What is the GDS Worldspan?
Worldspan is a travel distribution company that uses its global distribution system (GDS) to enable travel agents and other travel professionals to search, book and manage reservations on behalf of their clients.
Worldspan has a significant market share among GDS providers and can therefore be an important source of bookings and revenue for travel service providers such as hotels.
Does the GDS Worldspan still exist?
Worldspan most certainly still exists, although it has evolved from an airline-centric platform to a more general travel booking system that also handles reservations for hotels, car rentals and other services of travel.
It also now belongs to Port of travelone of the three main global suppliers of GDS (with Saber And Amédée).
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Worldspan from the perspective of a hotel looking to attract more bookings from a channel like GDS. We’ll also answer some key questions along the way: “How does Worldspan GDS work?” », “What are the advantages of Worldspan GDS for hotels? and more.
Why hire a GDS partner like SiteMinder to access Wordspan?
As a key GDS provider, Worldspan represents an incredible opportunity for a hotel to connect with new guests, through a connectivity partner like SiteMinder.
Worldspan is used by over 16,000 travel agents, tour operators and corporate travel advisors, all looking to book accommodation for their clients. In the case of business travel, the resulting reservations can often fill mid-week lulls for your hotel and can be large, time-consuming, low-effort and high-value.
By accessing Worldspan through a connectivity partner like SiteMinder GDS, you gain access to this valuable source of potential bookings.
What are the benefits of Worldspan for hotels?
Why offer hotel inventory through Worldspan? This GDS provider offers a few unique benefits, including:
- Travelport integration: Worldspan is owned by Travelport, which is one of the three largest GDS providers. Any hotel listed on Worldspan is also automatically listed on the two other Travelport-owned platforms: Galileo and Apollo.
- Huge scope: Worldspan is used by tens of thousands of travel agents in 180 different countries.
- Higher value reservations: Business travel booked through Worldspan may be less price sensitive than leisure travel, and midweek bookings are more likely.
Access all major GDS providers with SiteMinder
Why limit yourself to Worldspan? With the help of SiteMinder GDS, you can connect your hotel to all the major providers – Travelport, Saber and Amadeus – to generate more visibility, bookings and revenue than ever before.
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The evolution of Worldspan GDS software
Worldspan was established in 1990 as a joint venture between Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and TWA. The idea was to build on the success of TWA PARS, which became the first GDS available to travel agencies in 1976. Worldspan GDS was designed to provide travel agents around the world with access to airline tickets even easier than its predecessor.
It proved an instant success and was eventually sold by its owner airlines in 2003, then again in 2007, eventually landing in the hands of Travelport.
Since 2007, Worldspan has grown to offer more than just plane tickets. Travel agents can now book hotel rooms, and any hotel listed on Worldspan is also listed on other Travelport platforms, such as Apollo and Galileo (which are historically more hotel-oriented).
Worldspan GDS: How does it work?
As a hotel, you do not contact or deal directly with Worldspan. You must work with a connectivity partner, such as SiteMinder GDSto access and list your hotel on the various providers who offer inventory to travel professionals who use the GDS.
With that in mind, here are some basics on how Worldspan works from a hotel perspective.
Real-time hotel inventory
Working through a solution like SiteMinder’s Channel Manager, you can update the inventory, pricing, and availability you offer through Worldspan in real time. To take full advantage of this, you need to choose a connectivity partner that fully integrates with your PMS and other key systems to automate the process of updating your offerings.
Smooth booking and confirmation process
On the Worldspan travel agent side, the booking process is transparent. Once a room is selected, the system automatically generates a reservation confirmation that includes details such as arrival/departure dates, room type, rates and cancellation policies. On the hotel side, you need to make sure your policies and pricing plans (refundable, non-refundable packages) are clear and properly configured.
Business Travel Management Tools
Worldspan enables hotels to meet the needs of business travelers, which can be a particularly lucrative segment for your business. Using SiteMinder GDS you can offer better corporate rates and offer business-friendly perks like flexible cancellation policies, late check-out options, and workspace-friendly rooms, then limit those deals to authorized travel agencies or to corporate clients.
Maximize visibility with global reach
As a Travelport provider, Worldspan has incredible reach. The network is used by tens of thousands of travel agents in almost every country in the world. And when you connect to Worldspan/Travelport through SiteMinder GDS, you also secure connections with the world’s largest GDS providers: Amadeus and Sabre.
How Worldspan GDS works with hotel systems
By connecting to Worldspan through a connectivity partner like SiteMinder, you will also have access to an entire ecosystem of solutions, including PMS integration. This will automate a large part of inventory management and administration: you will be able to update your prices and availability across all locations. your distribution channels in real time, rather than one by one, and all reservations made are automatically updated in the relevant systems.
SiteMinder GDS also gives you connectivity to all major GDS providers – not just Travelport/Worldspan, but also Saber and Amadeus.