http://www.provab.com - A global distribution system (GDS) is a database capable of storing and updating enormous information on the supply of a wide range of tourism products worldwide. GDSs enable the travel agents to access, in real-time, availability, features and prices of flight tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises, ferry reservations, trains and other services. With a Global distribution system integrated to their website, travel agencies can allow their customers to search and book travel products and services and issue tickets too. Looking for a Travel Portal – Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html Global Distribution System Travel agencies are greatly aided by GDS systems because they are enabled to offer their customers rates, inventory, discounts, rooms, and descriptions on a real-time basis. In other words, global distribution systems are intermediaries between travel product suppliers –and travel retailers who sell tickets to the final consumer. Main features of GDS: • Report availability and prices of travel products • Reserve user requests. • Sale and ticketing • Track sales (extend customer’s stay, change of flights, etc). • Facilitates control management for travel agencies). Evolution of GDS The prototype of GDS in the travel industry can be seen in the 1950s as the traditional legacy business model which inter-operated between airline vendors. Computer reservation systems (CRS), at the initial stage, was used by the airline companies as an automated booking system, but later, travel agents were given access. Around 1980, CRS enabled travel agents to connect to various travel providers in a single system. At this stage, in addition to flights, hotels and car rentals were included. CRS acquired much strength by late 80s being so helpful to both suppliers and distributors. In the 90s, computerized reservation systems of airlines were transformed to global distribution systems (GDS). So we see that GDS has developed from airline alliances and ended up becoming independent business units with product internationalization and introduction of new products, especially hotel rooms. GDS integration for travel agencies and suppliers of travel products Travel agencies must have full access to a global distribution system GDS. To get connected to a GDS, travel agencies need a contract. This will enable the travel agents to provide an astonishing amount of travel product rates and information to their customers, at the lowest possible rates. An experienced travel technology company can integrate any GDS to the computer reservation system or website of a travel agency. It’s critical also for the properties to be on a GDS. Travelers now go to travel portals to find travel products. So hotels, car rentals, etc, have to be there to get Internet visibility and, thus, more reservations. A GDS allows real-time access to inventory system of a hotel with the current prices, discounts, room types, facilities like Wi-Fi and different aspects of interest to the potential customer. Owners can hire a good travel technology company to get access to the GDS of their choice. A property can be connected only in one GDS provider. If the property owner wants to change the provider, he can cancel the existing provider and activate another with a switch letter. How much does it cost?
To integrate GDS to your system, you’ll have to pay a one-time setup cost and pay a monthly charge of a minimum amount per reservation. Major GDS systems Amadeus was started in 1987 by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa, and SAS in order to create a European GDS, by fusing their CRSs. In 1989, seven more airlines joined Amadeus and began to allow travel agents to book flights through neutral screens. It is now the largest leisure package distributor in the world. Through Amadeus GDS integration, a travel agent can offer travel products from 430 airlines in 195 countries, 32 car rental companies in 37,918 locations, 20 cruise lines and 300,000 hotel properties. More than 100,000 travel agencies are connected with Amadeus GDS. Sabre, a joint venture by American Airlines and IBM, was started in 1960. In 1970, Sabre system began to be installed in travel agencies. Now 55,000 travel agencies use Sabre GDS to book products from 400 airlines, 88,000 hotels, 24 car rental brands, and 13 cruise lines. Galileo and Worldspan are the other two major GDSs. There are also third party consolidators like Sahara, Infini (Japan), Axess (Japan), Tapas (Korea), Fantasia (South Pacific), and Abacus (Asia/Pacific) that cater to particular regions or countries. The big consolidators also include such as Expedia, Orbitz (Merchant program registration needed), Hotels.com, Travelocity, AAA, Hotwire, Priceline and TravelWeb. The future of GDS As a tool of of content aggregation, GDS is here to stay and be more powerful. Novel technological solutions in middleware continue to appear. Global distribution systems have a long way to go.
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Starting a travel business from home is a good idea indeed. You need only a little investment. It is low-risk too. Just that you must be very enthusiastic to offer your clients best in class travel deals. For B2C Travel Portal Development – Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html The first step in your home based endeavor is finding the right host agency. It’s better to have a host agency. It will keep your spending low, give you big commissions, and do your backend office. Moreover, if you are a novice in travel industry, they will train you too and assist you in running the business. Most of the host agencies have their online travel software in place, which you can also get access off. With the host agency, you need not have an ARC, CLIA, or IATAN number which is costly and difficult to get for a startup. The host agency’s accreditation number is enough and it will be your parent company. If you use the GDS, the host will take care of the ARC report which will be time-saving to you. They will also help you to get a travel agent license as required by your region.
Experts recommend to restrict your travel business first to some niche rather than offering all airlines and hotels in the world. It may be for a particular region or a special holiday package. But don’t market just one product, try two or three. Or you can cater to the travel needs of business travelers to a particular country. Or try your luck in booking charter planes for the high-end corporate travelers or billionaires. Name your travel agency accordingly. Try to offer something, which is little different from the generic node. You are in travel business to make money by providing quality, reliable service to your customers. Have separate accounts and track business expenses. To get your home-based travel agency clicked, you must have a working knowledge of travel agency software, customer service experience and experience in traveling to the destinations you deal in. Keep on having very satisfied clients and serve your clients to the max. Word of mouth does wonders in travel business. Regarding Author: Author is a senior business analyst and an expert in travel portal development and marketing strategy implementation. Now travel agencies have their own B2C & B2B travel portal, some even have a travel mobile app just for their customers. But still most of the travel agencies in developing countries have websites, which don’t possess ecommerce functionalities. They just gives you some information on who started the travel agency and when, little bit more about services and packages. But you can’t book a flight ticket or hotel room through it. And the travel agencies think they have a good “online presence”. Over the last decade, a lot have changed in the way, people used to search and book travels deals. There is a clear trend in OTA model and usage of travel technology solutions have gone higher. Travel technology companies are working hand in hand with travel agencies to make their processes online almost 100%. Starting from the consultation needed for IATA accreditation, to GDS and APIs access – travel technology companies are sharing their wealth of experience to make the process quicker. In general, if one is looking for travel technology solutions – its always better to find a professional travel technology company. They analyze each travel agent’s business environment. They do a thorough study of the travel products and services they want to market. Who are their suppliers and what is the nature of their customers? What are their short-term and long-term business ambitions? Travel technology companies help them in devising an effective online strategy taking into account all the above. They enhance their digital presence through Twitter, Facebook, email, etc. They develop travel portal using the best of travel technology and web services available. Setting up engines for booking flights, hotels, etc, as per the requirements. The suppliers are integrated. Then the content management is started. No travel agency can wish away the negative impacts if they just try to avoid adopting technology to improve its business. More and more people resort to online booking or booking through mobile apps. Agencies improve their office work by automating them. No travel agency can stand apart from this avalanche of travel technology. Regarding Author: Author is a senior business analyst and an expert in travel portal development and marketing strategy implementation. |
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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