Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Supplier Central Reservation Offices
The growth of travel in the 1960s that prompted airlines to develop
computerized reservation systems put similar pressures on hotel chains and
other travel service vendors. Hotels and car rental offices were
receiving growing numbers of telephone calls, letters, and telexes from their
customers wanting to book their services. Hotel chains and other travel
service suppliers determined that the best way to serve the consumer, and
provide a valuable service to the hotels within the chain, was to develop their
own central reservation offices (CROs).
Facilitating this growth in CROs was the introduction of toll-free telephone services in theUnited States in the mid-60s.
Hotel chain and hotel representation company executives, with those at Holiday
Inn in the lead, recognized the new telephone technology as an opportunity to
gain a competitive advantage by offering greater service to the traveling
public as well as their hotel properties.
Before the development of their own computer reservation systems, telephone calls to the first hotel company central reservation offices were answered by agents who responded to room requests by looking at walls covered with "Availability Blackboards" or at massive books, which were updated by hand. As call volumes steadily grew, these operating methods were quickly overwhelmed.
The same factors, that had prompted airlines to develop computerized reservation systems, led executives of car rental, hotel, and other travel companies to build similar systems. In the early 1970s, Westin Hotels and Resorts (then Western International Hotels) developed a hotel version of United Airline's APOLLO reservation system. The result was "Westron", which was activated in December 1974. In subsequent years Westron was licensed to seven major hotel chains and became the industry standard.
Facilitating this growth in CROs was the introduction of toll-free telephone services in the
Before the development of their own computer reservation systems, telephone calls to the first hotel company central reservation offices were answered by agents who responded to room requests by looking at walls covered with "Availability Blackboards" or at massive books, which were updated by hand. As call volumes steadily grew, these operating methods were quickly overwhelmed.
The same factors, that had prompted airlines to develop computerized reservation systems, led executives of car rental, hotel, and other travel companies to build similar systems. In the early 1970s, Westin Hotels and Resorts (then Western International Hotels) developed a hotel version of United Airline's APOLLO reservation system. The result was "Westron", which was activated in December 1974. In subsequent years Westron was licensed to seven major hotel chains and became the industry standard.
The Evolution of GDS
As recently as the early 1960s, most travelers and travel agents made their reservations directly with their chosen airline, hotel, or car rental office via letter, telex, or telephone. The growing popularity of air travel in the mid-60s forced airlines to establish huge reservation centers to handle telephone calls and also to develop computerized systems (GDS) to accept and store flight reservations.
When a traveler (or a travel agent) telephone an airline, the reservation agent would use a GDS terminal to book the flight. The traveler or travel agent would then make additional telephone calls to book hotel accommodations, a rental car, and the other travel services required.
As air travel continued to grow, calls to the airline reservation centers increased dramatically. To reduce costs and further increase their bookings, airlines began installing computer terminals in the offices of their most productive travel agencies. Airline managers understood it would be less expensive to have travel agents book the reservations directly into the airline systems than it would be to hire additional staff at airline reservation centers. They also knew that travel agents were more likely to book reservations on the airline that supplied the GDS terminals.
Then the first in a series of GDS system content expansions were implemented to meet travelers' interests in comparative flight information and price quotes from a variety of airlines. This first enhancement was the addition of inventory and fare information for other major air carriers. Travel agents quickly realized that their computer terminals, with which they had grown comfortable booking airline reservations, could be a convenient tool for booking other travel services as well. Their requests for additional options prompted the airlines to add booking capabilities for rental cars and, later, for hotels, and other travel products.
Suppliers also were enthusiastic about the opportunity to present and sell their services to the thousands of travel agents using airline reservation systems. It became clear, however, that those systems, designed to list and sell airline flights, were not structured for easy listing and selling of other travel services. When the capability to sell non-air travel services were introduced, GDSs functioned only as electronic lists of availability and rates, with a booking capability. Product and service descriptions in plain, understandable English, were not available.
Hotels, in particular, require display formats that can present a wide variety of room types, complex rate structures and detailed text descriptions that effectively portray a property. Car rental companies face similar challenges in adequately portraying their fleets, rules, and booking opportunities. Nonetheless, the potential of the distribution opportunity was immediately apparent and non-air supplier companies became major participants in airline reservation systems.
Introduction of GDS
A global
distribution system (GDS) can be defined as a centralized and permanently upto-
date database that is accessible to its subscribers through computing terminals. A GDS
provides all kinds of tariffs and tourism services to subscribers everyday, allowing the users to
make, change and cancel reservations, as well as to print tickets and avail themselves of any kind of rights related to services and products. Traditionally, travel agencies have been the main
subscribers, with airline companies being the owners, creators, hosts or salesmen for GDSs. It
be noted that this situation has been undergoing important alterations .The GDSs constitute at the present time the evolution and natural adaptation of the traditional computer reserve systems (CRS) to the market. The origin of these distribution systems comes from the 1960s in the United States as a consequence of the inefficacy of manual systems for the control of seat availability in the wake of the growth experienced by the aviation industry .With the goal of creating an automated system for the capacity administration of their airplanes, American Airlines and IBM developed a joint program that became the SABRE, considered the first CRS . The original purpose of these systems was to facilitate through an automated system the storage and administration processes of all the information related to flights, lodging availabilty, and schedules or prices. Beginning in 1987 and as a consequence of the increase in demand for the application of such information to other types of tourism products (e.g. hotel rooms), and of the internationalization of their operations, CRS moved towards a new and enlarged concept which we know today as the global distribution systems. Traditionally, inside the distribution channels a GDS operates as a retail wholesaler because its sales are addressed to the travel agencies. However, at the present time all the major players have developed direct access to consumers through the Internet, and as a result of this reorientation a GDS should now also be considered as a retailer.
date database that is accessible to its subscribers through computing terminals. A GDS
provides all kinds of tariffs and tourism services to subscribers everyday, allowing the users to
make, change and cancel reservations, as well as to print tickets and avail themselves of any kind of rights related to services and products. Traditionally, travel agencies have been the main
subscribers, with airline companies being the owners, creators, hosts or salesmen for GDSs. It
be noted that this situation has been undergoing important alterations .The GDSs constitute at the present time the evolution and natural adaptation of the traditional computer reserve systems (CRS) to the market. The origin of these distribution systems comes from the 1960s in the United States as a consequence of the inefficacy of manual systems for the control of seat availability in the wake of the growth experienced by the aviation industry .With the goal of creating an automated system for the capacity administration of their airplanes, American Airlines and IBM developed a joint program that became the SABRE, considered the first CRS . The original purpose of these systems was to facilitate through an automated system the storage and administration processes of all the information related to flights, lodging availabilty, and schedules or prices. Beginning in 1987 and as a consequence of the increase in demand for the application of such information to other types of tourism products (e.g. hotel rooms), and of the internationalization of their operations, CRS moved towards a new and enlarged concept which we know today as the global distribution systems. Traditionally, inside the distribution channels a GDS operates as a retail wholesaler because its sales are addressed to the travel agencies. However, at the present time all the major players have developed direct access to consumers through the Internet, and as a result of this reorientation a GDS should now also be considered as a retailer.
GDS
constitutes the main working tool for travel agencies, providing them all the
necessary
information to carry out their job, from the moment a client asks for a service until the potential
sale and follow-through. The GDSs provides a valuable instrument for travel agencies, increasing their productivity. Moreover, this wholesale element in the distribution channel is also a very positive tool for hotel companies, airline companies, car rental business, etc. Some have argued, however, that the effectiveness of global distribution systems for hotel products has not been proven . Disadvantages of this distribution channel include utilization costs, and the ‘halo effect’ may obscure the reality of its different effectiveness for different tourism products. The rise of computerized reservation systems sponsored by the hotels themselves, with a clear specialization in this kind of tourism product, has decidedly begun to revolutionize the way such central reservation systems operate.
The GDS industry is consolidated under the control of four powerful organizations, three of
them – Galileo, Sabre, and Amadeus – comparable in dimension. The fourth element, Worldspan, keeps a certain distance from the others. Beyond these exist another five systems: Abacus Distribution Systems, Axes International Network,GETS, Infini Travel Information, and TOPAS. Parallel to these companies, however, whose origins are in the airline industry, another ninety some regional reservation systems which emulate the original GDSs have important coverage. These regional systems (RICIRMSs – Regional Integrated Computer Reservation Management Systems), according to Buhalis’s denomination , constitute a strategic tool for the small and medium-size companies of the tourism sector.
These new developments in the organization of the tourism industry confront the GDSs with a
panorama to which they must respond. The GDSs will have to develop new strategies that will allow them to continue being the nucleus of tourism distribution. To reach such a goal, providers of GDSs should understand, among others things, that they must: continue to evolve their technological experience; reduce utilization costs; simplify the utilization processes; enlarge the products and services range; establish strategic alliances with the new competitors; and develop a more effective relational marketing policy with travel agencies; etc.
information to carry out their job, from the moment a client asks for a service until the potential
sale and follow-through. The GDSs provides a valuable instrument for travel agencies, increasing their productivity. Moreover, this wholesale element in the distribution channel is also a very positive tool for hotel companies, airline companies, car rental business, etc. Some have argued, however, that the effectiveness of global distribution systems for hotel products has not been proven . Disadvantages of this distribution channel include utilization costs, and the ‘halo effect’ may obscure the reality of its different effectiveness for different tourism products. The rise of computerized reservation systems sponsored by the hotels themselves, with a clear specialization in this kind of tourism product, has decidedly begun to revolutionize the way such central reservation systems operate.
The GDS industry is consolidated under the control of four powerful organizations, three of
them – Galileo, Sabre, and Amadeus – comparable in dimension. The fourth element, Worldspan, keeps a certain distance from the others. Beyond these exist another five systems: Abacus Distribution Systems, Axes International Network,GETS, Infini Travel Information, and TOPAS. Parallel to these companies, however, whose origins are in the airline industry, another ninety some regional reservation systems which emulate the original GDSs have important coverage. These regional systems (RICIRMSs – Regional Integrated Computer Reservation Management Systems), according to Buhalis’s denomination , constitute a strategic tool for the small and medium-size companies of the tourism sector.
These new developments in the organization of the tourism industry confront the GDSs with a
panorama to which they must respond. The GDSs will have to develop new strategies that will allow them to continue being the nucleus of tourism distribution. To reach such a goal, providers of GDSs should understand, among others things, that they must: continue to evolve their technological experience; reduce utilization costs; simplify the utilization processes; enlarge the products and services range; establish strategic alliances with the new competitors; and develop a more effective relational marketing policy with travel agencies; etc.
Types of Travel & Tourism
Travel and tourism provide
services of all types for both inbound and outbound travellers, and have become
one of the world's fastest growing industries. International travel and tourism
are the world's largest export earner and an important factor in the balance of
payments in most nations. The market is increasingly diverse, covering not only
traditional sunshine tourism and business trips but also many new types of
travel that have developed in recent years. Tourism has become one of the
world's most important sources of employment. It covers a wide range of jobs,
including all branches of the travel industry, hospitality in hotels and
restaurants, entertainment and recreation, as well as the tourist attractions
in a particular region. But the areas of work include ………
Travel Agencies , Tour Operators
Tourist Boards and Tourist
Information Centers
Transport Companies
Tour Guides & Tourist Attractions.
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