Travelport GDS Systems helping travel agencies grow using OTA model.

http://www.provab.com - A global distribution system (GDS) is a database capable of storing and updating enormous information on the supply of a wide range of tourism products worldwide. GDSs enable the travel agents to access, in real-time, availability, features and prices of flight tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises, ferry reservations, trains and other services. With a Global distribution system integrated to their website, travel agencies can allow their customers to search and book travel products and services and issue tickets too.

Looking for a Travel Portal – Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html

Travelport GDS

Global Distribution System

Travel agencies are greatly aided by GDS systems because they are enabled to offer their customers rates, inventory, discounts, rooms, and descriptions on a real-time basis. In other words, global distribution systems are intermediaries between travel product suppliers –and travel retailers who sell tickets to the final consumer.

Main features of GDS:

• Report availability and prices of travel products

• Reserve user requests.

• Sale and ticketing

• Track sales (extend customer’s stay, change of flights, etc).

• Facilitates control management for travel agencies).

Evolution of GDS

The prototype of GDS in the travel industry can be seen in the 1950s as the traditional legacy business model which inter-operated between airline vendors. Computer reservation systems (CRS), at the initial stage, was used by the airline companies as an automated booking system, but later, travel agents were given access. Around 1980, CRS enabled travel agents to connect to various travel providers in a single system. At this stage, in addition to flights, hotels and car rentals were included. CRS acquired much strength by late 80s being so helpful to both suppliers and distributors. In the 90s, computerized reservation systems of airlines were transformed to global distribution systems (GDS). So we see that GDS has developed from airline alliances and ended up becoming independent business units with product internationalization and introduction of new products, especially hotel rooms.

GDS integration for travel agencies and suppliers of travel products

Travel agencies must have full access to a global distribution system GDS. To get connected to a GDS, travel agencies need a contract.  This will enable the travel agents to provide an astonishing amount of travel product rates and information to their customers, at the lowest possible rates. An experienced travel technology company can integrate any GDS to the computer reservation system or website of a travel agency.

Travel Software

It’s critical also for the properties to be on a GDS. Travelers now go to travel portals to find travel products. So hotels, car rentals, etc, have to be there to get Internet visibility and, thus, more reservations. A GDS allows real-time access to inventory system of a hotel with the current prices, discounts, room types, facilities like Wi-Fi  and different aspects of interest to the potential customer.

Owners can hire a good travel technology company to get access to the GDS of their choice. A property can be connected only in one GDS provider. If the property owner wants to change the provider, he can cancel the existing provider and activate another with a switch letter.

How much does it cost?

To integrate GDS to your system, you’ll have to pay a one-time setup cost and pay a monthly charge of a minimum amount per reservation.

The future of GDS

As a tool of of content aggregation, GDS is here to stay and be more powerful. Novel technological solutions in middleware continue to appear. Global distribution systems have a long way to go.

Web Based Travel Distribution Platform, Must for All B2B B2C Travel portal Companies

Have you ever thought about the benefits associated with buying online booking B2B software or a travel distribution platform? What are the benefits that you and your partner will be able to fetch from the online booking B2B software? Have you ever thought about the functionalities of this software? This write-up is an answer to all the questions that arise in your mind in regards to the online booking B2B software and the benefits associated with it.

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B2B travel software is the system that allows partners or travel agents to book items from the system that is used by the travel agency or tour operator. B2B online booking system helps the partners to have a look at all the products and documents directly along with enabling them to make reservation from the system.

It is very essential to know the reasons for online booking B2B software being one of the best and the benefits for the same have been mentioned below.

Travel partners provided with the information required for purchasing - One of the biggest advantages is making your entry into the travel services system visible to the travel agents. The look of the travel agent system will be absolutely similar to yours. The only difference would be that you as an administrator with have more options. The next question could be the features that the travel agents would be able to view in the system.

Services - The services that are a part of the system is gathered and centralized and the travel agents will be able to find them during the course of making reservation. Along with the list f the services, the travel agents will also be able to view the description (service image, service info), selling price, the location, suppliers for the services and the number of units available. These are the information required for creating a new reservation.

Pricing and Availability - Along with the service list, your travel partner also has access to the pricing and price list for each and every service and the features that forms a part of the service. The pricelist viewable to your partner includes the price of the basic service along with the price of the additional services, supplements, reduction and discounts. After a service is made available through addition of allotment, enabling the partner to book the service directly and enter the payment for it. In case there is no addition of allotment, the partner can click on “Send Enquiry” option. In case you as an administrator disable booking for specific dates, partners will not be able to make any booking during the particular period.

Promotion Special Offers - The promotion could be viewed on the B2B login side as well. You also have the facility of entering the special offers in the system, enabling your travel partners to use them. This helps in generating demand and increasing sales.

Different pricing level for the market or partners - In case you prefer to have different pricing level for different partners, it could be defined in the back office by using the option different market. For example, if you are targeting three different markets like European market, Asian market and American market, you have the facility of adjusting the prices by the addition of different commission to the market. Each partner will be able to get the price depending on the market they are assigned to. This will enable the travel agents to get the price predefined for them. This acts as a great marketing tool when it comes to assisting, increasing and rewarding partner sales.

Entering Reservation and Reservation Management - The travel interface is designed to enable the travel partner make a reservation directly, when they have availability to information like product, price, and information about special price, promotion, services, availability and similar information. The overview of all the reservations accomplished by the system is also available. This means that the system will allow the administration and the travel partner to track the reservation and manage them effectively.

Making all the Documents available - The system will provide the travel partners with all the documents, enabling them to make the same available for the customers. There is a very well support system for the mutual communication between the tour operator and tourist agency and its partners. When a partner makes a reservation, the document provided is dependent on the action taken by them. When a request is sent and offer and itinerary follows automatically. When a booking is accomplished, there is an automated process of sending the invoice. This process could be customized depending on the need of the travel agencies requirement. Along will this the partners will get an overview of all the documents created and are connected to the reservation system, which could be forwarded to be printed for the customers. This is one of the key features of travel distribution platform.

Online booking B2B enhances the communication process - This is a benefit that both the sides can enjoy. One partner checks with the suppliers, makes a confirmation for the reservation and send documents while the other one is sending new reservations. This process eliminates the need of communicating over the phone and saves time and money. This is also a way of attracting customers, finding new customers, creating new marketing campaigns and making better sales.

Providing better control over the whole process - This means everything is under the same roof. Partners get an overview of the reservations and the documents that they have made. The whole process is centralized, eliminating the risk of making possible mistakes. Travel distribution platform has become a backbone of travel agencies, who are using online travel portals. 

Online Booking Software with Travel GDS and APIs giving edge to companies in United States, United Kingdom and Germany

Your travel business may be small or big, but it can’t survive in the present world without an Online Booking Software. You may have hosting a very good travel website design on your domain and it may also be attracting a-lot of visitors as well. But without travel software, you may not be able to realize its full potential. With online travel software in place, you can not only connect to potential clients but also achieve the sales online. Integrating a travel agency software will change your website to an online booking system platform.

Travel Portal Company – Get a Project Quote – http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html

But how to integrate, is an intriguing issue. There are three basic methods of integration to your existing website:

iFrame Integration

Top travel software provides the white label links, which can be connected in any travel website. Your web designer can simply import these links in iframe. Thus your website will host the search box and will enable the complete online booking software on your website.

Widget integration

You add the code snippet or a widget, from travel software provider, to your website code. Sections of on the online booking UI will be added to the desired places in your website (e.g., search box, hotel room or flights on special offer).

API integration

API integration is one of the most common methods used today. You need a professional travel software development company to achieve this. APIs provide the web services XML, which should be programmed to connect to third party server to bring the data. Its always advisable to hire an experienced travel portal developer to do this for you. Hotel APIs or Flight APIs integration will give you the complete control on look n feel of the system and customization.

With API integration, travel companies can -

• Have B2C, B2B, corporate and white-label modules

• Manage multiple suppliers including GDS & hotel consolidators

• Manage separate sub-domains / domains for end users and agents

• Update the markup from the backend

• Have IP based currency option

• Have comprehensive reporting system

Regarding Author:

Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development projects.

Resources:

http://www.provab.com

http://www.provab.com/travelportaldevelopment.html

http://www.provab.com/travel-software.html

Travel GDS Software – Airlines, Hotels, Cars, Packages for agencies in India, Ghana and Egypt – PROVAB.com

http://www.provab.com - A global distribution system (GDS) is a database capable of storing and updating enormous information on the supply of a wide range of tourism products worldwide. GDSs enable the travel agents to access, in real-time, availability, features and prices of flight tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises, ferry reservations, trains and other services. With a Global distribution system integrated to their website, travel agencies can allow their customers to search and book travel products and services and issue tickets too.

Looking for a Travel Portal – Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html

Global Distribution System

Travel agencies are greatly aided by GDS systems because they are enabled to offer their customers rates, inventory, discounts, rooms, and descriptions on a real-time basis. In other words, global distribution systems are intermediaries between travel product suppliers –and travel retailers who sell tickets to the final consumer.

Main features of GDS:

• Report availability and prices of travel products

• Reserve user requests.

• Sale and ticketing

• Track sales (extend customer’s stay, change of flights, etc).

• Facilitates control management for travel agencies).

Evolution of GDS

The prototype of GDS in the travel industry can be seen in the 1950s as the traditional legacy business model which inter-operated between airline vendors. Computer reservation systems (CRS), at the initial stage, was used by the airline companies as an automated booking system, but later, travel agents were given access. Around 1980, CRS enabled travel agents to connect to various travel providers in a single system. At this stage, in addition to flights, hotels and car rentals were included. CRS acquired much strength by late 80s being so helpful to both suppliers and distributors. In the 90s, computerized reservation systems of airlines were transformed to global distribution systems (GDS). So we see that GDS has developed from airline alliances and ended up becoming independent business units with product internationalization and introduction of new products, especially hotel rooms.

GDS integration for travel agencies and suppliers of travel products

Travel agencies must have full access to a global distribution system GDS. To get connected to a GDS, travel agencies need a contract.  This will enable the travel agents to provide an astonishing amount of travel product rates and information to their customers, at the lowest possible rates. An experienced travel technology company can integrate any GDS to the computer reservation system or website of a travel agency.

It’s critical also for the properties to be on a GDS. Travelers now go to travel portals to find travel products. So hotels, car rentals, etc, have to be there to get Internet visibility and, thus, more reservations. A GDS allows real-time access to inventory system of a hotel with the current prices, discounts, room types, facilities like Wi-Fi  and different aspects of interest to the potential customer.

Owners can hire a good travel technology company to get access to the GDS of their choice. A property can be connected only in one GDS provider. If the property owner wants to change the provider, he can cancel the existing provider and activate another with a switch letter.

How much does it cost?

To integrate GDS to your system, you’ll have to pay a one-time setup cost and pay a monthly charge of a minimum amount per reservation.

Major GDS systems

Amadeus was started in 1987 by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa, and SAS in order to create a European GDS, by fusing their CRSs. In 1989, seven more airlines joined Amadeus and began to allow travel agents to book flights through neutral screens. It is now the largest leisure package distributor in the world. Through Amadeus GDS integration, a travel agent can offer travel products from 430 airlines in 195 countries, 32 car rental companies in 37,918 locations, 20 cruise lines and 300,000 hotel properties. More than 100,000 travel agencies are connected with Amadeus GDS.

Sabre, a joint venture by American Airlines and IBM, was started in 1960. In 1970, Sabre system began to be installed in travel agencies.  Now 55,000 travel agencies use Sabre GDS to book products from 400 airlines, 88,000 hotels, 24 car rental brands, and 13 cruise lines.

Galileo and Worldspan are the other two major GDSs. There are also third party consolidators like Sahara, Infini (Japan), Axess (Japan), Tapas (Korea), Fantasia (South Pacific), and Abacus (Asia/Pacific) that cater to particular regions or countries.

The big consolidators also include such as Expedia, Orbitz (Merchant program registration needed), Hotels.com, Travelocity, AAA, Hotwire, Priceline and TravelWeb.

The future of GDS

As a tool of of content aggregation, GDS is here to stay and be more powerful. Novel technological solutions in middleware continue to appear. Global distribution systems have a long way to go.

Travel ticketing software and OTA travel ecommerce solutions, helping agencies in Kuwait, Turkey and UAE – PROVAB.com

http://www.provab.com - Ticketing system in travel technology means an online booking system to search and book, flights, hotels, transfers, sightseeing and holiday packages. Travel ticketing system supports immediate booking and request management (*which is called queuing up), both the models. Ticketing system also refers to travel software (travel agency software), which are widely used by global travel management companies.

Looking for a Travel Portal – Get a Project Quote - http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html

A ticketing system / travel agent software is online system to store & to retrieve travel related contents. The data may come from the ticketing system’s database or it may come from the GDS Systems – Global Distribution Systems or the third party suppliers. Ticketing system may process the transactions related to flights, accommodations, transfers, cars, cruise and other travel related services. There are three kinds of ticketing systems, which are most widely used today.

• Ticketing System connected to GDS
• Ticketing System connected to Third Party Suppliers
• CRS based Ticketing System

A ticketing system / travel software, while issuing any ticket connects to primary flights / hotels / cars data to find real time availability and pricing. Once the availability is confirmed, users can proceed to make payment to confirm the booking. This whole process is automated and end users get the booking confirmation / PNR or voucher in no-time after making the payment. Below are distinct advantages of travel ticketing system / travel agency software.

• Round o clock availability, improved sales and great client satisfaction.
• Fully automated system, and thus saves alot of time of end users.
• PNR / Vouchers are generated immediately.   
• Comprehensive backend with markup module, currency module, report module and user DB.

Author:

Author is a travel technology expert and has been involved in several travel portal development project.

Morocco, Uganda and Nigeria based Agencies using Top Travel Agency Software switching to OTA model.

PROVAB TECHNOSOFT (provab.com) is a leading online travel portal development company, guides you to top travel agency software a travel agency must implement so that their sub agents or endusers search, book and manage travel related things efficiently and accurately.

http://www.provab.com/travel-software.html

Get a Project Quote : http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html

A Travel Agency Software generally includes flights, hotels, transfers, cars, sightseeing, insurance and holiday packages. Based upon the size of travel agency PROVAB customizes the software to meet the day to day needs of travel agents / travel agencies and end customers. Starting from the initial search, availability response, selection summary, payment & PNR / voucher generation, everything can be managed online and amendments can be done through backend.

http://www.provab.com/travelportaldevelopment.html

With PROVAB's travel software, travel agencies can:

• build B2C, B2C, B2B2C modules
• integrate and manage multiple suppliers including GDS & hotel consolidators
• manage separate sub-domains / domains for end users and agents
• markup management from the admin panel
• add multiple payment gateway with multiple currency options
• integrate comprehensive reporting system
• integrate a robust CRM system
• integrate hotel extranet system to manage the hotel contents by the hotel sub-contractors itself.
• integrate channel management system to manage the hotel contents for various hotel suppliers.

http://www.provab.com/xmlintegrationsolutions_hotelbookingenginedevelopment.html

Travel Agency software can intergrate following API’s and XML through web services.

• GDS (Amadeus, Galileo / Travelport, Sabre)
• Hotel Aggregators (GTA, Hotelbeds, Hotelspro, DOTW, Expedia & many more)
• Car Consolidators
• Transfers Consolidators
• Sightseeing Consolidators
• Cruise Consolidators

To stay ahead of the curve, a robust travel software is the basic need of travel agencies today. Travel agent software, not only offers a 24/7 sales system for travel companies, but also provides a comprehensive web based admin to review the booking logs and users summary from any corner of the world.

To know more about us, please visit http://www.provab.com. You can call us at +91.8880321321and email us at info@provab.com.

How is growth of travel technology and distribution platforms in United Kingdom, Germany and Spain?

Travel agencies in Europe are spending a-lot on process automation and OTA model. Top travel agencies in United Kingdom, Germany, Spain are partnering with top travel technology companies in India for setting up best in class travel portal.

PROVAB TECHNOSOFT (provab.com) is a leading travel technology provider, supplying robust travel software / travel portals to clients in USA, India, Middle East, Far East & Europe, by integrating the GDS systems and third-party consolidators. We execute both B2C and B2B travel portal development projects.

Get A Project Quote : http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html  

As we can see the growing rates of travel eCommerce websites in the market, we can simultaneously see growing travel portal development companies, which are competing in serving and developing the best in class travel portals / booking systems / accounting systems and travel CRM by providing some of their own unique and updated features and providing time bound services to their clients. In such a race, it is very much required for any travel agency to partner with professional travel portal development company to stay ahead from the competition.

http://www.provab.com/travelportaldevelopment.html

Good travel portals not only showcase your products and services effectively, but also provide a quick and easy select & book option to ensure the user experience is as enjoyable as possible and attract more and more users towards the brand. With so many travel e-commerce options available, it can be difficult to go through the marketplace and find the best fit for your business, while also ensuring at times, you choose a solution that integrates easily with your already established website.

While deciding upon a particular travel software solutions company after short listing it according to your features list, the know-hows of the company and details are inevitable. This is because a company with enough experience in your required field can provide you with a better service. You should make sure the experience of that particular company in successful travel eCommerce development and specially matching something like yours and then go through those designs and features.

In case you like the pattern of a company it is essential to get good reviews about the firm from its previously served clients, then you have a good technology partner in hand. Another significant point is your budget and the prices offered by the development company. The prices should be reasonable as per the market standards and the quality of service they are offering.

http://www.provab.com/travelportaldevelopment.html

To know more about us, please visit http://www.provab.com. You can call us at +91.8880321321 and email us at info@provab.com.

With Regards,

Ujjwal K
Business Manager
PROVAB TECHNOSOFT
http://www.provab.com

Resources:

http://www.provab.com/travelportaldevelopment.html

http://www.provab.com/globaldistributionsystems-gdssystems.html

http://www.provab.com/gdssystem-globaldistributionsystems.html

Start a travel agency under OTA model with portal and extranet solutions

Starting a travel business from home is a good idea indeed. You need only a little investment. It is low-risk too. Just that you must be very enthusiastic to offer your clients best in class travel deals.  

For B2C Travel Portal Development – Get a Project Quote -  http://www.provab.com/get_quote.html

The first step in your home based endeavor is finding the right host agency. It’s better to have a host agency. It will keep your spending low, give you big commissions, and do your backend office. Moreover, if you are a novice in travel industry, they will train you too and assist you in running the business. Most of the host agencies have their online travel software in place, which you can also get access off.  

With the host agency, you need not have an ARC, CLIA, or IATAN number which is costly and difficult to get for a startup. The host agency’s accreditation number is enough and it will be your parent company.  If you use the GDS, the host will take care of the ARC report which will be time-saving to you.  They will also help you to get a travel agent license as required by your region.

Experts recommend to restrict your travel business first to some niche rather than offering all airlines and hotels in the world. It may be for a particular region or a special holiday package. But don’t market just one product, try two or three. Or you can cater to the travel needs of business travelers to a particular country. Or try your luck in booking charter planes for the high-end corporate travelers or billionaires. Name your travel agency accordingly. Try to offer something, which is little different from the generic node.

You are in travel business to make money by providing quality, reliable service to your customers. Have separate accounts and track business expenses. To get your home-based travel agency clicked, you must have a working knowledge of travel agency software, customer service experience and experience in traveling to the destinations you deal in.

Keep on having very satisfied clients and serve your clients to the max. Word of mouth does wonders in travel business.

Regarding Author:

Author is a senior business analyst and an expert in travel portal development and marketing strategy implementation.

Resources:

http://www.provab.com

http://www.provab.com/globaldistributionsystems-gdssystems.html

http://www.provab.com/travelportaldevelopment.html