Pegasus Solutions (PEGS) announced the signing of a landmark electronic distribution agreement with Ctrip.com (CTRP). Beginning in January 2005, Pegasus will provide Ctrip with direct access to inventory at nearly 60,000 hotels worldwide.
Under this new arrangement, Ctrip will have access to live inventory, rates and images from hotels in Pegasus' online distribution database. Pegasus' electronic distribution services provide the core functionality to search for and select a hotel property in any given city, with an interface that allows for easy integration with air travel – an important feature for Ctrip since the company is also a leading consolidator of airline tickets in China.
"With more Chinese business and leisure travelers booking hotel rooms online, it is important that we give our customers rich hotel content quickly and efficiently," said James Liang, chairman and chief executive officer of Ctrip. "Pegasus merges detailed hotel information from hotels around the world with proven systems that can accommodate the growth we anticipate in the hotel reservation business in 2005."
PegsTour serves tour operators by automating key booking processes through an electronic interface that connects operators to multiple hotel central reservation systems. The service assists distributors such as Ctrip by providing a single set of hotel reservation messages that work with virtually any hotel chain. Through PegsTour, Ctrip has access to hotel system modification rules, rates, allocations, tax rates and meal plans.
"Ctrip has demonstrated true leadership in growing online travel within China, and we're pleased to help expand its hotel business in 2005 and beyond," said Bob Boles, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Pegasus Solutions. "Pegasus is committed to providing distribution services to both hotels and travel distributors in the Asia-Pacific region. This significant agreement with Ctrip signals our intention to play a prominent role in both traditional and online hotel distribution as travel continues to increase throughout China."