Travelport GDS, Pegasus Help Boost Agent Commissions

Travelport GDS and Pegasus Solutions, Inc. have announced an exclusive agreement to offer its Apollo and Galileo-connected travel agencies a reduced price on its commission processing services. The deal will help boost hotel commissions earned by travel agencies with reduced pricing for commission processing, reconciliation and tracking.

“Research we conducted recently indicated that as many as 68 percent of our agents indicated they would make more hotel bookings if hotels paid commissions in an agent-friendly manner,” said Jane Lewis, senior director hospitality & car rental, EMEA & Asia Pacific for Travelport GDS. “Where a hotel rate is commissionable, an agent can earn as much as $34 per booking. By making this automated Pegasus service available and affordable for our agents, we will be offering the best solution in the marketplace and really begin addressing the challenges agents face when collecting hotel commissions. This agreement is a major initiative for Travelport GDS, and will greatly support our Apollo and Galileo-connected agents at a time when their commission earnings from other travel sectors are shrinking.”

“Our research has shown that Pegasus Commission Processing is the preferred commission service for agents, and we want to make sure agents have the opportunity to take advantage of it,” said Mark S. Dubrow, president of Pegasus. “This exclusive agreement with Travelport facilitates access for Apollo and Galileo-connected travel agencies at a reduced price so they can break through to the benefits we offer.”

Pegasus Commission Processing streamlines commission payments for hotels and suppliers, and facilitates collections for travel agents. Processing more than $500 million in commissions each year, Pegasus delivers agents regularly scheduled, consolidated payments in their preferred currency. A 2007 survey of select worldwide agents showed more than 85 percent would prefer to book a hotel that pays commissions through Pegasus than a hotel using another payment provider.

The exclusive program negotiated for Apollo and Galileo agents will transfer booking data from the GDS to Pegasus, which will then process, reconcile, consolidate and make weekly payments to agents who have signed on, according to Lewis.

Visit www.travelportgds.com.