A communication protocol for internet distribution of hotel capacities

Blaž Hafnar (2008) A communication protocol for internet distribution of hotel capacities. EngD thesis.

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Abstract

By e-commerce via Internet, a new way of direct selling of a company’s products has been offered. For the purpose of online distribution of hotel capacities, numerous booking portals have been established. In most cases, a booking portal takes a complete control over the sales, which causes hotels to lose their direct control over the booking of their capacities. The bachelor thesis introduces a solution which enables future hotel guests to make a direct booking at a selected hotel via a booking portal, thereby closing a booking arrangement between a hotel and its guest directly. For this purpose, a special communication protocol enabling such a booking in real-time is defined. In such a way, hotels have a complete control over the booking process, by which such a real-time booking service is offered to the Internet users. In order to define the communication protocol, the thesis focuses on data security principles and protocol message data representation. It discusses cryptography basics, which is essential for ensuring of data security. Digital certificates for user authentication over a computer network are introduced. Furthermore, the thesis explains the XML (Extensible Markup Language) standard and its extensions, by which a message structure and a message processing model of the protocol are defined. Also, when describing a communication based on the defined protocol, data which have to be exchanged during such a booking process are determined. For this data representation, the OpenTravel standard is used. This standard defines message syntax for information exchange among information systems in travel industry, where also hotel management systems are to be found.

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