The startup environment can be tough to navigate and thrive in alone. But startups can find a kinship with the problem-solvers who work at Sabre. We offer support and opportunities to fledgling businesses, whether you’re in the travel industry or not.

Technology integration

The Sabre Dev Studio is open to you as a startup if you want to integrate travel components into your applications. You can use the open developer platform, which includes more than 100 application programming interfaces (APIs), to access the kinds of tools and services that bigger industry players leverage. Travel startups have used these resources to build a way to check flight availability through an app, for instance. A specific example comes from the company Options Away, which allows fliers to buy an option that locks in an airline fare. According to Stephanie Lee, the business development manager at Sabre, “Options Away is hitting Sabre’s APIs to build out their algorithm to access the risk they’d be bringing on for selling that option.” As more and more companies realize the power of these tools, it’s likely to see more apps like this that will improve the way the travel industry does business and, ultimately, the traveler experience. Sometimes Sabre partners with businesses, including travel startups, to integrate their technology into Sabre products. Options Away’s price-lock feature, for example, is now available for travel agents who use the Sabre Red Workspace. “We help startups grow their businesses, and as the startups grow, we would like to grow with them,” Lee says.

Industry engagement

Sabre also sponsors travel-related community events and larger technology conferences, which provide opportunities for you to share insights and resources with other businesses, especially smaller, newer ones.
“Sometimes people have the misconception that if you’re at a big company, you don’t have time for a startup, but we proactively go to where the startups are so we can have those one-on-one conversations,” Lee says.
These kinds of gatherings make everyone smarter, too, especially about new market trends. The ideas that come out of these events can lead to the development of new technology or simply better practices and processes for doing business.

Hackathons

Hackathons are excellent opportunities for developers, and Sabre sponsors events like theDestination Hack: London, which was held in June 2015, in order to discover the best new ideas, apps and talent. “The Hackathon is a great way to develop your app really quickly and to test different services and APIs,” Lee says. In London, 150 participants from 18 different countries were challenged to spend 24 hours creating new technology that could reinvent global travel. Participants could use Sabre Dev Studio APIs as well as other open technology provider tools to create prototypes. According to Lee, “developers also get great face time with our executives and other folks in the travel community.” It helps the developers to get their ideas out there and feedback from top travel technology industry leaders, and it helps Sabre to explore creative solutions to problems we might not even know exist yet. Even if your startup isn’t directly involved with travel technology, Sabre can offer vital assistance as you grow. You never know what game-changing applications could come out of these tools and events.