What Is a GDS? Global Distribution Systems for Hotels Explained

Travel agencies and corporate travel services book hotel rooms through a GDS. How it works and who it pays off for.

By Michael Külbel 2 min read

Graphic: Amadeus founded in 1987 by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa and SAS, over 180,000 connected travel agencies, three major GDS, hotels connected via a CRS or provider
Global distribution systems, using Amadeus as an example, simplified. Graphic: eingecheckt.de · Background photo: Stimpy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Key points
  • GDS stands for global distribution system. Travel agencies, corporate travel services and online providers use these networks to book flights, rental cars and hotel rooms.
  • The major providers are Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. Their roots lie in airline reservation systems.
  • For hotels, a GDS matters above all if they want to win business travellers through travel agencies and corporate travel programmes.
  • Hotels are usually not connected directly but through a CRS or a specialist provider. Each booking incurs fees and usually a commission.

A company books flights and a hotel for an employee attending a trade fair in Frankfurt through its travel agency. Whether a particular hotel gets the booking is decided in a system most guests never see: the GDS.

What a GDS is

A global distribution system is a worldwide booking network connecting travel agencies, corporate travel services and many online travel providers. They can see flights, rental cars and hotel rooms with prices and availability and book directly in the system. The major providers are Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport.

Where the systems come from

Global distribution systems grew out of airline reservation systems. Amadeus was founded in 1987 by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa and SAS to build an independent and neutral global distribution system. When Amadeus reached one million bookings a day, more than 180,000 travel agencies and airline sales offices were connected, according to the company.¹

Who a GDS matters for

For hotels, a GDS counts above all in the business travel market. Many companies book business trips through travel agencies or booking platforms that draw on GDS data, and negotiate corporate rates with hotels that are loaded there. A hotel that is not visible in these systems is rarely booked by such clients. For a holiday hotel in the mountains, by contrast, a GDS usually plays only a minor role.

How hotels are connected

Individual hotels are rarely connected to a GDS directly. They use a CRS or a specialist provider that loads rates and availability into the systems. Each booking incurs fees, plus usually a commission for the booking travel agency. Whether this pays off depends on how many business travellers a property wants to reach and can reach.

What hoteliers should look for

Checklist: GDS or not?
  1. Know your guests: What share of guests are business travellers and corporate clients?
  2. Ask corporate clients: Which travel agencies or platforms do the most important corporate clients book through?
  3. Do the maths: Weigh fees and commission per booking against the additional revenue.
  4. Clarify connectivity: Does the existing CRS or channel manager offer a GDS connection?

More in the magazine

How a hotel with a meetings business is responding to changing requirements is shown in our article "Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Starnberg rethinks its meeting rooms". How rates and availability are sent automatically to many channels is explained in the glossary entry on the channel manager.

Sources

This glossary entry is based on the following source:

  1. Amadeus (2026)
    About Amadeus
    Company page. Founded in 1987 by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa and SAS, development into a global distribution system.
Hotel Glossary

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