Travel agents are increasingly using GDSs for hotel reservations

Accommodation bookings made through GDS increased by 14% in 2012, according to a survey conducted by Phoenix Marketing International for Travelclick. The growth of this tool contrasts with the sharp drop in other channels, around 21%, except for the websites of the chains themselves, which increased their transactions by 3%.

 

According to the report, travel agents increasingly value GDSs as a working tool, due to their ability to load hotel inventory and availability in real time. In any case, they also demand price parity from suppliers in all the channels through which they market their rooms. The survey was conducted among more than 650 travel agents from 34 countries.

Jason Ewell, managing director of Travelclick, “technology makes hotel shopping much more efficient today through GDS. They exert a key influence on bookings, which is why hotels need to sell themselves to travel agents through this channel”.

 According to the study's projections, GDSs will process some 58 million hotel bookings this year, up 5% from the previous year, reinforcing the consolidation of these tools.