To facilitate the business trip, corporate travel managers arrange for employees’ travel and lodging. They must find the ideal hotel or flight, negotiate the cost, take into account employee preferences, and adhere to the company’s travel policy, among other difficult tasks. GDS can quickly and easily handle all of this. Whenever we discuss what a GDS system is, we’re referring to a system that serves as a conduit between online travel agencies and travel booking options like hotels, flights, and ground transportation. Travel managers can book and reserve business travel instantly and in real time with the help of GDS.
What exactly is a GDS system?
The conventional paper-based reservation system was revolutionized by American Airlines. In 1960, American Airlines collaborated with IBM to create an electronic reservations system that would speed up and simplify the booking process.
In 1970, Westin became the first business in the hospitality industry to use an electronic booking system. When North American and European electronic reservation systems merged in 1992, the Global Distribution System was born.
The GDS booking system, also known as the Global Distribution System, is a global computerized network of reservation inventory that provides access to airlines, hotels, and car rental companies for travel managers, travel management companies, and travel agencies. For travel agents to investigate various services in the travel industry, such as travel and lodging, GDS system training is crucial.
By viewing the real-time availability of travel services along with product information and prices, travelers can take advantage of automated transactions. The unified portal of the Global Distribution System can help travel and hospitality businesses showcase their products to a wide range of online travel agencies and corporate travel bookers.
What is the role of GDS in travel?
Hotel, flight, and tour reservations can be made using the Global Distribution System’s computerized platform. The service provider of the GDS reservation system receives administrative fees from the travel and hospitality industry. These fees are reasonable given the wide exposure their services and goods receive across a variety of online travel agencies and other travel booking sites.
The GDS system for travel agents links vendors for booking travel and lodging with the aid of real-time information. This connects travel agencies to travel inventories. Travel arrangements can be made using real-time availability and price information thanks to dynamic pricing and automatic inventory updates.
The Global Distribution System provides travel agents with the necessary data to speed up booking. It removes the item from inventory and updates the supplier’s system. Due to the real-time completion of the booking and inventory updating by the GDS, vendors and travel agents do not directly interact with one another.
Advantages of a GDS
The Global Distribution system offers numerous advantages to suppliers and travel agents in the tourism and hospitality industries.
- Complete the booking process quickly with this time-saving method.
- No need to speak with specific vendors
- Travel service providers can improve the services’ online visibility across numerous travel agencies.
- Ensures that big hotel chains and independent hotels are on equal footing.
- Puts a vast selection of travel options at your disposal
- Travel agents have direct access to the reservation systems of various travel suppliers, such as airlines and hotels.
- In addition to hotels and airlines, there is the simple access to a wide range of travel services like tours, rail tickets, cruises, and car rentals.
- The target audience for travel services can be expanded to include business travelers.
- Multiple clients can be served simultaneously by travel agents, increasing profits.
- Travel agents are not required to process intricate vendor contracts.
What are the primary GDS platforms?
There are numerous GDS options on the market. However, these are the top four GDS platforms:
1. Amadeus
The largest GDS provider and one that has been extensively used for more than three decades is Amadeus. Its API integration produces the best search results, improving the portal’s services in the process.
2. Sabre
The hotel and airline industries both benefit from the widespread use of Sabre, a data-driven system. In a number of industries, such as revenue management, mobile itinerary tools, and online travel agencies, it is a pioneer.
3. Galileo
In 1987, it was developed. You can use Galileo to reserve lodging and tickets for trips like flights, cruises, and car rentals. Another important advantage of Galileo is that it assists hotel owners with the global distribution of their rooms.
4. Worldspan
Worldspan offers solutions for all facets of the online travel industry. It is a pioneer in web-based travel eCommerce technology and a part of the Travelport GDS platform. It offers technologies and services to a huge variety of travel agencies around the world.
The significance of GDS to travel agents
Using the Global Distribution System, travel agents can increase the scope of their clientele by adding corporate clients and tourists from other countries. The GDS enables OTAs to expand their reach internationally and improve the travel shopping experience to build their brand.
By assisting independent travel agents in their battle with online travel agencies, the Global Distribution System reduces marketing expenses. The GDS flight reservation system guarantees price transparency and offers real-time information to maximize the use of promotional rates.
