TITLE PAGE See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at https www researchgate netpublication204706826 The future of global distribution systems The World Wide Web as an alternative travel distribution channel Thesis January 1997 CITATIONS 3 READS 12,117 1 author Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects Canadian Tourism Exchange View project Rene Waksberg 4 PUBLICATIONS 8 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page wa.
See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/204706826 The future of global distribution systems: The World Wide Web as an alternative travel distribution channel Thesis · January 1997 CITATIONS READS 12,117 author: Rene Waksberg PUBLICATIONS 8 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Canadian Tourism Exchange View project All content following this page was uploaded by Rene Waksberg on 03 June 2014 The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file UNIVERSITY OF SURREY DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES THE FUTURE OF GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS: THE WORLD WIDE WEB AS AN ALTERNATIVE TRAVEL DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL by RENE WAKSBERG A dissertation submitted in part-fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of MSc in Tourism Planning and Development 1997 René Waksberg Abstract The objectives of this research are to understand the competitive challenges and threats facing global distribution systems (GDSs) - computer distribution systems for displaying available services, effecting bookings, and ticketing by tourism suppliers - resulting from the emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW) as an alternative distribution channel Distribution can be looked at as a process of filling a number of gaps between production and consumption; a process the GDS was created to fulfil With the WWW, tourism suppliers now have an alternative distribution channel, and their decision to move to this channel is governed by market forces - demographic, technological, and competitive trends - as well as economic, control, and adaptability considerations Additionally, the important trends marking society today are the distribution of information and the globalisation of the economy This combined with the consumer who now demands more value and convenience are among the forces that help to shape the role that the WWW will play in displacing the GDS as the main distribution channel for travel bookings It was found that although the GDSs will be forced to evolve and offer additional services to remain competitive, the competitive pressures against the GDS, ranging from technological developments to consumer trends are such that the GDS will capture a decreasing share of the travel distribution market Airlines will start to migrate their distribution to the WWW, and favour direct-selling to the customer using this cost-effective channel of distribution, and newer and smaller suppliers who could not afford to join the ranks of electronic distribution will also sell via the WWW Finally, with technology more accessible to all, there is increasing talk of creating agency, or supplier-owned, GDSs, to replace those already existing The future for the GDS is bleak ii List of Contents LIST OF TABLES V LIST OF FIGURES VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VII CHAPTER 1.1 1.2 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND METHODOLOGY CHAPTER REVIEW OF LITERATURE - THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 DISTRIBUTION THEORY 2.1.1 Role of Distribution Channels and Intermediaries 2.1.2 Single versus Multichannel Distribution 2.1.3 Distribution Strategies 12 2.1.4 Distribution in Travel & Tourism 15 2.2 TRENDS 17 2.2.1 Distribution of Information 17 2.2.2 High Tech/High Touch 18 2.2.3 The Global Economy 18 2.3 CONSUMER TRENDS 19 2.4 TECHNOLOGY TRENDS AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES 21 2.4.1 Technology and Competitive Advantage 22 2.4.2 Tests of a Desirable Technological Change 23 2.4.3 Technology Strategy & First-Mover Advantages 24 2.5 SUMMARY 26 CHAPTER CRS AND GDS DEVELOPMENT: THE FIGHT FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES 27 3.1 CONTROL OF PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION 28 3.1.1 Control of the distribution chain 28 3.1.2 Intensive Distribution 28 3.2 CREATING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE THROUGH USE OF TECHNOLOGY 30 3.2.1 Superior Marketing Information 30 3.2.2 First Screen Bias 30 3.2.3 Code-sharing 31 3.2.4 CRS Anti-competitive Rules 31 3.3 THE IMPORTANCE OF ALTERNATIVE DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS 32 3.4 SUMMARY 33 CHAPTER COMMERCE ON THE INTERNET: THE WEB AS A TRAVEL DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL 35 CHAPTER GDS AND COMPETITION TODAY 41 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 GDSS DO NOT HANDLE NON-AIRLINE PRODUCTS EFFICIENTLY 41 AIRLINES SELL DIRECT TO CUSTOMERS, BYPASSING GDSS 44 BRANDING ON THE WEB 46 INTELLIGENT SEARCH ENGINES: FORGET THE TRAVEL AGENT AND THE GDS 47 TICKETLESS TRAVEL - SAVING ON DISTRIBUTION COSTS 48 TRAVEL AGENTS: FRIEND OR FOE ? 49 THE GENESIS OF NEW GDSS TO CHALLENGE THE OLD 51 iii 5.8 5.9 5.10 INFORMATION AND TRANSACTIONAL SITES: WHAT THE CUSTOMER WANTS 53 NEW TECHNOLOGIES REDUCE BARRIERS FOR NEW ENTRANTS 54 SUMMARY 57 CHAPTER 6.1 THE FUTURE FOR THE GDS 58 AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH AND OBSERVATION 61 APPENDIX: GLOSSARY 62 BIBLIOGRAPHY 63 iv List of Tables TABLE 4-1: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ONLINE TICKETING ? 36 TABLE 4-2 WHAT ARE THE DRAWBACKS OF ONLINE TICKETING? 36 TABLE 4-3: FACTORS THAT COMPRISE CONSUMERS’ FAVORITE ONLINE TRAVEL SITE 39 TABLE 4-4: FREQUENT TRAVELERS SOURCES OF TRAVEL INFORMATION 40 TABLE 5-1 WHICH WEB SITES HAVE YOU USED MOST RECENTLY FOR BOOKING ? 46 TABLE 5-2 WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INTERNET TRAVEL SITE ? 46 TABLE 5-3 WHAT TYPE OF INTERNET TRAVEL SITE WOULD YOU BE MOST LIKELY TO PURCHASE ON-LINE TRAVEL SERVICES ?” 47 TABLE 5-4 TRAVEL AGENCY DEPENDENCE ON CRSS IN THE USA 50 TABLE 5-5 GDS COMPETITIVE PRESSURES 56 v List of Figures FIGURE 2-1: INTRODUCTION OF AN INTERMEDIARY TO REDUCE CONTACT POINTS FIGURE 2-2 DISTRIBUTION IN TRAVEL 16 FIGURE 3-1 CRS USE IN USA (1996) 29 FIGURE 5-1: SAVING ON DISTRIBUTION COSTS 42 vi List of Abbreviations ASTA: American Society of Travel Agents CRS: Computerised Reservation System GDS: Global Distribution System IT: Information Technology TIA: Travel Industry Association (of America) VRS: Virtual Reservation System vii Chapter Introduction There always comes a moment in time when a door opens and lets the future in -Graham Greene (The Age of Unreason) 1.1 Background A global distribution system, or GDS, is a computer distribution system for displaying available services, effecting bookings, and ticketing by tourism producers (suppliers) - airline or otherwise - on an international scale GDSs offer tourism suppliers a distribution channel that they might not otherwise be able to afford at the international level without heavy investment in their own proprietary network The GDS acts as a link between the tourism supplier‟s own reservation system and the tourism product buyer (travel agent or traveler) However, GDSs only administer reservations, they not manage the stock of suppliers; this task falls on the supplier‟s own reservation system The World Wide Web (WWW) has added a widely accessible, and far-reaching channel of distribution, allowing airlines and other travel suppliers to bypass the GDS and allowing the consumer direct access to the supplier‟s own reservation systems Similarly, new communication interface facilities, such as language translators that convert a proprietary reservation format to one which can interface with a GDS or the WWW, have opened alternative channels of distribution for the supplier, and are some cause for future concern among intermediaries in the travel distribution process The precursor to the GDS, the computerised reservation system (CRS), first came into being as a result of back-office automation back in the early 1960s, and was conceived primarily as an efficiency tool However, in 1976, American Airlines introduced the Sabre CRS, and United Airlines introduced the Apollo CRS to travel agencies, marking the evolution of the CRS from seat inventory system to a product distribution network and important source of competitive advantage The CRS technology firmly established the travel agent as the primary channel of distribution in the travel distribution chain It was quickly demonstrated that users tended to favour those systems with which they were the most familiar This, in addition to greater airline competition following deregulation in 1978, encouraged the use of CRSs to increase bias, especially in screen displays, thus maintaining competitive advantage for the CRS owner airlines In addition to being a source of competitive advantage, CRSs have also become profitable businesses By the mid 1980s, the major non-US carriers faced many challenges including deregulation and the threat from direct competition with US airlines Without their own strong CRSs, these non-US carriers faced the choice of conceding CRS dominance to the US carriers or either developing new systems (very costly) and/or forming alliances with the US carriers This combination of new systems and strategic alliances have resulted in global CRS, usually referred to as global distribution systems The objectives of this research are to understand the competitive challenges and threats facing GDSs resulting from the emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW) as an alternative distribution channel, as well as possible strategies they may adopt to remain competitive A shift in distribution as a result of technology could bring into question the underlying economics of GDSs To what extent the emergence of the WWW as an alternative distribution channel will mark the end for GDSs, or whether GDSs will be forced to evolve and offer additional services is the subject of this dissertation The structure of the dissertation is as follows: Chapter is a review of the literature and a theoretical framework for the dissertation while Chapter will examine the evolution to date of CRSs/GDSs in the context of competitive advantage and distribution theories Chapter discusses the use of the WWW as a travel distribution channel, and Chapter focuses on some of the threats currently faced by GDSs Finally, Chapter looks at the role GDSs will play in the future of travel distribution The methodology is presented here as an explanation of the secondary research used for this dissertation does not require a separate chapter 1.2 Methodology All data and information gathered for writing this dissertation was based on secondary sources Due to the dearth of theoretical articles in the area of electronic travel distribution, this being an area of rather recent developments, much of the theoretical background has been borrowed from retail distribution as appropriate The research was conducted by reviewing current and historical literature on distribution theory and competitive advantages, as well as social and technology trends Information about current strategies employed by GDS and their owners are travel distribution chain, it will slowly start to erode the dominance of the GDS The GDS will capture a decreasing share of the travel distribution market because: (1) existing suppliers will slowly migrate from this current expensive distribution channel, to the more cost-effective WWW channel (and other interactive services); (2) newer and smaller suppliers who could not afford to join the ranks of electronic distribution will so now via these more cost-effective channels; and (3) the possible creation of totally new GDSs (the travel agents Genesis project as well as the VRS) GDSs as they stand today will be unable to maintain the value-added service to the chain; suppliers can now sell to the customer at considerably lower costs through the World Wide Web Larger GDSs, such as Sabre and Apollo, with their deep pockets, will continue offering more services and aligning themselves in the market with large distributors such as IBM, joining forces with online travel agencies, or linking with destination information sites Sabre and Apollo will not disappear altogether, but the smaller GDSs will merge or form alliances with others, and perhaps seek technological change thanks to newer and cheaper hardware and software This will not happen overnight, however If we consider that currently, only 1% of tickets are sold online, it will be some time before the World Wide Web becomes the much touted heir apparent to the travel distribution chain But travel distribution is not only about technology; it‟s also about customer value As the WWW's capability to improve online booking grows, interest and transactions will rise accordingly Currently there are limited "easy to use" options on the WWW for reservations and calling a travel agent is still an easy option Once the technology can provide that customer value, it will flourish Ultimately, the customer will decide which is the fastest, cheapest, and most convenient and most user friendly method to purchase travel Many GDS executives comment that the Internet is just another communications tool like the phone, fax, or cellular phone and should be relegated to its rightful position as a customer service tool, just like any other What they fail to see (or fail to admit), is that the World Wide Web moves the point-of-sale one step closer to the customer, without the costly need for human intervention on the part of the supplier (i.e phone centres, etc.) This allows the supplier more interaction with the customer and creates the customer loyalty found in the frequent flier schemes Airlines will have to push hard to make their presence on the WWW known to customers who at present are not loyal to one airline; however the savings in GDS transaction 59 fees, travel agents‟ commissions, and new Web booking engine transaction fees (when a seat is booked through a site such as Expedia) is surely a good incentive The people who at present are the Internet's biggest users have the disposable incomes to travel - and increasingly, they will their research, shop and negotiate via the online marketplace "Less than 20% of the on-line population will their shopping on-line, but those who will spend a lot, from airline tickets to groceries." (Wired, May 1996) Those suppliers with strong brands, providing value for money, combined with fast service and comprehensive information, will prevail in this new online world There is still some way to go Trepidation exists on the part of the customer due to habit, tradition, and ease of use of the Web such that low look-to-book ratios will continue plaguing online suppliers Moving to interactive television with its more familiar interface might accelerate the acceptance process From the technology side, constraints are bandwidth technology, standards, and speed, and from the supplier side, security is still an issue Airline tariff rules also complicate distribution All these issues must be resolved, but they are not insurmountable challenges it is only a matter of time What can the GDS ? In addition to the aforementioned partnerships with destination or travel agency sites (such as Worldspan with Microsoft‟s Expedia), GDSs can seek short term solutions to try and improve their situation They are working on providing corporate business intranet travel solutions, but are, and will face, competition from suppliers themselves, who are embracing the Internet and extranet to provide their preferred customers with personalised service while saving themselves GDS transaction fees They will continue to work closely with travel agents on new productivity tools and will try and integrate tour packages and cruises, where GDS bookings stand at less than 10%, and which depend on the high touch of a travel consultant The GDS-travel agent marriage will end, however, and GDSs will have to go it alone, seeking direct appeal to the public, and offer some value-added service that they not provide at present, and which others cannot provide But these are only short term solutions The situation is bleak for the GDS Ultimately, GDSs are likely to play a reduced role in the future of travel distribution As one industry analyst put it, “The hard part is, for the next five years at least, the GDSs and the Internet will need to coexist because people need to relearn how to business But what was 60 once 90% GDS bookings and 10% Internet will become 10% GDS and 90% Internet” (Hensdill, 1997) A Jupiter (1997 May) study, predicts that the players likely to have the most success in the online marketplace will be: suppliers (50%), technology providers (22%), agencies (17%), and CRS/GDSs (11%) 6.1 Areas for Further Research and Observation Although an attempt has been made in this dissertation to look at the WWW as a new distribution channel from the perspective of the customer, there is still much research to be done in this area Most of the work to date is technology driven and ignores the effect that new distribution channels have on the actual decision making process of an individual or family choosing a holiday destination and travel company Although business can be done in new ways does not mean that it will How will the Department of Transportation and other regulatory bodies deal with the onslaught of travel sites appearing on the Web All the issues faced by the GDSs in the 1970s and 1980s fair competition, screen biasing, code-sharing, etc - are likely to reappear again, but in a different form because of the new medium Will these new laws strengthen, or weaken the position of the GDS? Perhaps we can draw parallels between air deregulation and resulting competition in the airline industry, and the World Wide Web and resulting competition in travel distribution For now, the suppliers and intermediaries are leaving all their channels (options) open, but they are constantly observing, rethinking, and strategising their next move As Will Rogers once remarked: “Even if you are on the right track, if you are sitting still, you are going to get run over” 61 Appendix: Glossary Extranet : An extranet is a collaborative network that uses Internet technology to link businesses with their suppliers, customers, or other businesses that share common goals The term has been used by Jim Barksdale and Mark Andreessen of Netscape Communications to describe software that facilitates intercompany relationships An extranet can be viewed as part of a company's intranet that is made accessible to other companies or that is a collaboration with other companies The shared information might be accessible only to the collaborating parties or, in some cases, might be public (from http://whatis.com/extranet.htm) Halo effect: the positive effect on bookings of maintaining „ongoing, mutually supportive business relationships between a vendor and its travel agent subscriber‟ (from GAO, 1988, p 6) Intranet: An intranet is a network that is contained within an enterprise It may consist of many interlinked local area networks and also use leased-lines in the wide-area network It may or may not include connections through one or more gateways to the outside Internet The main purpose of an intranet is usually to share company information and computing resources among employees An intranet can also be used to facilitate working in groups and for teleconferences Typically, larger enterprises allow connection outside of the intranet to the Internet through firewall servers that have the ability to screen messages in both directions so that company security is maintained (from http://whatis.com/intranet.htm) WWW: All the resources and users on the Internet that are using the Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) 62 Bibliography NOTE: The bibliography uses the American Psychological Association guidelines for citations, for both print and online mediums Abels, J (1997 May 12) The Times They are A-Changin‟ AGAIN!!! 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Level: 8, Volume 13, Issue 11, pp 1-18 Ziemba, S (1996 April 8) Airline Reservations Systems Face Internet Threat HospitalityNet [Online] Available: http://www.hospitalitynet.nl/news/article/ 100605.htm [1997 March 24] 73 View publication stats ... for example As in the case of economic considerations, control considerations can be further broken down into channel competence and channel compliance The former is a measure of a channels ability... 4.0 and 5.0 34 Chapter Commerce on the Internet: The Web as a Travel Distribution Channel This chapter will explore the potential of the World Wide Web as a commercial transaction channel, specifically... options, and a cost-efficient means of contacting the customer A firm can increase channel control by adding an additional in-house channel, while keeping cost efficiency high through the application