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Partnership paves the way for a new suite of lodging services


Our partners rely on Sabre to build out our platform with flexible, data-driven solutions that empower them to expertly serve their own customers. However, the travel industry is incredibly complex and constantly changing, and the lodging sector is no exception. The lodging industry is growing and evolving; not only are the number of hotels on the rise, non-traditional lodging options like serviced apartment rentals are growing in popularity for both corporate and leisure travelers. These non-traditional lodging options were historically not available in the GDS, and given the wide variety of rates available it became apparent that Sabre needed to invest in its lodging services to sustain this level of complexity and support our customers effectively. In order to enhance the lodging ecosystem with technology that supports a growing marketplace, Sabre is replacing its current hotel services with the new Content Services for Lodging (CSL) APIs. With the integration of content from aggregator partners like Booking.com, Bedsonline, and Expedia, Content Services for Lodging expands the number of properties available in Sabre to over one million, greatly increasing global lodging content coverage. These property options are data normalized, meaning properties are never duplicated in the shopping response, and list consistent amenities and inclusions information. The enhanced geo-search services return property responses with greater accuracy, meaning the user doesn’t need to check with other websites to see a full view of what properties are closest to a location. Content Services for Lodging integrates Sabre GDS content and aggregator content side-by-side in a single graphical interface, enabling effortless comparison shopping.   Content Services for Lodging APIs were launched in June of 2019, and as of February 2020 the APIs are now integrated in Sabre Red 360. While the services themselves are relatively new to market, the ideas that shape Content Services for Lodging have been a long time in the making.  Sabre has been developing partnerships with lodging suppliers, agencies, and aggregators for years and more recently invited them to a series of collaborative Customer Advisory Boards to investigate what issues each constituent was facing. With so many industry perspectives in one room, the discussions at these advisory boards often turned passionate, revealing a labyrinth of issues that span the entire lodging industry – for example, content fragmentation, technology gaps, policy constraints, shifting consumer behavior, and several places where existing Sabre hotel shopping services fell short. Recognizing that passion drives productivity, Sabre embraced this feedback, and in the end we found that 80% of agents prefer to book inside the GDS. Our only option –  to reinvent our lodging services to meet the needs of agencies, suppliers, and travelers alike. When it comes to developing sustainable and scalable technology solutions, there is no “one size fits all” solution for every customer, and the technology that powers the travel industry must be flexible to reflect that. In today’s travel industry, by offering Content Services for Lodging as a suite of APIs, we can offer our customers the highest degree of flexibility in how they choose to consume the services. CSL APIs can be integrated in a custom point-of-sale or online booking tool, allowing agencies to access the new content and capabilities through their own tailored workflows that serve their unique business needs. The CSL APIs are available in two feature-compatible protocols -SOAP/XML and REST/JSON – allowing agency tech leadership to select the best fit based on the agency’s technology stack and the development team’s preferred coding language. Within the two protocols, the APIs are also available as either “orchestrated” or “granular” services:
  • Orchestrated APIs work as their name describes, as a bundle of APIs that code standard workflows – like an orchestra playing in perfect harmony.
  • Granular APIs are unbundled, allowing a developer to pick and choose which specific services and features are integrated into the code.
CSL APIs are accessible to agency developers at all levels of technical expertise and can meet a range of workflow customization needs – from “standard” to “tailor made.” Sabre Red 360 is adopting the Content Services for Lodging APIs. Agencies seeking an “off the shelf” way to access new lodging content can shop and book using the same workflows they’re used to, enhanced to provide an even greater level of efficiency. Building new lodging services from the ground-up gave us the opportunity to think critically about how travel consultants shop lodging options. What types of properties do they need to find? What information is critical to share with a traveler? What pain points do they encounter today? Using feedback gathered from agency leadership and travel consultants at our dedicated CSL in Sabre Red 360 CAB, we were able to tailor our offering accordingly. This user experience-focused CAB gave us valuable insight on the shopping tools our customers need – like better address search and interactive map search – to maximize the benefits of having 4X more content available right in Sabre Red 360. Filter by amenities, see an aerial view of the city and zoom in to see the perfect property for the traveler – all possible through Content Services for Lodging in Sabre Red 360 Map View. Now, CSL is rolling out to all Sabre Red 360 users on a phased timeline throughout 2020;  qualifying agencies can upgrade to the new services early. See Content Services for Lodging in action! See the CSL shopping and booking workflow in action in Sabre Red 360 – view the demo video now. If your agency is seeking a deeper level of customization through the CSL APIs, learn more about coding to Content Services for Lodging APIs on Sabre Dev Studio.

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