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Belgian-based content and technology specialist Gateway is launching a new hotel booking engine for UK travel agencies at the 2009 Travel Technology Show (stand B43, 10-11 February 2009). It will provide fast and easy-to-use look-and-book capabilities, an initial global inventory of over 100,000 hotels, and the ability for agents to set their own mark up and cancellation rules. Available in either B2B or B2C configurations, the engine provides fast, secure access to hotels, ranging from budget to six star, provided by global wholesalers such as Tourico, GTA, Jacobs and Hotelbeds, as well as by country, region and premium specialists. Its smart search facility enables searches around user-defined interest points in some 600 cities and shows relevant on a Google map. Each hotel is supported by a city map with zoom, photos and property and area information.
Andries Oprel, Gateway marketing manager, explained: “This latest offering has several advantages over other booking engines, such as enhanced inventory which can be customized, as can the look and feel of web pages. We can deliver the hotel engine with standard accommodation content, or agents can choose which wholesale vendors they want to access.”
Gateway says its hotel engine is already being used by around 800 travel agencies across Western Europe, mostly B2B but with some B2C users such as Cheaptickets in Germany and the Netherlands, and Connections, the biggest travel retailer in Belgium. Gateway is best known for its airfare database management technology and outsourcing services.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
