Amadeus Helps Hotels Onto 'Flexible' Platform

One GDS is boasting that its new tech upgrade is going to give travel agents better search options for hotel accommodations.

Amadeus announced Dec. 10 that it has completed the migration of 75,000 hotel properties onto a new distribution technology platform. Reason: Amadeus’ hotel GDS application now runs on the Linux operating system and uses OpenTravel Alliance XML standards, which the company says will "double the search flexibility" for its affiliated travel agents.

Details: The new distribution platform categorizes hotels according to 100 attributes that allow agents to narrow searches based on their customers' criteria. The upgrade will also allow hotels to upload information about their properties and rooms -- for example, whether there’s an alarm clock or a coffee and tea-maker -- so that agents can view it on their available-rooms screens.

In the future: This platform will enable Amadeus to offer improved advanced-search options -- even fulfill a request as specific as "hotels in Thailand that were rated highly by families," the company stated. The GDS anticipates that it will continue to add more independent properties -- and, consequently, information about these properties -- in the next few years, so it's banking on the necessity of advanced search.

.
.