What is GDS in the hotel industry?

A GDS is a worldwide conduit between travel bookers and suppliers, such

as hotels and other accommodation providers. It communicates live
product, price and availability data to travel agents and online booking
engines, and allows for automated transactions.
The GDS is often used to tap into the corporate travel market because it
has the ability to present hotels, flights, and car rentals in one simple
interface which is convenient. Many companies organising trips for their
staff will use the GDS as their preferred booking method.
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.
As early as the 1970s GDSs were some of the first companies in the world
to facilitate business to business (B2B) electronic commerce (now more
commonly known as ecommerce). Airlines realised that by automating the
reservation process for travel agents, they could make the travel agents
more productive and essentially turn them into an extension of the airline’s
salesforce.
Four of the major legacy GDSs are:

Amadeus
Galileo
Sabre
Worldspan
Hoteliers are always looking at ways to increase their reach to attract more
customers, increase revenue, and make a profit. It seems a global
distribution system (GDS) is a valuable channel to achieve this. A GDS
passes on hotel inventory and rates to travel agents and travel sites that
request it and also accepts reservations.

How does the GDS work in travel?

The tangled web of databases has become even more of a labyrinth
following the explosion of online travel agencies (OTAs) like Booking.com,
Expedia and Wotif. 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.
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. 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).
Each GDS has its own set of connection fees and requirements to sign up
if you do this independently, rather than through a technology solution.
What are the major GDS systems?
There are several major global distribution systems that house and
process the majority of data from hotels, airlines, and other distributors.
These include Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, Worldspan, Apollo, and Pegasus.
However there are many technology providers that help hotels tap into
these GDSs and by extension the thousands of travel agents and travellers
across the world.

Amadeus GDS
Amadeus has been operating for over 30 years, building critical solutions
to help airlines, hotels, railways, travel agencies, tour operators and more
to run their business and improve the travel experience.
Amadeus has the biggest global footprint of any of the GDSs, with a
potential reach to millions of guests. The company operates in over 190
markets and employs over 17,000 people.

Sabre GDS
Sabre is a leading technology and data-driven solutions provider helping
airlines, hotels and travel agencies grow their businesses and transform
the traveller experience.
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.
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.
This marketplace is used by travel suppliers including 400 airlines, 175,000
hotels, 200 tour operators, 50 rail carriers, 40 car rental outlets and 17
cruise lines.

Galileo GDS
Galileo traces its roots back to 1971 when United Airlines created its first
computerised central reservation system. 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.
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).

Worldspan GDS
Worldspan is a Travelport platform, and is the technology leader in web-
based travel eCommerce, offering solutions for all facets of travel business
online. 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.
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.

Apollo GDS
As a leading GDS, Apollo provides travel distribution, technologies and
services for thousands of travel companies worldwide, including travel
agencies, corporations, travel suppliers and travel web sites.
The Apollo reservation system was used by United Airlines until 2012,
when it switched to SHARES, a system used by its former Continental
Airlines subsidiary. Apollo is still used by Galileo International (now part of
Travelport GDS) travel agency customers in the United States, Canada,
Mexico, and Japan.

Abacus GDS
Abacus was founded in 1988 and became a leading provider of travel
solutions and services in the Asia Pacific region.
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.
Abacus serves more than 100,000 travel agents across the Asia-Pacific
region’s 59 markets and has both global and uniquely local relationships
with airlines and hotels, including the leading portfolio of low-cost content
and Chinese airline content.

Pegasus GDS
Pegasus strives to remove friction and create simplicity amidst an
otherwise complicated environment. Pegasus Solutions pioneered the
hospitality reservations industry.
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.
How to access leading GDSs with GDS
software

There are a number of technology providers that enable a single point of

entry to the GDS, allowing your hotel access to hundreds of thousands of
travel agents across the globe.
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. The connection will
also come with complete integration with the most popular central
reservation systems and property management systems to eliminate
manual data entry via your channel manager, saving you time and
simplifying the processes. Once signed up you should only have to pay a
transaction fee for confirmed bookings.
Using a software provider to tap into the GDS saves a lot of money and
time. In one fell swoop you can access all the retail and traditional
travel agents you want:
Your rooms are sold through all channels connected through the GDS e.g.
traditional travel agents.
Whoever sells your room earns a standard commission.
Your guest pays you, then you pay your agent.
This is the default model used upon connecting with a GDS.

Is the GDS suited to your hotel?

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.
There are a few specifications which will greatly aid successful GDS
connectivity:

Being centrally located

Being located close to an airport
Room capacity of more than 20 rooms
Lodgings that are set up for corporate markets and not affected by seasons
These requirements are not essential but will be beneficial. It’s also
important to choose an established provider and make sure you ask for
training and support.

Benefits of connecting your hotel to the

GDS
Essentially, the GDS can increase hotel bookings and revenue by placing
hotels on more ‘supermarket shelves’ globally. This approach is
particularly effective at capturing international corporate
travellers. You can gain lucrative international corporate business,
particularly if you’re near a major airport gateway or close to government
or commercial enterprises.
But there are many reasons why a hotel might need a GDS solution
including:

The number of bookings generated through a GDS generally outpaces that of

direct bookings. While direct bookings are rising, and they do represent a
significant amount of revenue for hotel operators, there are still more
bookings being generated through the GDS than through hotel websites.
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. It helps hotels maximise their bookings during any
given time period while also reaching powerful travel markets that are
willing to spend money in order to book the best room available.
A lot of travel agents who specialise in corporate travel use a GDS to get their
clients booked quickly and efficiently.
The GDS can help hotel managers uncover new market segments to promote
their products to. 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.
More travel agents are relying on the GDS to find the best places for their
clients to stay. Every year, more agents are realising that this is the best
way to easily connect with hotel properties from around the world. Through
the GDS, the agents have access to live rates and availability, and they
can easily book rooms for their clients.
When you complete your hotel description comprehensively, the GDS
improves search positioning and displays your brand messaging during the
search and booking process, which means travel agents are more easily
able to source your hotel for their clients.
The GDS is indeed a unique and direct marketing tool for your hotel.

Hotel management tips for the GDS

To get the most out of a GDS connection, it’s important you connect in the
right way. This means choosing a provider that can offer a comprehensive
range of GDS services.
Here’s a checklist to ensure you’re using the GDS to its full potential:
1. Pooled inventory
With a GDS connection that supports pooled inventory, you can market all
of your rooms to all of your distribution channels at one time. Without this
feature available, you will be forced to separate your inventory based on
the distribution channel, which can prevent you from maximising your
bookings and increasing your revenue.
2. Commission-free structure
Your GDS should help you maximise your bookings and increase your
revenue, not deplete you of the revenue you should be earning per
booking. 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. Integration capabilities
It’s imperative you have the capability for the GDS to integrate completely
with your existing PMS, online booking engine and channel manager. This
simplifies the process for you and allows you to effectively implement and
manage your distribution strategy.
4. Comprehensive reporting
Your GDS software should help you make the best decisions regarding
your marketing strategy and distribution plan. Select a provider that offers
comprehensive reporting tools that allow you to view and evaluate your
booking data.
5. Ability to target specific markets
 A GDS gives you the opportunity to discover and tap into the most
powerful and motivated market segments. You should be able to filter your
access based on the geographical location and also specific types of
travellers.
6. No lengthy contracts
Look for a provider that allows you to trial the GDS for a short time and
measure results before continuing your subscription.
7. Simple and affordable connection
Each GDS has its own set of connection fees and requirements to sign up.
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. In a matter of moments, you will be
partnered with Sabre, Travelport, Amadeus and many more!
You also need to get a few things right regarding the way you represent
your hotel on the GDS. Most prominent is your hotel description, which will
act as your hotel’s electronic brochure. This provides travel agents with
your property description, hotel amenities and information about local
attractions.
Make sure you do a good job of providing and describing:

A general overview of your hotel

Amenities, facilities, and services
Location and address
Directions and transportation
Area attractions
Room type names
Room type descriptions
Take note of your presentation, too. Travel agents generally prefer a
bulleted format and condensed information that can be reviewed quickly.
How to use the GDS to capture cruise travel
bookings at your hotel

At first glance it may seem like the hotel and cruise industries are quite
alike. A ship is just a floating hotel, right? Wrong, they’re actually
considerably different, with separate inventory systems, staffing processes,
purchasing and selling methods, and distribution strategies.
Cruises tend to rely on more conventional channels like travel agents to
reach and convert guests.
Even though the sectors are incompatible, their customers are not
dissimilar and there is often an opportunity for a crossover of business.
With the cruise industry currently in a state of growth, it represents a
chance for hotels to get a slice of the revenue.
The cruise industry is booming
The cruise market is definitely expanding, with global revenue now at $40
billion. Every harbour city in the world has a cruise ship docked outside
and with everything from super cruises to niche adventure cruises,
travellers are finding them a more accessible form of holiday.
It appears travel agents are driving most of this success, with 70% of
cruise bookings made via this channel. Travel agents offer expertise,
advice, and personal service; which is needed for cruise passengers.
 Why it’s relevant to hotels
Hotels are essentially able to share in some of the same customers cruises
attract because of the ‘cruise-and-stay’ phenomenon. 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. This almost acts as a double-holiday for travellers who want to spend
some more time on land exploring new cities.
Using a GDS to make your hotel visible
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. Hotels need to be on travel agents’ radars if they
want to drive extra bookings.

Key Takeaways
A GDS is a worldwide conduit between travel bookers and suppliers, such
as hotels and other accommodation providers

Four of the major legacy GDSs are: Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Worldspan
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.
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