The term CRS is often confused with GDS, and this is mainly due to history. Initially, the CRS was developed to manage airline tickets for various airlines, but after a few years GDS took over. The CRS found its place with hotel chains to centrally control and process all reservations.

The CRS manages the distribution channels that are important for hotel chains: GDS, wholesalers, call centres and reservations made by phone. A CRS can also link directly with booking sites (OTA’s), but generally, the CRS manages OTA’s via integration with a Channel Manager. The CRS centralizes all data from the hotels’ PMS systems and uses this for the benefit of distribution, sales, marketing, revenue management and guest experience. The latter is especially important, because guests expect the same personal service and experience in every hotel, whether it is in Amsterdam or Dubai. Loyalty programs are therefore often part of the CRS.