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Northstar Travel Group maintains the largest collection of travel and hospitality data in the world, ensuring the highest quality, most accurate, most relevant and broadest scope of content available. The strength of Northstar’s database is its extensive hotel information, consisting of over 250,000 hotel properties worldwide with 300 different attributes of information associated with each hotel property.

travel weekly gds codes

Cross Reference GDS Identifier

Northstar Travel Group offers a cross-reference table, using GDS ID codes. This table can be used to merge data from different systems/databases and help to gain access to those systems (i.e. GDSs for booking, commission reconciliation, etc.).

travel weekly gds codes

Hotel Classification Rating System

The hotel classification rating system is the largest, most-objective and comprehensive hotel rating system worldwide. Our hotel classification system has been developed and refined over seven decades, providing the main source of hotel evaluation and information for the travel planning industry.

travel weekly gds codes

Unique Hotel Identifier

For years the travel industry has struggled with the costs and problems created by multiple identifiers. NTM has solved these problems and, for 80 years, has been established in the business and process of providing identification numbers. Each of the 250,000+ hotels worldwide has an associated unique hotel identifier to ensure accuracy in matching hotel properties.

travel weekly gds codes

Hotel Description

Hotel Description is a succinct description of a hotel property, typically describing ambiance, style, architecture, history, location or nearby points of interest.

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new gds code for travelodge

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BUDGET hotel chain Travelodge has introduced a new GDS code.

All Travelodge UK bookings must use the new TG code rather than its previous FE code. FE was the code for all Forte hotels before the demerger of parent firms Granada and the Compass Group in February.

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Gds/reservations information, gds master chain code.

Marriott makes it easy for you to do business online by participating in all Global Distribution Systems (GDS) which provide real-time rates and availability for all Marriott hotels worldwide.

Easily search and book for Marriott International’s portfolio of brands by using the Master Chain Code EM. By requesting availability using the Master Chain Code EM, Travel Professionals can view rates for all available Marriott brands, except Bvlgari Hotels and Resorts, in the shopping search.

Marriott participates in the following GDS:

Amadeus, Apollo/Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan.

Each brand has a unique two letter chain code. By requesting availability using the chain code, Travel Professionals can view rates for that specific Marriott brand in the shopping search. 

Availability

Marriott International is pleased to offer the same real time rates, rate descriptions, rules, and availability that Marriott reservation agents view.

Displayed rates are based on sell strategy, designed so hotels can easily present the best rates available for a specific date and may include a choice of:

  • Breakfast inclusive
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When requested, rates for a negotiated account will also appear.

Alternate Availability

Marriott International is pleased to offer Alternate Availability functionality with Apollo/Galileo, Worldspan and Sabre.

Alternate Availability allows you to review/book alternate properties if your initial sell request is not successful. In Apollo/Galileo, if you attempt an HOC and the hotel is not available, you will receive a hotel other property (HOP) screen and a "Hotel requested not available" message, followed by up to 3 available alternate hotels from among Marriott brands, with distance from the originally requested hotel listed for each alternate.

To select an alternate hotel from the HOP display, enter the line number for that hotel in the HOC field to generate the "Inside Availability" display for the alternate hotel. (Sabre agents, see keyword "Alternate" in DRS for more information; Worldspan agents, see keyword "Source" in GRS.)

GDS Assistance

Questions about Marriott reservations and negotiated rates secured through GDS can be submitted to our Global Channel Operations Support team at [email protected] .

For negotiated rates, please ensure that there is a valid contract and that the rate is not already loaded before submitting queries.

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The GDS Codes: A simple guide to understand this global indexing

  • 16th March 2022

The tourism sector is global and connects actors from all over the world; administrations, private companies, citizens and tourists. In order to manage their interconnectivity, there are a multitude of tools available, including the popular GDS codes. In this guide, we will concisely analyse their functions and the usefulness of their use for companies.

travel weekly gds codes

A Global Distribution System, or GDS, is a sophisticated network of travel agencies specialising in the sale and booking of tourism services that displays in real time the stock status of packages and products of the main players in the industry, allowing travel agents to book packages and tourism products for their clients in real time, automatically updating their stock information for the rest of the network.

What are GDS Chain codes in the hospitality sector?

When you register a company in a GDS, you get an identification code composed of the chain code and the property code.

On the one hand, the chain code identifies the hotel chain or business group to which the entity belongs.

On the other hand, the property code identifies the company in sigular.

How can I obtain a GDS code?

To obtain a GDS code, you must first join a Global Distribution System. If your company's activity is tourism, such as a hotel or car rental, you must register as a service provider. Once registered in a GDS, the entity obtains a two-letter code that will identify it in the system.

What are the advantages for the company?

GDS Chain codes help to reinforce the brand image and positioning in the different distribution channels, strengthening access to the community of portals and tour operators and thus the overall booking potential of a company.

Biosphere allows you to disseminate your GDS codes

Once you get your own GDS code, it is essential to make it known to as many distributors as possible in order to gain visibility and positioning, as the OTAs that have their own GDS system will often show your entity as a priority over others that do not have it.

In Biosphere we take into account and value the potential and importance of these channels for tourism companies that align their management with sustainability to improve their visibility, so through our Biosphere Sustainable platform, we allow entities to disseminate their GDS codes to facilitate the communication of their sustainable efforts in the most popular portals and search engines among Internet users.

As we want to provide all the information to make it as intuitive as possible, in our platform you can put the codes for the following GDS:

  • Apollo/Galileo/Worldspan
  • TravelClick
  • ODD - Pegasus

As our Biosphere standard is recognised by the GSTC, we have agreements with the main OTAs, portals and search engines, such as Google, Booking, Agoda, TUI and EasyJe, among others. In order for us to share your sustainability achievements as Biosphere Certified and for this information to be automatically updated in your profiles on all these portals, you will need to indicate your GDS codes in the "Tour Operators" section of our platform. In this way, your good practices will be communicated in this great network of sustainability that is being created all over the world with the eco-labels and badges that more and more portals and OTAS are creating to offer the most responsible options to travellers.

More and more OTAs and search engines are particularly interested in differentiating and positioning companies that have a GDS code and actively demonstrate their efforts and good practices in sustainability. If you still don't have a certification or distinctive recognition of your sustainable efforts,  don't wait any longer and start now to manage and value your business sustainability!

We hope you have found this tutorial article useful in helping you understand what GDSs and their codes are.   

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travel weekly gds codes

To access Omni Hotels & Resorts’ index pages on the GDS, please use the following codes: 

Sabre: http://drs.sabre.com Apollo: HODOM Amadeus: GO/HTL/OM World span: G/HTL/OMQ

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Omni Hotels & Resorts is proud to offer a 10 percent commission on all commissionable rates. For questions about commission payments, please contact the hotel directly.

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Omni Hotels & Resorts is committed to maintaining rate integrity throughout the GDS, central reservations office, Internet and hotel-specific reservations offices. It is our goal to mirror the same rates at all points of reservation for our travel agency partners. All published rates will be available in all GDSs for all room types remaining in inventory. Upon request, we are happy to load client-specific rates in the GDS, as well.

Please call our Travel Agency Help Desk at 1-800-TA4-OMNI for additional information or assistance.

travel weekly gds codes

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A GDS Primer: What is the GDS and Which Travel Agents Need It?

What is the GDS and who needs it

In short, the Global Distribution System (GDS) is a travel agent’s motherboard for booking airline tickets and other sorts of travel goodies (like hotel and car). So it might seem pretty odd for me to show up here and say that many travel agents don’t necessarily need it.

That’s right. If you are a leisure travel agent, there’s a huge whopping huge chance that you don’t need to use a GDS. If you want to become a corporate travel agent though? That's a whole different story. Much more on this later, but before we get there . . . a brief history of the GDS! 1

Before the Dawn of the GDS

It can be easy to confuse the GDS with a Central Reservation System or Computerized Reservation System (CRS). CRSs are automated inventory-tracking systems that were (originally) owned and run by individual vendors (like airlines, car companies and hotels).

American Airlines created the first CRS system in 1946. And while this helped automate inventory for vendors, travel agents did not have direct access to that inventory. Travel agents would need to call the airline’s booking center, who would then contact one of their CRS operators, then relay the results to the travel agent over the phone (literally, like playing telephone). It took a lot of people power to book a single airline ticket. Travelers booking their own ticket? Forget about it! 

Booking airline tickets before the GDS

Thanks to IBM, these CRS systems became progressively more sophisticated throughout the late 50s to the 70s. Simultaneously, travel agents became progressively more annoyed by all the hoops they had to jump through to book a ticket—they wanted it to be more automated on their end too.

Nowadays, GDSs function as an umbrella for many many CRS systems. It’s like a CRS motherboard. (In fact, many vendors outsource their CRS systems to a GDS.)

The GDS Today

The GDS started out as a distribution channel for many airline carriers and later expanded to carry inventory of hotels and car rentals. But for the purpose of our article, we’re focusing on the airline component of the GDS.

There are many GDS options, and each GDS system will has access to their own pool of carriers. The four largest GDSs are: Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport (which is the parent company of Apollo/Galileo and Worldspan).

Literally hundreds of airlines can be logged into a single GDS system, to which thousands upon thousands of travel agents globally have access. That’s the win win situation of the GDS . . . travel agents have access to zillions of different airline fares, and many airlines’ inventory is accessible to the zillions of travel agents who are booking flights for their many many clients.

The advantage for airlines is that they are spared some of the legwork of trying to market to individual consumers—and their product is in the hands of thousands of consumers through the collective pool of agents that book through the GDS.

The advantage to travel agents is that the GDS not only can show you many fares from multiple airlines, but it also offers a great depth of information about each flight in one place. The carrier, the times, the costs, the class of the seat, aircraft type and so much more. It’s a smorgasbord of options. So if you’re booking a high volume of tickets, it’s great to have access to every minutiae of information from multiple carriers in one go.

Simple, right? Just point and click and get your tickets. Nooooooo sireeeee. That could not be further from the truth.

Green Screen and GUI: The Evolution of the GDS

What is the GDS? (and who needs it?)

In today’s world, the GDSs have a bit of a split personality. There is the old school, traditional GDS commonly called “the green screen.” Then there’s the hip side of the GDSs, which people will call “point and click” or “GUI” (Graphical User Interface). Essentially, it’s a more intuitive and prettier looking version of the GDS.

But of course, it’s not that simple. Sigh.

1. The Green Screen: There’s No Such Thing as GDS for Dummies

Most of the time, when people are talking about the GDS, they are talking about the green screen. If an ad for a travel agency job says you need to know how to use Sabre, what they mean is you have to be able to navigate the green screen side of Sabre (not just use GUI).

Let me be blunt: unless you’re some kind of prodigy, the GDS green screens are not user friendly. Be afraid, be very afraid. It’s not like supplier portals and online travel booking sites where you can rifle through your choices, do a price comparison, and click on what you want. Voila. (Watch some videos and read up on what travel agents do and how they do it .)

Using a GDS is a technical skill (think computer coding), and to use it really well is an art. Having experimented with it a few times myself, I have serious respect for travel agents who are fluent in the language of a GDS.

Take a listen (or read the transcript) to our podcast with Karen Hurlbut, of Hurlbut Travel , as she describes working within the GDS and shares what she uses the GDS for, and what she books with consolidators. The answer may surprise you! 

To learn the GDS green screen takes intense training, and to become proficient takes tons of practice and constant use. That means daily use with a mentor (for at least 6 months to a year), not just booking a ticket for a client every few weeks. Even then, you still gotta keep using it on a regular basis to remain a GDS speed demon (think of being fluent in a language).

Here's another great listen (or read the transcript) with Lary Neron of Airfare Consultant . He did price management at WestJet and then left to start his own agency. His knowledge of how the GDS works and tips and tricks to booking is something every travel agent should listen to.

This, my friends, is why host agencies and travel agencies aren’t jumping up and down to teach you the GDS (if they even offer it). It’s hard. Here’s what a booking in an Amadeus green screen looks like:

Are you still awake? Whoa, right?! (FYI: An experienced GDS user will be able to do that at about 10,000x the speed in the video.)

2. GUI: A Brighter Future for the GDS?

The GUI is the point-and-click version of the GDS. You may have heard of options such as Sabre Red 360 and TravelPort+ . So why doesn’t everyone use it? Here’s the problem: At its current stage of development, even GUI users need to understand the language of the green screen. As Ann Waters, president of the $40M Conference & Travel agency and Apollo user said,

Ann Waters, President of Travel Leaders-Conference and Travel

“It’s not inputting the information new agents have problems with, it’s interpreting what the GDS is sending back to the agent.”

—Ann Waters, President of Travel Leaders-Conference and Travel

  

Essentially, the GUI interface isn’t quite there yet . . . and developing this technology is reeeeeally expensive and comes with a lot of growing pain. Sure it’s got perks (like being easier on the eyes and allowing agents to book airline ancillaries) but here’s what happens: You type in that you want a ticket from JFK to LAX on [enter date] and click search. You think, “That was so easy, just like searching online. So intuitive! I’m definitely a natural at this.”

That is, until it spits back at you the cryptic type and command lines you see on the green screen GDS. What in the world?!? Yup. That’s the problem. While new agents can partially navigate the GDS with the GUI interface, the code that comes back still has important information like fare types and rules that the agents really needs to understand. So many agents, in the end, need to learn the green screen (and find it faster) regardless.

If they don’t know exactly what they’re doing . . .

Risks of Booking with the GDS

To book in the GDS, you must have an IATA/IATAN accreditation number , in addition to an ARC accreditation number if you’re located in the United States.

As a new agent, you can’t get these accreditation numbers because they require a lot of experience. So you come into the industry under a host agency ( more on what a host agency is and a list of host agencies ) and use their accreditation number instead.

And heck, your new host agency has a GDS! They’ll just give you that login information along with your Disney log in, right? Wrong. No freakin’ way. Because of the complexity of booking air tickets (or anything) with the GDS, there’s a huge margin for error. And these errors can cost a pretty penny. And this is to say nothing of fraud , which is another can of worms in the GDS world.

Enter travel agency debit memos . In short, debit memos are fines to travel agencies for making a mistake when booking with the GDS. Yes, even an itty bitty innocent mistake or typo. It may not seem like a biggie when you have one or two, but when you sell hundreds of tickets, these fines risk start adding up right quick. In 2015, there was a total of $530-capital-M-million-dollars issued to ticketing agencies.

This is why a host agency cannot afford to let a new agent use the GDS without rigorous training. It’s just too risky. At the end of the day, since the ARC accreditation number is assigned to the host, they will be the ones responsible to pay the big bucks to the carrier or carriers that issue the debit memos.

And the risk doesn’t even end there. When a host or travel agency uses the GDS, they must negotiate long, complicated and specialized contracts with their GDS provider. Somewhere in this contract, the agency commits to selling a certain amount of air segments. And if you miss your goals? Expect there to be financial penalties.

So even if you do have mad GDS skills, you may be better off going with a host agency's accreditation.

Do I Need the GDS?

The GDS does have a time and place! Here’s a few reasons why an agent might want/need to use the GDS:

  • Corporate Travel Advisors: Corporate travel agents book a whole lot of air, so the GDS is pretty much a must for them. This can either be a travel agent who books on behalf of corporate clients, or an appointed individual at a corporation who has the capacity to book air for all their employees.
  • Agents Booking Complex Itineraries: If your specialty is around the world tickets or you have a steady stream of clients with multi-stop air itineraries, the GDS will be a necessity. 
  • High Volume Booking of Air-Only Travel: I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what other travel agents other than corporate agents book reeeally high volumes of air. It might be an advisor who focuses on booking air to a specific international destination. Who knows! But if that’s you, let me know what your niche is!!

If you fall into one of these categories, check out this article on how to become a corporate travel agent . Even if you don't want to sell corporate, it offers strategies to learn the GDS system. Essentially if you’re not booking airline tickets multiple times each working day and you were never trained in the GDS, you probably don’t need to use it. This includes most Leisure Agents.

One of the reasons that most leisure agents don’t need the GDS is because the air will be included in a vacation package by the tour operator, or you can book it with the cruise line and you don’t need to use the GDS.

If you’re only booking a few flights here and there, there are ways to nab tickets for your clients without having to labor through the GDS.

Booking Air Without the GDS

If the GDS doesn’t seem practical for your agency, and you have a client who wants an air-only reservation that’s not already included in a package you’re selling, here’s a few strategies:

  • Use an Airline Consolidator: When you become a travel agent you will have access to airline consolidators. A consolidator is a wholesaler of international airfares that works with travel agencies (not the general public). You can either book net fares, published fares (the rate available to the general public), or commissionable fares. This article is a great resource that will provide more detailed information regarding the types of airline fares .
  • Book air directly through the airline's site and charge a service fee: Just remember to compensate yourself for your time . . . especially if the client is, errr, particular. Charging a service fee is one way to offset the cost of your valuable time .
  • Ask clients to book their own air-only reservations: If it’s not worth your time, it’s not worth your time. 
  • Use your host’s or consortium's online booking tools : Your host may have an online booking engine for air. Revelex is one example of these tools . . . they are user-friendly booking engines that are linked to the host’s GDS (so agents get the advantage of a host’s airline contracts in the GDS without having to learn the process). 
  • Ticketing Desk: Some hosts have a ticketing desk service that can book flights on behalf of agents (see image below on how to find out if a host has a ticketing desk) . Usually there are applicable fees and certain service hours, so you'll want to ask about that. If your client is flying international, first or business class, always look into a ticketing desk at your host agency or a consolidator first to see if there are any commissions (rather than booking it on your own).

Host agencies with air ticketing desks

But . . . I’m Losing out on Airline Commissions! (No, you’re probably not)

Yes, airlines do have commissions. No, they are not as common as you think.

The simplest way to say this: If you’re booking domestic non-premium seats, forget about commissions. If you’re booking international air, especially first and business class, commissions are a possibility. A possibility. Not a certainty.

I won’t go into things here, but you can read more on travel agent commissions here (airlines and otherwise). But at the end of the day, for most leisure agents, it’s frankly not worth their time to learn the GDS.

In Closing/ Major Thank Yous

The GDS is no walk in the park! Do you use it? Do you wish you could? Are there other places where you book air-only reservations with your consortia or host agency? Please let us know in the comments (literally, we’re begging you)!!

Last but not least, thank you to Marc Casto, CEO and President of MVC Solutions, Ann Waters, President of Travel Leaders—Corporate and Events, Sandy Armstead and Christy Young, corporate agents at Safe Harbors Business Travel, a branch of Tzell Travel Group, and Jason Block, CEO & Managing Partner of WorldVia, a division of Tzell Travel Group. We would have floundered without their willingness to share their agencies' GDS experiences with us!

  • Sources Travel Weekly , Wikipedia ,   ↩

About the Author

Mary Stein - Host Agency Reviews

Mary Stein has been working as a writer and editor for Host Agency Reviews since 2016. She loves supporting travel advisors on their entrepreneurial journey and is inspired by their passion, tenacity, and creativity. Mary is also a mom, dog lover, fiction writer, hiker, and a Great British Bake Off superfan.

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What is GDS? – A Simple Guide For New Travel Agencies

Category: Travel

Date: January 29, 2024

What is GDS? – A Simple Guide For New Travel Agencies

Many travel agents around the world are using the Global Distribution System (GDS) as their major booking channels. It is also responsible for the significant growth of the travel industry.

If you are brand new to the travel business, you will be probably wondering what a GDS is and why GDS is much important to develop travel agents website

In this blog, we are going to explore about GDS, its importance in the travel industry and what the future looks like for this primary reservation tool.

What is GDS?

Global Distribution System (GDS) is the brain of the travel industry. It is a computerized network system which provides real-time information to companies such as airlines, hotels, car rental and travel agencies. Each of these sectors uses GDS to view real-time inventory of services offered in the travel industry.

For example, using GDS, a travel agency can find the availability of hotel rooms, flight seats or cars on behalf of their clients and book through the same GDS. 

How Do Travel Companies Use Global Distribution System (GDS)?

Travel companies use GDS to find the best airline ticket, car rental, hotel rooms, etc. for their clients. Information is customized and by the travel companies based on the preferences and itinerary.

When a traveler requests information from a travel company, the agent will find the most accurate and cost-effective itinerary. Travel companies are charged every time they access the GDS or they can buy a particular software offered by the GDS on a yearly basis. Also, an average person can never access the GDS without the help of a travel agency or a vendor.

Evolution of Global Distribution System (GDS)

The airline industry created the first GDS in the 1960s to track flight schedules, availability and prices. In fact, the GDSs were actually among the first companies that aided B2B e-commerce in the world. They were used by the airline industry to automate the booking system , but, later travel agents were also given access.

These are some of the major GDS systems in the industry.

Apart from these famous GDS systems, there are other smaller regional GDS systems such as Travelsky , a state-owned company in China and; KIU System , a PSS and GDS used in Latin America.

What Are the Benefits of Using GDS?

GDS will be the most important channel of distribution for airlines, hotels and car rental companies. Here are some of the major benefits of using Global Distribution System (GDS).

  • Effective in attracting international travelers
  • 24/7 access to inventory
  • Enables business models such as retail travel agency and OTA (Online Travel Agency)
  • Offer consumers increased pricing transparency
  • Travel agents can get a global platform with a strong market penetration
  • Provide best rates to your customers which no other system can provide
  • Place travel services to many clients without affecting your marketing budget

Frequently Asked Questions About GDS

1. how can i start using a global distribution system (gds).

To use a GDS, you have to be a professional travel agent. For that, you must have a proper industry ID such as an ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation) or IATA (International Air Transport Association) number. Without this number, airline agencies will not know where to send your commission payments. Moreover, airline agencies will not allow unaccredited agents to issue tickets.

If you don’t want to get this certification, you can have a tie-up with an ARC or IATA host company who can book tickets on your behalf.

Some airlines will not allow you to issue tickets even if you have a full IATA license. To be on the safe side, before you sign for the GDS, make sure you talk to the particular airline to ensure if they will deal with you.

2. How much does it cost to use a GDS?

It depends on the specific service you want to use in the GDS. For example, if you want to use Amedeaus’s Flight booking software, they may sell it to you for $150-$160/year (contact the GDS provider to know the exact amount). The software will allow you to reserve tickets on any airlines.

3. Do I need a Global Distribution System (GDS)?

If you are a travel agent who falls under the below category, a GDS will be useful for you.

  • A corporate travel agent who books on behalf of corporate clients or an individual working at a corporation who needs to book flight tickets for all their employees
  • Complex itinerary agents who have steady clients with multiple travel plans
  • High volume booking of air-only travel

If you are a leisure agent who doesn’t book air tickets multiple times in a day, you probably don’t need it.

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What is the future of gds in the travel industry.

The traditional role of GDS is changing and being challenged by the changes taking place in the travel industry. Many online travel websites and airlines are pushing and encouraging consumers to make bookings directly via their website. Some airlines are charging additional fees for tickets purchased via the GDS when compared to the pricing in their own website.

Some industry experts predict that GDS can turn into a direct corporate booking tool rather than a booking tool for travel companies.

For example, Southwest Airlines do not work with the GDS Company Worldspan; Sabre is used by American Airlines; PARS by USAir; TravelSky by Air China; and Worldspan by Delta. If you are an agent who uses WorldSpan, you cannot book with Southwest Airlines or you need to look for pricing directly on their website. Another newsworthy information is, agreements signed between airlines and GDS is on a renewal basis. Many in the travel industry are wondering if the airlines will renew their relationship with certain GDSs.

While changes will continue to impact the future growth of GDS, there will definitely be a role for them. Hopefully, they continue to evolve as they did from the old techniques in the 1950s.

We hope that you learned something new about the travel industry. Keep checking our blog section as we plan to further dismantle the ever-changing world of travel.

Do you have any questions? Feel free to reach our travel solution experts at ColorWhistle anytime. We are always happy to help.

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Anjana is a full-time Copywriter at ColorWhistle managing content-related projects. She writes about website technologies, digital marketing, and industries such as travel. Plus, she has an unhealthy addiction towards online marketing, watching crime shows, and chocolates.

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IMAGES

  1. GDS is still the ticket for most agencies: Travel Weekly

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  2. A GDS Primer: What is the GDS and Which Travel Agents Need It?

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  5. GDS is still the ticket for most agencies: Travel Weekly

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