Global Distribution System Explained

Do you work in accommodation in the travel industry and want to access more travellers? Whether you own a hotel, apartment, several holiday lets or anything else, you might be wondering how to increase the occupancy of your short term rentals. One of the best ways to do this is through the global distribution system.

One traveller you might want to attract more of is the business type, as they are reliable, predictable and their travel is a lot more organised.

Plus, corporate travellers are more than likely to give you repeat business if they’re happy with your property. Research shows that 70% of corporate travellers will often extend their accommodation to 1-3 extra days to see the area around them. Arguably, this can be incredibly lucrative for you as a property owner.

But, to do this effectively, you have to be able to tap into the corporate market.

What is the Global Distribution System?

The global distribution system (GDS) is the main route to get into the corporate market for short-term accommodation rentals. It’s so profitable it’s estimated at around $48 billion in hotel sales each year.

As its name suggests, the GDS is a channel that connects travel bookers to suppliers, especially accommodations for short term lets. This system relays important information about the product, price of stay, availability and more to travel agents and booking engines. It also streamlines automated transactions, allowing guests to book directly at the property.

The GDS is so effective because it also offers add ons for users, such as hotels, flights, and car rentals. Having multiple options to book in one simple interface makes it convenient, saves time, and is less stressful for corporates. Many companies organise trips for their employees using the GDS as their go-to booking platform.

The GDS is nothing new, though; it actually first came into existence in the 1960s. A more refined method was needed to help track flight timings, availability and prices. Once it started getting popular in the 1970s, it became one of the first companies worldwide to help with B2B e-commerce. Soon enough, airlines started to catch on to the automated reservation process, knowing how productive travel agents could be and how it could benefit their sales. Today, the GDS has around 600,000 travel agents using it each day to book accommodation for corporate and leisure travellers.

How does the GDS benefit property owners?

While the benefits of the global distribution system (GDS) that are reported often focus on its users, there are a lot of advantages for property owners. For instance, if you upload your property inventory to their system, you’ll be able to expand your reach quite quickly to corporate travellers that are not typically easy to come across outside the hotel industry.

Foot in the door

As this is the go-to system large corporate and travel management companies use to help book business accommodation, it’s a foot in the door opportunity for you. To enter this market, you have to grasp the top features of the GDS and apply them to your listing.

For instance, the GDS allows you as a property owner to target your property and tailored advertising to your target market through their filtering system. This type of specialist searching allows you to have full control of the guests you stay in your property, the type of guest, and their stay duration.

Often outplaces direct bookings

While direct bookings are increasing, many travel agents and corporate customers prefer to use the GDS due to its being streamlined.

Generate more revenue

The GDS can help you earn more money, as it displays essential information about your stays in important locations that are easy to access by travel agents. For instance, they can easily see your rates and availability.

Betters your search positioning

The GDS can better your search positioning and brand messaging if you write your property description well. Therefore, travel agents can better understand your property and easily source it for their corporate clients.

The truth is, there are so many benefits to the global distribution system. If you’re looking to reap such benefits, our cross-industry platform, TrustedStays has an approved connection to the GDS, which will allow properties listed on the site to be uploaded there. Because of this, the distribution route is opened to both short term and BTR/multifamily sectors.

How to access the Global Distribution System (GDS)

Getting your property onto the GDS can be a bit of an overwhelming experience if you’re not familiar with the system. Previously, it wasn’t that easy as individual apartments and properties weren’t able to list directly onto the system. It was mainly targeted at just hotels and not other accommodation owners.

Today though, quite a few technology providers like TrustedStays can help people with a single point of entry access for short-term accommodation owners, connecting them to lots of travel agents on the system.

TrustedStays is the only home accommodation website with an approved connection to the GDS. If you choose to, you’ll be able to make your properties visible and bookable on the GDS. But to do this effectively, you should register your account with TrustedStays and then upload your properties. As soon as you’ve done this, you can list them on the website. You’ll also be placed in a queue to upload them onto the GDS.

There’s more information about this here, and if you have any questions, our team is waiting to answer them and help you.

How to get the most out of the GDS

To ensure you get the most from being listed on TrustedStays and the GDS, make sure you have a full listing with a detailed description of:

●  The location

●  Amenities

●  Facilities

●  Directions/transportation

●  Size of unit and description

●  Area attractions

Why is the GDS Important? 

As one of the top travel booking systems in the world, many professional travel agents and corporate travel managers rely on the reputation of the GDS to ensure they book accommodation, flights and other travel facilities that are reliable. One of the biggest issues with booking corporate travel is being let down by the suppliers. 

For businesses, this is often a much bigger hassle than for private or leisure travel. Therefore there needs to be some extra assurance when companies book travel. The GDS is the platform that provides this assurance, as it gives booking platforms and short-term rental properties a reputable status. 

For TrustedStays customers, this will increase property exposure and ensure that their properties are rented out to the calibre of clients they want. It will also help property owners to retain recurring corporate clients and build their reputation in the short-term rental property market. 

TrustedStays is Now Registered With the GDS

TrustedStays is thrilled to announce that we have been registered members of the GDS since the beginning of 2023. This is a step in the right direction for those who have properties listed with us, as it will gain hosts more exposure to those looking to book corporate travel. 

With direct access to the GDS, TrustedStays listed properties now feature on the GDS, providing corporate travel agents and managers the peace of mind they need when booking accommodation for their colleagues and larger parties. 

As hosts with TrustedStays, our customers can now enjoy the benefits of being registered with the GDS. 

Final thoughts

Overall, the GDS is a system that all property owners looking for corporate clients should utilise. It helps you as a business owner access corporate customers by exposing yourself to travel agents. There is software to help you do this, but some are more focused on hotel owners. If you’re an accommodation owner who wants to get onto this platform and are unsure how to upload your property to Trusted Stays, we will automatically upload it onto the GDS for you.