GDS System, Global Distribution System Benefits
GDS System (Global distribution system) is a distribution system used by travel management companies and online travel agents to book airline tickets, hotels, cars and cruises. A GDS system enables the process of automated transaction between the third parties and the booking agents, which in turn helps in providing travel related services to the end-users. Global distribution system connects services, rates and products and services that could be booked in all the three sectors of travel industry. By the three sectors of travel industry I mean online airline reservation, online hotel reservation and online car-rental booking.
Global Distribution System Integration
Integrating any of the major GDS systems, Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo, Worldspan, Abacus and Infini, will provide following benefits:
Easy Connectivity
GDS system providers started selling the inventories through the mode of XMLs / APIs. Using the airline XML, Hotel XML and Car XML – travel companies could connect to GDS systems to check online availability and do the bookings. This also helped the travel agents to integrate these XMLs (GDS system) on their own website in the form of API’s to get their airline booking system / hotel booking system operational for B2C users.
Automatic Content Update
Integrating GDS system allows the update of inventory information (availability / pricing) automatically. All the agents and B2C users, get the same seamless information.
Own White label Solution
As the travel industry is changing to online mode from offline, travel agents have started asking for while label software / white label solution from the hotel suppliers and GDS system providers to sell the hotels and airline / flight tickets with their own brands, logo and contact information.
24×7 Bookings Worldwide
By having global distribution system connectivity to more and more travel agents, customers and corporate across the world can view and book flight, hotel, tours and transfers on 24 X 7 basis.
Broadened Market Reach
GDS system is extensively used to broaden the market reach. A single global distribution system is connected through several B2B, B2C, B2E and B2B2C websites.
Why travel portals and online booking software are going for merchant accounts and mcommerce way?
A merchant account is a specific bank account intended to hold funds, received from credit and debit card sales through online payment interfaces on B2C travel software and Travel POS. If you’ve ever used your card and actually wondered where the funds just disappeared to, they went into a merchant account. When a customer pays for booking travel products using credit or debit card, money from his account is immediately transferred to the travel agent’s merchant account. From there, money will be transferred out to a normal business bank account through a standard protocol.
