What Is a GDS (Global Distribution System)?
A global distribution system, or GDS, is a network that travel agents and corporate booking tools use to search and book flights, hotels and rental cars. Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport run the main ones. A hotel listed in a GDS can be booked by agents around the world, usually for a commission plus fees.
Last updated: October 2026
How a GDS works
A GDS is a large shared database with booking screens on top. Airlines, hotels and car rental firms load their prices and availability into it. Travel agents, travel management companies and corporate booking tools search it, compare options and book, all without visiting each supplier's own website.
GDS companies started with airlines, and air is still most of their volume. Sabre handled 365 million bookings in 2025, of which about 308 million were air and about 57 million were lodging, ground and sea (Sabre full year 2025 results). Amadeus reported 484.5 million air bookings in its distribution business in 2025 (Amadeus FY 2025 results).
Hotels rarely connect to a GDS on their own. Most reach it through a central reservation system (CRS), which holds the hotel's rates and rooms and passes them to each GDS. Each property gets its own code in the GDS so agents can find and book it. It usually sits under a two-letter chain code for its brand or for a group of independent hotels.
When an agent books, the reservation travels from the GDS to the CRS and on to the hotel's property management system. The agent often earns a commission from the hotel. Extended Stay America, for example, pays travel agents 10% on the first seven nights of a commissionable rate booked through the GDS (Extended Stay America).
Why it matters for hotel distribution
For most hotels the GDS is a small channel. In HOTREC's main sample of European hotels, which leaves out the large chains' pooled data, the GDS brought about 2% of overnights in 2025, a share that has barely moved since 2013. For large chains it is far bigger. Across ten chains managing 831 hotels, the GDS delivered 11.2% of distribution. HOTREC links this to business travel and corporate distribution (HOTREC European Hotel Distribution Study 2026).
That split explains who cares about the GDS. Business travellers often have to book through their company's travel agency or booking tool, and those tools search the GDS. A hotel near offices, airports or convention centres that wants corporate guests needs to be bookable there. Companies also negotiate rates with hotels each year, either fixed or a set discount. Those corporate rates are often loaded into the GDS for the company's agents to book.
For a leisure resort or a small independent hotel, the GDS usually brings little and costs money to join. Many skip it and focus on OTAs and direct bookings.
GDS compared with other channels
| GDS | OTA | Metasearch | Channel manager | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A booking network for travel agents | A booking website for travellers | A price comparison site | Software that syncs a property's channels |
| Examples | Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport | Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda | Google Hotel Ads, Trivago, Kayak | Many vendors |
| Who books there | Travel agents and corporate booking tools | Consumers | Consumers, who are sent to another site to book | Nobody; it is not a sales channel |
| How the hotel pays | Agent commission plus GDS and connection fees | Commission per stay | Per click or per booking | Software fee |
Frequently asked questions
What does GDS stand for?
Is a GDS the same as an OTA?
How much does it cost a hotel to be on a GDS?
Do independent hotels need a GDS?
How does a hotel get listed on a GDS?
Related terms
See all termsWhere Jetstream fits
A GDS is one of several places a hotel sells, next to OTAs, metasearch, home-sharing platforms and its own website. Each one needs the same rooms, rates and availability kept current. Jetstream builds an AI channel manager that connects a property's reservation system to the channels where guests book. It keeps inventory accurate on each one.