Amadeus, a leading travel technology partner and transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry today announces a distribution deal with Travelodge, the UK’s long-established and fastest growing budget hotel chain, with more than 490 properties in the UK, Ireland and Spain. 

This deal enables Travelodge to expand its distribution reach to budget conscious travellers using the services of travel professionals. Around 80% of Travelodge hotels are located in major city centres and popular holiday locations. The budget hotel chain is also growing rapidly with plans to operate 70,000 rooms (approximately 1000 hotels) by 2020 and today is the biggest hotel operator in London.

This distribution agreement will help Travelodge to attract more business travellers to their properties, as rooms for the chain will be seamlessly integrated into Amadeus Selling Platform and its user-friendly Hotels Plus booking tool – used in more than 90,000 travel professional points of sale worldwide. Travelodge rooms will also be bookable through Amadeus e-Travel Management, the self-booking tool for corporate travellers, as well as being made available to online travel sites and 3^rd party developers using Amadeus Web Services.

Hugo Ehrnreich, Head of Hotel Distribution at Amadeus, said: “Our goal at Amadeus is to provide travel agency subscribers with the widest range of hotel content. Whether travel agents are looking to book five star accommodation, create itineraries for budget conscious business travellers, or help people enjoy more get-aways at affordable hotels such as Travelodge, Amadeus has something to suit everyone. For hoteliers, we deliver an unrivalled global distribution network of professional travel consultants who welcome providers that help streamline their workflow, by offering integrated content that saves time and helps them to sell accommodation more easily.”

Andy Besent, Sales Director, Travelodge, said: “Our exciting expansion plans mean it makes perfect sense to work with a forward-thinking company like Amadeus with their focus on growing the choice of content available and their extensive local and global reach within the travel agency community.”  

It is anticipated that the 490 Travelodge properties will be available to Amadeus customers to book from 10 January 2012. Travelodge has also signed up to the Amadeus Best Available Rate guarantee, which means travel agents can book with confidence in the knowledge that their customers are getting the best deal. No special training is required to book the new content and the data is fully integrated with the Amadeus Passenger Name Record (PNR) which speeds up the booking process.

Some of the most prominent solutions of the Amadeus Hotel Optimisation package that you will be seeing soon are described below:

Amadeus Hotel Dynamic Saver, a powerful multi-GDS Business Intelligence solution to help both large travel agencies and corporate travel managers maintain high savings standards and ensure hotel contract compliance. Key capabilities include: Last Room Availability, the identification of rate squatters and automatic future comparison of negotiated versus. public rates to ensure buyers get the best deal at all times. With Dynamic Saver, Amadeus has consistently identified average achievable savings of 10% on total hotel spend for travel agencies and corporations. For a typical Fortune 500 corporation this implies significant annual savings on hotels alone. The product is due for UK launch in 2012.

Integration of hotel aggregator content: as the quickest path to integrating the ‘long tail’ of content, Amadeus has a strong pipeline of hotel aggregators which are being integrated across all its travel agency point-of-sale solutions.  Having this popular hotel content fully integrated into Amadeus saves time and money, streamlines the hotel shopping process and increases service levels for clients.  Watch out for this product coming to the UK in 2012.

Amadeus LinkHotel,  a customised, fast-track service that enables quick seamless integration of specific hotels that are requested by travel agencies and their corporate customers but are currently not bookable on the GDS (for instance, hotels close to a specific location or business, and would typically would not show on these systems). Through this service Amadeus already connects over six thousand hotels to the GDS for real-time reservations.

The Rushton Hall Hotel and Spa

This magnificent 16^th century hotel, originally the home of Sir John Tresham and frequented by Charles Dickens who frequented the hall and conceived Haversham Hall for his novel Great Expectations,  has been reformed throughout history, with the grand style of the hall still remaining, from the ornate plasterworks to beautiful stained glass windows.  Amongst the historical environment, many modern conveniences have been added for guests comfort from wireless internet to meeting and banquet facilities. Guest rooms are individually designed in keeping with the hall’s grand décor. Bed sizes vary per room and all rooms are en-suite and feature tea and coffee making facilities, bathrobes and slippers and turn down service is available.  The Stableyard Spa offers numerous ways to get away from it all. Enjoy a relaxing swim in the sparkling pool, unwind in the spa or sauna, or work out your stress in the fitness suite or in a round of tennis on the outdoor courts.  You can book this property in Amadeus using property code: MSEMA385

The Royal Scots Club

Built in 1921 in honor of the Royal Scots who died in World War One, the Royal Scots Club is the ideal accommodation for those hoping to experience true Scottish Culture.  With its Georgian architecture and traditional fixtures, the Royal Scots Club truly captures the warmth and character of Scottish country house.  The hotel offers comfortable accommodations in Edinburgh for business or leisure travellers, and families alike.  The Club’s 22 en-suite bedrooms are individually designed and traditionally furnished, offering the highest level of comfort.  Many rooms enjoy scenic views over the roof-tops towards Fife, whilst others overlook the private gardens.  All rooms benefit from the high quality facilities and fixtures you would expect from a luxury hotel, toiletries by Molton Brown, hospitality trays, free-view television, direct dial telephones and Wi-Fi internet access.  The hotel can also cater for corporate events.  The Club has a number of meeting room and conference room facilities, suitable for a wide range of business functions which are furnished to a high standard and include modern facilities.  You can book this property in Amadeus using property code: MSEDI516

 AK – Autograph Collection

AR – AC Hotels

BG – Bulgari Hotels

BR – Renaissance Hotels and Resorts

CY – Courtyard Hotels

EB – Edition Brand

ET – Marriott Conference Centres

FN – Fairfield Inn Hotels

MC – Marriott Hotels and Resorts

RC – Residence Inn Hotels

RZ – Ritz Carlton Hotels

TO – Towneplace Suites

VC – Marriott Vacation Club

XV – Springhill Suites

ZX – MI Independent Properties

• Alternative Property Display – enabling users to be automatically suggested (and sell) up to five alternative properties when request in not available.
• Increased Occupancy Pricing – enables users to display and sell up to nine persons per room
• Multiple Room Shopping & Booking – functionality enabling users to display shop and sell up to three rooms in one transaction, returning individual confirmation numbers.

Revenue Management for hotels has always been a tricky business, simply because of the huge number of factors which need to be taken into account – location, season, hotel facilities, customer profiles. Today, this is even more complex, with increasingly demanding guests and the ease of online comparison tools. Now, instead of just managing capacity, hotels are staying one step ahead of the game by actively looking for ways to increase their revenue, based on booking pattern forecasts. 

Following the celebration of the Amadeus Revenue Management Forum in France last 27 & 28 September, where more than 20 selected Hoteliers discussed the future of Revenue Management, Amadeus has developed a spotlight paper outlining its vision of Revenue Management, including some valuable contributions from hotel experts from TAJ Hotels, Center Parcs UK and Delaware North Company. 

To download your copy of this white paper, please click here.

The hotel offers 87 rooms and suites all finished to the highest standard to suit both business and leisure travellers.  All rooms benefit from air conditioning, 24-hour room service, flat screen TV, CD Player and iPod Docking stations as well as Nespresso machines and high-speed internet access.  Room categories are Superior, Deluxe, Executive, Junior Suite, Executive Suite or Luxury Suite.

You can also find the newly opened Lowndes Bar & Kitchen which offers contemporary modern British Cuisine, along with an undiscovered gem – The Terrace, a real suntrap in the middle of town attracting hotel guests and visitors alike, serving food and drinks throughout the summer months.  Head Chef Martin Gabler has designed a delicious menu taking inspiration from the best of British classics and the new restaurant is fast becoming the place to dine in the area.

There’s also a good sized meeting room which can also be used for private dining, fully equipped with wireless internet access and equipment.  Of course, having a sister property along the street also delivers guests another benefit of choosing this property as a base to stay with guests receiving free use of Jumeirah Carlton Tower’s swimming pool and Spa at the Peak Health Club & Spa.

To check this hotel in Amadeus, you can use property code: JTLONILH in either our Command Page or through Amadeus Hotels Plus.  Remember, when using Amadeus Hotels Plus, you can even send your client full details of the hotel, including photos and maps!

As a little fun, and to gain insights into some unique places to recommend to your clients for their stay, this new series will focus on some distinctive properties in and around London, that you can of course book in Amadeus.  Today, we focus on The Cadogan and discover the rich history guests can experience during their stay.

A quintessentially British hotel, The Cadogan is one of London’s most prestigious hotels.  Based in the exclusive area of Knightsbridge alongside designer boutiques by Prada, Gucci, Jimmy Choo and Dior, The Cadogan is in an enviable position and surrounded by history.  Built in 1887/1888 by William Willettt, this former townhouse has been sympathetically designed to create a high standard of luxury.  The hotel was once home to Lillie Langtry, the famous actress and close friend of King Edward VII.  After she sold the house, she regularly stayed in her old bedroom which by then formed part of the hotel – a room you can still stay in today (remember to ask for room 109!).    If this history was not rich enough, the hotel is probably best known for its association with renowned Irish writer and poet, Oscar Wilde, who was arrested for ‘gross indecency’ in 1895.

So what can your guests expect from a stay at The Cadogan?  Well actually, a genuine mix of original features coupled perfectly with the 21st Century chic image of the hotel.  High sculpted ceilings, marble fireplaces, gorgeous chandeliers and an incredibly unique elevator (you need to see it!) alongside luxurious amenities and facilities throughout.  The hotel also offers guests The Cadogan Bar and Drawing Room, complete with original stained glass windows and oak wood panelling, with the Drawing Room the perfect spot for the quintessentially English afternoon tea.  Langtry’s restaurant serves modern British dishes and is set in the perfect, classical environment, where you could easily slip back to the days of King Edward himself.

As you’d expect from this much history, this is also one of London’s oldest hotels – so if your guests are looking for something that bit special during summer next year, The Cadogan could well fit the bill with its charm and character.  It also comes with one or two surprise amenities for a city centre hotel - including two tennis courts and access to the tranquil Cadogan Gardens directly opposite the hotel.

The hotel can be viewed and booked in Amadeus, both through our Command Page or through Amadeus Hotels Plus.  To help you find the hotel quickly, you can search using the hotel property code, which is YXLON426.  Remember, you can now even search using this code in Amadeus Hotels Plus!  Enjoy.

The roundtable panel see’s some of the hotel industry’s leading companies represented for a debate and exchange of opinions covering the relevant topics of today, that affect all sectors of the industry.  This year’s event saw ten panelists made up of company representatives, bloggers and journalists including Premier Inn, Conferma, Hotel Blogs, the Hotel Booking Agents Association, Great Hotels of the World and many more.

Amadeus Hotel Roundtable Session 1

Amadeus Hotel Roundtable Session 2

Amadeus Hotel Roundtable Session 3

As always, if you’d like to join the debate and have your own opinions on what was disucssed, please leave your comments on the various posts.

The following hotel chains/companies will be effected:

• Armani Hotels (AI)
• Aramark (AM)
• The Address (AT)
• Confortel Hotels (CA)
• Blackpepper (CK)
• Global Hospitality SVC (GF)
• Grand Heritage (GH)
• Genre Hotels (GQ)
• Joie De Vivre (JV)
• K Hotels (KH)
• TravelClick (LM)
• Mantra Group (MP)
• Quest Group (QG)
• TravelClick (Vantis) (VE)
• TravelClick (iHotelier) (WV)
• Luxury Resorts (XO)