AGENTS can now go on-line to access the British Travel Agents’ Accommodation Register after the its signed up for Worldspan Net.
The ABTA-backed Register, which lists 2,000 hotels – the majority of which are small independent properties – was previously only available on CD-rom and disc format.
At the moment 75 of the hotels have agreed to go on the Internet version of the list which will require them to keep their availability and rates up to date.
BTAAR registrar Jonathan Grosvenor said: “This gives a new and diverse range of hotels affordable access to the GDS market.
“As an ABTA facility, we can make sure everything runs smoothly and, very importantly, that travel agents are paid their commission promptly.
“Since it was launched in 1997, BTAARhas filled an important gap in the resources available to travel agents who previously found it easier and more rewarding to book a hotel in Spain rather than England.
“But our partnership with Worldspan makes the whole booking process even easier, quicker and more cost-effective for agents. More of our registered hotels are applying to join the Worldspan scheme every week.”
Worldspan Net is the GDS’s Internet solution for agents which was developed to allow agents in remote parts of the world with no GDS hardware to access the system.
At the moment hotels will have to update the inventory information which is then fed into the on-line system. But it is hoped that a higher level of connectivity will be reached at a later stage.