The long-awaited TTIcodes project, which offers unique hotel identifiers for tour operators, bedbanks and other aggregators, will be unveiled next week.
The subscription-based service aims to eliminate the confusion and duplication of hotel information which can arise as a result of misspelling, incorrect translation and in many cases incorrect names used for hotels.
The project has already sparked strong opinion from industry leaders who have put forth their views highlighting issues from the sheer size of the task, consistency of data and the fact that all accommodation types need to be covered.
However, TTI and the European Tour Operators Association have joined forces with Germany-based GIATA, which will run the service, to plough ahead with the initiative.
A technical glitch held up the initial launch of the project, originally scheduled for October last year, but the official unveiling is now scheduled for 24 January.
A basic subscription to the service, which will provide travel companies with a unique code for 200,000 properties as well as address information, will be provided to TTI and ETOA members at a discounted rate of €202 per month.
Pricing for non-members is via a three-tier scheme based on company turnover.
Additional options include geo-codes so properties can be plotted on online maps and the cross-referencing of ID codes across more than 250 distribution channels.
Travel companies will also be able to submit their hotel databases for coding if a TTIcode has not already been assigned to any properties.
NB: Image via Shutterstock