SOUTHLAKE, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 12, 2006–Sabre Travel Network, the world’s largest and most rewarding marketplace for the buying and selling of travel, today unveiled the availability of its comprehensive suite of products and services targeted for leisure-focused travel agents. Accessed through the MySabre desktop, this leisure marketplace is the ultimate source of comprehensive shopping for the leisure travel experience, offering Sabre(R) connected agents new sources of revenue, operating efficiencies and enhanced customer service through a single access point. As part of this new leisure portal, the company also announced Sabre Rewards Plus, an agent appreciation program that enables agents to earn and redeem points for rewards such as travel packages, supplier deals, gift certificates and training opportunities.
Sabre’s easy-to-use, single leisure access point will be accessible via a tab marked “Vacation and Cruises” in the MySabre desktop, a graphical, Web-based agent booking portal that integrates travel information and the Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS). The integrated suite offers users:
-- Comprehensive shopping and booking tools that enable agents to
create a complete travel experience for their clients by
packaging together an entire vacation via TripTailor or a
last-minute getaway via Agent59.
-- Agency and client management tools like TRAMS' ClientBase Plus
customer management solution that gives agents the power to
offer a higher level of customer service, save time and
simplify account tracking.
-- Marketing programs to help agents build business through
professionally designed marketing campaigns.
-- Training and support interaction to expand travel knowledge
through online training opportunities, reviews of properties
and destinations, and the ability to exchange insider tips
with other agents.
-- Access to the Sabre Rewards Plus program.
-- In addition to above, Sabre will soon be rolling out Sabre
Consolidator, a Web-based tool that provides agents with
real-time access to airfares from the industry's top
consolidators. Sabre Consolidator is currently in beta testing
and will be available for the general market next month.
“One central leisure marketplace gives travel agents the power to better serve the growing leisure travel market where, according to the Travel Industry Association of America, the leisure travel market will be an estimated $674 billion in 2006,” said Chris Kroeger, Sabre Travel Network senior vice president, North America. “And with the ongoing addition of new suppliers, including Well Wishers and Port Promotions, to Sabre’s comprehensive leisure portfolio and the heightened rewards offered by the Sabre Rewards Plus program, agencies have more reasons than ever to shop Sabre for all their leisure travelers’ needs.”
Through the Sabre Rewards Plus agent appreciation program, participating agents will earn points redeemable for merchandise, gift cards, travel perks and training opportunities through The Travel Institute on top of commissions and service fees by booking travel through MySabre’s TripTailor and Agent59 sites. Courses offered for redemption through the Sabre Rewards Plus program include destination specialist courses such as Alaska, the Caribbean and East Asia and lifestyle specialist courses such as Adventure travel, Spas and Luxury travel. As part of the point redemption, all course materials, online testing and certification upon completion are included. The Sabre Rewards Plus Web site (www.sabrerewardsplus.com), allows agents to track:
-- Account details like activities and points earned.
-- Wish lists of desired items available through a quick and easy
online catalog.
-- Special offers like supplier deals, travel tool demos and
surveys that allow agents to earn additional points.
“As an early adopter of Sabre’s new leisure portfolio, we’ve found having all the leisure products on one tab makes the agents’ jobs easier because they don’t have to jump to multiple sources for the different products and functionalities,” said Ahmed F. Hosny, IT manager for Handa Travel, an Ontario-based agency selling mainly leisure travel. “Sabre has really given agents’ a one-stop source for a large number of our leisure booking needs.”
The launch of the comprehensive leisure portfolio builds on Sabre’s Efficient Marketplace with solutions that bring together travel reservations and client management tools, training resources, and agent community interaction. The new leisure marketplace offers easily configurable and innovative options to manage and grow business for leisure agents. These include incremental revenue-generation opportunities through dynamic travel products such as TripTailor and Agent59;, streamlined operations through access to the back office support of TRAMS Inc., and newly-added products like WellWishers and Port Promotions that respectively allow agents to send gifts to clients at their vacation destination and book activities for cruise port destinations.
“We’ve literally put the world of leisure travel at the travel agent’s fingertips,” said Kroeger. “The roll-out of our Efficient Access Solution and its targeted protection of full GDS content free from airline service fees set the stage in a powerful way for our new comprehensive leisure marketplace. In June, we promised we would build more solutions for revenue, efficiency and customer service, and we are now delivering on this promise. We want to ensure our customers that we are not just about talk – we are focused on solutions. One prong of our solution was ensuring the full content access along with key protections. The other prong implemented with the launch of the leisure suite includes new ways of building revenue and offerings that are tailored to the way agents work – making sure our customers have a competitive edge in this rapidly changing, increasingly competitive and sometimes turbulent marketplace.”
About Sabre Travel Network
Sabre Travel Network, a Sabre Holdings company, provides access to the world’s leading global distribution system (GDS). The Sabre GDS is a ready-built efficient marketplace that connects suppliers, including hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotels, with more than 50,000 travel agency locations. Suppliers get access through one single connection; travel agents get real time access to thousands of travel products from multiple suppliers through one source integrated into their businesses; consumers get access to a global supermarket of the world’s greatest travel possibilities.
Key brands of Sabre Travel Network include GetThere, the leading Web-based corporate travel reservation technology, and Jurni Network, the unique leisure travel agency consortium in the United States that enables members to sell more products from preferred travel suppliers using sophisticated market intelligence.
Sabre Holdings (NYSE: TSG) connects people with the world’s greatest travel possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com.
CONTACT: Sabre Travel Network
Kathryn Hayden, 682-605-2252
kathryn.hayden@sabre-holdings.com
SOURCE: Sabre Travel Network
