Systems

Spectra Hospitality becomes exclusive distributor for GenaRes in India

EH Staff - Mumbai

GenaRes Worldwide Reservation Services Ltd, an international representation and reservations company, recently announced that it has chosen India's Spectra Hospitality Pvt Ltd to be the exclusive provider of GenaRes' reservations services in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma, Bhutan and Pakistan. Spectra is a consulting and services company focused on the hotel, restaurant, convention, gaming, and leisure industries in India.

Consequently, hotels based in India and the Indian subcontinent will now have a local source for accessing GenaRes' state-of-the-art Internet-based central reservations system (CRS) for reservations processing and for distribution of their hotel inventory to the global distribution systems (GDSs) and thousands of consumer-focused travel Web sites around the world.

"Although there are several hotel representation and marketing companies in India, we are the first company to be able to provide both broad GDS and Internet distribution of hotel inventory along with full use of a simple-to-use Web-based CRS with advanced tools for channel management and optimization of occupancy and ADR (average daily rate)," said Navneet Nagpal, managing director, Spectra Hospitality.

"The fact that GenaRes' CRS is Internet-based and doesn't require any special equipment on site at the hotel nor virtually any start-up costs is a very attractive feature for hotels here," Nagpal continued. "Hoteliers will also find it very appealing that they can access the GenaRes CRS from any office or hotel as long as they have Internet access, with the capability to easily change rates or availability whenever they so desire."

GenaRes services that Spectra Hospitality can now provide to hotels in India include:

• Full use of the GenaRes Web-based CRS with inventory management across all distribution channels
• Rate and availability channel management
• Next-generation seamless connectivity to all GDSs
• Revenue management
• Representation on the GDSs via the chain code "GZ"
• Ongoing customization as needed
• Online distribution to thousands of travel Web sites
• Online training

According to recent estimates of the World Travel and Tourism Council, Indian tourism demand will grow at 8.8 percent over the next 10 years, which would place India as the second most rapidly growing tourism market in the world after Montenegro and China.

"The hotel industry in India is ripe for a technology solution such as ours. India's growing tourism market - both inbound and domestic - is causing many hoteliers there to take a hard look at their current technology and distribution opportunities. We believe that Navneet Nagpal and his team at Spectra Hospitality are well positioned to help these hoteliers expand their revenues through broader distribution via GenaRes," said Eugene Harris, president, GenaRes.

GenaRes' system is the one of the few CRSs to be developed since 1999. Built by experienced industry veterans, the system uses the latest technology and incorporates functionality that is vital for hoteliers of today, including next generation seamless connectivity, true sales distribution channel management, advanced yield management capabilities, and customized reporting. GenaRes provides its hotel customers with distribution via all the major GDSs, such as Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus and Worldspan, and distribution to the thousands of Internet sites around the world that are connected to the Pegasus Solutions Online Distribution Network

"Recent studies reinforce the growing importance of hoteliers having their inventory available online for booking via the Internet," Nagpal commented. A survey of online shoppers conducted recently by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) found that 20 per cent of Internet users in India had made hotel reservations online; and 31 per cent indicated that they were likely to do so in the near future. "Through GenaRes, Spectra can now provide the ideal solution for hoteliers in India that recognise how critical it is to be available for booking via the thousands of travel-related Web sites around the world," Nagpal said.