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teallemejia

As vacations resume, here's why you might want to pay a travel advisor - 0 views

www.cnbc.com/...t-to-pay-a-travel-advisor.html

travel advisor

shared by teallemejia on 12 Sep 21 - No Cached
  • The pandemic ruined travel for travel advisors and their clients the last 15 months. However, people who didn’t book with an advisor had no advocate and were much worse off.
  • A survey from Sandals Resorts and the American Society of Travel Advisors found that 94% of customers will use them again and 44% of all travelers are more open to the idea post-Covid.
  • we were just refunding and refunding, and we were fighting for our clients
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • people forgot about the other side of the hospitality industry, from the flight attendant and travel advisor to the [hotel] housekeeper,” Griscavage said. “It impacted our industry in a really bad way.”
  • Using the internet cut out “the middleman” — i.e., the travel advisor, who was paid a commission by airlines, hotel chains and tour operators — so suppliers could offer seeming bargains at their own self-service sites or at online travel agencies. Problems arose, however, with unforeseen bumps in the road — natural disasters, political crises, industry strikes — and then travelers largely had to fend for themselves.
  • “The future is bright,” Kerby said. “If you didn’t understand the value of a travel advisor before, you certainly do now because you realize how thin the response mechanisms are for some [travel] suppliers.”
  • teallemejia on 12 Sep 21
     
    This article talked about the importance of travel agents. Before the pandemic people often thought that travel agencies weren't necessary was a dying career, however since this past year they have really proven their worth and won't be going away any time soon. Travel agents were able to cancel trips and get their customers money refunded or switched gears and planned a different trip for the future. Using the internet to cut out the middleman and save money isn't always the best way to plan a trip and the pandemic proved this.
jrodr1102

Are GDSs still useful for travel agents? - TTG Asia - Leader in Hotel, Airlines, Touris... - 1 views

ttgasia.com/article.php

shared by jrodr1102 on 29 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • The question of whether GDSs remains a relevant middleman in today’s evolving travel landscape continues to be a hot topic of discussion at ASEAN Tourism Conference during ATF last week, as industry players bring different sides of the argument to the table.
  • jrodr1102 on 29 Jan 17
     
    Growth in tourism activity in South-east Asia and acquisition activity represent benefits for Amadeus. Sebastian Gibergues from Amadeus IT group, communicates the resiliency and growth experienced by the company facing the challenges of an ever evolving industry. Gibergues considers GSD is still relevant due to the level of fragmentation in the market.
Nicole Spencer

Does This Tech Giant's Strategy Spell Trouble for Travel? - DailyFinance - 0 views

www.dailyfinance.com/...s-strategy-spell-trouble-for-t

shared by Nicole Spencer on 08 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • has a history of taking a service people used to pay good money for, and simply offering it up for free.
  • online travel agency (OTA) business. Investors in traditional OTAs should be worried.
  • Cutting out the middleman
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • allows customers to book directly from hotels themselves.
  • hotels bid for this privilege, as bypassing OTAs provides significant cost savings.
  • If Google chooses to allow users to book directly from hotels without a fee to either, however, OTAs would find themselves charging a premium for no added value -- not a pretty position to be in
  • Nicole Spencer on 08 Sep 12
     
    Google, a well-known online search engine has a recent history of taking services that people pay money for and making it available for free to its users. One service in particular that has been recently launched is Google Flights, allowing users to select a travel plan and then go directly airlines' reservation system. The problem here is it has left online travel agency OTA's industries such as Expedia and Priceline.com out of the picture. Such OTA industries earn revenue by either taking a commission from hotel or charging a markup to consumers. This should be a great concern to this industry . Although there are some hurdles for Google-Google users search results are limited for flights as of its competitors; Google's competitors still have established customer relations and brand. Google can overcome these hurdles in a matter of time and OTA's should keep a close eye or find solutions to adapt.
  • Jenan Williams on 09 Sep 12
     
    Great article! I recently read that Google is taking over the travel market when searching for events using the Google search engine. Pay per click, allows companies to tie into hyperlinks when web surfers an event in the area of their business. Highlighting hotels, car rentals and restaurant conveniently located within the search engine user area.
samanthapoorman

The Technology That Changed Air Travel - The Startup - Medium - 0 views

medium.com/...hanged-air-travel-1c15c84a1be7

air travel changed

shared by samanthapoorman on 28 Jan 19 - No Cached
  • Airlines used to employ fleets of operators just to process reservations. They sat around circular tables with scores of index cards — one for each flight — housed on a rotating shelf
  • The process would take 90 minutes for each reservation.
  • After CRS systems became commonplace, travel agents became the airline industry’s bottleneck.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • As the middleman, the GDS charged airlines and travel agents a fee for each booking.
  • CRS systems started sharing data with one another,
  • Global Distribution Services (GDS)
  • These terminals would only be useful if they let agents search for flights from multiple airlines all together.
  • Their goal is to charge each customer the most they’d be willing to pay.
  • The solution is to have seats at many different price points.
  • To maximise revenue, airlines optimise fare class sizes and prices by analysing historical trends.
  • different Google searches often yield different fares for the same seat on the same flight
  • only travel agencies that have been accredited by the IATA (International Air Transport Authority) can use them, and accreditation is an arduous process riddled with acronyms.
  • samanthapoorman on 28 Jan 19
     
    GDS changed the way airlines book flights. The process went from 90 minutes to a few seconds. GDS allowed agents to search for flights from multiple airlines. 
rnobl005

Uber Eats Doubles Down on POS Integration with orderTalk Acquisition - 0 views

table.skift.com/...ion-with-ordertalk-acquisition

shared by rnobl005 on 23 Jun 18 - No Cached
  • Uber Eats Doubles Down on POS Integration with orderTalk Acquisition
    • rnobl005
      rnobl005 on 23 Jun 18
       
      Skift published this article about a month ago. It's a really interesting to see how POS technology is impacting new industries. In this case the focus is on Uber Eats. The company acquired a Dallas-based company called orderTalk, which specialized in POS integrations. Liz Meyerdirk, head of business development for Uber Eats, said that this move aligned with their strategy for two reasons. Integrating this technology reduces errors for the restaurants people are ordering from and improves the workflow at the restaurants themselves. orderTalk's software already works with 10 POS providers and most payment processing vendors, making it a valuable resource for Uber Eats to tab into. Ideally, Uber Eats will see operational improvements and increased profits as a result of the move.
  • technical integrations better manage restaurant workflow. Instead of requiring a middleman, orders are quickly fed to the kitchen display monitor or ticketing system.
    • rnobl005
      rnobl005 on 23 Jun 18
       
      Cutting down on the time it takes to start an order means a shorter delivery window. Uber Eats will build customer loyalty as a result of this action.
  • restaurants are asking for ways to reduce errors, and an employee manually entering orders from an Eats-connected iPad into the restaurant’s system leaves room for plenty of human error
    • rnobl005
      rnobl005 on 23 Jun 18
       
      Until reading this I didn't even realize that this is how my order went from my phone to the restaurant. I assumed my order went directly into the system.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Uber Eats announced it has acquired orderTalk, a Dallas-based restaurant technology company with technology and expertise related to point of sale (POS) integrations, according to the company.
  • orderTalk, founded in 1998 and launched as a software as a service company in 2004,  integrates with more than 10 of the leading POS providers and most major payment processing vendors
  • Top Uber Eats competitor Grubhub already integrates with several leading point of sale systems, and CEO Matt Maloney has cited the company’s technology as a main reason it was able to land an exclusive partnership with Yum Brands’ KFC and Taco Bell restaurants.
    • rnobl005
      rnobl005 on 23 Jun 18
       
      Uber Eats has a similar relationship with specific McDonalds franchises across the US.
afost026

The Growth of e-Commerce and Hospitality Marketing - Smartling - 0 views

www.smartling.com/...erce-and-hospitality-marketing

shared by afost026 on 21 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • once relied on travel agents and other intermediaries to help book and research trips, a number of developments from the growth of sites, such as Airbnb
  • rely more on travel apps and websites
  • travel companies are increasingly selling directly to consumers and are using app
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Competitive E-Commerce Environment
  • company must find ways to differentiate itself
  • offering a wider range of localized content assets in multiple languages.
  • optimizing sites for mobile growth
  • insights from a local expert or access to honest, same-language reviews from other travelers.
  • localized content can be a major competitive advantage.
  • Having a content localization strategy, and using the right travel translation provider, needs to be a top priority for your marketing strategy, on par with making partnerships to offer competitive prices.
  • extensive amount of research when creating travel plans and making bookings
  • ditch the middleman in favor of conducting their own travel research, it is important to keep up and offer them helpful, localized, translated content
  • afost026 on 21 Sep 19
     
    This article gives hospitality companies tips on how to stay relevant in this ever changing industry. They suggested that localized content will give your company a competitive advantage. They also suggest that having information in multiple languages will increase you relevance.
sbaut010

GDS, OTA and Meta: What's the difference? | HotelMinder - 2 views

www.hotelminder.com/asearch-what-is-the-difference

shared by sbaut010 on 28 Jan 19 - No Cached
  • GDS, OTA and Meta: What’s the difference?
    • ansonj55
      ansonj55 on 28 Jan 19
       
      The article covers the topics discussed in this week's topics related to Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and Online Travel Agency (OTA). It goes in detail regarding the difference and benefits of each. The landscape of the traveling industry changed in the late 1900s with the introduction of the GDS from the airline industry. Although costly, hotels are able to provide unsold rooms at a cheaper rate in order to secure bookings. Similarly, OTAs have gained popularity with the rise of use and reliance of the internet. Most beneficial of a OTA is more visibility for the hotel, since they invest a significant amount of capital in advertising. Whether a hotel is deciding whether or not to invest in a GDS or OTA, it is important to do a cost benefit analysis in order to determine which may be more beneficial to the property.
  • how can they help your hotel gain more online visibility and sell more rooms?
  • Hotels usually sell their rooms for 30% cheaper on GDS
  • ...26 more annotations...
  • GDS is a rather costly selling channel that mainly allows the sale of rooms in larger quantities to bigger companies (for corporate guests) or travel agencies (leisure travellers). Thus, small independent hotels usually do not need GDS.
    • ansonj55
      ansonj55 on 28 Jan 19
       
      GDS is costly so it is not really beneficial for smaller, independent hotels.
  • With the rise of the internet, many websites began selling rooms without the need for human interaction. These sites very quickly gained important market share,
  • Metasearch engines are becoming important in the travel industry
  • We do encourage hotels to use OTA to be more visible online
  • OTA’s invest a lot in online marketing
  • Rather than trying to compete with them, it would be better to see them as another selling distribution channel instead.
  • many different accommodation options at one glance
  • developed metasearch engine tools.
  • With travellers using the internet more than ever to search and book hotels
  • Increasing your online hotel visibility can be done in many ways.
  • hey usually do many different searches and visit several websites.
  • GDS: Global Distribution Systems
  • OTAs: Online Travel Agencies
  • GDS stands for “Global Distribution System”
  • Travel agencies use GDS to get real-time availability, and preferred rates on flight tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals all over the world as it allows them to be very reactive when asked for a quote.
  • OTA stands for "Online Travel Agency"
  • They were first created by airline companies during the 1950’s to broaden hotel and car rental businesses by enabling automated transactions between travel service providers and travel agencies (traditional and online).
  • The three biggest GDS systems are: Amadeus, Sabre and Galileo (now owned by Travelport)
  • real-time availability
  • Central Reservation Services (CRS), such as Sabre, allow hotels to sell their rooms to all GDS simultaneously. However, it is up to the hotel whether to connect with only one or two GDS directly, without the need for a CRS. The good news is that some channel managers are also able to connect with GDS systems.
  • The most popular example is Booking.com, although Expedia (for corporate guests) and Hostelworld (for more economical accommodation options) are also well-known.
    • sbaut010
      sbaut010 on 03 Feb 20
       
      GDS has become an industry of its own with its own markets.
  • Your hotel can usually be listed on an OTA free of charge by adding your hotel photos, descriptions, rooms, rates, etc. You can then choose how many rooms you’d like to sell through the OTA. The availability you’d like to sell as well as the room rate is your decision, and although appearing on the OTA is free, you will have to pay a commission of approximately 15% to 20% every time you get a booking.
    • sbaut010
      sbaut010 on 03 Feb 20
       
      Through this system OTA, the middleman, will always take a form of commission.
  • Although they produce rather time-consuming work as you need to log into each of their extranets to update daily availability and rates, you can very easily connect an OTA to a channel manager to automate, or at least greatly facilitate these tasks.
  • They were created shortly after OTAs and display the current rates of many different hotels in a given destination.
  • Today, OTA’s are a must, and although metasearch engines are slightly more technical to manage, they can also be an attractive selling channel to consider.
  • For small independent hotels, GDS is usually too costly to be considered.
  • duyingli on 31 Jan 20
     
    This article introduces GDS, OTA and Meta in a short space. GDS stands for Global Distribution System, GDS is a rather costly selling channel that mainly allows the sale of rooms in larger quantities to bigger companies. Small independent hotels usually do not need GDS. OTA stands for Online Travel Agency. meta stands for Metasearch Engines. For small hotels, the cost of GDS is high and it is generally difficult to adopt. OTA and meta are two methods worth considering.
marvahb

British Airways Adds a Fee That Could Weaken Airline-Ticket Middlemen - Skift - 0 views

skift.com/...eaken-airline-ticket-middlemen

middleman fee GDS arlines

shared by marvahb on 28 May 17 - No Cached
  • On Friday, International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), parent company of British Airways and Iberia, said that it will add a fee of £8 (about $10.63) per leg of a trip on tickets that are booked through the three largest middlemen for distributing tickets to travel agencies: Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport.
  • marvahb on 28 May 17
     
    In their attempt to cease the use of "middlemen", British Airways and Iberia will attempt something so bold that not many other airlines have done. The airline plans to add surcharges to the tickets consumers purchase through GDS's in hopes that they will book directly through them. Although many predict that they will fail, they originally got the idea from the airline Lufthansa, which implemented this approach back in the summer of 2015 and have not seen a loss in revenue since. Sabre did try to sue the airline for this however the case remains in limbo.
denisedantas

The Growth of e-Commerce and Hospitality Marketing | Smartling - 0 views

www.smartling.com/...hospitality-marketing

shared by denisedantas on 09 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • The growth of e-commerce has had a dramatic effect on travel and hospitality marketing.
  • Today’s travelers rely more on travel apps and websites to conduct their own research and compare prices.
  • E-commerce companies have numerous opportunities to grow in the years ahead. However, smart planning to serve international markets is key.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • As consumers increasingly ditch the middleman in favor of conducting their own travel research, it is important to keep up and offer them helpful, localized, translated content that will inspire them to make the leap and confirm their travel plans—with you.
  • iancochran on 09 Apr 17
     
    The growth of e-commerce has had a dramatic effect on travel and hospitality marketing. While consumers once relied on travel agents and other intermediaries to help book and research trips, a number of developments from the growth of sites, such as Airbnb and Google's high-ranking display of travel results for specific geographic terms, is leading a change in the way consumers buy travel and hospitality services. Therefore, marketing techniques are changing too.
  • rfern243 on 15 Sep 17
     
    This article is very interesting to me and what stood out was when it talked about how today's society, travelers rely more on travel apps and websites to handle their own research and compare prices. The upside for the hospitality technology industry is that there are more companies selling directly to the consumers. Their is an increase in competitive e-commerce environment industries which offers extensive applications to offer everything from owner-listed accommodations to discounted flights. A strategy a company would use is by standing out by offering a wider range of localized content assets in multiple languages. In the article the role of content in e-commerce travel is the research of travelers to conduct an extensive background check and research when creating travel plans and making bookings. In the years to come e-commerce companies plan to grow extensively and serve the International markets . I believe that hospitality sites that offer significant amount of information in the consumers native language and have applications and websites that are responsive on mobile devices are more likely to stand out from their direct competition.
  • denisedantas on 24 Sep 17
     
    This article talks about the importance of electronic business and the new advances that affect the way that business is done; the growth of sites is changing the way consumers buy travel and hospitality services. As a result, marketers are changing strategies to become successful in this very competitive environment, differentiating themselves offering a wider range of localized content assets in many languages to reach consumers globally. Smart planning and optimizing mobile applications to serve the international markets are the keys that lead to success.
anonymous

7 Benefits of Utilizing a Self-Service Kiosk in the Hospitality Industry | NEC Today - 0 views

nectoday.com/sk-in-the-hospitality-industry

Technology hospitality Software

shared by anonymous on 31 May 21 - No Cached
  • Self-service solutions can increase up-sell opportunities. With a robust and “Smart” self-service kiosk, guests can upgrade their room, redeem special offers, and purchase additional services such as continental breakfast or room service, all in an effortless way
  • Regrettably, the names of guests are often misspelled, or the wrong room type is selected by accident. No matter how trained a staff member is, humans make mistakes, especially when they are busy juggling multiple tasks at once.
  • Regardless of their preference, offering a self-service kiosk enhances the guest’s freedom and offers them a level of control that will surely give off a good impression and improve satisfaction
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • By cutting out the middleman when it comes time for a guest to register their stay and automating the check-in process, you can avoid common errors and improve the way you engage with customer
  • A recent study showed that 72% of 33–44-year old’s were most likely to use a self-service kiosk. When weighing the potential benefits, 61% cited faster service, 59% shorter lines, 58% privacy, 50% greater control, and 38% no interaction with personn
  • anonymous on 31 May 21
     
    This article shows the benefits of self service kiosks. It points out that the self POS system can increase upselling since clients don't feel pressured by a person. They also did a study that 72% of people 33-44 years old will use a self service kiosk than speaking to a person.
naxiang2001

What is a Global Distribution System (GDS)? 2022 Guide for Hotels - 3 views

hoteltechreport.com/gds

GDS Hospitality Hotel Industry

shared by naxiang2001 on 17 Sep 20 - No Cached
  • What is a Global Distribution System (GDS)? 2020 Guide for Hotels
  • The History of the GDS
  • a GDS functions as a middleman between a travel agent and a hotel’s (or airline’s) central reservation system. Travel agents can see real-time rates and inventory for a given hotel via the GDS, though the GDS doesn’t actually hold its own inventory.
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • Besides the time savings, the GDS allows travel agents to tap into reservation systems for a world of travel providers.
  • What are the Most Popular Global Distribution Systems?
  • Did you know you could book a flight, tour operator, car rental or hotel room in real-time via electronic GDS systems since the 1960s? You may be thinking, “hmm… online travel agencies like Expedia and Booking.com aren’t that old, are they?” But years before the OTAs gained prominence, global distribution systems provided real-time access to hotel and flight inventory for travel agent service providers across the world. 
  • The GDS industry has come a long way since the 60s; while Sabre is still a major player, several GDS companies operate today. The major global distribution systems for travel reservations include: Amadeus is the world’s largest GDS, accounting for about 40% of GDS transactions, and it’s especially popular in Europe. Though many of these reservations are for airfare, it’s still a powerful tool for hotels, with over 600,000 hotels connected. Sabre is the second-largest GDS, accounting for about 35% of travel agency bookings. Around 175,000 hotels are connected to Sabre, but its portfolio in North America is larger than its competitors. Travelport GDS  owns systems called Galileo, Worldspan, and Apollo. Travelsky is a state-run GDS in China.
  • Does the GDS still serve a purpose when travelers can easily book directly with the airline or hotel? In many cases, yes, the GDS still delivers value, especially for airlines and corporate travel companies. Airlines still distribute their inventory to OTAs via the GDS, and corporate travel planners continue to use the GDS to find corporate rates.
  • American Airlines was the first company, in partnership with IBM, to implement an electronic reservation system for their reservations agents to use. This new technology, called the Semi-Automated Business Research Environment (SABRE), allowed American Airlines to greatly expand their reservations team beyond the number of people who could huddle around the paper booking files.
  • For hotels, airlines, and the like, the GDS offers massive marketing power.
  • No one GDS can be called the “best” travel service provider, since they all provide similar functionality and have their own unique differences.
  • travel comp
  • With decades of history and an enormous user base of travel agents, using the GDS can be a great way to expand your hotel’s marketing and distribution strategy. But the GDS doesn’t necessarily provide value to every hotel; if you’re wondering how to use the GDS or why to add it as a distribution channel, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons for your individual hotel.
  • No one GDS can be called the “best” travel service provider, since they all provide similar functionality and have their own unique differences.
  • hotels would need to undertake huge marketing efforts in order to be seen by travel agents. The GDS effectively democratized this process, with chain hotels getting the same visibility on the GDS as independent hotels.
  • Today you can book not only airfare and hotels via the GDS, but also rental cars, cruises, rail tickets, and tours.
  • In 2006 the volume of internet reservations exceeded GDS reservations for the first time,
  • lwu014 on 17 Sep 20
     
    This arctic is about what is a global Distribution System, history of the GDS, how does a GDS work and what benefits GDS offer.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • carlatj on 24 May 21
     
    A brief history of the GDS gives us a glimpse of the important this technology which as been around for over 50 yrs. Although it has evolved, the consumer has evolved with it but the basic idea still prevail and still very much in use.
  • anonymous on 29 May 21
     
    This article gives a complete description of what the GDS is and its history. It goes over how the GDS works, the benefits of using it, and whether the GDS has a role in the future of global distribution.
  • cdamo003 on 25 Jan 22
     
    A GDS or Global distribution system can come in handy for many different purposes. Some of these companies such as Expedia and Travelocity are know ones in the United States. It is important to weight pros and cons when deciding who to book with when choosing a hotel or an airlines especially since there are so many options. Depending on how you book especially when bundling with a GDS you could get a great deal.
  • naxiang2001 on 28 Mar 22
     
    This article evaluates the past and current roles of GDS in the travel and tourism industry. It is clear that the GDS has adapted and changed with the times and now is able to do even more than at its initial conception. However, as the article pointed out the all the functions of the GDS it is clear that OTA's ad websites are also able to provide a lot of these same functions. We discussed this week whether the GDS system is still currently a relevant system and most agreed that it is. However, as we look to the future it will be interesting to see what evolutions the GDS has yet to go through and how it will attempt to remain relevant in the ever changing tourism market.
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