Breaking the GDS Stranglehold: How India’s Mid-Market Hotels Can Win with NDC
The API Revolution Hotels Can No Longer Ignore
For years, we’ve been talking about New Distribution Capability (NDC)—tech leaders have dissected its potential, but hospitality has been slow to act.
Unlike airlines, which have embraced API-based direct distribution, hotels remain trapped in outdated, expensive Global Distribution Systems (GDS). Why?
Because hotels lack a common data exchange protocol. The industry is still ruled by real estate thinking and short-term cash flows instead of a unified API ecosystem that connects legacy Property Management Systems (PMS) with modern distribution channels.
That’s about to change. The Indian government has announced plans to develop 50 new airports over the next five years to enhance regional connectivity and meet growing passenger demand.
A well-known concept, the “Aerotropolis,” describes this phenomenon of airports anchoring commercial development. Major hub airports around the world have evolved into corporate clusters due to their connectivity.
For hotels in emerging airport-linked business hubs (e.g. a new hotel near an airport business park filled with MNC offices), connecting to the GDS network is often necessary to reach those travelers whose companies use managed travel programs. Many such hotels partner with global distribution or switch technology providers to get into GDSs and corporate consortia programs.
The GDS Reality Check: Why Mid-Market Hotels Are Being Priced Out
GDS has always been the gold standard for corporate travel bookings, but its cost structure penalizes mid-market hotels (?2,500–?4,000 ADR).
GDS Market Snapshot:
?? India’s GDS Hotel Market (2023):
?? The Problem:
?? Result? Many mid-market hotels are skipping GDS altogether—losing out on high-ADR corporate bookings and Corporate occ penetration.
India’s Airport Boom: The Game Changer for Hotel Distribution
The biggest driver of change is India’s airport expansion.
Impact on Mid-Market Hotels:
?? A major shift is coming. Hotels near airports must integrate GDS + NDC now to capture this demand before international chains do.
The NDC Escape Plan: Cutting Distribution Costs While Boosting Visibility
Hotels that embrace a hybrid GDS + NDC approach will reduce costs, increase reach, and maximize direct bookings.
Understanding the Connectivity Play
Core Concept: Using NDC/API connections to reach GDS-dependent travel agents without being listed in GDS or paying GDS fees. This requires a technical bridge that converts API content into GDS-readable formats.
Case Study: Air Indias NDC Platform + Hotel Partners
Implementation (2023): Air India’s NDC platform (powered by IBS Software) enables hotels to connect via API to:
Participating Hotel:
How It Works: The Technical Bridge
Key Players Enabling This:
Cost Comparison: Traditional GDS vs. API Bridge
For a 100-room hotel with 70% occupancy:
Challenges in NDC Implementation ??
1?? Agent Education: 72% of Indian agents still prefer GDS workflows (ARC 2022 survey). 2?? Tech Debt: Requires hotels to maintain updated PMS APIs for smooth integration. 3?? Scale Limitations: Works best for chains; independent hotels may struggle with adoption.
The Future: GDS Bypass 2.0
Emerging solutions like Hopper’s B2B Platform now enable:
? API-connected hotels to appear in Sabre via Hopper’s GDS code 304 ? GDS-free hotel visibility inside agent systems
Example: Treebo Hotels gained 9% GDS agent bookings via Hopper without direct GDS connectivity.
Actionable Steps for Hotels
? Partner with Aggregators: RateGain, Travel Tripper ? Leverage Airline NDC Platforms: Air India, IndiGo ? Co-op Marketing: Share API access with nearby hotels
Final Call to Action: Are Hoteliers Ready for This Shift?
The airports are coming. The demand is growing. The tech is ready. ?? Mid-market hotels that fail to integrate NDC into their strategy will be left behind.
So, here’s the real question: ?? experimented with NDC yet? What challenges or wins have you seen?
Sources:
Growing indiacarz.com
1 周Corporate will send bookings to wherever they get the best net prices along with audit readiness. But you can't discount the fact that most agents still use GDS systems for complex air ticket multi sector bookings. And then adding the hotel in the same air PNR becomes an obvious choice. As someone who had an IATA agency in 2003 and dropped it in 2010(GDS Galileo) and have gone back to a newish GDS recently (Sabre Red has a huge amount of content now, not only Airlines and hotels - cruises, cars,) , we would love to have NDC actually live up to its promise. But right now it's just wishful thinking, with to-travel-agent B2B prices same for both platforms. Yes the cost per GDS bookings are high but the convenience is unmatched. The adoption of NDC is widespread but with nothing to show for it. And there's nothing stopping Sabre et al from enhancing the existing protocol to add all the NDC features( some of it is already done). Do correct any factual errors ....
Hospitality Executive | Facilities Management & Revenue Strategy Innovator | Multi-Property Operations Leader | Champion of Servant Leadership
2 周Wow - Thanks for the insight - Way to move forward in the world of growing COA
Tech Entrepreneur | Reimagining E-commerce with ONDC | Digital and Business Transformation Consultant | Ex Genpact
2 周Insightful