In recent years the internet has changed the way hotel accommodations work, as firms are easily able to reach a global audience. A GDS or Global Distribution System was created to help hotels get greater exposure online. This is a computer network that offers information on room descriptions, rates, deals and inventory, and is sent directly to airlines, car rental companies and most importantly travel agents. This is a superb system that offers real-time updates so that travel agents can book quickly and easily. There are numerous benefits when using a GDS including that it helps residences get a larger amount of customers.
It allows accommodations the chance to offer wonderful packages that include hotel, air ticket and special events. A hotel GDS system does actually cost hotels some money to provide their details, which includes a one off sign-up fee and a recurring annual cost. There are also commission fees to be paid to the individual Online Travel Agency (OTA) when any reservations are made. This may seem like plenty to pay out, but the results are impressive and companies will not regret signing up to this deal. It is considerably better to have a hotel filled with guests, so working with a GDS is absolutely necessary for accommodations.
Choosing the correct GDS is vital and companies should consider what is right for their firm. An accommodation should get a GDS that supports pooled inventory and that can market all of the rooms to every distribution channel at one time. It is important that companies try and find a GDS that is commission-free and does not charge for delivering the booking to the property management system (PMS). There must also be great integration capabilities that ensure that a GDS works well with a PMS, online booking engine and channel manager. A GDS must allow firms to target specific markets and tap into new areas for more bookings.
There are many benefits to partnering with a GDS including the chance to increase online exposure, and the real-time connectivity really helps with finding new guest groups that could be interested in a property. A GDS helps hotel companies to not have to do the time-consuming things they did before when they perhaps entered bookings in manually. This helps to avoid double-booking as the GDS is automatically integrated to the PMS. Firms should consider hiring a professional hospitality marketing agency, as it can help them learn about the benefits of a GDS and aid them in creating a wonderful hotel website.
The incredible experts at World Hotel Marketing can definitely help with creating a superb website for residences. They can also pair up hotels with leading channel managers such as Rate Tiger, Parity Rate, XYZT and Ezyield. Hotel firms will need to expose themselves to a GDS because it is a guaranteed way to gain customers. This means once they have the guests they can encourage them to directly book on the site to reduce commission costs.
