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Hui Chen

What's global distribution system? - 5 views

  • A global distribution system (GDS) represents a computerized system used for managing different transactions within the air travel and hospitality industry. At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved. As a direct consequence to this fact, GDS’ were also implemented for hospitality industry use.
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved.
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved. As a direct consequence to this fact, GDS’ were also implemented for hospitality industry use.
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  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved. As a direct consequence to this fact, GDS’ were also implemented for hospitality industry use.
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved. As a direct consequence to this fact, GDS’ were also implemented for hospitality industry use.
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved. As a direct consequence to this fact, GDS’ were also implemented for hospitality industry use.
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved. As a direct consequence to this fact, GDS’ were also implemented for hospitality industry use.
  • However, due to the fact that GDS’ were originally created to distribute plane tickets, their database structure was specifically designed to store information about this product.
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved.
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved.
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and mor
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved.
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved.
  • However, due to the fact that GDS’ were originally created to distribute plane tickets, their database structure was specifically designed to store information about this product.
  • At first, GDS’ were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved. As a direct consequence to this fact, GDS’ were also implemented for hospitality industry use.
  • The first major impact that GDS had on the travel market was that the number of flights was increased. This led to an increase of competition and therefore travel industry prices fell. Travel agencies were accustomed with receiving a fixed fee (usually 10%) from everything they managed to sell, so once the prices started to fall, they felt threatened with the loss of their earnings. In order to counter this, travel agencies began to offer complimentary products such as car rental, hotel and other related forms of accommodation, bus tickets, vacation packages, yacht rides and even flowers and champagne. This was the first major step towards GDS’ being used within the hospitality industry.
  • As mentioned before, one of the first products distributed by GDS was hotel accommodation. Hotels have loaded the information related to their different types of rooms, description and price categories within the airline reservation system database. When this information became available online, thousand of clients started making bookings all around the world. This fact was advantageous for each participant. Hotels benefited from distributing their products to a larger audience, travel agencies had the opportunity of booking more products through their computerized system and GDS benefited from a growth in booking volume, which helped them to lower operating costs.
  • The first major impact that GDS had on the travel market was that the number of flights was increased. This led to an increase of competition and therefore travel industry prices fell. Travel agencies were accustomed with receiving a fixed fee (usually 10%) from everything they managed to sell, so once the prices started to fall, they felt threatened with the loss of their earnings. In order to counter this, travel agencies began to offer complimentary products such as car rental, hotel and other related forms of accommodation, bus tickets, vacation packages, yacht rides and even flowers and champagne. This was the first major step towards GDS’ being used within the hospitality industry.
  • The first major impact that GDS had on the travel market was that the number of flights was increased. This led to an increase of competition and therefore travel industry prices fell. Travel agencies were accustomed with receiving a fixed fee (usually 10%) from everything they managed to sell, so once the prices started to fall, they felt threatened with the loss of their earnings. In order to counter this, travel agencies began to offer complimentary products such as car rental, hotel and other related forms of accommodation, bus tickets, vacation packages, yacht rides and even flowers and champagne. This was the first major step towards GDS’ being used within the hospitality industry.
  • The first major impact that GDS had on the travel market was that the number of flights was increased. This led to an increase of competition and therefore travel industry prices fell. Travel agencies were accustomed with receiving a fixed fee (usually 10%) from everything they managed to sell, so once the prices started to fall, they felt threatened with the loss of their earnings. In order to counter this, travel agencies began to offer complimentary products such as car rental, hotel and other related forms of accommodation, bus tickets, vacation packages, yacht rides and even flowers and champagne. This was the first major step towards GDS’ being used within the hospitality industry.
  • The first major impact that GDS had on the travel market was that the number of flights was increased. This led to an increase of competition and therefore travel industry prices fell. Travel agencies were accustomed with receiving a fixed fee (usually 10%) from everything they managed to sell, so once the prices started to fall, they felt threatened with the loss of their earnings. In order to counter this, travel agencies began to offer complimentary products such as car rental, hotel and other related forms of accommodation, bus tickets, vacation packages, yacht rides and even flowers and champagne. This was the first major step towards GDS’ being used within the hospitality industry.
  • The first major impact that GDS had on the travel market was that the number of flights was increased. This led to an increase of competition and therefore travel industry prices fell. Travel agencies were accustomed with receiving a fixed fee (usually 10%) from everything they managed to sell, so once the prices started to fall, they felt threatened with the loss of their earnings. In order to counter this, travel agencies began to offer complimentary products such as car rental, hotel and other related forms of accommodation, bus tickets, vacation packages, yacht rides and even flowers and champagne. This was the first major step towards GDS’ being used within the hospitality industry.
  • Nowadays global distribution systems interconnect almost everything within the hospitality industry, from hotels to car rental companies and travel agencies. There are four major GDS available: Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and WorldSpan. Some of the advantages provided by GDS are their availability (99,9% of the time), their response times (up to a fraction of a second), their multiple booking capability, as well as their top of the line architecture. On any given day, a GDS will be capable of accessing over 50000 hotels and approximately 1000 airlines. Through GDS systems, people are able to book various hotel rooms, tours, airline seats, cruises and even limousines.
  • The working idea behind a GDS is this: any GDS provides services to an electronic shop for all information related to travel and reservation-related needs. In other words, the GDS has become a very important distribution channel for any product sold through travel agencies. Basically, if a vendor wants to be sold through travel agents, he must be listed on a GDS
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    The first products distributed by GDS was hotel lodging reservation system, such as different types of rooms, description and price categories with the airline system. GDS has been increased on the travel market, such as number of flights. Travel Agencies (TA) also use GDS to offer complimentary products, such as car rental, hotel and other related forms of accommodation, bus tickets, vacation tickets, yacht rides and even flowers and champagne,That means, GDS has become more important distribution channel for nay product through TA. Also TA had more opportunity of more products their own system and GDS system from increase number of booking volume with lower operating costs. It was the first and major goals of GDS being used in the hospitality industry. Even though hopitality ingustry use GDS system, there are few problems, such as show only simple structure. For example, there are 4 different kinds od room and 3 categories od comfort, it means they have 12 different kinds of combination. Because of the GDS database structure, only there 12 combination could be displayed. It took a while to fit all the multiple types of comport rates, rooms and services in GDS standard database structure. Instead of choosing GDS system, they cans choose other alternative system with develop several computerized system to make a database structure closer to product specification. Nowadays, GDS using all of the hospitality industry from reservation hotel rooms to car rentals and Travel Agencies. Through GDS as globally, people are able to to book different kinds of hotel rooms in different destination all around the world, tours, airline seats, cruises and eeve limousines.
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    Global Distribution System were develop and meant only for the airline reservations. The impact of the GDS on the travel industry is that it increase competition, more flights were available and this reduce cost. With the increase and cost reduction travel agents start to see decrease in their earnings they received from airline sales, so with the GDS they were able to book other services such as hotels and car rentals with airline reservations. With GDS it is much easier and convenient to make a reservation from flight, hotel and car rental because everything is link together.
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    Summary of a global distribution system (GDS) A global distribution system (GDS) represents a computerized system used for managing different transactions within the air travel and hospitality industry. Historically, GDS' were only meant for the air travel reservations but as years have passed, GDS systems became more and more evolved. As a result, GDS' are now implemented for hospitality industry as whole. The first major impact that GDS had on the travel market was that the number of flights increased which led to increase competition among the players and this brought down the overall prices. The main purpose of a GDS is to provide services to an electronic shop for all information related to travel and reservation-related needs and one of the first products distributed by GDS was hotel accommodation. Hotels throughout the market uploaded the information related to their different types of rooms, description and price categories within the airline reservation system database. When this information became available online, thousands of clients started making bookings all around the world. This fact was advantageous for each participant. Hotels provided GDS with a challenge of fitting all the different sizes, styles, amenities, and etc. It took a while to fit all the multiple types of comfort rates, rooms and services in a GDS standardized database structure. A general strategy was therefore needed. Rather than loading hotel products inside the GDS, the accepted solution was to develop several computerized systems with a database structure closer to product specifications. Nowadays global distribution systems interconnect almost everything within the hospitality industry, from hotels to car rental companies and travel agencies. There are four major GDS available: Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and WorldSpan.
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    Looking at these numbers it becomes very clear how important GDS are to the hospitality industry, more rooms booked means increased revenues and more jobs for hospitality professionals. I am sure that this technology will evolve and transform so it is important to stay current and understand how to get the most out of it.
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    What's global distribution system? This question is kind of cliché in our group, but this article gives a very good introduction about GDS and it's quite easy to understand comparing to many other articles introducing GDS. This article tells us: How GDS develops from being used only in airline industry to being generally adopted in hospitality industry; What is the working idea behind the GDS; Four major GDS including Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan; Advantages provided by GDS.
vannia varon

2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year: Tesla Model S - Motor Trend - 1 views

  • Tesla offers three lithium-ion battery packs for the Model S -- 40-kW-hr, 60-kW-hr, and 85-kW-hr -- that are claimed to provide ranges of 140, 200, and 265 miles, respectively. The base 85-kW-hr powertrain delivers a stout 362 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque, while the performance version makes 416 hp and 443 lb-ft.
    • vannia varon
       
      its actually 160, 230 and 300 miles range
  • Tesla Model S Signature Performance version will nail 60 mph in 4.0 seconds and the quarter in 12.4 seconds at 112.5 mph, with a top speed of 133 mph.
  • giant touch screen in the center of the car that controls everything from the air-conditioning to the nav system to the sound system to the car's steering, suspension, and brake regeneration settings.
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  • The best energy consumption figure we've returned is 118 mpg-e for a 212-mile run
  • With a base price of $58,570 (before a federal tax credit of $7500), the 40-kW-hr Model S is competitive with entry-level Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series, and Audi A6.
  • In terms of active safety, the Tesla Model S is at the top of the class.
  • Tesla claims the Model S outperforms federal crash standards, having been impact-tested at 50 mph (the mandatory standard is 35 mph)
  • Tesla's plant in Fremont, California, using Panasonic cells with nickel-cobalt-aluminum cathodes.
  • That the 11 judges unanimously voted the first vehicle designed from the wheels up by a fledgling automaker the 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year should be cause for celebration.
  • Tesla recently unveiled the first five of what it calls its Supercharger stations along routes connecting L.A. to Las Vegas and San Francisco, and S.F. to Reno
  • These Superchargers are veritable electron fire hoses, delivering DC energy directly into the battery at rates up to 80 kW, bypassing the on-board 10-kW (or optional 20-kW) inverter(s), and gaining 150 to 160 miles in range in 30 minutes.
  • and it's permanently free to Model S owners
  • Tesla predicts 100 stations nationwide by 2015.
  • Tesla predicts 100 stations nationwide by 2015.
  • Markus Roder 5pts Dec 10, 2012 @LarryC213 Yes Larry - I agree with you. Clearly, only crowning a Ford F-350 or a revived Hummer as car of the year would have demonstrated Motortrend's lack of bias. I asked myself, though: Why is it, that the other car magazines like this car, too? But no worries, I came up with the answer pretty quiclly: All of them are in the pocket of the evil leftist homo-muzleem tree-hugging conspiracy, eh?  ShareFlag1LikeReply
  • The 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year is one of the quickest American four-doors ever built. It drives like a sports car, eager and agile and instantly responsive. But it's also as smoothly effortless as a Rolls-Royce, can carry almost as much stuff as a Chevy Equinox, and is more efficient than a Toyota Prius.
mellakygg

Cloud Computing Is Crucial To The Future Of Our Societies -- Here's Why - 0 views

  • Cloud will provide the digital infrastructure of tomorrow’s cities, where an estimated 6 billion of the world’s population will live by 2045. Smart elevators and parking lots, driverless cars and drone taxis, trains and subways, farms and power plants -- all will be safer and better managed, thanks to the cloud’s ability to store and analyze data.
  • The cloud will also be transformative for companies, especially small and mid-sized businesses, as data analytics, artificial intelligence and other capabilities become available as services.
  • A utilities cloud will automatically repair faults in the power grid to ensure that homes and businesses get the electricity they need.
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  • A commercial aviation cloud will help airlines manage ground operations such as maintenance, fueling, baggage handling, and cabin cleaning, thereby increasing efficiency and helping flights take off on time.
  • A banking cloud will let financial institutions scan thousands of transactions per second to prevent fraud.
  • The cloud will also help society cope with growing volumes of data. This includes applications like high-definition video, which Huawei estimates will account for 89% of individual user traffic by 2025.
  • The cloud will support emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and help them to adapt to new platforms such as mobile. When smartphone sales overtook sales of PCs in 2011, mobile became the world’s largest computing platform. Naturally, AI has made its way into phones.
  • Because inference needs to process data in real time, all the time, even tomorrow’s super-advanced smartphones won’t be able to meet the computing demands imposed by AI. They’ll have to rely on the processing power of the cloud.
  • In particular, video will feature prominently in tomorrow’s vehicles, providing in-car entertainment, enhancing road safety by allowing drivers to “see through” other vehicles, and making cars more secure. To thwart burglars, vandals and car thieves, many cars now have multiple security cameras. Video footage can be stored on a secure digital card inside the car or beamed up to the cloud.
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    The cloud will provide the digital infrastructure for the cities of tomorrow, where an estimated 6 billion of the world's population will live by 2045. A commercial aviation cloud will help airlines. A utilities cloud will automatically repair faults in the power grid to ensure a smooth supply of power to homes and businesses. A banking cloud will scan thousands of transactions per second to prevent fraud. The cloud will help society cope with growing volumes of data. High definition video will account for 89% of individual user traffic by 2025, of which image and video content will be for non-entertainment purposes. The cloud will support the emerging artificial intelligence technologies which will be adapted to mobile use, notably the cell phones which overlook PC sales in 2011. Although driverless cars are still a ways off, it will be realized soon, thanks to the power of the cloud.
Sophia Yam

Software suites for Valet department - 0 views

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    The first and last impression upon guest check in/out process plays a critical role in guest satisfaction and experience. Throughout the hospitality industry, the Valet department is the first and last department guests interact when they pick up or drop off their car. This article offer some technology and software that the hotel industries can use to enhance guest Valet experience. One of the major problem Valet department face is locating the car and the car keys when the guests come in to pick up their car. To reduce the traffic time that are spend in locating the car and car keys, this article recommend a hand held device that comes with a software suites to enhance guest wait time experience. The Valet attendant would enter guest information which will then transfer this information to the hotel wirelessly. Furthermore, this hand held device could scan the Car VIN number or license plates to eliminate error in typing information into the device. This device also remind Valet attendant to input the location of where the car was parked and confirm that the key are secure. I feel that this device will save Valet attendant time in serving the guests. Attendant will take less time in inputting the number of the license plate and can track the location of where the car was park easier and faster. An Automated parking access and revenue control system is also introduced in the article. This system helps parking facilities save money where guests can process their ticket at the pay station instead of having a cashier to process their ticket upon departures. Guests can pay the bill and leave without making any stop at the exit to make payment. This system will be great amenity for business traveler that have a limited time yet hotel should not use this system to cut labor expenses. Such system should be offer but guest should have the access to talk to a Valet attendant to obtain their bill and provide feedback about their Valet experience and overall hotel exper
Christina Eveillard

Hertz builds mobile strategy with iPhone travel apps - Mobile Commerce Daily - Applicat... - 0 views

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    Hertz Corp. has just launched numerous travel apps for 11 major US cities. These apps let customers plan a trip by browsing content which is cutomized to that city and having it wirelessly sent to the GPS system in their rental car. The apps complement Hertz's NeverLost Gen 5 GPS route-guidance system. While in the car, this service will deliver certain information based on which city they are in and can be taken with them once they leave the car as well. Hertz is using this as an attempt to reach out to potential customers and expand their clientele. In an effort to remain unique, each app includes six categories: Explore, Top Must See, Events, Favorites, Tours, and Neighborhoods. There is also a feature that allows you to track the weather as well as see the nearest restaurants and attractions by simply pointing your iPhone at the horizon. The first app purchased is free and each subsequent app can be downloaded for only $0.99. Hertz already has an app for making reservations and confirmations so these apps are being used to build upon that and take it to the mobile level.  This is smart as people who are renting cars are more likely to be unfamiliar with their whereabouts than when driving their own vehicle. Being able to take GPS voice directions and find specific attractions while outside the car is a step in the right direction for m-commerce.
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    Good for Hertz! They seem to be differentiating themselves from other rental car brands with this unique service to their customers. Its also a good way to capitalize on the immediate needs of their customers who are the perfect target market for this app. I wonder if you can 'hands-free' your mobile device and sync it with the rental car while on that would be extremely helpful!
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    This article talks  the new application that Hertz is introducing on the iPhone to allow customers to plan their trip that can be wires sly  delivered to the GPS system in their Hertz rental car .  This apps have been lauchend for 11 cities so far. Each city app includes six categories: Explore, Top Must See, Events, Favorites, Tours and Neighborhoods. So far the map can be downloaded  for free on the app store. Those apps on the iPhone give herts a chance to advertize  their merchandise to the user of iPhone with age varies .
danikafox

Hotels Charging Up Green Initiatives - 0 views

  • Hotels are going “green” and one of the more unique ways is by installing electric vehicle charging stations.
  • As we all know concern for the environment is a way for hotels to stand out in a crowded marketplace, meet client needs and expectations, and “do the right thing” for the planet.  And
  • charging stations can make a statement and drive business to a property that is way beyond the customer’s current expectations.
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  • “They’re not just an amenity,” says Alex Attia, general manager of The Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Mass., a Preferred Hotel. “It’s what the customer is looking for. It’s convenient for them and gives them another reason to come to our hotel rather than go to another one.”
  • Staying ahead of new and emerging trends is important in the hospitality business. “It keeps us fresh,” says Attia. “Nobody can say we’re out-of-date. We’re up-to-date. We want to be ahead of the game if we can be.” 
  • “We think today’s traveler is more aware and committed to responsible travel, feeling a personal responsibility to lessen their carbon footprint,” says Steve Pinetti, senior vice president, inspiration & creativity for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants. “As hybrid and electric vehicles become more affordable and practical, we see them moving away from being trendy to becoming a mainstay in the years ahead.”
  • Fairmont Pacific Rim, a 377-room luxury property that opened in 2010  in Vancouver, British Columbia, installed a electric vehicle charging station in October.   It’s free for guests to use. “It’s not a marketing tool,” says Samatha Geer, a spokeswoman for Fairmont Pacific Rim.. “It’s about doing the right thing.”
  • “It differentiates the brand. We want our consumers to come to us because we’ve met a lot of their needs. I think it does add value and we don’t charge for it. It’s what we see guests want. It’s a trend we’re seeing.
  • The InterContinental Vienna is taking the trend a step further. It has electric cars for hotel guests and local area residents to rent for a slightly higher price than gas-driven automobiles. The hotel also has a complimentary charging station.
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    This article is about the green initiative of installing electric vehicle charging stations in hotels. Hotels have always considered their concern for the environment as a way to stand out in the market and meet client needs and expectations. Charging stations are not considered just another amenity, they are something the customer is looking for. Drive in business is extremely important to the lodging industry and this technology is what guests are looking for as hybrid and electric vehicles become more affordable and practical.
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    This article deals with the implementation of electric vehicle charging stations in many hotel properties. These charging stations appear to be a big trend and an item that can set a hotel apart from it's competitors. Taking the initiative to be more conscience of their carbon footprint allows properties to relate with guests who feel the same about protecting the planet. Properties such as the Loews Vanderbilt hotel, and the Fontainebleau Miami have installed charging stations and are receive very positive feedback from ,both, guest, who own electric cars and those who do not. Although electric cars are not prevalent in the auto industry there has been an increase in sales and when Auberge Resorts held a study asking guests about electric cars they were surprised to find out that "many had already had them" and that twenty percent said that an electric car would be a future purchase. "Going green" is a huge trend within the hospitality industry and hotels will continue to implement advances in "green" technology in order to be set apart from the rest.
Yujia Xie

Priceline Partner Network To Provide Hotel, Flight And Car Rental Deals For Grandparent... - 1 views

  • The ability to book published-price hotel rooms through 245,000 hotels around the world
  • The ability to book published-price hotel rooms through 245,000 hotels around the world. Grandparents.com Travel customers also will have access to Priceline's extensive database of hotel freebies, including instant discounts, free breakfast, free Internet access, and more.
  • "As The Ultimate Resource for Grandparents, we strive to deliver top quality products and services to our audience and we continue to build our offerings with superior savings on the best deals on the Internet - most recently through our partnership with Priceline Partner Network. We are pleased to grant our very first Grandparents.com Recommended� Award for best in class providers of travel services to Priceline.com," said Jeffrey Mahl, President.
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  • Grandparents.com website visitors will have the best travel services we have to offer," said Randy Schartner, President of the Priceline Partner Network. "We believe that Priceline's broad array of travel services, which are also focused on delivering savings, will fit well with Grandparents.com's mission to provide savings to its members. We appreciate Grandparents.com's trust and confidence in Priceline to serve its members and website users and are honored to receive the first Grandparents.com Recommended� Award."
  • Working behind the scenes, PPN powers travel websites for a spectrum of affinity groups, airlines and hotel management firms and chains. PPN believes that it offers the most customizable private-label travel affiliate program on the market today. PPN's private-label services include hotels, flights, rental cars, flight & hotel packages, and priceline.com's famous Name Your Own Price� travel services for hotels, airline tickets and rental cars.
  • Grandparents.com seeks to strengthen the ties between family members, promote health and wellbeing, and give timely information and expert advice on what really matters to grandparents, from family, relationships, health and money, to entertainment, travel and retirement. More than anything, Grandparents.com celebrates what it means to be a grandparent today. The company's mission is to give today's grandparents--who like no other grandparents in history are engaged, vibrant and ageless, ideas and opportunities to connect to what's important to them.
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    As this article mentioned, Priceline Partner Network cooperated with Grandparents.com,Inc. to reach a business which can provide the latest information on this website. Travel customers can access to book hotels, rental car, airline tickets, air & hotel vacation packages. They try their best to provide best service and products. It also present the specific introduction about Priceline Partner Network, Priceline Group, Grandparents.com, Inc. in my opinion, this agreement can bring the visitors a new trip to search the hotels and other information. It can show various information which can be selected for customers and provide superior saving compared with other deals.
Rebecca Pichora

TSA-like hotel security is not the answer | TheHill - 0 views

  • One lone gunman committing an unpredictable, horrific act of mass murder has set off a predictable debate about how government can prevent such an event from “ever happening again.”
  • While hotels and casinos are indeed soft targets for terrorism, and measures can be taken to prevent attacks similar to the Indonesia's 2003 Jakarta Marriott bombing, the concept of implementing TSA-like procedures at hotels and casinos is impractical, costly and mind-numbingly ill conceived.
  • Most American hotels and casinos still have close-in driveways allowing patrons to check-in and drop off luggage with bellmen. While this remains an obvious vulnerability in terms of car-bombings,
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  • The hospitality industry has yet to recognize that vulnerability and change the way vehicles approach their properties.
  • o publicly available intelligence sources indicate that this soft target is on the list of any domestic or foreign terrorist organization.
  • pending capital on mitigating against this vulnerability (absent any indication it is a target) is a waste of money and only increases hotel and casino costs without any discernible benefit. Those costs will ultimately be borne by hotel and casino customers and I find no indication of a willingness to pay extra for those costs.
  • The family vacation just became more expensive with minimal, if any, increased security. But most importantly, why would anyone endure that type of intrusive screening at a hotel or casino based on one outlier event?
  • Before we continue down the route we’re on of an ever-increasing security state, both citizens and politicians need to become better at assessing risk and narrowly but effectively mitigating against that security risk.
  • Instead, let’s make rational decisions about security based upon legitimate, fact-based risk assessment. And let’s not allow one crazed individual further restrict freedom of movement of ordinary citizens.
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    In the recent event of the shooting happening in Las Vegas in a hotel it has made the issue of hotel security on everyones mind as everyone is trying to figure out how to make sure this never happens again. The idea of implementing a TSA- like approach to security in a hotel would not be advantageous for a hotel as the cost to implement this would be very high which would lead to higher prices for the guests and also guests definitely would not appreciate this type of security. One thing that hotels should look at, is the car access to the property. Most hotels do have drive up drive ways where guests can conveniently valet their car and check in, but this style leads the hotels open to car bombings and hotels will not recognize this vulnerability until an intelligence agency declares this as a target by terrorists. Instead of making radical changes in hotel security and the actual property we should focus more on fact-based risk assessment to figure out the best solution.
agarc521

Hospitality Technology Articles: Hospitality Marketing Through Global Distribution Systems - 1 views

  • In an industry not renowned for the prompt embrace of technology, electronic marketing and product distribution have enjoyed uncharacteristically speedy acceptance by the hotel, car rental, cruise line, and other hospitality companies.
  • o reduce costs and further increase their bookings, airlines began installing computer terminals in the offices of their most productive travel agencies.  Airline managers understood it would be less expensive to have travel agents book the reservations directly into the airline systems than it would be to hire additional staff at airline reservation centers.  They also knew that travel agents were more likely to book reservations on the airline that supplied the GDS terminals.
  • Responding to the need for greater flexibility, hotel CRS managers expanded the inventory control capabilities of their systems to allow selling against an allocation of rooms.  Sales controls such as closed-to-arrival, minimum length of stay, and sell-through were also added.  More recently, many systems have been further enhanced to provide central reservation offices with full inventory data, with the central system having the same availability information as the hotel so that the CRO can sell down to the last available room without fear of overbooking.
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  • GDS marketing automation gained its most recent, and possibly most powerful product presentation advance with the introduction of seamless connectivity
  • In its early years, productivity through global distribution systems was low and constituted a very limited portion of each hospitality company's centrally booked reservations.  A consistent upward volume trend has seen that situation change. 
  • In coming years seamless connectivity offers the prospect of delivering the full functionality of supplier systems, from access to frequent traveler files and profile data to multi-media brochures and virtual reality property tours, to every GDS user's terminal.
  • The challenge to suppliers -- hotel companies, car rental firms, cruise lines and the many other travel services -- is to develop and implement marketing automation programs that effectively address this electronic marketing and sales opportunity.
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    This pretty much what we have discussed in class along with the history of  the way hospitality companies have grown so much since the 60s. 
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    In an industry that is constantly evolving, the GDS remains in a constant in revenue generation, as well as marketing abilities. Seamless connectivity supplies full functionality on virtually all levels in the travel industry.
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    This article describes the development of the GDS, and also introduce its role as a non-air hospitality services marketing channel. The authors introduce the evolution of GDS, and show some points about how hospitality marketing through GDS.
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    This article goes into depth with the development of the primary electronic distribution channel. Surprisingly, as early as the 1960's travelers and travel agents where booking reservations via letter, telex, or telephone. Most of the reservations for airlines, hotels, and car rentals were conducted via telephone. Because of such an increase in demand of the service, airlines installed computer terminals to reduce cost and increase bookings for the airlines. Airlines believed it would be cost efficient to install such system instead of hiring extra staff. The airlines also predicted that travel agents would reserve more with the airlines that supplied the GDS terminal, which in fact turned out to be true. After, the travel agents became heavily comfortable with the system, they noticed that it could also accommodate to bookings for hotels, car rentals, and travel services. The potential of the travel distribution was obvious and many non-air travel companies became major participants within the system.
sosor012

10 Industry Experts' Picks For The Hottest Tech Trends Of 2023 - 1 views

  • things
  • 10 things to look out for in the business and consumer technology realms this year—and in the tech industry specifically—and why these developments will have such an impact.
  • shift toward technologies and initiatives that quickly drive efficiency.
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  • major investments in connected car technologies designed to utilize cars for payments.
  • This new wave of AI can perform sophisticated tasks that until recently only humans could do
  • Transparency offers opportunities for more value to be captured and for it to be equitably distributed
  • no-code tools
  • more personalized content
  • fully embrace digital health.
  • a lot of transformation over the next five years in industries that depend on text-based content
  • ’ll see the development of business analysts with data science certifications and data scientists with business acumen
  • More Development Of The Metaverse
  •  
    The article "10 Industry Experts' Picks For The Hottest Tech Trends of 2023" discusses the technologies which are predicted to trend for both businesses and consumers over the course of 2023. The trends include a shift in technology that drives efficiency; reliance on no-code tools such as Wordpress and Shopify; next generation AI that can perform task such as natural language processing; image recognition and decision making; technology that is able to create value to business and consumer through transparency; advanced car technology such as contactless payment version for cars; personalized content; advancements in digital healthcare; ai-generative tools; analyst who bring both science and business skills; and lastly advancements in the Metaverse.
anonymous

Related Content Topic : Nortel Toronto-based telecommunications-equipment manufacture... - 2 views

  • Once broadly implemented, Kenny says it should be possible for a customer to book a flight, rent a car and stay in hotel room and have the entire transaction not only handled electronically, but also fed back directly to their company’s accounting systems for payment. The entire transaction would be devoid of any paper, he said.
  • Today, the travel industry is made up of airlines, hotels, car rental companies and a host of other organizations all offering services around the fundamental need to travel. The problem from the consumer’s perspective is that they have to pretty much engage these companies separately to get to where they are going. But what if they could all be engaged as part of the same transaction?
  • That’s part of the thinking that is going into the development of a new Agilaire Passenger Service Solution that Hewlett-Packard is developing. HP is licensing the RezView NG reservation system developed by Pegasus Systems to create a foundation on top of which the company is building a new scalable cross-company reservation ad billing system that will reside in the cloud.
  •  
    The article talks about a integrated cloud computing system developed by HP for the travel and hospitality industry. It will allow a user to book a flight, hotel and car rental all using one system which will then generate a electronic receipt, thus also rendering the operation paperless. Articles like this shows us that we are in a ever changing industry, our adaptation needs  to be immediate if we want to keep our customer happy. Programs like this let us know that our customer can also come from the most unexpected places in the world, because we are not just providing a service like hotel or restaurant, we are serving a much larger  objective for our customer which is 'the need travel" 
  •  
    This article speaks about combining all aspects of travel and hospitality that guests utilize. For instance, hotel, car rental and flight. This is a really good idea because it makes it easier for the guest to pay for and make travel arrangements.  It also allows for collaboration between the industries which would, as the article says, change the travel and hospitality industry. Creating the system in the cloud makes it easily accessible to all those who would be collaborating. There would be no need to host the server because that would be an extra expense. For this idea to be implemented, serious considerations and development have to be looked at for an internet back up. Should companies accept the Agilaire Passenger Service Solution cloud network, then their success and functionality depends on the constant functioning of the internet.
  •  
    This article talks about how does the tourism industry had develop in the past years and how connected are all the branches that form part of it. Hotels, Airlines, Car rental, are the basics of this industry. With all the technologies growing faster, these business still complain about a miss conection between them. This is what HP is trying to fix, developing a Agilaire Passenger Service solution to create a foundation on top of which the company is bulduing a new scalable cross-company reservation and billing system that will reside in the cloud. the basic idea is to allow companies in the travel industry to leverage a common transaction processing system built using modern Linux, Java J2EE and service oriented architecture (SOA) technologies wrapped around an easy-to-use interface. Where this gets interesting from a business perspective is that if you can break down the transaction barriers between companies in the travel and hospitality industry. We can see how the cloud is growing and helping industries to be integrate all together
Yuri Kim

Travelport trials GDS airport transfer bookings - Travel Daily Media - 1 views

  • Travelport is trialling a new service which will allow travel agents to book private car transfers via the GDS.
  • a huge demand for chauffeur-driven car transfers in Asia
  • By booking with Travelport via the GDS, agents are able to automate the process and bookings are integrated back into the passenger name record (PNR).
  •  
    In today's society, travel distribution environments and electronic reservation services are consistently moving toward global and complicated marketplace. Thus, travel marketplace needs a more and more globalized and comprehensive system for customers. And, I think GDSs well reflect this trend. The article show the example of the utilization GDS in travel industry. Travelport introduces a new travel product called Travelport Drive Me to Galileo-connected travel agents in Asia. The joint creation of Travelport and two major car rental companies, Travelport Drive Me was developed in response to the demand for chauffer-driven car transfers in Asia. This product enables travel agents to book chauffer-driven car transfers through Travelport's GDS for international airports in Asia. This new product would provide advantages not just for travel agents, but also for customers. With this product, travel agents save time and cost through the automated process. Plus, customers experience satisfied traveling by eliminating concerns about language, security, and public transportation issues in Asia.
balle028

Ford's adding Amazon's Alexa to 700,000 vehicles this year - Roadshow - 0 views

    • balle028
       
      As many cars are embracing smart features, Ford an American vehicle is implementing the smart feature as well, at one point on star was prevalent however applications have emerged
  • Amazon's popular Alexa voice assistant is about to hitch a ride in a lot more Ford vehicles. On Thursday, the automaker announced upcoming over-the-air software updates will bring Alexa to 700,000 vehicles this year. Millions of other vehicles will gain access in the coming years after Ford inked a deeper "strategic engagement" with Amazon for the next six years.
  • The strategy includes the possibility of releasing Alexa skills (Alexa's equivalent of apps) specific to Ford vehicles. Maybe Alexa will be able to flick on Ford's BlueCruise hands-free driving system. That'd be pretty cool. For now, though, the goal is to simply put the voice assistant into Ford vehicles via "Power Ups," as Ford calls its over-the-air software updates.
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  • They'll first land in the new Bronco, Edge, F-150, Mustang Mach-E and Super Duty this fall. Do note, only vehicles equipped with Sync 4 will be eligible for the OTA update.
  •  
    As we look at capital expenditures in technology vs income we see that many vehicles are implementing apps. On star was thriving at one point and available in many American made cars however due to the sudden fall off, other replacements have come up. Ford has now emerged to put in place amazon Alexa in over 700,000 of their vehicles. this will offer an Alexa skill that coincides with the vehicles smarts features and offer a much easier use of car adjustments and car controls for many ford owners.
smend120

Benefits of Global Distribution System | GDS Booking System - 0 views

  • a central reservation system that allows travel agencies and their clients to access travel knowledge, buy and compare reservations choices and book travel
  • connects the travel service suppliers or vendors to the travel agencies in real-time, by providing a centralized service that covers the bookings of airline tickets and more.
  • The leading global distribution systems are Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, and Worldspan.
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  • Travel Agencies have historically relied on GDS for services, products & rates to produce travel-related services to end customers.
  • The GDS system is one of the most necessary tools for the travel business
  • OTA (Online Travel Agent) can access the inventory of airlines in real-time. Users can book and process the travel offers that best work their needs.
  • Amadeus GDS helps to distribute the services in order that the audience or clients may get the specified result out of it. In the world of travel, Amadeus API Integration is one of the ancient and trusted technologies.
  • Galileo is one of the global suppliers of travel product within the world and that they currently provide the Galileo Global Distribution system. Galileo is an application program interface (API) that permits customers to make an interface like a website, connected to the Galileo.
  • Sabre Global Distribution System is one of the leading suppliers of travel reservation systems with over 55000 travel agencies. Sabre is an efficient and cost-effective distribution channel that helps airlines and travel corporations to extend their market reach to leisure and corporate traveler.
  • travel agents to search, price, book, and ticket travel services provided by airlines and tour operators. Sabre provides users with schedules, availability, pricing, policies, and rules, yet as reservation and ticketing capability for travel suppliers.
  • Travelport is a leading Global Distribution System, that operates in 170 countries including globally accepted and allows Worldspan and Galileo GDS platforms. The Travelport network consists of 400 Airline partners serving to travel corporations increase revenue, lower value and efficiency reach leisure and company travelers globally in each continent and channel.
  • Worldspan GDS System provides data-rich solutions that offer travel buyers and suppliers distinctive insights into their operations that facilitate to manage your travel business, reducing prices and improving revenues. Worldspan travel software acts as a single source for providing travel deals and information all over the globe.
  • he integration of Worldspan travel software permits the travel agents to boost the client's expertise by providing information like rates, inventory, discount and description that is finished on a real-time
  • market your latest sales message, special offers, and discounts directly to travel agents. 
  • A single global travel distribution system is connected through B2B, B2C, B2E and B2B2C websites.
  • OTAs have greatly improved the travel shopping experience & convenience for consumers and have increased pricing transparency.
  • GDS systems deliver worldwide data, rates, inventory, offers, real-time availability of airlines, hotel rooms, car rental, bus tickets, and many more to make the travel industry more informatics and sophisticated.
  • Benefits of Global Distribution System Global distribution systems are widely responsible for the growth of travel industry and stepping stone of most internet based travel services.
  •  
    Global distribution systems work by connecting travel companies (airlines, car rentals, cruise lines) to travel agencies (online or human) who then connect with the interested traveler. By this chain, the travel agent is able to offer real time availability from the companies to the traveller. The benefits of this system are the ability to deliver tons of information direct from the relevant companies, it is convenient for those that use them and easy to track travelling trends and interests. To me, it works like a mass marketing strategy. The content is generated by the owners and instead of enlisting their own man power, they utilize the efficiency and convenience of remote technology to mass distribute. The intended consumer receives the information without ever having to think where it's coming from, but inevitably trusts its reliability. The productivity of this system is something that those in the hospitality industry cannot ignore because this represents moments of the first interaction between the interested consumer and your operation. In order for the information to reach them in a convenient medium. In summary, GDS's help information get from the travel company to the consumer everyday in real time via global networks.
  •  
    Global Distribution Systems (GDS) are largely responsible for the expansion of the travel industry. They provide the foundation for most internet-based travel services offered globally, and they link the providers of travel services in real-time. To make the travel business more complex and informatics, the GDS system provides global data, pricing, inventory, offers, and real-time availability of flights, hotel rooms, car rentals, and even bus tickets. GDS enables travel agencies and their customers to access travel information, purchase and compare options for reservations, and schedule trips. One of the most essential tools for the travel industry is the GDS system. Global Distribution Systems are server-hosted web platforms that offer worldwide discounts on the booking of travel-related goods like airfares. Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport are the three main GDSs in the market, and they are connected to more than 650,000 travel agents. Travel agencies depend on GDS's assistance to maximize their own profits because GDS is a direct seller of airline tickets. To increase their revenues and their ability to offer tickets to customers, travel agencies enter into an agreement with GDS and gain access to a listing of fares.
  •  
    " Benefits of Global Distribution System Global distribution systems are widely responsible for the growth of travel industry and stepping stone of most internet based travel services. Benefits of Global Distribution System for Travel Agents and Tour Operators GDS systems deliver worldwide data, rates, inventory, offers, real-time availability of airlines, hotel rooms, car rental, bus tickets, and many more to make the travel industry more informatics and sophisticated. How Travel GDS Marketplace Is Reshaping the Travel Industry GDS stands for Global Distribution System and it's essentially a central reservation system that allows travel agencies and their clients to access travel knowledge, buy and compare reservations choices and book travel. functions across the world and connects the travel service suppliers or vendors to the travel agencies in real-time, by providing a centralized service that covers the bookings of airline tickets and more. permits travel agents to access, in real-time, availability, feature and costs for airlines and extra travel services worldwide. The leading global distribution systems are Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, and Worldspan. This permits users to buy tickets from various suppliers or completely different airlines. GDS can link services, rates, and bookings that combine a spread of products and services in travel sectors: e.g., airline bookings. Independent travel agents, travel agencies are now using an increasing sophisticated GDS system to seek out the best travel and accommodation and rates for their clients. Travel Agencies have historically relied on GDS for services, products & rates to produce travel-related services GDS system is one of the most necessary tools for the travel business the system will yield results with real-time pricing and availability comparisons There are 3 major GDS within the market- Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport here are over 650,000 and travel agents connected via a GDS system Systems enable users to bu
Gyujin Chae

Port of Los Angeles plugs in cruise ships to help environment | Gadling.com - 0 views

  • Ports and cruise lines are making an ongoing effort to grow the industry in an environmentally responsible matter. The Port of Los Angeles today became the first with the ability to provide shoreside power to three different cruise lines. Using the Alternative Maritime Power system, ships from Princess Cruises, Disney Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line can now turn off their polluting engines while in port.
  • The ability to adapt this technology to multiple cruise lines eliminates significant ship exhaust when cruise ships are at berth, and the AMP Mobile is another innovation that demonstrates our commitment to developing cutting-edge technology that can benefit port communities everywhere
  • In Los Angeles, the World Cruise Center is the only port where two cruise ships can be connected simultaneously. Cruise ships utilize either 6.6 kilovolts (kV) or 11 kV electrical power distribution systems to plug into shore side power
  •  
    Along with green initiatives in hotels and airlines, cruise lines and ports have been making efforts on "Going green" for years. This article, particularly introduces The Port of Los Angeles that can provide plug-in power system, a.k.a. Alternative Maritime Power system (AMP) to two cruise ships simultaneously. Basically, cruise ships consume the huge amount of fuel just like hundreds of cars do while they are in port. With the AMP that cruise ships gain electrical power from, cruise ships can turn off their engines while being at berth like an electric car. As a result, cruise ships can reduce their fuel cost and eliminate significant ship exhaust. More and more cruise ports have installed the AMP system and cruise ships have tried to be fitted to the power system. Obviously, the AMP is not the ultimate solution to pollution, however this can prevent the environment from being more polluted. The AMP system will advance, and we might see cruise ships sailing with only electrical power or other alternative power sources, such as solar power, power generated by cruise ships in the future.
pelaez17

Why is GDS important to the travel industry? | TTS - 4 views

  • he Global Distribution System (GDS) is a primary reservation tool for travel agents.
  • GDS is a network/platform that enables travel agencies and their clients to access travel data, shop for and compare reservations options, and book travel.
  • Through such commerce platforms as the GDS Travelport, agents can access scheduling and inventory of hotels, airlines, car rentals, and (some) railway and bus reservations – in real time. GDS links all those services across the three primary travel reservation sectors (airline, hotel, and ground transportation, i.e., car rentals), and activities.
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  • The modern GDS system evolved from this early labour-intensive manual system, thanks to the collaborative team efforts of American Airlines (AA) and IBM.  The result of that collaboration? The first airline industry mainframe-based system, SABRE.
  • Promotional messaging to agents through GDS cores like the most prominent airline national distribution systems (Amadeus, SABRE, Galileo, and Worldspan) alert agents to special rates, fares, and travel packages – an effective marketing tool for passing savings on to agents, and from agents to their customers. 
  • GDS booking has increased worldwide over the past 4 years yet some industry observers suggest that GDSs may become nearly obsolete by 2020. But like many technology/software-based systems, GDS may evolve, instead.
  • GDS is probably not going to fall into disuse any time soon. Rather, it will continue to evolve as it did from the Lazy Susan system of the 1950s.
  •  
    I found this article interesting as it talks about why the GDS is important and also gives some insight to how the booking process has changed over the decades. For instance, thanks to the internet we can book a flight within minutes while comfortably sitting on our cough. The article however states, what I did not know, was that back in the 50's, it took an airline reservationist 1.5 to 3 hours to book a single airline flight for the customer. At the end, the article also states that GDS most probably will not be going anywhere any time soon and still be around, at least for some time, and keep on evolving.
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  •  
    The Hotel industry has been trying to move away from Global Distribution Systems (GDS), because of the high cost associated with them; however, travel agents more than ever are turning to the global distribution system for their hotel and travel bookings. In a recent article written for Travel Technology & Solution they discussed why GDS is important to the travel industry. Educating the reading on what GDS is and how it works, the importance of GDS to travel agents and the future of GDS. According to tts.com "GDS is a network/platform that enables travel agencies and their clients to access travel data, shop for and compare reservations options, and book travel. This allows for the travel agent to provide the best option at the best price to their clients. Travel agents are in favor of this system as what once took hours to complete can now be done in minutes. An agent has the ability to receive messages through the system alerting them of special rates, fares and travel packages which in turned are passed on to their clients. "Not only is messaging through GDSs effective in promoting travel savings to clients, GDS providers are becoming fundamental to the supply of travel products to retailers in the online channel." With a large percentage of people still turning to travel agents to book their travels GDSs might be here to stay. Over the past four years the use of the Global Distribution System has increased, "yet some industry observers suggest that GDSs may become nearly obsolete by 2020".
  •  
    This article discusses the history, importance, and future of GDS in a way that is simple and easy to understand. It use to take a long time to make a travel reservation until GDS came along, and it is now used by travel companies and their agents everywhere. It allows them to see a variety of airlines, hotels, transportation, and activities to compare pricing, in order to select the best of each one for their clients. They say GDS will become extinct in a couple of years but this article states otherwise. They believe it will become more sophisticated/developed into something greater.
  •  
    The article describes the importance of GDS to the travel industry. The article describes GDS as "a network/platform that enables travel agencies and their clients to access to travel data, shop for and compare reservations options and book travel." The system is used globally as it helps in generating travel sales in billions of dollars. Travel agents use the system access scheduling and inventory of hotels, car rentals, airlines and bus tickets all in real time. The system achieves this by linking the travel reservation sectors of car rentals, hotels and airlines. The major GDSs in the world are Sabre, Amadeus, Worldspan, Apollo, and Galileo. The authors argue that GDS is important to travel agents as it helps the agents to make reservations in real time for their clients and can complete bookings for their clients within a short time. The end of the article proposes that GDS may become obsolete by 2020 due to technological advances. However, the authors argue that the system will evolve with the technological changes and will not fall into disuse anytime soon.
  •  
    GDS I feel will always have an impact in the travel industry because it is what it was built for since the beginning. Yes, we advance with apps and direct booking but people will always use travel agencies and GDS I believe will always be the primary source for booking for travel agents because it is what makes them comfortable.
yyr997

Importance OF GDS for Travel Agents and Tour Operators - 1 views

  • Popular GDS Systems in Travel Industry
  • Amadeus 1987 Iberia, Air France, SAS  and Lufthansa, Strongly based in Europe, Mid East, North Africa & Asia Pacific Galileo 1993 Galileo was Founded by a combination of 11 most significant North American and European airlines conducted by United Airlines. Currently owned by Cendant Corporation It has a strong web-presence in US and Western Europe. Sabre 1976 Initially it was founded by American Airlines. Currently Sabre is a separate entity owned by AMR corporation very strong  Global presence in US and Asia Pacific Worldspan 1990 Worldspan was founded by Delta, TWA, and North West Airlines. Further it was being sold to Transaction Processing Corporation. Mainly in the US and Europe
  • Please find few of the benefits of  Global distribution systems: The Use of Global distribution system shows a rise across corporate and leisure travelers GDS is highly effective in alluring the international travelers. This is the reason why using of GDS among the travel agents is growing exponentially every year. OTAs have greatly improved the travel shopping experience and convenience for consumers and have increased pricing transparency. GDSs enable the retail travel agency and OTA business models. The GDSs enable the travel agents to make their travel services available to consumers globally where they might not otherwise be able to achieve efficient worldwide market penetration through direct marketing efforts. Booking through Global distribution system is most preferable for  corporate travel agents as a suitable reservation process for holidays,  air, hotel and rental cars. Travel agents can get global platform for their business with strong market penetration Global distribution system is the base to  enter into corporate clients across the world GDS is the ability to update the status of inventory  in real time.  Due to its real-time  status update capability managers can view rates change and  can easily alter price points or make special offers. Agents can view all the changes instantly and will be able to suggest the new updates and offers to clients without any interruption to make the deal.. Its a wise decision to invest in a GDS. The system places your holiday booking services and inventories in front of  huge  clients without affecting  your marketing budget.  The unique selling point of GDS is that it Can provide best rates to your guests, which no other systems can provide.  Your gusts can find packages that include a hotel stay, air travel and car rental
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  • 2015 is going to be a successful year for travel agents using global distribution systems for bookings. According to Travel-Click research the bookings through GDS is projected to 62 Million, which was 61 million in 2014 and 42 million in 2009.
  • Having a mobile optimized tours and travel prortal is the most efficient way to find both local  and international hotels, airlines, holidays and car rentals on short notice.  Its a big change in consumer behavior to switch over to mobile. Shifting to mobile search is already being started and reflects of changes can be apparently measured.
  • GDS is a computerized web service that provides pricing, real time availability, centralized data display with  reservation functionality to the global travel industry in a very unified process.
  • GDS is highly effective in alluring the international travelers.
  • Global distribution system is the base to  enter into corporate clients across the world
  • GDS is very huge and it will create robust ecommerce platform for travel industry.
  •  
    As we all know, GDS is an online system known as global distribution system, which delivers worldwide data, rates, inventory, offers, real-time availability of airlines, hotel rooms, car rental, bus tickets to bridge the gap between tour operators and travel bookers. The article has introduced the most popular GDS systems in the industry and their strong advantages. In addition, it also reveals the reasons why the industry still uses GDS and the importance of it. In one word, GDS is highly effective in alluring the international travelers with the development of information and technology. It enables the travel agents to make their travel services available to consumers globally where they might not be able to achieve efficient worldwide market penetration through direct marketing efforts.( The article has also given a future prediction about GDS. According to the statistics, GDS will rule the travel industry if it keeps continuing the ever changing needs of airlines and hotel industry.
  •  
    GDS is very important in the tourism industry. Even if the company creates its own direct sales channels, the impact and benefits of GDS are considerable. Making good use of the advantages of GDS can create word of mouth and revenue for the company in the hospitality industry.
jordanskj

A GDS Primer: What is the GDS and Which Travel Agents Need It? - 0 views

  • The advantage to travel agents is that the GDS not only can show you many fares from multiple airlines, but it also offers a great depth of information about each flight in one place. The carrier, the times, the costs, the class of the seat, aircraft type and so much more. It’s a smorgasbord of options. So if you’re booking a high volume of tickets, it’s great to have access to every minutiae of information from multiple carriers in one go.
  • In today’s world, the GDSs have a bit of a split personality. There is the old school, traditional GDS commonly called “the green screen.” Then there’s the hip side of the GDSs, which people will call “point and click” or “GUI” (Graphical User Interface). Essentially, it’s a more intuitive and prettier looking version of the GDS.
  • To learn the GDS green screen takes intense training, and to become proficient takes tons of practice and constant use. That means daily use with a mentor (for at least 6 months to a year), not just booking a ticket for a client every few weeks.
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  • While new agents can partially navigate the GDS with the GUI interface, the code that comes back still has important information like fare types and rules that the agents really needs to understand. So many agents, in the end, need to learn the green screen (and find it faster) regardless.
  • One of the reasons that most leisure agents don’t need the GDS is because the air will be included in a vacation package by the tour operator, or you can book it with the cruise line and you don’t need to use the GDS.
  • Global Distribution System (GDS) is a travel agent’s motherboard for booking airline tickets and other sorts of travel goodies (like hotel and car)
  • It can be easy to confuse the GDS with a Central Reservation System or Computerized Reservation System (CRS). CRSs are automated inventory-tracking systems that were (originally) owned and run by individual vendors (like airlines, car companies and hotels).
  • GDSs function as an umbrella for many many CRS systems. It’s like a CRS motherboard. (In fact, many vendors outsource their CRS systems to a GDS.)
  • an show you many fares from multiple airlines, but it also offers a great depth of information about each flight in one place. The carrier, the times, the costs, the class of the seat, aircraft type and so much more. It’s a smorgasbord of options. So if you’re bookin
  • If you are a leisure travel agent, there’s a huge whopping huge chance that you don’t need to use a GDS
  • American Airlines created the first CRS system in 1946. And while this helped automate inventory for vendors, travel agents did not have direct access to that inventory. Travel agents would need to call the airline’s booking center, who would then contact one of their CRS operators, then relay the results to the travel agent over the phone (literally, like playing telephone). It took a lot of people power to book a single airline ticket. Travelers booking their own ticket? Forget about it! 
  • There are many GDS options, and each GDS system will has access to their own pool of carriers. The four largest GDSs are: Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport (which is the parent company of Apollo/Galileo and Worldspan).
  • Let me be blunt: unless you’re some kind of prodigy, the GDS green screens are not user friendly. Be afraid, be very afraid.
  • he GUI is the point-and-click version of the GDS. You may have heard of options such as Sabre Red Workspace and TravelPort Smartpoint. So why doesn’t everyone use it? Here’s the problem: At its current stage of development, even GUI users need to understand the language of the green screen.
  • Essentially, the GUI interface isn’t quite there yet . . . and developing this technology is reeeeeally expensive and comes with a lot of growing pain
  • To book in the GDS, you must have an IATA/IATAN accreditation number, in addition to an ARC accreditation number if you’re located in the United States.
  • As a new agent, you can’t get these accreditation numbers because they require a lot of experience. So you come into the industry under a host agency (more on what a host agency is) and use their accreditation number instead.
  • Corporate travel agents book a whole lot of air, so the GDS is pretty much a must for them.
  • If your specialty is around the world tickets or you have a steady stream of clients with multi-stop itineraries, the GDS will be a necessity. 
  •  
    This article looks at GDS and GUI systems and gives a holistic viewpoint of performance, positives and negatives, and what type of agencies can utilize each system. I felt that the more complicated system and its requirements for agency users to have and understanding of coding, made the GUI system more likely to have a higher utilization in the future.
  •  
    The article delves into the importance of GDSs and travel agents along with the controversy surrounding their evolution as airlines are trying to encourage more direct bookings to make more profits and avoid paying commission to travel agents.
  •  
    This article goes into detail about GDS's, the history of GDS's, and if travel agents actually need to use them. The article first explains what a GDS system is, a brief description stating "Global Distribution System (GDS) is a travel agent's motherboard for booking airline tickets and other sorts of travel goodies (like hotel and car)". The article then quickly goes into a brief history of the GDS. GDS was created by America Airlines in 1946, making it easier to check inventory for vendors, though it would still take some time for this technology to reach the travel agents. "Travel agents would need to call the airline's booking center, who would then contact one of their CRS operators, then relay the results to the travel agent over the phone (literally, like playing telephone). It took a lot of people power to book a single airline ticket". We then take a turn, and learn about the usability of a GDS, and that it's quite low. GDS's are not user-friendly, but sadly sometimes a necessity for certain types of travel agents. These types mostly being the ones who book lots of corporate travel arrangements. Lastly, the article discusses if a GDS is right for your business, and if you decide it's not, how to go about booking things without it.
Chengcheng Feng

Global Distribution Systems in Present Times - Four Major GDS Systems; Amadeus, Galileo... - 1 views

  • Among the “shelves” on which buyers search for travel services are world’s global distribution systems and the Internet distribution systems
  • The airlines realized that by automating the reservation process for travel agents, they could make the travel agents more productive and essentially turn into an extension of the airline’s sales force. It is these original, legacy GDSs that today provide the backbone to the Internet travel distribution system
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    October 2002 - The travel marketplace is a global arena where millions of buyers (travel agents and the public) and sellers (hotels, airlines, car rental companies, etc.) work together to exchange travel services. This is a good article talking about four major GDS System companies in the world nowadays. When we do some research in GDS area, it is better for us to know some information about these four companies. They are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan. The author said that Aadeus is Number 1 inlocations worldwide compared to other three companies, Galileo International is a cautions follower when it comes to technology when compared to other GDS companies. Sabre's competitive strenghs are market position, global reach, stable product line, diversification of revenue streams and intellectual capital. And Worldspan has successfully developed the strategies and solutions to ensure the company's long-tern success. After read this article, I think I have the big picture of what GDS System is. The author gave us the strength of different systems. I know what are these GDS companies doing right now in the world. And what is the best is that the author used some accurate data to support the point. So in my point of view, I don't only understand the knowledge related to GDS System, but also learn the way to write my paper, that is using lots of numbers.
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    I don't know why but I was failed to highlight this article. I did it in My Library.
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    It is a great article that provides some detailed information on the four most famous GDS. and it was separated into four parts by explaining the four major GDS one by one. It is talking about the history, current status and development of these four major systems to help readers understand what exactly it is and how it works. I like this because it helps me create an overview of GDS systems.
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    Interesting article that summarize important information about major GDS companies. GDS companies such as Amadus, Galileo and Sabre are platforms in which a range of travel related services are offered through electronic switches and routers .
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    This article introduces four major GDS systems' characteristics and strength. I think these information will be useful for hotels when they choose the GDS systems.
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    According to the World's Leading CRS/GDS System 2011, Sabre is the winner profile. And the Amadeus, Galileo, Worldspan and Zurich Systems were nominated.
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    This is about GDS!
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    In the travel marketplace it is global where buyers and sellers work together to exchange travel services. Global distribution systems and the internet distribution systems have become electronic supermarkets linking buyers to sellers and allowing reservations to be made quick and easy. Travel today is sold most on the internet, it is a vast networks of suppliers and a wide customer pool in a centralized maket. Currently today there are 4 major GDS and they are continuing to grow. This article pretty much summed up what we learned in the past 2 classes
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    SUMMARY A global distribution system (GDS) represents a computerized system used for managing different transactions within the air travel and hospitality industry There are currently four major GDS systems: 1. Amadeus (2) Galileo (3) Sabre (4) Worldspan Amadeus Founded in 1987 by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa, and SAS, Amadeus is the youngest of the four GDS companies. Amadeus is a leading global distribution system and technology provider serving the marketing, sales, and distribution needs of the world's travel and tourism industries. Its comprehensive data network and database, among the largest of their kind in Europe, serve more than 57,000 travel agency locations and more than 10,500 airline sales offices in some 200 markets worldwide... Galileo International Galileo International was founded in 1993 by 11 major North American and European airlines: Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Olympic Airlines, Swissair, TAP Air Portugal, United Airlines, and US Airways. It is a major player in the GDS business throughout the world: North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia/Pacific region. Galileo International is a diversified, global technology leader. Sabre For more than 40 years, Sabre has been developing innovations and transforming the business of travel. From the original Sabre computer reservations system in the 1960s, to advanced airline yield management systems in the 1980s, to leading travel web sites today, Sabre technology has traveled through time, around the world, and has touched all points of the travel industry. Worldspan Founded February 7, 1990, Worldspan was originally owned by affiliates of Delta Air Lines, Inc., Northwest Airlines, and Trans World Airlines, Inc. It is currently owned by affiliates of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (40%), Northwest Airlines (34%), and American Airlines, Inc. (26%). Since its 1995 advance into the world of Internet technology fo
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    This article is about the GDS system, and it introduced four major GDS system in present times. GDS is a worldwide computerized reservarion network used as a single point of access for reserving airline sears, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related items by travel agents, online reservation sites, and large corporations. The for major GDS systems, Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan owned and operated as joint ventures by major airlines, car rental comopanies, and hotel groups. GDS is also called automated reservation system (ARS) or computerized reservation system (CRS). Among the four major GDS systems, Amadeus is the youngest one and has done remarkably well during its short tenure. With its strong company infrastructure worldwide, impressive product set, and growing customer base, Amadeus is one of the most significant players in shaping the future of the GDS. Galileo's competitive strengths include market share, well-balanced and global presence, relationships with diverse groups of travel vendors, technologically advanced information systems, highly skilled personnel, and a stable product line. Gralileo is a follower when it comes to technology, but is has established successful relationships with entities such as Go, UK's best low-cost airline. Sabre's competitive strengths include market position, global reach, stable product line, diversification of revenue streams, and intellectual capital. Sabre business model is a strong one, and continues to make significant progress in advancing both its electronic travel distribution and its information technology solutions businesses. The last one Worldspan has a legacy of industry firsts that are not well known. It continues to look at benefits of creating its own consumer brand and has been partnering with different companies to expand the services that it can provide to its customer base.
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    GDS is started on the airline industry. And with it development, the airline company recognized that the GDS is becoming more and more important and necessary. And in my opinion, the GDS can not only focus on the airline. It can be on the internet. That is means they should built some sub-company around the world and it will help to form a kind of net that can cover all over the world. So that it is reduce the pressure of airline and increase the short distance distribution. it will be more efficiency for the guest and less human labor.
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    More and more customers rely on global distribution system to buy hospitality products in present time. This article introduces four major type global distribution systems, Ama dues, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan. There are also some smaller GDS existed in the world. Amadeus is the youngest of the four GDS companies. Galileo International is a diversified, global technology leader. Galileo's competitive strengths include well-balanced and global presence, relationships with diverse groups of travel vendors, technologically advanced information systems and a stable product line. Sabre's competitive strengths include market position, global reach, stable product line, diversification of revenue streams, and intellectual capital. Worldspan provides worldwide electronic distribution of travel information, Internet products and connectivity, and e-commerce capabilities for travel agencies, travel service providers, and corporations.
dstro007

Booking trends: Don't ignore impact of GDSes - 0 views

  • Hotel bookings through travel agents are expected to reach a record high in 2015 and have held their share of the market despite dire predictions for years.
  • TravelClick projects 2015 to be a record year for bookings through global distribution systems
  • TravelClick is projecting 62 million bookings through GDSes in 2015, which is up from 61 million in 2014 and 42 million during the depths of the recession in 2009.
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  • Travel agency bookings captured the highest ADR in North America ($189) and internationally (€198).
  • a total of $12 billion in revenue was booked across all channels in the second quarter in the top 50 global markets, encompassing 69 million roomnights
  • GDS bookings covered 16.3% of those bookings.
  • GDS bookings have managed to hold their share of transient bookings through the past two years
  • Mobile booking is not a prediction; it’s reality
  • If you aren’t ready for mobile booking, then you’re already behind the curve
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    Don't sleep on the GDS systems. The are making their mark and proving to be an important asset in the process of making a booking. Whether it is a hotel, car, cruise, or airline reservation, the GDS systems got you covered. Being that nowadays, travel agent would use this system for their non-tech savvy clients, bookings are expected to be at a record high this year. In a report generated by TravelClick, out of the $12 billion dollars generated in the second quarter alone, GDS systems accounted for a little over 16% of that total; the highest percentage came from direct bookings, of course. So at least we can count on the use of these GDSes to help turn a profit within our industry. 
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