Open tourist data standard
Open Tourist Data Standard (OTDS) is a data format for the travel industry published in April 2012 and used by OTDS e. V. is being further developed and, together with the documentation, can be used free of charge by all interested parties.
OTDS format
The XML format OTDS contains all data of the travel components including all product and price rules. With OTDS, travel providers can deliver their offers directly or indirectly (with the help of sales systems or with the help of service providers) to online and brick-and-mortar sales channels. i.e. in travel websites or in travel agencies.
OTDS is published and further developed by the Association for the Promotion of an Open Tourist Data Standard (OTDS eV). All interested parties can use the format and the accompanying documentation (technical specification) free of charge. After a non-binding registration, the current version of the data format and the documentation is available in the public OTDS forum.
Scope of services
The OTDS data format is used to improve the transmission of product data from providers such as tour operators, rental car providers, insurance companies and other service providers to the sales systems, where they are processed for sales in travel agency software or online booking systems.
- OTDS currently enables the transfer of all data relating to the travel components of accommodation, flights, package tours and additional services such as transfers, rental cars, insurance, parking spaces, etc., including all product and price rules.
- OTDS contains all the information necessary for the correct price calculation, availability check, booking request and booking as well as for the presentation of the travel products.
- OTDS as an open, non-proprietary standard is available free of charge and can be used by any organizer and sales system.
- OTDS supports different attribution systems for product description such as B. the DRV GlobalTypes or Giata Facts.
- OTDS is updated incrementally and thus saves data volume.
- With OTDS, the production and processing times for data deliveries are significantly reduced.
- In practice, the use of OTDS leads to high data quality in the criteria of price accuracy and availability in the search and price comparison software solutions in travel agencies and the Internet booking engines on travel websites.
Use
The leading tourism sales systems in the German market are already processing OTDS. This makes the optimized OTDS data deliveries available in their tools for travel agencies and for Internet travel portals (Internet Booking Engines). In direct sales, the organizers' websites can also be equipped with the OTDS data. Consumers who want to book a trip in a travel agency or on the Internet can find price-accurate, informative travel offers with optional additional services.
With the OTDS format, more product details, options and room variants can be transmitted so that the customer gets a better picture of the service and the purchase decision can be made more independently of the price. Since OTDS supports various attribution systems, u. a. Also the so-called GlobalTypes from the DRV data standard, the search for travel products in the user interfaces for travel agencies or in travel portals can be made more flexible: Instead of rigid period or destination queries, personal preferences, e.g. regarding the equipment or location of a hotel, come to the fore as filters . The attributes of course also allow a more meaningful presentation of the trip, provided that the tour operators describe their offers using these uniform product attributes.
With OTDS data, families can rely on the total price shown for a trip, consisting of adult and reduced children's prices for all family members. Price corrections in the subsequent booking process are no longer necessary thanks to exact adult and child prices and clear rules for calculating prices for short-term offers. In addition, with OTDS labeling of direct flights and the prices of flight alternatives can be implemented.
In contrast to most of the data formats currently used in tourism, OTDS is a rule-based format. This means that instead of extensive product descriptions and conditions, rule sets are used that significantly reduce the data volume to be transmitted for the service provider, but still allow a clear interpretation for the processor. In this way, the travel product can be presented comprehensively and correctly in sales, but the effort for transmission and updating by the tour operator can be kept low.
With the establishment of OTDS as a market standard, both the organizers and service providers, who transmit their products to all sales systems in a uniform format, as well as the sales systems that process the product data of all their tour operator customers in the same data format, benefit. After all, the customer benefits from correct prices, up-to-date data and more informative product descriptions when looking for a suitable trip.
The OTDS versions
OTDS 1.0 was published by the OTDS association in April 2012. With this first basic version, the travel components of accommodation, flights, package tours as well as additional services such as transfer, rental cars, insurance, parking spaces, etc., including all product and price rules, can be mapped.
The current version, OTDS 2.0, was published in February 2018. The previous basic version 1.9 and is characterized by extensive options for flight prioritization and rules for rounding amounts. Together with the multi-currency option and further differentiated options for rental car and insurance information, these innovations meet the requirements of many tour operators for efficient and comprehensive product presentation in the various sales systems.
The further roadmap always includes the specific requirements of the members of the OTDS Association and provides for an expansion of the format in the medium term, for example to include cruises and round trips.
Access
OTDS and the accompanying technical documentation can be used free of charge after registration. The one-time registration takes place on the registration website of OTDS.
The XSD files of the current OTDS version, the documentation and other helpful information can be viewed and used in the public OTDS forum with the personal user account that is granted after registration. Relevant parts of the documentation are also available in English.
implementation
OTDS users are, on the one hand, tourism service providers such as tour operators, but also airlines, bed databases with hotel content or providers of additional services who want to bring their offer data into the sales channels in this format. TUI delivers many of its brands in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in OTDS. The FTI GROUP has switched its tour operator brands FTI Touristik, BigXtra and 5vorFlug to OTDS as well as Schauinsland-Reisen. Other organizers who use OTDS are, for example, Olimar, Bentour, ETI, Phoenix Reisen and Attika.
OTDS association
The association for the promotion of an open tourist data format (short: OTDS e.V. ) was founded in October 2011 by companies ( Bewotec , Traffics , Traveltainment ) as initiators and 22 other companies from the travel industry. The registered association has its seat in Berlin; Its statutory goal is to establish the OTDS data format developed by the association as the market standard for the transmission of all sales-relevant product data between the tour operator and sales systems. The format is open and non-proprietary.
Members
The currently more than thirty members are recruited from almost all areas of the travel industry: tour operators and service providers, tourism sales systems, travel technology providers and associations. The association offers members support in using the OTDS format as well as active participation in the further development of the format by introducing requirements and participating in working groups. The OTDS member forum serves as an information and collaboration platform.
Board
The seven-member board is the governing body of OTDS eV and is elected by the members for three years. Dr. Oliver Rengelshausen (Traveltainment) is the chairman of the board. Bernd Nawrath (company traffics) and Michael Becher (company Bewotec) hold the two deputy positions.
For the technical coordination and further development of the OTDS data format, the Board of Directors sets up a "Standing Technical Committee".
Web links
- Web presence of the OTDS e. V.
- Prezi presentations: basic information and examples on the OTDS data format
Individual evidence
- ↑ New version of the OTDS data format. ( Memento of the original from January 15, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Travel One Online . November 27, 2013, accessed January 14, 2014.
