The major GDS systems are Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, Worldspan, Apollo, and Pegasus. They store and process data from hotels, airlines, and other distributors. A GDS provides a single point of entry for travel agents to book hotel rooms, reaching a larger number of clients. It is especially useful for hotels that want to attract corporate travelers, as many businesses book travel through agents. While airlines have sought to circumvent GDS fees by selling directly online, GDS still plays a key role in distributing travel products and services like flights, hotels, and rental cars through travel agencies.

1. Global Distribution System
Chapter 9

2. Learning Objectives
● Define the different business languages and terminologies;
● Discuss the concept of Business Etiquettes and Protocols;
● Describe the importance of ethical business strategies;
● Identify Laws, Codes, and Regulations Related to Business Technologies;
● Define and understand the concept of netiquette
● Discuss the different information regarding effective business communication.

3. A GDS is a global conduit between travel bookers and suppliers, such as hotels and
other providers of accommodation. It communicates to travel agents and online booking
engines live product, price and availability data, and enables automated transactions.
The GDS is also used because it has the ability to present hotels, flights, and car
rentals in an easy, convenient interface to tap into the corporate travel market. The GDS can
be used as the preferred booking tool for many businesses that arrange trips for their
employees.

4. Glossary of Terms
● ADS- Alternative Distribution Site ; 3rd party
websites (online travel agencies, travel portals,
travel search engines, online hotel consolidators,
airline websites w/ online reservation options)
● Central Reservations System (CRS) A Central
Reservations System is a computerized
reservation program used by a group of hotels to
manage hotel records, room inventory and rates
and to book. It enables several hotels to be
booked from a central stage. Benefits include
providing a single guest database, travel agent
and business profiles, cross-selling and reporting
of alternative properties. It can also be called a
delivery system for databases since a hotel's
CRS transfers data to the distribution channels.

5. Glossary of Terms
● Chain Code The two-character code that is used to identify hotel chains within a GDS.
According to the GDS, the chain codes may differ.
● Chargeback Authority - Generally used when granting a hotel authority to charge a
third party corporate credit card through a travel agent. Normally, this is in form of a
formal authority letter advising payment orders for the stay of a visitor.
● City Code - IATA 3 letter code for a location identifying the city or its nearest airport
● Consortia - Marketing organizations that connect independent small to medium-sized
travel agencies together to exploit buying power and marketing opportunities.
● Corporate Rates (COR)- Corporate rates are different from negotiated rates, and all
travel agencies typically have access to corporate rates using a 'Corporate' search
qualifier. In general, hotels offer corporate guests discounts to get business in their
hotel. Typically, it needs some sort of identification that the guest is traveling for
company. The 'Corporate' indicator in Genares needs to be filled with these rates.

6. Glossary of Terms
● Consumers Relationship Management (CRM) -
Management of customer relationships is a model for
handling the experiences of a business with current and
potential clients. It includes using technology for sales,
marketing, customer service, and technical support to be
coordinated, automated and synchronized.
● Deposits A 'Deposit' means that, in order to obtain a
booking, a specified amount will be paid for the stay of the
customer.
● Derived Rates Rates that are correlated with another rate,
and monitor it. Used to update the hotels rate(s) by adding
or subtracting a total sum or percentage from the base
rate, rather than adjusting the rate each time it needs to be
adjusted.

7. Glossary of Terms
● GDS - Global Distribution System
● Geo-coding - The method of using degrees of
longitude and latitude to identify locations.
● Government Rates (GOV) - Government rates are
different from negotiated rates, and government rates
are normally accessible for all travel agents using a
'government' search qualifier. Hotels typically give
government and non-profit staff guests discounts to get
business in their hotel. Typically, it requires some sort
of identification that the guest is traveling for these
purposes.

8. Glossary of Terms
● Group PCC - Identifier that differentiates a whole category of agencies. Depending on
the GDS, a Pseudo-city code (PCC) is usually a three to five character code (alpha,
numeric, or combination). When adding negotiated rates, PCCs are necessary, as
these rates can be "defined" or secured to an agency using their PCC.
● Group Rate - For conference, trade show, meeting, tour or reward party, negotiated
hotel rate.
● Guarantee - For most bookings obtained from Travel Agent networks, credit card
guarantee is the basic form for (GDS). Some properties often allow a promise to be
made using the IATA number of agents, but this is normally not suggested unless the
property already has a trustworthy relationship with that agency. When a booking is
made, it is advised that prior approval for the cancellation charge is obtained from the
credit card vendor. This way, the hotel knows if there is a credit card problem before
the guest arrives. The guarantee is not actually the credit card used to pay for the
reservation, but a guarantee of payment for the hotel.

9. Glossary of Terms
● Non-guaranteed Reservation - Ensures that the hotel continues to retain a guest room until
the specified cancellation time of the reservation (usually 6 p.m.) on the day of arrival.
● IATA This is a Geneva-based association of airline companies operating and developing
best practices in international services. All over the planet, IATA accredits would-be travel
agents. This qualification covers the issuance of an ID-code, known as an IATA number. In
reservations, IATA numbers are used as the travel agent identifier to allow suppliers,
including hotels, to pay commissions.
● Internet Distribution System (IDS)- Internet Distribution, World Wide Web, Intranets,
Extranets, Online Services. It is also known as a synonym for ADS (Alternative Distributions
System).
● Lanyon - A tool used by consortiums and companies to obtain and respond to RFPs (request
for proposal).
● Leisure Travel Travel for leisure, educational, sightseeing, relaxation and other forms of
experience.

10. Glossary of Terms
● Mark Up The disparity between the hotels sold and the price offered to the customer by
the merchant.
● Negotiated Rate - A term used to describe prices agreed by a hotel business with a
particular customer in global distribution networks. The viewing of these rates in the
GDS (by a travel agent or other user of the GDS) is limited and the rate can be
reserved only after either the agent or customer identification code has been entered.
● Net Rate - In general, a rate that does not give commission to the travel agent is
defined. The rate given to wholesalers and tour operators that can be marked up to sell
to the customer is also available.
● Next Generation Seamless GDS Connectivity - An interface or link between the four
main GDS channels and a CRS device. To demonstrate the tight, stable integration
between a CRS and a GDS, the word "Next Generation Seamless" is used.

11. Glossary of Terms
● No Show - A reservation client who fails to turn up and does not cancel.
● Online Distributors Database (ODD) An online delivery database containing the basic
hotel data that is given. To all websites that use the booking engine of Pegasus (via the
Pegasus Switch)
● Online Travel Agencies (OTA) - Websites that provide travelers with robust travel
shopping and booking solutions. Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline, and several
local and regional sites are examples.
● Passenger Name Record (PNR)- A GDS file or record that contains travel schedule
information for a passenger, including flight itinerary, segments of hotel bookings,
segments of car rental bookings, and related data.
● Property Management System (PMS)- The hotel's application for on-site property
management activities such as check-in/out, folios, guest profiles, room status,
requests, etc. Interfaces between other systems, such as the hotel point of sale (POS)
or central reservation system, can be given by PMSS (CRS).

12. Glossary of Terms
● Pseudo-City Code (PCC) - An identifier that separates one location of a travel agency
from another and may also be referred to as a Subscriber ID. Depending on the GDS, a
Pseudo-City Code (PCC) is typically a code of three to five characters (alpha, numeric,
or combination). When adding negotiated rates, PCCs are necessary, as these rates
can be "defined" or secured to an agency using their PCC.
● Rate Access Code (RAC) - A special Rate Plan code used in the GDS by travel
agencies to access a particular corporate rate
● RELOC (Record Locator) - Usually, when a traveler, travel agent or airline employee
refers to a record locator, it means a pointer to a particular reservation known as a
Passenger Name Record or PNR.
● Request for Proposal (RFP) - RFP means Application for Proposal. The formal
petition of a corporation for business tenders from suppliers such as travel agents,
hotels or car rental companies.

13. Glossary of Terms
● Run of House (ROH) - It refers to a basic type of room with no guarantee of particular
amenities.
● SME - Small and/or medium-sized enterprises/es
● Subscribers Identification (SID)- A special 3-character code assigned by Worldspan
to an organization. Each of an agency's branches has its own special SID.
● Switch Moving from one GDS provider to another, including a GDS Chain Code shift.
● TMC-A Travel Management Business is a TMC. The divisions that are part of a TMC
are either owned or affiliated with that particular TMC. TMCs will require their agencies
to have a policy. TMCs invest in corporate self booking software, back-office
infrastructure and focus on accumulating and serving large to medium-sized local,
national and multinational corporate clients.

14. Glossary of Terms
● Travel Agency Commission Settlement Program (TACS) A product that offers a
service that allows properties with the TACSnet electronic commission settlement
program to reconcile and pay all travel agent commissions. Genares can provide this
through TACSnet, which offers travel agents a single unified payment in the currency of
their region. Detailed online reports are obtained by hotels and travel agencies to
expedite commission settlements and eliminate the cumbersome and time consuming
manual payment process. Travel agents are more likely to use an automatic fee
settlement scheme to book hotels, and hotels enjoy the efficacy of a simplified payment
process.
● The Travelport - Travel Commerce Network, which focuses on supplying the $7 trillion
global travel and tourism industry with distribution, technology, payment and other
solutions. It allows scan, exchange, buy and sell travel to travel suppliers, travel agents,
companies and developers. Travelport comprises Apollo Travelport, Galileo Travelport
and Worldspan Travelport, Travelport Digital

15. Glossary of Terms
● Vouchers - A traveler who purchases a tour that shows that such tour elements have
been prepaid is provided with forms or coupons. On the actual ride, vouchers are then
traded for tour items such as hotels, meals, sightseeing, theater tickets, etc.
● Wholesaler - Inclusive tours and individual travel plans are created and sold to the
customer by travel agents. However, wholesalers do not sell to the public directly - they
can access the GDS to make their bookings.

16. What are the major GDS systems?
The bulk of data from hotels, airlines, and other distributors is stored and processed by
many large global distribution networks. Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, Worldspan, Apollo, and
Pegasus are among these.
Amadeus GDS
For more than 30 years, Amadeus has been designing vital solutions to assist airlines,
hotels, trains, travel agents, tour operators and more in running their company and
optimizing their travel experience. Amadeus, with the ability to attract millions of visitors, has
the highest global presence of all of the GDSs. The organization operates in more than 190
markets and hires more than 17,000 people.

17. What are the major GDS systems?
Sabre GDS
Sabre is a leading provider of technology and data-driven solutions to help airlines,
hotels and travel agencies expand their companies and improve the experience of travelers.
For online travel agencies, corporate booking software, revenue management, and web and
mobile itinerary tools, to name a few, Sabre is seen as a leader. The global business-to-
business travel marketplace of Sabre Travel Network consists primarily of the GDS and a
wide range of solutions that integrate with the GDS. Travel providers, including 400 airlines,
175,000 hotels, 200 tour operators, 50 rail carriers, 40 car rental outlets and 17 cruise lines,
use this marketplace.

18. What are the major GDS systems?
Galileo GDS
Galileo traces its history back to 1971, when its first computerized central reservation
system was developed by United Airlines. In an effort to gain market share in the computer
reservation system market, Worldspan and Galileo were developed by other airline groups
due to the high market penetration of the Sabre and Apollo systems, operated by American
Airlines and United Airlines, respectively. In 2008, after the merger of Travelport and
Worldspan, the Galileo system was relocated from Denver, Colorado, to the Worldspan data
centre in Atlanta, Georgia (although they now share the same data centre, they continue to
be run as separate systems).

19. What are the major GDS systems?
Apollo GDS
As a leading GDS, Apollo provides travel distribution, technologies and services for
thousands of travel companies worldwide, including travel agencies, corporations, travel
suppliers and travel web sites. The Apollo reservation system was used by United Airlines
until 2012, when it switched to SHARES, a system used by its former Continental Airlines
subsidiary. Apollo is still used by Galileo International (now part of Travelport GDS) travel
agency customers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan.

20. What are the major GDS systems?
Abacus GDS
Abacus was founded in 1988 and became a leading provider of travel solutions and
services in the Asia Pacific region.
The company is headquartered in Singapore and owned by Sabre Holdings, after
Sabre acquired a full stake off 11 Asian airlines who were holding a majority share. Abacus
represents more than 100,000 travel agents across the 59 markets of the Asia-Pacific region
and has both multinational and uniquely local airline and hotel partnerships, including the
leading low-cost content portfolio and Chinese airline content.

21. What are the major GDS systems?
Pegasus GDS
In an otherwise complex environment, Pegasus aims to eliminate friction and establish
simplicity. The hospitality reservations market was pioneered by Pegasus Solutions. The
business is a market leader in the electronic production, management, delivery, sales and
marketing of hotel inventory, prices and content, including direct bookings through branded
hotel websites, speech, travel agents (GDS), OTAs and metasearch partners, through
various sales channels.

22. What does GDS do?
While those involved in hotel management are seeking to increase the amount of direct
bookings they attract, it helps to use a global distribution system to reach a larger number of
clients. This is because the GDS offers a single point of entry to thousands of travel agents
around the world, who can then book hotel rooms for their customers.
Moreover, for a hotel that aims to draw business or corporate travellers, a GDS can be
especially useful. This is because a large number of businesses now turn to a travel agent to
book business travel rather than attempting to book directly, since it can be easier for them
to handle expenses this way.

23. The differences between CRS and GDS
For a long time, the GDS had a dominant position in the travel industry, but airlines
began selling flights directly from their websites in order to bypass them and thereby avoid
their fees. Another way of circumventing them would be by using direct ties to distribution
organizations such as travel agencies. Today, GDS is in heavy talks with airlines about
every five years over (full) content and delivery fees.
From time to time, airlines and CRSS are also tackling a transition to a new hosting
system (inventory system), but this is much less common as it requires a significant
technical migration with many risks. American Airlines recently abandoned their suggested
migration from Sabre to HP. Mergers also require a transition, too, to a combined CRS. So
what's important: The CRS is typically run by the GDS and that's why the terms associated
with GDS and CRS are considered by most individuals. There are two distinct stages of
value production inventory management (CRS) and distribution (GDS).

24. GDS Core Functions
There were a lot of changes in the airline industry itself from the very start. In the
aviation industry, this also brings developments in information technology and its
applications. Sudden changes, from paperwork to computer technology, in the airline
reservation system have fully transformed global air tourism and transport.
Magnetronic Reservation, which included temporary storage based on a magnetic
drum, was introduced in 1952 as the first electronic reservation system. American Airlines
and IBM powered the originally mechanized reservation system Sabre (semi-automated
business research environment) in 1959 and completed it in 1964 to become the main major
common information processing systems.
Sabre was available to operators across the globe and was incredible in its ability to
hold the right stock steadily. After the 1978 deregulation of the airline industry, ARS (Airline
Reservation System) became more applicable to the travel industry.

25. GDS Core Functions
Global travel companies, airline reservations, and others within a travel business are enabled
by the global distribution system or GDS system to exchange travel products and services,
including hotels, flight tickets, and car rentals.
Usually, a GDS scheme is one of the most important distribution networks for those in the
airline industry since it will make the airline aware of travel agents who would then be able to book
airlines for the benefit of their passengers. This will completely increase the number of
appointments the airline is making at the moment.
The ultimate aim of the GDS is access to a worldwide distribution network. The system is
connected to various airline and travel bureau organizations. The customer will search for the
particular time and destination, and other important. emphasis,. As the system is related to such a
large number of organizations and airlines, this information will be taken from all the connected
organizations on where and where the customer wants to go and will be reviewed. It will then be
able to return to the customer, who is the person at the travel office, with accessibility to those
organizations. It can also demonstrate what accessibility is and allow the customer to hold on to it.

26. GDS Core Functions
The advantages that this can offer the organization are quite simple. The travel
organization must follow any organization, each in turn, in order to look for accessibility.
FlightsLogic, one of the leading travel technology providers, offers GDS integration for
flights, airline inventory, and tour packages, etc. The integration of FlightsLogic GDS offers a
broad range of data solutions to enable airlines to efficiently serve their customers and
market themselves. It is an efficient and cost-effective distribution channel that allows
carriers to extend entertainment and business travel to their customer scope.