigate, select and book, what they like. The travel agent has to provide detailed, real-time information to enable the consumer to choose an option that is suited to all his/her needs. Amadeus travel system just makes everything easy.
Amadeus had maintained its position as the global leader in travel technology and travel distribution solutions for tourism industry, by constantly introducing innovations. Set of solutions like e power suites, web services, APIs and other value added services, let client choose – what they like. Amadeus tools are built to deliver the professional travel booking solutions. It helps the agents to deliver comprehensive travel itineraries quickly and efficiently. For travel technology companies also, Amadeus GDS is a top choice and companies can deliver the custom made solutions to travel agents. With great technical support, that it offers – things can be big for Amadeus. Integrating Amadeus gds web services will definitely take the travel agency to another level, as it can access the huge set of travel contents governed by Amadeus GDS. Regarding Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects. How we can improve customer engagement through the latest travel technological advancements?27/9/2016 The internet and the proliferation of smart-phones have transformed the way consumers reserve hotels and accommodation. This drastic change in consumer behavior has led to an up-rise in online bookings around the world and inherently meant a transformation in how travel agencies help their customers book hotel rooms. Travel agencies with hotel booking systems are getting more business. Hotels also benefit from hotel booking systems as they get more rooms booked, thus avoiding the prospect of rooms remain vacant. For the B2C user perspective, below is work flow, which they see during the booking process-
The whole online hotel booking system being 100% web based model, it was profitable rather than conservative method. Major business models, B2C, B2B, B2B2B and B2B2C are used widely across the globe. There have been a consistent debate about, which one is better but most of the leading travel agencies are actually using both. Professional travel portal development companies, which are offering online hotel booking system are now clubbing the system with mobile apps based on android and iOS operating systems. Most of the working and corporate professionals prefer to get the booking done on the go and thus mobile apps are far more helpful rather than web version. Online hotel booking systems which are openly definable and customizable to cater to their specific business needs. Multilingual hotel booking systems are widely used in USA, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Dubai UAE, India and Singapore. A combo of robust hotel booking system and mobile app can certainly keep you ahead of competitors. Regarding Author: Author is a senior business analyst and an expert in travel portal development and marketing strategy implementation. Travel Agency Software is a web based travel booking system. OTA, which stands for online travel agency, are basically the travel company, which uses most of the online processes for bookings. Over the last few years, we saw the growing OTAs, focussing and excelling the online reservation process using top travel agency software. The growth has been great in GDS and Non GDS, both the categories. We also simultaneously saw growing travel technology companies, which are competing in developing and delivering the best in class airline booking systems, hotel booking systems, car booking systems and cruise systems. Travel technology companies have come up with certain very innovative ideas about the search and sort algorithm to integrate several GDS and hotel API providers. The way, online travel model is growing, it is very much required for any travel management company to partner with leading travel agency software development company with in-depth experience in dealing with GDS and API Integration. Online travel agency software / travel portals today, does not only showcase the inventory, but they create most formidable travel booking platform. Travellers can log to the online travel portal and search / book the deals at any point of time. With so many online travel agency software platforms available, it is mandatory to build the custom features to create a niche for your business. One must choose a solution that integrates easily with the existing travel website and provides a great value to the end clients. To choose the top travel agency software company, start with know-hows of the company and then start digging the detail. This is because a company with enough experience API integration and GDS Integration can provide you with a better service and will be able to bring the live certification process quickly. You should make sure the experience of that travel technology company in successful travel reservation system deployment and specially matching something like yours and then go through the product demo. If everything comes positive then great or else the search is on. To decide upon this should be given ample amount of time as this can prove to be the most important decision for your business. To know how to choose best travel technology company for your travel reservation system, one should look for these features in the features list of that company:
Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects. Over the last decade, we saw the growing rates of hotel booking systems across the globe, GDS and Non GDS – in both the categories. We also simultaneously saw growing travel technology companies, which are competing in developing and delivering the best in class hotel booking systems, hotel CRS systems, hotel reservation systems and hotel extranet. Travel technology companies have come up with certain very innovative ideas about the search and sort algorithm to integrate several GDS and hotel API providers. With such a momentum, it is very much required for any travel management company to partner with leading travel technology company with in-depth experience in dealing with GDS and API Integration. Robust hotel booking systems don’t only showcase the great inventory and offerings effectively, but also provide a quick and easy add to cart option to ensure the user experience is as enjoyable as possible and attract more and more buyers towards the online booking system. With so many hotel booking systems available, it is mandatory to build the custom features to create a niche for your business. One must choose a solution that integrates easily with the existing travel website and provides a great solution to the end clients. To choose the best travel technology company after short listing it according to your travel portal attribute list, the know-hows of the company and details are inevitable. This is because a company with enough experience API integration and GDS Integration can provide you with a better service and will be able to bring the live certification process quickly. You should make sure the experience of that travel technology company in successful travel reservation system deployment and specially matching something like yours and then go through the product demo. Hotel booking system demo is important, as one must see in detail as to what’s ready to offer and what can be customised. API integration, being a complex process, its always advisable to go for a travel technology company, which has experience in integrating several hotel APIs and GDS web services. If everything comes positive then great or else the search is on. To decide upon this should be given ample amount of time as this can prove to be the most important decision for your business. To know how to choose best travel technology company for your travel reservation system, one should look for these features in the features list of that company:
Author: Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects. |
AuthorPROVAB TECHNOSOFT is an award winning travel technology company , delivering B2B / B2C travel software, travel CRM, accounting software, car rental software and mobility solutions to global travel & hospitality companies. ArchivesCategories
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