GDS Companies Focus on Boosting Hotel, Car Bookings
by Michèle McDonaldGDS companies are trying to boost hotel and car bookings as airlines continue to shrink capacity due to high fuel costs.
Travelport said it plans to invest in a new in-house support function for its hotel and car suppliers as part of its ongoing commitment to increase hotel and car bookings through Galileo and Worldspan and through its Travelport Leisure online portal.
Two new dedicated helpdesks will be established to ensure that hotel and car content is distributed as widely and effectively as possible to travel retailers. The two helpdesks, in Dublin, Ireland, and Parsippany, N.J., should be up and running by the summer, Travelport said.
Travelport also has created a team of dedicated hospitality business development managers to support travel agencies in key countries.
Amadeus approach
Meanwhile, Amadeus said Hotel SmartSell is now available on the Amadeus Selling Platform in the U.S.
The option reminds agents to offer a hotel stay when making an air reservation; enables the completion of the hotel booking in four clicks, and seamlessly incorporates the booking into the PNR.
When an agent books an air segment that includes an overnight stay, a pop-up window appears that allows a hotel search using a variety of criteria, such as chain code, special rates, facilities or location. Results are displayed as a list and on a graphical map.
