Why use the Global Distribution System (GDS)?
Access professional travellers via professional bookers
One of the features of the GDS is that it isn't very consumer friendly. In fact, it doesn't really allow consumers to access it directly at all.
Customer facing companies may run on the GDS - e.g. Expedia uses it when you search on it as a customer - but a huge amount of business that runs through the GDS is purchased actually on the GDS. And only travel professionals can access the GDS.
There are really three main booking audiences on the GDS:
1. Travel Agents: primarily book for leisure, and they will be primarily interested in leisure destinations
2. Travel Management Companies: a specialist companies that organise travel for large organisations. For example, most of the UK Government books its travel via CTM, a travel management company. Sometimes they have portals that an end user can log in to, which connects directly to the GDS
3. Corporates with travel booking software: some larger organisations actually buy-in software to enable their employees to book on the GDS.
Because the GDS is so tightly structured, it enables a huge amount of control. An organisation can define each employee an allowable travel budget, and the GDS will enable that employee to book accommodation only up to that value.