This is an era of progressive technology, that’s why
it has been called a digital era. Technology is ruling every sphere of human
life and every sector in the commercial industry. Travel and tourism industry
is no exception. The travel industry is also adopting technology to ride over
the increasing competition. In fact,
technology has become an integral part of the travel agencies to help them
survive in this highly competitive marketplace. You might be curious to know
what the technology has brought for travel agencies. Well, technology has
blessed travel industry with travel portal development software. This is an
automated way of handling your online travel agency.
To reap the maximum benefits of technology, you need
to integrate your portal with GDS API integration (Global Distribution System).
Often people think that it would be a costly affair. But, this is not the truth
all the time. You can get a cost-effective travel portal with GDS integration
if you know the ways to integrate the travel portal software.
Association
with Suppliers
You need to enable your online travel agency to
access the inventory of the suppliers, such as the inventory of airline service
providers, hotels, and other rental services. You should also access their
holiday deals to open those options to your customers. If you want access to
the inventory of multiple travel service providers, you need to integrate your travel portal
with multiple GDSs.
Association
with Aggregators
Aggregators can provide you with consolidated data
from multiple resources of different service providers. In this way, you can
get highly competitive rates for your online travel agency.
Use
of SaaS Platform
If you want to promote your travel agency in a short
time, it would be a wise decision for you to choose only Software
as a Service or SaaS cloud-based travel platforms.
Cloud-based platforms can help you launch your travel site within a few
seconds. You can operate this platform both in B2B and B2C mode.
Now,
let’s head towards our next discussion- how to manage the cost of travel portal
integrations:
How
to Manage the Cost of Travel Portal with GDS API Integration
Before starting the development of a travel portal,
you should be clear about the expenses you need to spend on setting up a portal.
For an online travel agency, you will require a travel booking engine on your
homepage. Whenever someone visits the portal, this engine gets connected with
GDS API to display the real-time data on the front-end. The cost of a travel
site with GDS API integration depends on several factors. Listed below are some
of these important factors that should be taken into consideration:
·
Choice
of Travel-Commerce Platform
The overall cost of travel software with API
integration depends on your choice of travel-commerce platforms to some extent.
Multiple flight booking engines, hotel reservation systems, and other services
are available for you. You should know the cost of each individual service
before selecting one. First of all, consider which services you need for your
travel agency if you are not covering every possible travel-related service,
and then choose only those ones that you will provide. For instance, if your
travel portal is designed to deal only with airline services, then you need to
integrate only flight booking API.
·
Types
of GDS API Integration
There are various types of GDS APIs. The three most
popular ones are- Amadeus API integration, Galileo API integration, and Sabre
API integration. Each of these three types has individual features,
specification, and pricing. You should learn about each of these GDSs to
determine which will be the most suitable one for your business. You should
also compare the pricing to get a cost-effective GDS API Integration.
A
Final Takeaway
The cost of travel portal development with GDS API
integration depends on how the integration is being done. If you want to be
associated with all the travel-related service providers and adopt SaaS
platforms, your cost will be a bit higher. In this context, it is important to
note that you can find a decrease in the time to promote your online travel
agency. So, keep a careful eye on the market and try to invest in a travel
portal development with GDS API integration when there is a decrease in the
market.
Article Source: https://blogs.travelportalsolution.com/how-to-get-a-cost-effective-travel-portal-with-gds-api-integration