Sabre hosted a dedicated webinar for travel players in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the region to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on travel, its challenges and opportunities and how the industry is recovering from the crisis. Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), is the leading software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry.The virtual event, which brought together executives and decision makers from travel companies and travel associations, highlighted market performance over the past few months and the role of technology to power its recovery. “As we enter a period of recovery from COVID-19, travel players need to look into new ways to operate in this new environment of uncertainty and continuous change,” said Abdul-Razzaq Iyer, vice president, Sabre Travel Network Middle East (STNME). “Equipping travel companies with the right solutions – such as artificial intelligence-based applications, that can automate processes, intelligent data analytics and virtual payments solutions – is essential in powering travel companies to navigate through the current challenges.” “Travel agencies play a vital role in rebuilding travellers’ trust and confidence,” Iyer added. “Travellers have a new definition of personalisation that involves new requirements and expectations for health and safety standards. They expect accurate and reliable information on travel restrictions and regulations during their planning phase. We are working closely with our customers to identify the best intelligent solutions and travel safety-related products to help them respond to travellers’ new demands and expectations.” “Saudi travel has proved to be a resilient industry,” said Faisal Kayal, Country Manager KSA, STNME. “We have seen strong market recovery compared to many countries regionally and globally, due to effective planning for the return of domestic travel and …
Read More »Sabre and Mindsay create chatbots for travel brands
Mindsay and Sabre Corporation announced the official launch of a customer service automation solution for airlines, OTAs, and TMCs. As the only conversational AI technology to integrate seamlessly with Sabre, Mindsay’s intelligent virtual agents are fully connected with Sabre’s APIs, giving them the ability to automatically resolve a variety of requests, from simple FAQs to complex booking modifications. This unique integration allows travel companies to automatically resolve up to 70% of customer requests, significantly reducing call and live chat volumes. With bots handling the majority of common customer requests, travel agents can focus on solving the most urgent and complex requests. “We partnered with Mindsay because of its seamless integration with Sabre and ability to quickly deliver a chatbot to assist our travellers, who now get instant answers and avoid wait times. The aim is not only to increase efficiency but even more so to improve customer satisfaction by providing quick answers to their needs ,” said Pernille Vaupel, Director, Air and Online Sales at KILROY International. “Our unique integration with Sabre’s leading GDS allows airlines, OTAs, TMCs, and hotels to deliver better service at a fraction of the cost, by providing the perfect mix of self-service and human interaction,” said Guillaume Laporte CEO at Mindsay. “Sabre is committed to providing our OTA customers with the differentiated products they need to exceed their customers’ expectations, and this begins with our APIs,” said Madhavan Kasthuri, Managing Director EMEA Online Business at Sabre. “We are excited to partner with such a committed, forward-thinking partner who clearly understands the role technology plays in delivering a seamless experience that today’s travellers are increasingly expecting, especially when dealing with the online channel.” “The new chatbot …
Read More »Finnair and Sabre renew distribution agreement
Finnair and Sabre Corporation announced a new worldwide distribution partnership. Under the new agreement, Sabre will resume distributing competitive global Finnair content to hundreds of thousands of travel agents and thousands of corporations worldwide through its travel marketplace. Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer, Finnair said, “We are delighted to promote our products and services through Sabre’s extraordinary network of travel agents worldwide as we rebuild our network and operations following the COVID-19 pandemic.” He added, “Travel agents continue to play a key role in the travel industry value chain and, together with Sabre, we will work to deliver the benefits of NDC technology. Ultimately, travel agents and their customers will enjoy more relevant and comprehensive travel solutions. As we ramp up our operations globally, it is imperative that customers have choice and flexibility in booking through their preferred direct or indirect channel. Travel agents contribute significantly to helping people regain the confidence to travel, which is absolutely essential for our industry.” “We are fortunate to enter this unprecedented period with new opportunities that will drive incremental revenue for both agencies and airlines”, said Wade Jones, President, Sabre Travel Network. “Consumers want the best offers, agencies want to present the most relevant content to their customers, and airlines want to distribute their fares and products so that travellers can access them wherever they choose to shop. Sabre remains committed to helping all parties achieve their goals. We are confident that our content serves the needs of travel agents in a truly optimal way.”
Read More »Sabre collaborates with Accor to create technology platform for more personalised services
Sabre Corporation and Accor will be creating the first unified central reservation (CR) and property management (PM) platform for the global hospitality industry. The collaboration intends to develop a new full service property management capability and enrich its existing central reservation and limited service property management systems. These capabilities will combine within a new unified cloud-native, highly-flexible platform that will be built for and available to hoteliers across all property classes and geographic regions. In this context, Accor would be Sabre’s newest enterprise hospitality customer, adopting Sabre’s industry-leading SynXis Central Reservation System and, ultimately, the new global technology platform for all its hospitality brands and geographies. “We know our customers have historically had limited options in this area, and we are taking the lead to deliver the solutions that hoteliers have repeatedly told us they both want and need. Once developed, this offering will power a new generation of retailing, distribution and fulfillment solutions that will enable hotels to drive revenue growth beyond traditional sources and offer unique personalised services to their guests around the world,” said Sean Menke, President and CEO of Sabre Corporation. “Partners like Sabre are essential to helping us effectively leverage existing and new technology to further accelerate our net supply growth and lower costs for our hotel owners as well as for the Group,” said Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO for Accor. “For Accor, the new technology will bring an opportunity to further and significantly enhance the Group’s core business activities including hotel distribution, guest recognition and owner relationships,” said Gilles de Richemond, Chief Information Officer, Accor. “We expect that the unified CR/PM platform will allow Sabre to better meet the needs of enterprise hoteliers …
Read More »Sabre acquires Farelogix to offer innovative solutions to airlines
Sabre Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire Farelogix, a recognised innovator in the travel industry with advanced offer management and NDC order delivery technology used by many of the world’s leading airlines. Sabre expects that upon close, the acquisition will allow the company to accelerate delivery of its end-to-end NDC-enabled retailing, distribution and fulfillment solutions. Based in Miami, Farelogix provides a suite of SaaS solutions that enables carriers to dynamically create, control, optimise and deliver personalised and differentiated offers across sales channels. These airline-controlled retailing, merchandising and distribution capabilities complement Sabre’s existing retailing and merchandising solutions and future product roadmap. “Farelogix’s investments in offer management and NDC order delivery will help us accelerate our plans to deliver future-ready retailing, distribution and fulfillment solutions that unlock increased value for the industry,” said Sean Menke, President & CEO, Sabre. “By integrating Farelogix’s capabilities into Sabre’s leading airline technology platform, we’ll be able to offer the innovative and comprehensive solutions that airlines require, backed by best-in-class technology and the deep expertise that our teams bring to market.” Building upon Farelogix’s GDS- and PSS-agnostic capabilities, Sabre expects to drive faster innovation in the dynamic and highly competitive airline IT space to enable airlines to accelerate their own growth and profitability while benefiting customers across the travel ecosystem. “For the past few years, Farelogix and Sabre have worked together with shared customers to implement our complementary technologies to solve some of the industry’s toughest challenges. Today’s announcement is a natural evolution of the successful, ongoing collaboration between our two companies,” said Jim Davidson, CEO, Farelogix. “Sabre shares our vision for innovation and has the leading technology, resources, and global presence to help us …
Read More »Kurban Travel inks agreement with Sabre to further reach
Kurban Travel, a leading travel agency in Lebanon, will use innovative technology from Sabre to create an intuitive and personalised experience for its travellers. The five-year agreement will enable Kurban Travel agents to access Sabre’s Global Distribution System (GDS) to shop, book and manage travel content from 400 airlines, 900,000 hotel options and 40 car rental brands. Kurban Travel agents will leverage the industry-leading content, data-driven insights and intuitive interface of the new Sabre Red Workspace – the next-generation travel agency desktop – allowing them to become true travel consultants. “We are proud to partner with Kurban Travel, which will join our distinguished customer base in the region. We are constantly evolving our technology to deliver the world’s most advanced travel platform, enabling us to offer agencies faster innovation and more flexible solutions infused with data-driven insights. We stand ready to help Kurban Travel achieve its mission to grow and optimise its business, while solving travel challenges,” said Raymond Vrijenhoek, Vice President, Sabre Travel Network Middle East.
Read More »Digital transformation key differentiator for modern hoteliers: Sabre report
The digital transformation of the hotel guest experience will be a major competitive advantage for hoteliers in 2018, according to a new report from Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR) in cooperation with Altimeter, a leading research firm. The Sabre Hospitality Solutions report found that digital transformation can be challenging for hoteliers and outlines how brands can use it to improve the guest experience. The Digital Transformation of the Hotel Guest Experience goes behind the scenes of the digital transformation initiatives and priorities of top hospitality brands with exclusive executive interviews. Key findings from the new report include, Guest experience transformation is a priority, Digital Darwinism means constant evolution, The Modern Guest Experience Blueprint. The report explores a wide range of areas where hoteliers can improve their digital guest experience strategies and offers data-driven insights and suggestions on how brands can lead the charge in continuing to innovate and meet customer needs. To learn more, download the full report – The Digital Transformation of the Hotel Guest Experience. “Our customers who embrace modernization are having great success, resulting in much higher guest satisfaction,” said Clinton Anderson, president of Sabre Hospitality Solutions. “In order to meet the expectations of today’s tech-savvy consumers, hoteliers must adopt flexible solutions that allow them to further personalize both the guest’s digital and physical experience. This report not only outlines trends we’ve seen in the space, but it also provides step-by-step guidelines for hotels to enhance their technology plans.” “For digital transformation to excel, it must have a purpose. And among the most progressive hoteliers and hospitality brands, that purpose is centered on guest experience,” said Brian Solis, principal analyst and futurist at Altimeter, a Prophet company. “Modern …
Read More »Sabre to offer NDC-enabled solutions in 2018
Sabre Corporation expects to achieve several critical milestones on its journey to offer NDC-enabled solutions by the end of the year. Intelligent retailing that leverages Sabre’s data, depth and industry leadership will bring value to airlines and agencies, and customers will have the ability to offer personalised shopping experiences similar to world-class retailers in other industries. “NDC standards introduce tremendous opportunity for Sabre’s business, our customers and the industry overall – to the ultimate benefit of travelers as we model a new and differentiated travel experience,” said Kathy Morgan, Sabre vice president of strategic initiatives. “To bring the promise of NDC to life, our capabilities will go beyond shopping and booking and will integrate with the retailing, distribution and fulfillment systems that support the travel ecosystem,”Morgan said. Morgan leads Sabre’s company-wide effort to invest Beyond NDC across its retailing, distribution and fulfillment solutions. Sabre is uniquely positioned to deliver technology that shapes a traveller’s end-to-end journey from offer creation through fulfillment. In 2018, Sabre plans to launch new service-enabled APIs and enhanced capabilities in the Sabre Red Workspace that will allow customers to shop and book NDC content alongside traditional content. To prepare for this functionality, the company is already working closely with customers including Flight Centre Travel Group, one of the world’s largest travel agency groups, and Sabre expects to begin a pilot program with additional agency and airline customers in the third quarter this year.
Read More »Dadabhai Travel eyes APAC and Middle East expansion with Sabre
Dadabhai Travel has renewed an exclusive agreement with Sabre Corporation to continue facilitating travel through its industry-leading platform. Dadabhai Travel has been using Sabre technology exclusively for more than ten years, which has helped expand its presence in the Middle East while delivering a superior service to its corporate customers. The travel management company now plans to broaden its offerings to customers across other markets in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. “Dadabhai has proven its position as a leading regional travel company,” said Roshan Mendis, Senior Vice President, EMEA and APAC, Sabre Travel Network. “By providing customers access to competitive travel products and services, it has successfully transformed from a Bahrain-based travel agency into a strong regional player. With Sabre’s substantial network in the region, we are best-placed to help the company scale and expand through the latest technology and consultancy. It’s an exciting collaboration and we look forward to a continuing partnership with Dadabhai to provide a seamless travel experience to customers across the continent.”
Read More »ITL World partners with Sabre
ITL World signed a new agreement with Sabre Corporation according to which Sabre will enable the TMC to continue fuelling its global expansion strategy. The TMC will also benefit from the new version of the Sabre Red Workspace, which was designed to help agents offer a greater experience and more personalisation to travellers. “We chose Sabre as its innovative technology has proven to better support our objectives, which include delivering the highest level of service to our customers,” said Dr. Siddeek Ahmed, Chairman and Managing Director, Eram Group/ITL World. “Sabre’s understanding of the latest technology trends and traveller behaviours has been essential in our expansion in the Middle East. It has helped us to truly understand the needs of the Middle Eastern traveller, enabling us to deliver an unrivalled service to our large customer base. Sabre’s new platform will help us to meet the growing demands of our travellers globally, who demand and expect increasingly personalised itineraries and a seamless travel experience.” With 39 fully-owned/operated offices across Asia, Middle East & Europe, ITL World, a member of the Eram Group already enjoys a successful relationship with Sabre, will continue to access Sabre’s broad portfolio of technology solutions, including the latest mobile, data analytics, personalisation and automation capabilities. Sabre plays a critical role in enabling ITL World to increase productivity and achieve its growth objectives. Its new Sabre Red workspace was developed to meet the changing needs and expectations of travellers – a modern technology platform built around its core GDS infrastructure that provides a greater choice of services to customers. Sabre has also integrated its Dev Studio APIs – which provide market data, fare trend information, travel seasonality and alternative …
Read More »