CDS Group

CDS Groupe is the reference platform in Europe for hotel reservations in the BtoB business travel sector.

A specialist in corporate accommodation, CDS connects businesses and travel agencies to a large network of partner hotel establishments. Its model is based on a strong requirement for operational reliability, secure reservations and quality of service.

In the BtoB travel ecosystem, supplier relationships are a strategic pillar: each interaction with a hotel has a direct impact on the travel experience and the satisfaction of corporate customers.

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The challenges of supplier relationships in BtoB business travel

In the business travel sector, hotel relationship management goes well beyond simple reservations.

In particular, it involves:

• Proactive verification of stays before travelers arrive
• Securing payments
• Management of specific requests (VIPs, modifications, removals)
• The rapid treatment of incidents
• Ongoing coordination with partner institutions

With the acceleration of volumes and the complexity of flows, BtoB travel players must respond to several challenges:

• Maintaining a high level of service quality
• Absorbing peaks of activity
• Ensuring extended availability
• Ensure perfect traceability of exchanges

The question then becomes strategic:

How to support growth while maintaining the operational excellence of the supplier relationship?

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The challenges faced by CDS Groupe

In a context of strong growth, CDS Group wanted to:

• Maintain strict control over the quality of service
• Managing a growing volume of hotel interactions
• Secure all bookings and payments
• Allow its internal teams to refocus on the passenger journey

The challenge was not simply to outsource a support function, but to structure a system capable of:

• Speak the same language as hotel partners
• Understand the specificities of corporate travel
• Absorbing a large volume without degrading quality

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The solution implemented by HDB Solutions

To meet these challenges, HDB has deployed a specialized travel contact center dedicated to supplier support.

A bilingual team with expertise in the hotel sector

A team of agents trained in the specificities of BtoB business travel has been set up, available 7 days a week from 8 am to 7 pm.

This organization guarantees:

• Optimal reactivity
• A detailed understanding of hotel challenges
• Seamless communication with partners

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Full support for supplier support

The team manages all interactions related to reservations:

• Booking management
• After-sales service
• Receipts
• VIP requests
• Dislodgements
• Payment assistance
• Securing orders

Each request is processed through an industrialized and documented process, ensuring homogeneity, traceability and reliability.

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Shared collaborative knowledge

A common and evolving framework allows:

• Seamless continuity of service
• An increase in collective competence
• Rapid adaptation to market changes

This model combines operational flexibility and process rigor, which are essential in the travel ecosystem.

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Deployment and operational organization

The outsourcing of a function as strategic as the supplier relationship requires a gradual and structured implementation.

The collaboration between CDS Groupe and HDB was built around:

• The co-construction of processes
• The definition of quality standards
• Training in CDS tools and the CDS ecosystem
• A gradual increase in load
• Regular performance management

The objective: to guarantee a smooth transition, without impacting the experience of hotel partners or on the satisfaction of travelers.

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Impacts and benefits for CDS Group

Thanks to this system, CDS Groupe was able to:

• Securing its supplier relationships on a large scale
• Absorbing significant volume growth
• Gain organizational agility
• Maintaining a high level of quality standards
• Refocus its internal teams on the traveller experience

Outsourcing has thus become a lever for strategic optimization, and not a simple operational delegation.

“Outsourcing a part as strategic as the supplier relationship is not done lightly.
What we were looking for was a partner who understood our travel ecosystem, who spoke the same language as our hotel partners, and who was able to absorb a significant volume without losing quality.
HDB has co-built a service with us that is at the same time fluid, reliable and scalable. As a result, our internal teams can now focus fully on the travel experience, while maintaining a fully controlled supplier relationship.”

Ziad Minkara — CEO, CDS Group

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Why outsource supplier relationships in BtoB travel?

In business travel, performance isn't just about technology.

It is also based on:

• The quality of human interactions
• Process control
• Understanding hotel challenges
• The ability to absorb fluctuating volumes

Outsourcing the supplier relationship to a specialized partner allows:

• To optimize the internal organization
• To improve the continuity of service
• To secure payments and reservations
• To guarantee a high level of quality on a large scale

For hotel platforms, corporate agencies and BtoB tourism players, the contact center is becoming a real strategic driver of growth.