OTA VS GDS ?

 

Hello my beloved hoteliers,

Which one is better, OTA or GDS? I've got this kind of question many many times. Well, they are very different things as comparisons of one another. Let's break them down in more detail to know better about them.

OTA

OTA stands for Online Travel Agency. It is a stand-alone booking channel or booking engine that is owned by a company that has legal cooperation with certain hotels, restaurants, spas, flights, etc.

Today consumers are on-the-go and the advantage of a booking engine and the reservation solutions provided by the OTAs is that it offers instant payment and booking confirmation.

The most commonly known OTAs are :

• The Priceline Group (Booking.com, Priceline.com, agoda.com, etc)
• Expedia, Inc. (Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Trivago, etc)
• TripAdvisor Inc (tripadvisor.com)
• Traveloka.com
• Tiket.com
• Pegipegi

GDS

GDS stands for Global Distribution System. If OTA is designed for guests to book their accommodation, whereby GDS is designed for the hotel or accommodation providers.

Hoteliers or accommodation providers are always looking at ways to increase their reach to attract more customers, increase revenue, and make a profit. GDS is a valuable channel to achieve this. A GDS passes on hotel inventory and rates to travel agents and travel sites that request it and also accepts reservations. It is a travel agency that works on behalf of large companies. These services are hired to book entire trips for their customers which also includes other services such as flights.

This is a central reservation system that allows travel agents to access hotel rates and availability as well as prices for flights, trains, and rental car companies in real-time.

Examples of GDSs 

• Amadeus
• Sabre
• Galileo

Visit their website if you want to find out more about their services.

Conclusion

OTA is B2C, Business to Client. So the company offers hotel booking, restaurant reservations, or tickets to clients directly. On the other hand, GDS is B2B, Business to Business. A company that offers its IT products to other companies.

Hope this article can help you. Again, I will be more than happy to hear your feedback, comment, or even any critics. 

Lobby Lizard
It is okay to move slow, but make sure you move forward