Travel GDS Systems
What is Travel GDS Systems?
The term "global distribution system" refers to a computerized network used by travel agents and other travel industry professionals to arrange travel services such as airline tickets, hotel rooms, and car rentals. GDSs are most often used in the tourist industry, namely by airlines, hotels, and car rental firms.
The Global Distribution System (GDS) is an online system that bridges the global gap between tour operators and travel suppliers by offering centralized services such as airline ticket reservations, car rental, hotel room bookings, and more. It provides global data, pricing, inventory, offers, real-time availability of airlines, hotel rooms, car rental, bus tickets, and many more services to make the travel industry more informatic and sophisticated.
How does a global distribution system work?
Travel agents and other travel industry professionals generally utilize these systems to access a wide range of travel alternatives and make bookings on behalf of their customers. Travel GDS platforms aggregate inventory, availability, price, and other desired data and provide access to agents, OTAs, IBEs, and other channels.
However, if you own a large hotel chain with multiple locations or target international travelers, a GDS can help you reach a broader audience and generate reservations. When a travel agency or other user wants to book a travel service using a GDS, they typically provide trip data such as location, dates, and several passengers.
Most Popular Travel GDS Systems
Amadeus GDS Systems
A complete travel technology platform that provides booking, reservation, and ticketing services to airlines, hotels, and car rental companies. Amadeus is a leading transaction processor and distribution system in the travel and tourism industry. It is essentially a one-stop shop for fully automating a trip booking system.
Flights: All GDSs, including Amadeus, provide the standard flight search and booking capability. Amadeus also offers corporate travel services (which are beneficial for TMCs) and combined train and air booking.
Hotels: Amadeus provides basic hotel booking features, including search and pricing details. It also has a hotelier GDS that connects to all major GDS.
Cars: Amadeus offers car rentals and airport shuttle/transfer services.
Cruise: Amadeus Cruise Web Services offers wide cruise booking availability with transfers, special services, excursions, bus availability, and more. Aside from standard booking, it also allows for changes and cancellations.
Railways: Amadeus accepts rail bookings that include regular searches and tickets and certain supplementary services like lodging.
Insurance: One of the ways Amadeus differs from other GDSs is that it offers insurance shopping in addition to booking. It connects OTAs and retail agencies with hundreds of global and local insurance providers, allowing them to generate insurance papers with pre-populated information.
Sabre GDS Systems
Sabre is a global leader in technology and data-driven solutions that help airlines, hotels, and travel agencies develop their businesses while also revolutionizing the traveler experience. Travel suppliers use this network, including around 400 airlines, 200,000 hotels, 200 tour operators, 50 rail carriers, 40 car rental shops, and 17 cruise lines. Sabre is widely regarded as a pioneer in the fields of online travel agencies, corporate booking tools, revenue management, and web and mobile itinerary tools, to mention a few.
Flights: Sabre provides significant flight booking tools, such as mileage count, seat maps, queue activities, etc.
Hotels: Sabre has limited hotel data availability, although it does offer basic hotel search, booking, cancellation, and access to loyalty program data.
Car Rentals: Sabre provides many APIs for car rentals, allowing you to construct a full search and booking platform. It computes prices based on length and fees, does exact searches, and searches for unique needs.
Cruises: Sabre provides access to complete cruise content, including interactive maps and cabin images.
Railways: Sabre allows travelers to book rail tickets, look up station codes, and arrange rail trips.
Travelport GDS Systems
It owns the Galileo, Worldspan, and Apollo systems. A GDS operated by Travelport provides innovative travel technology solutions such as booking, ticketing, and marketing. Galileo GDS System (Global distribution system) is one of the most prominent travel content suppliers. The Galileo XML API integration consolidates worldwide travel data from several providers onto a single platform. It assists travelers in locating the best deals on all aspects of travel. It covers booking flights, cruises, hotel rooms, trains, and rental vehicles all around the globe.
Flights: Travelport allows you to book direct flights, connecting air and rail connections, and auxiliary services such as luggage, meals, and insurance.
Hotels: Travelport provides bargains from non-GDS sources like Agoda, Tourico, etc. It also offers support savings to business clients.
Cars: Travelport's car rental feature is standard: search, pricing, images, vehicle data, and cancellation.
Cruises: Travelport exclusively offers cruise booking options to travel brokers who request direct booking through a web-based platform.
Railways: Travelport is largely focused on providing integrated air and railway booking availability, including data on best connections with flights, ticketing air-rail as a single ticket, and arranging train transfers straight to and from an airport.
Worldspan GDS
Worldspan, a prominent GDS, provides travel distribution, technology, and services to thousands of travel organizations worldwide, including travel agents, enterprises, suppliers, and websites. Worldspan improves global travel distribution and transaction processing with industry-first fares, pricing, shopping, and booking technology, as well as a portfolio of interactive shopping solutions that help travel firms decrease costs, boost efficiency, and generate profits.
These GDS systems are used by travel agencies, airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and other travel and hospitality providers to handle bookings, reservations, and other aspects of travel. Consumers frequently utilize them to search for and book online travel arrangements.
Why are Travel GDS Systems Important to The Travel Industry?
A GDS system also gives travel agents access to travel data, allowing them to evaluate the prices and facilities given by different airlines, car rentals, and hotels to find the best deal for their clients.
When starting a business, several factors travel agencies and firms must consider, one of which is obtaining the correct set of tools. The Global Distribution System is one such tool. It provides a single reservation system that permits real-time access to hotel rates and availability, pricing for flights, railways, and rental car businesses.
GDS has been providing the travel sector with dependability, security, speed, and accuracy to airlines, hotels, car rentals, and bus tickets, among other things. It is critical for independent travel agencies who can benefit hugely from being linked with one to increase the number of online reservations.
Benefits of a GDS to travel agents
Timesaving option to complete the entire booking process
No need to contact individual suppliers
Travel service providers can enhance the online visibility of services across many travel agencies.
Ensures a levelled playing field between individual hotels and large hotel chains.
Provides a vast inventory of travel options at your fingertips.
Travel agents gain direct access to booking systems of travel vendors, like airlines and hotels
Easy accessibility to a broad spectrum of travel services like tours, rail tickets, cruises, and car rentals besides hotels and airlines.
Connecting Your Hotel to All Global Distribution Networks
Hotel management aims to increase the number of direct reservations they receive; having a global distribution system helps them to attract a large number of customers. This is because the GDS serves as a single point of contact for hundreds of travel agents worldwide, allowing them to book hotel rooms for their customers. Furthermore, a GDS might be particularly beneficial for a hotel looking to attract business or corporate travelers.
It is a business-to-business system that enables firms to keep track of the availability of travel arrangements, such as hotel rooms, to offer them to clients who are planning to travel. They give a centralized site for many travel companies and travel agents to obtain accurate information about travel reservation availability and price.
There are several benefits of using a global distribution system (GDS) for your hotel:
Increased Visibility
Easier Bookings
Improved efficiency
Increased revenue
Improved data management
The future of GDS
For years, GDS has provided dependability, security, speed, and accuracy to airlines, hotels, auto rentals, bus tickets, and many other industries. According to IATA research, the future of GDS is bright, and it will build a robust e-commerce platform for the travel sector. If GDSs continue to meet the ever-changing demands of the airline and hotel industries, they will dominate the travel industry.
A Global Distribution System (GDS) is an integral component of the success of a travel booking engine.
Features of Travel GDS Systems
24/7 real-time access to a vast global inventory of hotel rooms, cars, airlines, buses, tours, and other travel-related items.
Access for both B2C and B2B travel booking engines.
The GDS software can easily be integrated into Android, iOS, and Web platforms.
Provides access to real-time availability and pricing to make online bookings.
Offers the best commissions and fares to travel agencies.
GDS makes managing and maintaining information easy.
It facilitates a single-window interface for all your marketing requirements.
For more details, Pls visit our website:
