New company to help TMCs
Agencies could lose hundreds of thousands of pounds by signing the wrong deals with GDSs.
Failure to read the "small print" or pick the wrong GDS could land travel management companies with substantial and unexpected bills.
In some cases, these could even threaten the survival of the business.
Two industry experts on GDSs, Steve Barrett and David Taylor, both formerly of Worldspan, have set up a new company to help TMCs in their relations with the GDSs.
The new company, GDS Deals will aim to help agents get the best out of their GDS contracts.
Mr Barrett, formerly Worldspan's EMEA director, and Mr Taylor, ex-UK and Ireland director for UK and Ireland, said: "Agencies don't always treat GDSs as critical suppliers and hence invest too little time when signing up with a new GDS or agreeing a re-contract."
They said that this might lead them to choosing the wrong GDS for their business or paying too much as well as being unaware of other products or services which might help them.
Mr Barrett and Mr Taylor said their company will offer services from off-the-shelf request-for-proposal (RFP) documents to bespoke consultancy.
"Problems often arise at an early stage but can be avoided. On the one hand, customers don't always recognise the relative strengths of the GDSs, or know what GDSs can offer in terms of products, services, support and incentives," Mr Barrett said.
"On the other hand, GDSs don't always tailor their offering to each customer's requirements and can be unimaginative in their response."
Mr Taylor said the company would also help GDS to understand better each customer's specific needs and "reduce the potential for misunderstandings."
>> For the full interview with Steve Barrett and David Taylor please see today's ABTN Newsletter.
www.gdsdeals.com
|
|
Steve Barret |
David Taylor |