"However, if a TMC is asked to book, for example, Ryanair or Premier Travel Inn, which have historically not participated in GDS, the TMC would have to go their websites and make the booking as we all would as consumers. Travel agencies then have to input all that booking data again into their front office systemto generatewhatwe call a 'passive segment' for PNR (Passenger Name Record) inclusion. This doubles the Network Association) to identify the standards required by the hotel industry, such as room type, rate type codes and the rules required to book. Slowly but surely, hotels around the world and the GDS followed these standards and adapted their systems accordingly."

"Another standards body, the Open Travel Alliance (OTA), has been working for years to try to accommodate the needs of multi-type suppliers, such as cruise lines, hotels and car rental companies with regards to electronic distribution. Where is the apartment industry in terms of working alongside people like the OTA? When will they all agree what their own standards should be? Does the serviced apartment industry understand all the issues, the investment they will need to make, the time-line and how it will all affect onward distribution?" amount of work for the TMC, unless - and this is the big issue with apartments - TMCs have custom-built their own front to back end applications. The big, leading TMCs have done that in the main by working with Integrated Technology Providers such as Dolphin Dynamics to bring in a booking option with, for example, Ryanair alongside BA." However, very few (if any) of these integrators and TMC's have done this for serviced apartments.