With its Rooms and More product launched late last year, Travelport is not just competing for a slice of hotel bookings but also a change in industry.

Niklas Andreen (right), Travelport group vice president, hospitality & partner marketing, said, "GDSs have to evolve with the times, 70% of Expedia's revenues come from hotels. Our revenue model will evolve as well. One day, we will get to the stage when we will say "non-hotel" as opposed to "non-air"."

He said that in five years time, he wants Rooms and More to "be the most relevant hotel channel for travel agents, corporate, leisure or mixed, and when booking hotels, we are top of mind".

He said it was critical GDSs evolve with so much change happening in the market that was changing customer behaviour and the way they book hotels. "There could be names coming up that neither you nor I have ever heard of and with so much change happening, everyone – wholesalers, tour operators, travel agents – have to evolve."

Andreen was speaking to WIT on the sidelines of ITB Berlin where he had taken part in a panel discussion which, yes, once again raised the spectre of the demise of the GDS due to the changes in the market.

One, more customers are now booking hotels first, and then look for flights around accommodation. The GDS model was built around air and remains first and mostly about air.

Two, Google Hotel Finder allows customers to do comparative shopping for prices on one page, and go straight to the hotel website to book. Richard Wiegmann, CEO of Trust International, the first hotel reservation system selected by Google to work alongside online travel agencies and chains on this new service, said, "Google Hotel Finder has the ability to change the way consumers look and book for hotels just like the "normal" Google search did it for all of us on the web."

Full story:

www.webintravel.com//news/travelport-fights-for-room-in-changing-world-of-hotel-distribution_3108