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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

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. 

The European Commission opened up an investigation into Sabre and Amadeus to see if the GDS's are restricting competition. Amadeus and Sabre are fully cooperating with the investigation. Sabre states that "it remains committed to offering competitive access for travel agencies to airline content.."

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

Air India is a struggling airline that is starting a battle among GDS company. since the travel market is so lucrative in India all of them are fighting to get a piece of the pie. since Air India is struggling they are taking all comers. Travelport holds the reigns when it comes domestic flights and Amadeus Holds the reigns on the international flights. This fight for control of Air India has put travel agents in India in a bind. In November of 2018 travel agents could no longer book Air India's domestic flight on Amadeus or Sabre but only Travelport. But domestic flights is where most of the traffic is. this puts the travel agents in a bingd because they train with just one GDS. Sabre is trying to get Air India's bussiness again by offering cost savings over the other two GDS giants.

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.

This article discusses the integration of Sabre with Aeromexico. They aim to provide customers with the best experience when shopping and buying products. Sabre is the first GDS to distribute Aeromexico's NDC content.

This is a great example of success by implementing new technology in business. It is important to recognize the right tools to use to grow. I also think using the "big name" as Sabre Hospitality Solutions can help make decisions easier as the company is famous for it's kind of business.

Major corporation Sabre is teaming up with Accor, a France-based company, to combine Sabre's existing property management systems will combine in a new cloud-based form. This new software will be accessible to hotels all over the world. The software will be a combination of central reservation and limited-service property management.

Sabre is planning on taking GDS to the next level by creating a software that enhances the guest experience. This technology will promote a hotels experiences and ancillary services within their websites. Like Spotify this tech will be bundles and curated to each person.

This article explains a recent contract struggle with the airline Air India and two Global Distribution Systems, Sabre and Amadeus. Because of the new contract with Amadeus, Sabre has been forced to nullify their old contract with the airline. Air India has chosen to prioritize the GDS Amadeus because of the global reach that it affords.

Article discusses the newly formed partnership between Google Cloud and Sabre. How this merger seeks to transform the travel landscape by improving operational agility and the offering of new services. Also outlines the partnerships three main initiatives: improving Sabre's technology capability, using Google Cloud tools to optimize travel. and advance the travel ecosystem.

As this article mentioned, Sabre Hospitality Solutions and Passkey announced their new cooperation. This new program allows you to book passed from Passkey's GroupMAX platform to the hotel's PMS via Sabre's CRS. The action can benefit many aspects, such as hotels, meeting planners and event attendees around the world. It can track inventory and maximize the revenue better. In my opinion, it can be more convenient for the customers, especially meeting planners. By making use of GroupMAX technology, it increases not only their efficiency for hotels, but also their revenue.

With sustainability at the forefront of hotel operators and investors hotels are becoming conscious of the guests needs as more and more travelers are requiring and are staying at properties that are serious about environmental conservation. The article highlighted the fact hotels are big consumers of energy, therefore have construction that are LEED certified will not only benefit the environment but also the bottom line of investors.

Travel Weekly takes a look at hotels taking real initiatives to their commitment to going green, especially in Sin City. Hotel groups are looking not to save money through transparent initiatives asking guests to simply reuse their towels, rather the article looks at "hotel owner-developers to invest in systems that cut energy usage, save water, and reduce waste". It seems in addition to other environmentally conscious west coast cities, Vegas has set a standard by setting goals for increased recycling, decreased energy consumption, switching over to LED bulbs, composting food waste, reducing overall carbon footprint and emissions. In light of continuing green development, Sabre Holdings has launched an Eco-Certified Hotel Program taking the lead out of the other four major GDS's to tip their hat to eco-friendly hotels. As travelers, GDS's, hotels, travel websites, and developers alike place greater emphasis on the preference for environmentally conscious lodgings, the more likely the industry is going to continue adopting these measures.

Hotels are becoming more green world wide. MGM hotels is on board with a green initiative. Hotels electricity and water add up because they have to cool a building , clean and maintain the hotel. IT costs about 800 per room annually in electricity and water costs. MGM hotels reduced the electrivity they use which can help power 12, 000 houses. HOtels are also trying to reduce its carbon emissions. Although as the article states " its very difficult fot hotels to be trully green by their nature" every little bit helps.

The origins of SABRE in the industry

This arctic is about what is a global Distribution System, history of the GDS, how does a GDS work and what benefits GDS offer.

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.

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.

Global distribution systems have thought to eventually become extinct but the growth of new technologies has given GDS new hope. The three main companies that control this market are Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport. Each of the companies has expanded their market penetration via their subsidiaries that are currently operating with global distribution systems. In 2014 Amadeus brought in almost $1billion in revenue. In addition, Sabre and Travelport showed positive growth. Airlines on the other hand, would prefer to directly have travelers book with them to save on fees. At the same time GDS brings attractive promotions to customers making them useful to the airlines and their revenue. GDS has stimulated the growth of online websites like, Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz, Priceline). Where potential customers find competitive rates and can book more than just a plane ticket.

This article is about the current rise in the use of the GDS system again. This rise has been seen primarily with corporate travelers, but has also been used by the leisure traveler. While GDS usage percents dropped from 98% in 1999 to 79% in 2009, it has slightly started to increase again. Sabre one of the larger GDS companies has seen a 7% increase in use of the system in 2012. Hotels have tried to give companies better rates to their consumers, for example as more corporate travelers are extending their stays from a business trip and then turning it into a leisure trip for a few more days. This gives the traveler a lower rate a night at the hotel, as they are staying for more nights. Overall, while there was a decline in the use of GDS because of the OTA, there is now a slight increase, bringing life back to the GDS system.

This article gives an in depth explanation of the importance of GDS's in the hotel industry and the increased usage of the GDS due to the rising travel demand. The American Society of Travel Agents conducted a study in 2009 and found the percentage of member travel agencies that used the GDS declined from 98% in 1999 to 79% in 2009. A significant portion of the decrease was due to the economic downturn, but regardless hoteliers and travels still found value is the GDS channel. According to Sabre Travel Network, there was an increase of more than 7% in GDS bookings during the first quarter of 2012 over the same period last year. The demand for corporate travel is the main reason for the increase. Many people that are traveling for business want to extend their trips for leisure. This allows hotels the opportunity to adjust their pricing strategies by putting travel promotions for leisure for the business travels as well. Many people utilize the GDS to find the most affordable prices, but it is also beneficial to hoteliers as well. Elaine Kennedy, one of the two interviewed in the article, stated the pricing model provides corporations with a lower rate when demand decreases but also gives hoteliers the opportunity to achieve higher rates when demand increases, which ultimately is a win-win for both sides. The GDS also provides many opportunities for hotels to cut costs. Robert Cole, the other person interviewed in this article, stated "The GDS also provides enhanced marketing support….immediately when you use the GDS to put your product, your service, your room, your rate, you're getting it in front of an audience without using your own marketing budget." According to Robert Cole, the GDS is not going away any time soon because of the unique solutions it provides for hotels and travelers alike. I believe this article was very informative on how the GDS is currently being utilized and where it is going in the future. It basically helped answer question 3

Vantage Hospitality Group utilizes ZDirect's Zmail to market to guests behaviors and preferences. The company has teamed up with Sabre Hospitality Solutions to simplify reservations. ZDirects data collection has created a personalized communication that seems less automated, while Sabre Hospitality Solutions has expanded their audience. They work together to achieve "maximum profit from unsold perishable room inventory."

This article is about the success eMarketing of ZDirect and Sabre Hospitality Solutions. The emarketing provides the hotels online and mobile communication tools which is a good improving of two-way communications. It is an efficient and dependable process that help guests to receive email confirmation immediately. 

Judging by its title, this may not seem like a breakthrough article. However, there are some important points worth discussing. The article indicates that some GDS companies, traditionally serving the airline industry, are now venturing into hotel property management systems. Since SABRE and Amadeus no longer want to depend exclusively on airline service, they are investing heavily in PMS technology. Furthermore, since the new trend is the implementation of cloud based PMS's, they are focusing their resources exclusively on cloud technology because it gives hotels more flexibility on services and integrations. The article suggests that while Oracle might still be a leader in this field, way ahead of its competitors, industry dynamics change so fast that SABRE and Amadeus will eventually become fierce competitors. Oracle is still the most used tool in this market and most hotel employees have received Oracle training at some point. Nevertheless, although that's an advantage for Oracle when it comes to savings in training cost, innovations on cloud based technology can provide more opportunities not available on conventional system servers.Therefore, this move by major GDS providers can prove a wise investment. Finally, another significant development in this article is the fact that SABRE will eventually add alternative lodging to its inventory such as Airbnb or corporate serviced apartments. This, in my opinion, will be an absolute game changer.