New Study Finds GDS Hotel Promotions Have a Growing Influence on Bookings
This article summarizes the results of a survey taking by Phoenix Marketing International for TravelCLICK. The survey showed how “travel agents are increasing their reliance on global distribution systems promotion for hotel bookings.”
There were many different aspects measure in this survey: the use of GDS platforms, GDS shopping displays, people’s awareness of GDS promotional messages, bookings, and people just seeking and requesting information through GDS systems. Every single percentage increased substantially from the last time they were measured.
The survey being described also showed the importance of the “effectiveness of display and content” in these systems. The five top things travel agents look for are:
1. Shows a rate that they can actually book for the dates they are searching for
2. Shows only the destination they are searching for
3. Shows the hotel’s GDS property ID
4. Is competitive, offering a value greater than the hotel’s standard available rates
5. Includes information on amenities, travel agent incentives and other add-ons in addition to price
I chose this article because it shows how much of an impact that technology has on our industry and how it is growing over time. The use of these technologies and the different systems is increasing rapidly and will continue to do so.
Anyone who provides a GDS needs to know that their content and display of what they are offering is clear and easy for their users. Nobody is going to book and event or a vacation when they are not 100% sure what they are booking. Travel agents want to see deals, what value they will be getting, locations and specific details of all items they are searching for. The use of these systems has increased so much that there should be no problems when booking through these systems.
1 comment:
I agree with the main points Katie outlined. Hotel companies need to make their GDS easy to navigate and secure. Providing lots of extra information is very helpful in convincing a customer to purchase a hotel room at a certain property. At the same time, if the information is not organized or there is unrelated information, this will most likely cause confusion and doubt. If I’m confused about something I’m surely not going to spend money on it. If you’ve ever shopped a hotel over the phone via a corporate call center you may have realized that they sometimes have outdated data. This can really hurt a property. Clean concise information is what consumers need.
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