Amadeus partners with DerbySoft to offer travellers more hotel choices in China

More than 1,000 DerbySoft hotels now available in Amadeus GDS

Bangkok, Thailand, 12 May 2009: Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, has signed a major agreement with hotel aggregator DerbySoft to offer travellers access to more than 1,000 mid-range Chinese hotels on Amadeus’ Global Distribution System (GDS).

Over 100,000 travel agencies using the Amadeus GDS will now be able to make bookings with more than 1,000 one to three-star and independent hotels located across China. This is via Amadeus’ Direct Connect, a connection that uses the most advanced, open technology to provide hotels with a reliable, more efficient and flexible interface.

Ted Zhang, CEO of DerbySoft, said, “At DerbySoft, it is our mission to offer international travellers the ability to book mid-range hotels in China before their arrival. This partnership with Amadeus will allow travellers to book our hotels through their travel agent when they are planning their holiday or business trip to China.

“We have chosen Amadeus as our long-term technology partner because of their cutting-edge technology and unrivalled global reach. Our 1,000 hotels will gain immediate access to the largest travel agency booking network in the world, which should result in immediate growth in their reservations,” said Zhang.

Direct Connect is built according to the Open Travel Alliance XML standard, a common language for travel-related terminology and a mechanism for promoting the exchange of information across all travel industry segments. With Direct Connect, hotels on the DerbySoft aggregator are able to add content, implement new features and enhancements as well as develop new offers more quickly. This not only allows hotels but also travel agents to meet the fast-changing demands of today’s travellers.

Kartikeya Tripathi, Regional Director of Hotel Distribution, Amadeus Asia Pacific, said, “In today’s economic climate, many travellers are looking for mid-range hotels that are more budget-friendly. This partnership with DerbySoft is therefore very timely to meet that need for China-bound travellers.”

“Amadeus is investing significant resources to increase the Chinese travel options that are available for booking in our Global Distribution System, and DerbySoft will be one of many partnerships that we announce this year. This is part of our efforts to make travel to China even easier for international travellers, while also helping Chinese hotels reach out to new global markets,” said Tripathi.

Headquartered in Shanghai, China, DerbySoft provides technology services for the Chinese hospitality industry including distribution and management infrastructure.

To learn more about DerbySoft, logon to http://www.derbysoft.com/enindex.html.