Amadeus Partnering On Tool To Expand Hotel Inventory

Global distribution system supplier Amadeus today announced a partnership with global hotel consolidator Transhotel to launch a new hotel booking tool with access to Transhotel's inventory of 50,000 properties.

The tool, still under development, will run parallel to Amadeus' existing hotel offering and will add a sizeable volume of hotels to the GDS. About two-thirds of European hotels are independent properties, and 30 percent of the 80,000 available properties through Amadeus Hotels are independent and budget hotels, according to the company. In addition to access to Transhotel's content, the tool also will aid in commission payments for bookings through the consolidator.

"By signing agreements with hotel consolidators, we are able to make a number of independent hotels available to travel agents with all the efficiency and reliability associated with our distribution system," Amadeus vice president of marketing Ian Wheeler said in a statement.

Amadeus plans to pilot the tool in to-be-determined markets in March. Subsequently, it will be available to agencies, according to Amadeus.