The one thing that matters most for travel in a post-COVID world

If you clicked on the headline expecting us to say hygiene or sanitation, we don’t blame you. That’s the hot topic in the “road to recovery in travel” coverage. Of course, we all must make sure travelers and employees are safe — that’s a given as the virus persists.

The thing that matters most right now is distribution.

There are opportunities in every crisis, and one of the biggest opportunities in front of us is a fundamental rethink of how travel suppliers get their inventory in front of customers.

The opportunity for finally building more equitable and balanced distribution is easily eclipsed by the need for business. Travel suppliers are ready to restart — and the easiest way to turn the spigot on is via the OTAs. After all, that’s always been a core value proposition for that channel: “we’re here for you when you need us.”

And, with many brands facing furloughed marketers and nonexistent marketing budgets, the pay-for-performance commission model holds enormous appeal. It’s a way to rebuild demand with less upfront investment. And consumers will likely turn to the biggest, most well-known, and trusted brands when booking their next trips.

However, this short-sightedness is a missed opportunity. Because, as we’ve seen before, it can be hard to wean yourself off of OTA demand once you’ve gotten used to it. The power dynamics would shift back to where things were only a few years back when the large platforms used their size to outmaneuver everyone else.

Now’s the time for big structural change that expands options and increases flexibility around how suppliers connect to their customers. We’re so excited to present the complete vision of the Winding Tree platform in our upcoming webinar with PhocusWire. Here’s a quick teaser. We’ll see you there!

Three benefits of the Winding Tree platform

The new Winding Tree platform is made up of several components: ORG.ID (a global registry for business ID verification), Simard Pay (a settlement solution), and Glider Travel (an open-source OTA with two independent modules, a customer-facing UI and a content aggregator).

There are many benefits to rethinking travel distribution, which we’ll cover in detail during the PhocusWire webinar. A quick look at a few of these core benefits:

1. Greater control of distribution costs. Direct connections can build new incentives between buyer and seller. For instance, when a corporate buyer books directly with a hotel via Winding Tree technology, the hotel receives the full value of the booking. By eliminating the 7 to 24% in the commission paid to an intermediary, the hotel can pass along some of the savings to the buyer. It’s a win-win: the buyer pays less and the supplier makes more.
2. Enhanced security and accountability. Data breaches are becoming more frequent and more damaging. Decentralization can be a huge help in any company’s cybersecurity efforts by reducing the risk of a single failpoint exposing thousands or millions of records. Accountability is also improved, as we’re changing the API authentication paradigm: each company can now create and manage its own credentials without relying on third parties. This eliminates a potential backdoor for hackers while preserving control and only allowing vetted third parties to access your company’s API. It’s all automated and accountable.
3. More flexibility. Open source means more innovation. Anyone can build on the platform; anyone can clone the code and create their own OTAs literally overnight. An active community of developers building on an open-source platform also makes it much easier to co-create traveler-centric experiences with ecosystem partners. By opening up public API access, secured with ORG.ID authentication, you can decide in real-time which partners can access your inventory. It’s rapid innovation with less hassle.

Ready to get a handle on your distribution costs and connect directly with customers on an open marketplace? Join us on July, 1: Register for the webinar here.

TITLE: Everything you need to know about open and secure travel marketplaces

CONTENT:

Travel distribution has evolved faster in the last two years than it has the past two decades.

At the heart of this change is the adoption of open marketplaces, driven by distributed ledger technology.

This fundamentally different way of looking at the ecosystem that connects suppliers, intermediaries, and consumers is becoming more than just a theory, with hotels and airlines understanding the benefits to their business models and the all-important considerations around security.

This free webinar, provided by PhocusWire and Winding Tree, is your chance to understand how the distribution model is changing and how players across the industries are seizing the opportunity to think in a new, deeper, and more secure way.

Key takeaways:

1) Learn how to promote innovation by opening up your APIs to the worldwide developer community.

2) Understand how open marketplaces enhance data security through distributed ledger technology.

3) Speed up settlement times and reduce costs through cutting edge platforms.

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