Amadeus last week announced it has migrated the 75,000 hotels on its global distribution system onto a new platform that enhances searching capabilities and eventually will allow for a new user interface with a best available rate program and a global commission retrieval mechanism.
The new platform, running on the Linux operating system, defines hotels by 100 attributes, enabling users to search by such amenities as swimming pools and hoteliers to display more information about available rooms, according to Amadeus. With the platform in place, Amadeus plans to expand on its searching capabilities.
The platform will allow hotels to centralize their technology infrastructure, reducing costs, according to Antoine Medawar, managing director of Amadeus' hospitality business unit. "The hotel industry is one of the world's biggest in terms of transactions processed, but the industry's IT processes remain fragmented and unready to cope with the enormous increase in transactions as more hotels are booked online," Medawar said.
Amadeus also announced it would offer a new user interface for travel agencies in 2008. The interface will include a best available rate program so agencies can be assured the rates they receive are as competitive as those on other distribution channels.
Such rate programs have been a focus for GDSs in recent months. Sabre in June launched its Rate Assured hotel certification program, which canvasses rates through hotel market information provider Rubicon and checks up to 235 sites on a weekly basis. Galileo in 2004 launched a best available rate program in which more than 100 hotel chains are participating
(BTN, July 9).Amadeus also is piloting a worldwide commission manager that will track commissions due agents from participating hotels.
Although airfares often get the lion's share of attention in GDS discussions, Amadeus and its competitors in the distribution arena recently have put focus on improving hotel distribution. In addition to content and technological offerings, GDSs also have been adding to the volume of properties available. Amadeus, for example, said it has added 10,000 hotels a year since 2005.
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