IHG and Amadeus to Develop New Guest Reservation System

InterContinental Hotels Group and Amadeus have unveiled plans to develop a new Guest Reservation System (GRS) that they say will “revolutionise the technological foundations of the global hospitality industry”.

Amadeus will use a new cloud-based community model, similar to the model it developed for the global airline industry.

Richard Solomons, Chief Executive Officer of IHG said, “The next-generation guest reservation system we will create with Amadeus will deliver a powerful global platform for hotels to manage guest interaction, will be intuitive for hotel teams, and will help us accelerate our work to revolutionise and personalise the guest experience through technology."

As launch partner, IHG will work with Amadeus on the design, functionality and evolution of the system, which will ultimately replace Holidex, IHG's proprietary reservation system.

The GRS can be operated alongside Holidex and the transition to GRS, which is due to be rolled out globally in 2017, will be undertaken in phases to minimise risks.

The community model is an innovative and cost-effective approach for IHG, with Amadeus taking responsibility for funding and maintaining the reservation system and each member paying for usage on a transaction fee basis.

Luis Maroto, President & Chief Executive Officer of Amadeus, said, “Travellers today expect a great experience wherever they are and technology can play a key role in delivering that. IHG has exciting ambitions for its hotels and guests and Amadeus is proud that our innovative technology will play a key role in delivering them. Our technology partnership with IHG is a watershed moment for the industry. It will provide a huge leap forward in the flexibility and functionality available to hoteliers, and marks an important step in our journey to deliver our established community technology model into a new industry segment.”