SABRE tips

Sabre’s hotel tech unit is up for sale two years after a similar effort failed to yield a deal, according to an industry source. Evercore is running the sales process, the source said.

Turkish Airlines fares will no longer be available through Sabre starting on September 1, which means travel agencies will need to look elsewhere to book flights.

Google, a key partner in the Prince Harry-founded Travalyst coalition, has been a leading authority on measuring airline emissions.

Sabre wanted to know how generative AI could improve the customer-service experience for hotel operators, so the company made that topic a category for an internal innovation competition last August.

A number of travel management companies and corporations are starting to allow vacation rentals as accommodations, but there’s room for growth.

Google is fully in its Gemini era. That’s what the CEO said during the tech giant’s latest developer conference, and we’re seeing it with the company’s own consumer-facing products, and also through partnerships with travel companies.

By making Sabre-sourced NDC content available to its customers and users, SAP Concur can help accelerate the industry’s shift from traditional EDIFACT to NDC distribution. In turn, corporations will gain access to more personalized offers to deliver a better travel experience to their employees.

Sabre has a long way to go to reach the power it had before the pandemic. That was clear from its 2023 annual report, showing its latest financials and other details about the business, including layoffs completed last year and plans for tech investment. 

IPO-boundhospitality and travel technology company Oyo has announced that it would open around 400 properties in popular spiritual destinations by year end.

Travel companies laid off more than 6,600 employees in 2023. The total comes from more than 20 travel companies that disclosed layoffs for various reasons.

American Airlines’ multi-year changes to its ticket distribution have had contentious implications for travel agents. The American Society of Travel Advisors in August filed an unfair trade complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation, accusing American of causing “substantially higher air ticket prices for consumers and frustrated travel management companies.”

Sabre said it had positive cash flow in the third quarter for the first time since 2019 – $39 million, a reversal from negative $123 million a year ago. Revenue jumped 12%, driven primarily by an increase in air and hotel bookings. 

TUI’s remote work policy, launched during the pandemic, is set to evolve as the travel giant looks to offer its staff free stays across its hotel and resort network.

Airbnb Posts Best Quarter Yet on Relentless Travel Demand: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says his company can thrive in boom and bust cycles if it keeps innovating. To meet that promise, his company will have to boost its pricing competitiveness and makes it easier for individuals to list properties. And make the case to Wall Street on unfair comparisons to 2021.

Sam Gilliland, who was the CEO of Sabre Corporation for 10 years, is taking the top role at Accelya.

In a bid to boost tourism’s contribution to the national gross domestic product to $122 billion a year by 2031, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, launched the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 on Friday. Eyeing an annual increase of $7.4 billion, the tourism startegy aims to attract new investments of $27.2 billion to the tourism sector in the country, and attract 40 million hotel guests in 2031. The strategy includes 25 initiatives and policies to support the development of the tourism sector in the country, according to the government media office. With the return of tourists, the United Arab Emirates’ tourism revenues surpassed $5 billion in the first half of this year.

Mastercard is planning to make a minority investment in Conferma Pay, a fintech company acquired earlier this year by Sabre Corporation.

Rocked by a Covid relief financial scandal that led to the jailing and resignations of now-former CEO Fabio Cannavale and chief operating officer Andrea Bertoli, Amsterdam-based Lastminute.com’s shareholders elected Luca Concone as an executive director, and he’ll serve as CEO.

Especially heavy layoffs at Google Flights, including senior managers and engineers who joined Google with the ITA Software acquisition in 2011, could signal strategy shifts in the company’s multifaceted airline business, Skift has learned.

Despite uneven demand in 2022, Sabre expects continued overall recovery leading to positive free cash flow for the company by the end of this year. 

Caesars Entertainment is adding an online travel agency business model, as it launches a new website that lets guests books flights as well as their accommodation.