AMADEUS and Booking. com have signed a distribution agreement that will see the number of accommodation options available on Amadeus increase by 30%. This will continue to allow agents to earn commission from Booking.com, says Marian Girguis, regional customer solution manager, retail, Middle East & Africa, at Amadeus. “Agents will earn what they used to have from Booking.com, so the commercial agreement with Booking.com will stay the same,” she said. The distribution agreement means that, for the first time, Booking.com’s accommodation content will be integrated into the Amadeus Travel Platform, including hotels, motels, resorts, homes and apartments, among other options. “Booking.com’s extensive range of accommodation options will be shown alongside other travel content to make it easier for travel sellers to book a traveller’s whole journey,” says a statement released by Amadeus. “The additional content enables them to meet the traveller’s desire to have a wealth of choice, access to multiple price points as well as the convenience of having a single itinerary that covers the journey from start to finish.” Marian adds that travel agents stand to benefit from the integration of Booking. com’s content into the Amadeus platform as it will be a part of the Amadeus booking flow. “This means that they will not have to invest in adapting their different back office systems to work with Booking. com, but can decide to work with them at any point without extra cost. It will also save time for travel agents. Instead of jumping from one platform to another, they have it all in the same booking flow.” In the coming months, agents will be able to access the new content via multiple points of sale, including Amadeus Selling Platform Connect, and through Amadeus cytric Travel & Expense for corporate bookers.
