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a) The charges for GDS reservation are extraordinarily high. A room with a hotel rack rate of $50.00 if reserved from Travelocity will have a $12.50 commission for Travelocity + $5.15 GDS fee and $.17 processing fee from Wyndham. The total room rate for the hotel owner will be approximately $32.00 for the hotel after the commission. This amounts to 64 % of the total rack rate. As most Super 8 hotels have more than 64 % of the cost of room for quoted rates, the GDS reservation are a tragedy for the hotel. 1) Average room revenue from GDS reservation for hotel owner is about 36% less than regular rate. 2) Lot of websites is engaged in corrupt practices to generate sale. Displaying “pool” when there is none, “allows pet” when the hotels do not allow etc. The customers blame the hotel for such faulty advertising. This results in a disappointed customer complaining about numerous other amenities of the hotels. 3) The GDS sites artificially hype the hotels in order to generate sale. The websites are designed to give extra lift to the hotels. The hotels are described in manners to make them appear more luxurious and star rated than what they actually are. This results in extra expectations from the customers, which results into dissatisfaction, resulting into more complaints. 4) The GDS websites also charges reservation fees and sometimes extra fees for numerous other reasons. These fees are not displayed properly before making the reservations and the customer only realizes them when charged. It generates an ill feeling for which most GDS customers blame the hotels since they do not know how this third party websites operates. Any unhappiness on the path of customer always results in complaint for the hotel in some manner. 5) The GDS/third party websites do not display any additional charges that hotel charges for the rooms. E.g. extra person charges, pet charges etc. This charges are not displayed anywhere while making reservation and they are left for the hotels to collect them upon check in. The customers are always unaware about the charges and often result furiously if the hotels try to collect them at the check in. More than often they react to that by complaining about hotels for numerous other things. 6) As all the GDS websites charge $25 or more cancellation fee or fees to make any reservation changes, the customers try to make those cancellation or changes through the hotel The hotels refusal to make those cancellation or changes often results in heated arguments by customer, since they do not know how the third party websites operate with hotels. In the event customer showing up at the hotel, he will look for excuses to complain about the hotel.
GDS / Third party websites: Wyndham has been negotiating contracts with third party websites. We all need the GDS sites. As independent websites like worldres guarantees 20% commissionable GDS reservation from any website (includes Travelocity, orbitz, expedia), to negotiate contracts with them at 25 % commissionable rate and guarantee them same price as brand is totally wrong and done carelessly, with utter disregard for hotel owners although the benefits to Wyndham for that are few. It is just another example how unknowledgeable people at Wyndham whose “We do not care” attitude toward hotel owners, results in type of wrong doings that do not even benefit them. Few more problems with the GDS/third party websites are as follows.
b) The GDS websites also charges reservation fees to the guests and a cancellation fee of sizeable amount to the guests. None of the cancellation fee comes to the hotels. Although the independent websites have a right to any cancellation policy of theirs, this policy needs to be clearly mention in the reservation confirmation that hotel cannot cancel or change the reservation. In absence of which the hotel is left to handle the irrate customers.
c) The GDS complaints needs to be separated from regular complaints the following are the reasons for it.
