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Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Sabre Travel Network have signed a multi-year distribution contract that will distribute all Royal Caribbean, Azamara, and Celebrity cruise schedules and fares on the Sabre GDS system. With the Sabre system travel agents in Mexico can now make bookings on Royal Caribbean cruises and associated lines. This system. This system will allow travel agents in Mexico to increase productivity when booking Royal Caribbean cruises. I think this is an interesting step by Royal Caribbean to expand their relationship with Sabre Travel Network and a new region for booking. The impression I get from this agreement is Royal Caribbean is looking at opening their cruises to a new consumer market. This focus is aimed more on making sales and entering a new market. Now Royal Caribbean will be focusing on Mexican consumers. This system will allow travel agents in Mexico to have an easier time at booking a cruise with Royal Caribbean, Azamara, and Celebrity.

Sabre, one of the three largest Global Distribution System signs a long-term agreement with United Airlines. This agreement would allow customers to provide ancillary products and services to customers through the Sabre market place. With United airlines and Sabre joining forces they will use the latest technology allowing both companies to provide more personalize products and services to customers. Sabre will market United Airline ancillary products including air fares and economy plus seats to passengers that buy products and services from Sabre in a way that would differentiate United Airlines products from that of its competitors. Other Global Distribution systems such as Amadeus and Travelport are presently making it a standard policy, mandating airlines to provide ancillary products and services to GDS. American airline one of the major airline who for a long time was reluctant to market its ancillary products through GDS is now one of the many airlines that are presently jumping aboard the GDS wagon. The airlines are beginning to see the benefit of expanding their brand globally through GDS and reaping substantial revenue beyond the sale of air fares.

China's Eastern Airlines & Sabre, a Global Distribution System, just signed an agreement allowing Sabre to use the airlines inventory and airfares to market to the travel agencies associated with Sabra.  This will help increase their North American expansion.  Sabre's technology and resources will help enhance the expansion for for China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines.  Marketing intelligence from Sabre has helped the airlines cater to the flight schedules and operations for their customers.  Sabre's network reaches more than 300 million people! 

Sabre Corporation has teamed up with BYHOURS, the leading international platform for hotel microstays, in order to provide Sabre's agency community the ability to sell rooms by the hour through BYHOURS' Sabre Red App. Travel agents using Sabre's GDS will now have access to BYHOURS' content in order to meet the new demand for microstays from buyers who want more options with regards to their stays. This agreement comes as the hospitality and hotel needs have shifted due to COVID-19 conditions that include needing to work and meet remotely and has increased interest in leisure staycations and stopover travel. Customers have the ability to select check-in time, length of stay and pay the time they use the rooms. BYHOURS is headquartered in Barcelona and has a second office in Mexico City which serves as the hub for Latin America and the U.S. The agreement with Sabre reinforces their objective to open up the North American market.

Covid has put a large strain on the global travel industry and a large portion of the hospitality industry are relying on technological means to recover. Hotel chains such as Japan's Ressorttrust inc. has made an agreement with Sabre Corporation to utilize Sabre's SynXis booking engine. The platform expands Ressorttrust's points of access by exposing them to over 600 online global platforms and over 900,000 travel agents. The software's ability to provide an easier, quicker, and convenient style of booking has already resulted in growth of Japanese tourism. This decision also posed well for brand image. The success of Sabre SynXis highlighted the company's dedication to helping bring back Japan's tourism.

Both Auntie Anne's and Carvel have begun to utilize the MICROS POS systems. Auntie Anne's has extended its existing MICROS e7 preferred vender agreement to help run all 1,000 franchised locations in the US. Likewise, Carvel has entered into a new agreement with MICROS for the MICROS e7 all-in-one-point-of-sale system. This will be their preferred POS system for their 450 international outlets.  Due to Auntie Anne's long standing history with MICROS and the MICROS e7 system, both Carvel and Auntie Annes, both operating under the FOCUS Brands portfolio, will continue to be clients of MICROS. The MICROS e7 performs the following: management of guest transactions, staff productivity, menu offerings and restaurant operations. 

It appears that American Airline is about to remove itself from the tradition global distribution system and introduce its own distribution system. American Airlines is advocating for distribution companies to utilize AA direct connect which is a direct link into AA's host reservations system. Currently American Airlines fares are no longer available on Expedia or Orbitz sites. This is because no contractual agreement was reached for the distribution of AA products. Travel professionals are waiting to see the result of this bold move by American as this has great implication for the future of airline distribution systems. If American Airlines pulls away from the mainstream GDS, consumers and travel specialist alike will be faced with the inconvenience of going to a separate reservations system to compare fares. Although travel professionals are now urged to use direct connect on a trial basis, the general feeling is that eventually they will be charged to sell American Airline flights. To defend this move American Airline is only saying that direct connect will make it easier for them to tract ancillary fees like priority seating. It was noted in the article that Southwest Airline for the most part is a stand alone reservations system but they do not negotiate with the GDS companies to sell their flights. It is therefore quite evident that this move by American is really to reduce expenditure by eliminating the middle GDS companies while increasing revenue by charging travel partners for utilizing direct connect. American Airlines clearly wants to globally control their distribution system and maximize revenues. Contract renewal for both world span and sabre are due and the experts are waiting to see if American will renew with them. Sabre is owned by American Airlines so its a wait and see game to see how all this will be panned out. The real problem for the consumers and travel specialists are that if other airlines are to follow this move by American the tra

This article explains the distribution route American Airlines is taking to sell their flights. Due to not seeing eye to eye with the two most probably used websites for travel, Expedia and Orbitz, American has now taken their products away from both airline distribution sites. American suggest that all travel agencies and distribution companies begin using Direct Connect, which is a system for only American Airlines flights. If this would happen, travel agencies and companies will then begin having to pay for the system in order to sell Americans flights. At the moment you can still book flights through other distribution sites, but until when will that be? They already stopped Orbitz and Expedia, what's not to stop the others. The future of global distribution systems will be up in the air if all airlines choose to sell their own systems to be able to sell reservations. The only positive that was pointed out in this article was that if this system takes over, then more consumers will have to go back to using travel agents to secure the best reservations for flights and such.

With the contracts for major global systems, Worldspan and Sabre, being up for renewal in the near future, this article analyses the possible outcomes for airlines, and alternatives should they choose not to forgo continuing use of GDS

Three years ago Oracle was able to buy out the leading company in hotel and restaurant technology, Micros. But the transition was quite tough on the company leaving many customers dissatisfied with the service they were receiving. One reason for this is because Oracle was not used to call-center based customer service making it quite difficult for them to adapt on their side but it was also difficult for the customers to adapt to taking all their data online to the cloud. In order to keep happy customers Oracle was able to boost the number of customer service representatives which made each and every customer have a shorter wait time and also the they are able to serve more customers as well. Oracle has also taken the step into streamlining the agreements with their customers into one global agreement making the service across the board on the same level, they were able to get more companies on the cloud, they were able to reduce training time by making the systems more user friendly and also have changed the PMS system to be on separate hardware such as tablets. They have also decided not only to focus on the hardware and IT aspect, but make it possible for hotels to give the best experience possible by adding more tools to track guest information but also for revenue and accounting management. At the time there are still many opposers to the systems and are being voices by many General Managers of the world but with the improvements they are bound to please more customers.

This article talks about hotels investing and implementing micros as their main system.

For three years now, Oracle has been the owner of Micros, a software that manages payments and reservations for more than 300,000 hospitality owners. This article speaks on how Oracle has been handling the transition, and the obstacles they are facing now, including competition from other hospitality softwares that hotels around the world are using. Most softwares today are using cloud based systems, but Oracle was having some mishaps with that transition, therefore making customers unhappy. To relieve some of the tension between customers and the company, there hired about 30% more representatives to handle the volume of requests, and questions from Oracle users. With more research and more representatives, 70% of customer support requests are being resolved within an hour. With time of the essence in the hospitality world, this is an important aspect for users of the system. Competition is out there, and price is a large factor for small and family owned businesses that cannot afford the Oracle system, but they are now working on widening their marker to independently owned hotels from anywhere around the globe. Being a user of Micros in my own place of work, the computer software makes it easy for both the employee and the guests, with straightforward prompts and payments that deliver little to no hassle. Oracle would like to keep on growing and with the rate that they have overcome their mishaps and learned to adapt to new technologies such as ApplePay and Bitcoin, it seems it can only go up from here.

Delta Air Lines and Sabre will be working together on a multiyear deal to improve indirect distribution channels. As Jeff Lobl said, the intention is to unlock innovation and reward investment as well as enhance the customer experience. Traditionally airlines pay a flat fee to GDSs but this model will be based more on what is being sold.

Sabre has canceled its distribution agreement with all airlines from the Lufthansa Group. These include Austrian, Swiss, and Brussels Airlines. Flights have also been removed from Abacus, which is Sabre's Asian booking system. Lufthansa sets the standard in Europe when it comes to distribution, and Lufthansa is currently working on a redeveloped distribution platform of its own.

Players Network will be entering into an agreement with Ascent Solutions, a software engineering firm, to up their social media game and develop their "company's next generation proprietary broadband-based content distribution." To enhance their Branded Lifestyle Video Channels which can be viewed simultaneously by users on all digital devices, Ascent Solutions will be implementing an Enterprise Web Platform meant for large scale global distribution.  By analyzing online consumer trends, Ascent Solutions will assist in monetizing their content through methods such as subscription, merchandising, etc. Ascent Solutions helps the gaming and hospitality industry find the right technology for their businesses.  I believe today's modern-day companies emphasis and reliance on social media and telecommunications can all benefits from the services offered by Ascent Solutions. With a nationwide footprint and local services, Ascent can help large and small media companies alike monetize content over any interconnected, digital device. With expertise in the gaming and hospitality industry, with major clients such as Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and Speedway Casino. Ascent keeps up with technology trends and can further any business model.

This article pretty much outlines the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computers in general, but it speaks of how hoteliers don't fully understand what a cloud is, much less trust to use one. It goes on to explain how cost effective the start up for a cloud network is in terms of hardware, software and time. But, in long term, the monthly payments for web hosting, software hosting, storage, etc are never ending. Although at least these costs are such that you can plan ahead for. There is also a greater vulnerability to hacker attacks in the cloud. Redundancy is an issue as well, since clouds are hosted in a single data center. The article ends with a warning on service providers and the importance of finding the right one for you and your needs.

This is a very informative article and a good source that gives me basic understanding of cloud computing. Some of the aspects of the cloud are same as I expected and some are not. As companies or people using cloud computing don't have to purchase software and equipment to store or manage data, and to upgrade servers frequently, the cloud is a cost effective and efficient alternative. However, it will increase companies operating expenses as it requires monthly bills which might be costly depending on usage.

This article discusses a war between American Airlines and Orbits, and how they cannot come into an agreement in regards to using the GDS. American Airlines is mainly the provider for most of the fares and traveling but orbitz is there other marketing strategy that is used to sale the tickets online. Nonetheless, American wants and pushes for travel agents to use their direct system to book flights rather then using Orbitz or another chain of coming to book travelers flights. America does offer a variety of prices depending on different categories, as well as frequent flyers miles/points if they book with American website and sources. In essence, American Airlines still wants to have control of their flights and prices as they are the main sources from the beginning of time.

Google has now been involved in the green initiative by trying to conserve energy and helping other sectors of the society to stay green. "French authorities have used google's mapping services to determine agricultural regions that should face water restrictions." This could help the French to save some of its crops as some require more water than others. It could also help them to conserve on water during their drought season when water is most needed. The agricultural sector in the mid west US could consider utilizing this technology during their drought season. Also with the use of their satellite system Google is able to disseminate information to tribes to help them prevent deforestation. Another way in which Google is helping in the green initiative is in its agreement to purchase renewable energy to run one of its new data centers. Google also encourages its workers to bike or ride scooters to work. this would help the environment a great deal by reducing carbon emmissions in the air, it also reduces traffic congestion. If more companies would adopt some of these initiatives it would greatly impact our environment.

This article outlines some of the procedures that are used in the Hospitality Industry accounting departments. Beginning with document retention, GAAP is followed to comply with how long the documents need to be kept. In keeping documents, data security needs to be in place to protect sensitive information. Internal controls are also important and follow GAAP, so that stakeholders and owners are protected. The procedure is so that the proper allocation of assets are maintained. Revenue recognition is also part of accounting procedures, as revenues may be sorted in various ways as appropriate. Lastly, timeshare accounting being one of the most complicated, due to the different agreements. I found this article to be a good guide in knowing the basic procedures that are followed in hospitality accounting.

I found this article interesting, as technology is constantly advancing, and this supports just that. Sabre has announced it is introducing a new lodging solution that will allow travel agents to access content from three different companies in one, thanks to a new agreement with Sabre. This solution will allow for an easier shopping experience, with a wider range of the best hotels and rates side by side. Overall, as Christian Gerron says in the article, "it is to provide their customers with the best choice and flexibility." At the end of the day, that is just what any hotel, travel agent, and any other sectors of our industry want, what is best for our customers. 

One of the reasons why I felt this article was very insteresting is tha I have use "despegar before and I have also not used or decided not to use this travel agency because of the "not friendly" sfoftware or technology they had on their website. As a customer I feel this would give an amazing positive revenue to the company. This articles texplain how this GDS software called SABRE has sign a contract of extension with Despegar.com

In sum, this article discusses the long awaited partnership with Southwest airlines and global distribution channels Amadeus and Travelport. In the past, there have been many debates regarding the topic of "full content" between airlines and travel intermediaries. However, according to Southwest, this agreement will bring "the highest level of participation." As Southwest continues to revamp and improve the way it competes in the global market arena, Tom Nealon, President of Southwest has stated that, "GDSs are the third leg of the stool in Southwest's distribution strategy for business travel. With its great business product, Southwest is hoping to improve the way consumers book, transact and settle by using global distribution systems. With a conservative outlook, Southwest is hoping that the newly formed partnership with Amadeus and Travelport will generate between $10-$20 million in additional revenue in the second half of 2020.

The article demonstrates the benefits of implementing GDS in the hospitality industry. According to the article, installing GDS will enable Southwest Airlines to improve its level of participation by allowing buyers to not only book but also to "change, change, cancel, and modify reservations" via the system. Besides, the implementation of GDS will lead to increase revenue for the company.

Sabre cancelled all agreements with Lufthansa due to the airlines group requesting a bailout to continue business. Furthermore, the Lufthansa group proceeds to make plans for their own marketing and brand improvements. Although the split was mutually civil, the Lufthansa groups improvement plans include enhanced technology and user-friendly experiences for customers using their direct website.