Travelport signed a partnership agreement with Net Trans to provide hotel commission recovery for its travel agency customers around the world.

Chris Zando, head of global partnerships and alliances for Travelport GDS, said the service can increase the average agency’s hotel commission revenue by up to 40%.

Net Trans also has a global agreement with Amadeus.

Net Trans says it handles all hotel bookings for every property and every brand throughout the world. It is a complete outsourcing service taking care of all aspects of hotel commission collection.

Net Trans, based in Tonsberg, Norway, was founded in 1999 and is now one of the largest commission processing firms in the world. It has offices in Germany, the U.K., Spain, France and Singapore. It also has an Asia-Pacific operation in Manila, Philippines, which handles many of its back-office processes.

The Net Trans solution gives agents a complete picture of their data so they know exactly how much commission has been paid and how much is still owed.

The company also chases unpaid commissions no matter where in the world the hotel booking is done and regardless of the hotel brand or property.

All collection and reporting will be based on the data going through the Galileo and Worldspan systems, with reports provided to agents each month.

On its Web site, ntrans.com, Net Trans offers a calculator that estimates the potential gain of using the service.

In other Travelport news:

* Travelport’s Galileo Vacations, an online vacation package search and booking tool for Canadian travel agents, added options to sort packages both by lowest base price and by total price that includes fees, charges and taxes. The change enables agents to determine which inclusive tour charter and land-only products offer the highest commission and which offer the best price.

     ACTA president David McCaig said the move “makes it much easier for agencies to determine and to collect fair commissions for the work they do for both suppliers and consumers.”

* Travelport plans to challenge Amadeus’ dominance in Bulgaria through a new distributor agreement with Travelport Bulgaria Ltd. The new company will distribute both the Galileo and Worldspan GDSs.

     Hannes Rosenmund, who has been managing director of Galaxy Travel in Sofia for five years, will serve as managing director of Travelport Bulgaria. Rosenmund also was a longtime manager at Swissair and was the carrier’s general manager in Bulgaria from 1995 to 2000.

     The move is part of Travelport’s ongoing multimillion-dollar investment drive in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It plans to grow its presence through a combination of new direct operations and the recruitment of distribution partners.

* Travelport signed a new multi-year agreement with Agência Abreu, a large travel agency based in Oporto, Portugal.

     Agência Abreu, which has close ties with Brazil, has more than 120 offices and is Galileo’s oldest customer in Portugal.

* Best Western International signed a new distribution agreement with GTA by Travelport that calls for distribution of additional properties and room types to GTA’s tour operator and travel agency customers.

     The deal will add more than 3,000 properties to GTA’s inventory.