Scroll down to review The Company Dime‘s coverage of travel distribution.
The travel industry thrives on a complex network of channels connecting travelers with desired experiences. The Company Dime‘s travel distribution category delves into this intricate system, offering subscribers invaluable knowledge and insights. Our in-depth articles explore the various channels that constitute corporate travel distribution, both traditional and emerging.
Getting all the relevant, bookable inventory in front of business travelers is a never-ending challenge. Airlines, hotels and other suppliers constantly tinker with their products and pricing, and often favor direct distribution over third-party channels. That creates complexity in business travel technology.
Readers can expect thorough coverage of the relationships and dynamics between airlines, hotels, travel management companies, global distribution systems and other suppliers and intermediaries. We closely examine developments associated with the New Distribution Capability (NDC), direct booking initiatives and the rise of new entrants looking to disrupt legacy models.
Subscribers benefit from our scrutiny of the often-opaque world of distribution costs and revenue streams, including incentive payments, agency commissions and booking fees. We shed light on these essential commercial arrangements.
We also track the technological forces reshaping distribution, from the positioning of online booking tools to the potential of emerging solutions like artificial intelligence, blockchain and virtual payment. Readers stay informed on innovations that could unlock efficiencies and improve the traveler experience.
Our coverage clarifies major industry debates, such as the relative merits of GDS and NDC content, and our Op Eds deliver provocative thought leadership from all corners of the industry. Contributor insights on timely issues — like rethinking travel management company commercial models — make for essential reading.
With a critical eye and a healthy dose of skepticism, The Company Dime delivers must-have intelligence for anyone seeking to understand the present and future of travel distribution.
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You get what you pay for, and most travel industry business news is free. We sell insight. Our mission is quality journalism for those interested in business travel services, expense management practices and travel industry change. Our features, exclusives and analysis equip business travel professionals with vital info for top performance.
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[UPDATE: We published new info on Air France-KLM here.] Sources expect Air France-KLM in the next couple weeks to announce a surcharge for GDS bookings, much like rivals at Lufthansa Group and IAG. This will come as no surprise for many observers. One source said an announcement could come as early as next week, while…
New York – With the British Airways/Iberia surcharge on GDS bookings set to take effect in two weeks, many eyes are on the United Kingdom’s largest GDS. Travelport arguably has both more influence on, and more to lose from, the outcome of the airlines’ program than any other intermediary. Speaking at a World Travel Inc. event…
There weren’t many for a while, but the number of choices for corporate online booking technology not tied to a specific travel management company has grown during the past couple years. No longer are corporate buyers faced with choosing only between Concur, Deem and GetThere for their enterprise needs. The list of small firms is…
New York – What is American Airlines senior vice president of global sales Alison Taylor cheerful about? What keeps her up at night? The answer to both questions is the same: the future state of AA’s GDS relationships. Speaking here last week at a World Travel Inc. event, Taylor reiterated AA’s stance that NDC is…
Carlson Wagonlit Travel joined rivals Amex GBT and HRG in creating a deal to avoid the IAG carriers’ GDS surcharge. CWT would use “participating GDSs.” It did not name the lone participating GDS, Amadeus, in its press statement. CWT said very little about the New Distribution Capability, posting the following in a client Q&A: “What agreement is…
The new, Amadeus-endorsed model for airline distribution with International Airlines Group may or may not take hold among more travel management companies or even other GDSs. For now, it’s constructive to review the role of IATA’s New Distribution Capability. When IAG announced a GDS surcharge in May, NDC was the industry’s ticket to fee-free British…
There are three weeks to go before a surcharge takes effect on global distribution system bookings with British Airways and Iberia. Big travel management companies are revealing that they’re avoiding the fee on bookings through Amadeus thanks to the GDS company’s agreements with the airlines. Following a related Hogg Robinson Group announcement last week, American Express…
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