Independent Study Reveals Amadeus is 50% Quicker Than Rivals
Travel agencies find that reserving ground service products using GDS sales platforms is 70% faster than using other systems.
Santa Marta, 27 August 2005. As part of the 10th Travel Agency Showcase (57th National Assembly of the Colombian Association of Travel Agencies (Antao)), and in the spirit of their technological partnership with Colombian travel agencies, Amadeus and Hermes Management Consulting (Hermes) today presented the results of the informative “Productivity Study in Colombian and Latin American Travel Agencies”.
This study is one of several that Amadeus has commissioned throughout the world to analyze the daily operational costs incurred by travel agencies. This is the first time the issue has been studied in within the sector.
The study analyzed the productivity of travel agencies and came up with the following conclusions:
- Reserving hotels using sales platforms designed specifically for travel agencies is 70% faster than using the Internet.
- Reserving rental cars through sales platforms designed specifically for travel agencies is 70% faster than by telephone, fax or Internet.
- Purchasing travel insurance through GDS sales platforms is 50% faster than by telephone, fax or Internet.
- Agencies using Amadeus solutions process travel requests 50% faster than those using systems developed by competitors.
“Agencies that are still using the Internet, fax or telephones to make hotel and car rental reservations or to purchase travel insurance are not taking advantage of these potentially large time savings. By using sales platforms, travel agencies can automate regular reservation procedures and concentrate on customer care”, emphasized Herman Goyanes, a partner in Hermes Management Consulting.
The study also revealed that Colombian travel agencies could reduce costs by using Amadeus technology solutions. These solutions were found to add considerable value to products and services in areas such as ground services, continuous staff training, back-office solutions, development of travel packages and group management, proactive sales and planning and monitoring tools.
Álvaro Gómez, General Manager of Amadeus Colombia, noted that, “Through our technology solutions, Amadeus is in an unbeatable position to help agencies optimize their productivity. Our study indicates that agencies only allocate 12.2% of their resources to proactive sales activities. With Amadeus advice and integrated time-saving solutions, we aim to help agencies double their productivity and boost their future success.”
The unique, global reach of Amadeus is reflected in similar studies carried out for travel agencies in Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Slovakia, United Kingdom and United States. Further studies will shortly be undertaken in Belgium, France, Italy, Scandinavia and Poland.
Note to Editors:
About Amadeus
Amadeus is a global leader in technology and distribution systems for the travel and tourism industry. Its exhaustive data processing centre serves over 75,000 travel agencies and 11,000 airline booking offices, which adds up to a total of approximately 362,000 points of sale in over 215 markets throughout the world.
Through the Amadeus System, travel agencies and airline offices can make bookings for 95% of the world’s scheduled airline seats. The system also provides access to 56,700 hotels, around 42 car rental companies with over 30,000 offices, as well as other service providers such as ferry, train, cruise, tour operator and insurance companies.
Amadeus is a leading provider of information technology (IT) services for airlines. A total of 151 airlines use Amadeus Altéa Sell, an internal sales and reservations system, in their own offices to offer passengers and integrated, high quality and cost-effective service.
Altéa Plan (inventory management system) and Altéa Fly (departure control system) stand out among the latest generation Client Management solutions developed by Amadeus. British Airways, Qantas and Finnair are the first airlines to implement these systems.
e-Travel, Amadeus’ e-commerce business unit, is the global leader in online travel technology and corporate travel management solutions. It offers services to travel agencies in 90 countries and its technology supports websites for over 300 companies and 70 airlines and hotels.
Amadeus has its headquarters in Madrid (Spain) and is listed on the Madrid, Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges. Results from the last financial year, ending 31 December 2004, showed a turnover of 2,056.7 million euros, with a net profit of 208 million euros. The Amadeus data processing centre is located in Erding, near Munich (Germany), and its research and development centre is in Sophie Antipolis, near Nice (France). Throughout the world, the company employs 6,500 staff from 95 nationalities.
For further information on Amadeus, please visit our website at www.amadeus.com
Contact Details:
More Information:
Luz Adriana Borda
Amadeus
Tel. 365-6464
Jenifer Guzmán
J.A. Llorente y O. Cuenca
Tel. 346-3069 Bogotá
Mob. 310-6662963
Tel. 365-6464
