Global Distribution Systems, GDS (Worldspan, Pegasus, Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, etc.)

Currently, I'm studying how hotels manage bookings and promote them online. I just learned that hotels (or travel websites like Expedia) use Global Distribution Systems, GDS; examples are Worldspan, Pegasus, Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre & Abacus. But the question is 'What's GDS???' Can someone kindly explain to me as if I were a 10 years old?

 

Name GDS itself speaks General Distribution System. Airlines or hotels feed their pricings into built-up database, keep updating every now and then. So when anyone wants to buy a tciket or book hotle, all one has to enter dates, destination etc and based this customer input, the results are pulled out/distributed from this database to the customers. All these GDS you mentioned pretty much are the same and each one has built up their own software and named it differently. Airlines or hotels may sign up to choose with any of the GDS software and launch on their sites and use the database. Hope it helps.

 

Good Day,

I appreciate if someone give me some further information for GDS. I am working on a website project which require online hotels and appartments reservation, for this I need a idea that how to integrate it through XML/API's. or refer me any usefull source where I can find the information I am looking for.

I search a lot but didn't find any useful source where I can find the startup to develop these API's.

Thanks in advance.