Reasons why a Hotel should be listed on the GDS and IDS
March 27, 2008
Running a hospitality business is not easy. Today, with so many channels available – Print, Agents, Online Travel Websites, Global Distribution system, Direct to Customer Sales, getting an optimum mix that will maximize your revPAR requires foresight. In such a scenario, having specialized partners can make the difference. This article focuses on the Global Distribution System and the Internet Distribution System and the reasons why you should list your hotel on them.
Consumer demand for online bookings: In the past few years, the demand for online bookings has grown rapidly and hotels can’t afford to ignore this explosive growth opportunity.
Increase in Sales: Put your hotel in front of more potential guests and watch room night’s jump.
Now, that we know why it is vital for hotels to get listed on the GDS and IDS. Let’s discuss the reasons why hotels are not already listed and what has changed in the past two years to eliminate these issues.
There are two reasons why most hotels are not listed on the GDS and IDS - Time Consuming Process and Investment Involved.
Time Consuming Process: Getting listed on the GDS and IDS was a complicated where hotels needed to sign up with each GDS company and IDS company individually. This means just the sign up process could take months.
Expense or Investment Involved: Individual sign up processes meant individual fees for each listing i.e. hotels needed to pay seperate premiums to each company. This made getting get listed on the GDS and IDS a very expensive venture that was not a feasible option for small and mid-sized hotels. This meant, that having a presence on the GDS and the IDS was limited to large hotel properties and hotel chains.
Today, despite the high costs and complex sigh up process, it is no longer impossible for small and mid sized hotels. ResAvenue in association with Pegasus has changed this scenario by offering its partner hotels Free Connectivity to the leading global distribution systems - Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus and Worldspan and as well as hundreds of online travel distributors, including market leaders Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline and Hotwire through the Pegasus Switch. Hotels who sign up for the ResAvenue solution can now reach 99% of the world’s travel agents free of cost. This means that even small and mid sized hotels can now reach every connected travel agent and hundreds of travel Web sites around the world.
What is ResAvenue?
ResAvenue is an online booking engine with an in-built payment gateway that simply plugs into your hotel website and converts it into a powerful marketing tool which can instantly close a sale at anytime and from anywhere in the world. It has a comprehensive range of online tools that will enable you to manage all of its distribution channels - FIT sales, Corporate sales, GSA or Remote Sales Offices sales, Travel Agent and Room Wholesale Agent sales, Tour Operator sales through a single window interface through any PC with an internet connection.
What will ResAvenue help you do?
ResAvenue offers to ‘Free Listing’ on major Global Distribution Systems and thousands of Internet Distribution Systems which would normally cost you approximately 1000-2000$ depending on your hotel’s location (country) and property type. Moreover, ResAvenue only charges you a flat fee of 13.5$ per GDS booking and 11.5$ per IDS booking. This is considerably lower than the flat fee + commission (as negotiated) charged by travel agents or the 10% commission (varies) charged by other service providers.ResAvenue will also help you market your properties, make room inventory available and generate reservations through multiple distribution channels, including travel agencies, tour operators and online consumers…all through a single, cost-effective interface. Hotels who sign up for the ResAvenue solution can now reach 99% of the world’s travel agents free of cost. This cost effective single window interface solution is a marketing opportunity of a lifetime. With ResAvenue, you can stay ahead of competitors!
March 27, 2008
Running a hospitality business is not easy. Today, with so many channels available – Print, Agents, Online Travel Websites, Global Distribution system, Direct to Customer Sales, getting an optimum mix that will maximize your revPAR requires foresight. In such a scenario, having specialized partners can make the difference. This article focuses on the Global Distribution System and the Internet Distribution System and the reasons why you should list your hotel on them.
Consumer demand for online bookings: In the past few years, the demand for online bookings has grown rapidly and hotels can’t afford to ignore this explosive growth opportunity.
- Forrester Research predicts that travel will remain the number one online retail category and is expected to grow to $119 billion by 2010. (Source: Hotelmarketing.com)
- In 2007, 60% of online bookings were done through the Global Distribution System (GDS) and the Internet Distribution System (IDS) in 2007. This makes the Global Distribution System and the Internet Distribution System important elements of a hotel’s distribution mix.
Increase in Sales: Put your hotel in front of more potential guests and watch room night’s jump.
- 66%of leisure travelers who are airline and hotel users now go exclusively to the Internet when planning a vacation, 57% report making reservations online. (Source: YPB&R/Y 2007 National Leisure Travel Monitor™).
- An April 2007 survey conducted for Expedia by Harris Interactive asked travelers where they would turn for accurate information for summer travel planning. Online travel agency was the top response (52%) followed by family or friend recommendation (45%). Rounding out the responses were travel guide books (25%), travel community sites (19%), magazines and newspapers (19%), traditional travel agents (17%) and convention and visitor bureaus (16%).
Now, that we know why it is vital for hotels to get listed on the GDS and IDS. Let’s discuss the reasons why hotels are not already listed and what has changed in the past two years to eliminate these issues.
There are two reasons why most hotels are not listed on the GDS and IDS - Time Consuming Process and Investment Involved.
Time Consuming Process: Getting listed on the GDS and IDS was a complicated where hotels needed to sign up with each GDS company and IDS company individually. This means just the sign up process could take months.
Expense or Investment Involved: Individual sign up processes meant individual fees for each listing i.e. hotels needed to pay seperate premiums to each company. This made getting get listed on the GDS and IDS a very expensive venture that was not a feasible option for small and mid-sized hotels. This meant, that having a presence on the GDS and the IDS was limited to large hotel properties and hotel chains.
Today, despite the high costs and complex sigh up process, it is no longer impossible for small and mid sized hotels. ResAvenue in association with Pegasus has changed this scenario by offering its partner hotels Free Connectivity to the leading global distribution systems - Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus and Worldspan and as well as hundreds of online travel distributors, including market leaders Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline and Hotwire through the Pegasus Switch. Hotels who sign up for the ResAvenue solution can now reach 99% of the world’s travel agents free of cost. This means that even small and mid sized hotels can now reach every connected travel agent and hundreds of travel Web sites around the world.
What is ResAvenue?
ResAvenue is an online booking engine with an in-built payment gateway that simply plugs into your hotel website and converts it into a powerful marketing tool which can instantly close a sale at anytime and from anywhere in the world. It has a comprehensive range of online tools that will enable you to manage all of its distribution channels - FIT sales, Corporate sales, GSA or Remote Sales Offices sales, Travel Agent and Room Wholesale Agent sales, Tour Operator sales through a single window interface through any PC with an internet connection.
What will ResAvenue help you do?
ResAvenue offers to ‘Free Listing’ on major Global Distribution Systems and thousands of Internet Distribution Systems which would normally cost you approximately 1000-2000$ depending on your hotel’s location (country) and property type. Moreover, ResAvenue only charges you a flat fee of 13.5$ per GDS booking and 11.5$ per IDS booking. This is considerably lower than the flat fee + commission (as negotiated) charged by travel agents or the 10% commission (varies) charged by other service providers.ResAvenue will also help you market your properties, make room inventory available and generate reservations through multiple distribution channels, including travel agencies, tour operators and online consumers…all through a single, cost-effective interface. Hotels who sign up for the ResAvenue solution can now reach 99% of the world’s travel agents free of cost. This cost effective single window interface solution is a marketing opportunity of a lifetime. With ResAvenue, you can stay ahead of competitors!
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