SOUTHLAKE, Texas – July 23, 2015 – Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR) has launched a new portfolio of consortia solutions to help hotels compete for high value business travelers and connect travel buyers with hotels that cater to business travelers. Sabre will feature the Business Travel Services during the 2015 GBTA Convention at booth #1425.
Many independent and small chain hotels today find it difficult to compete for new travel agency and corporate business due to limited resources and investments compared to global hotel chains. Sabre Business Travel Services connects hotels to new business opportunities and helps them compete for and manage corporate accounts. At the same time, the solutions make it easier for travel managers and travel management companies to identify, negotiate and contract with hotels that best fit their corporate hotel programs.
“On a macro-economic level, business travel continues to be a major economic driver and the same is true on a micro-level for hotels looking to build their corporate business and serve business travelers,” said Alex Alt, president of Sabre Hospitality Solutions. “Our Business Travel Services simplify that process by helping hotels compete for valuable business travel contracts and helping corporations get the most from their travel budgets.”
According to a recent research report sponsored by Sabre and conducted by GBTA, managing supplier relationships and monitoring traveler compliance with corporate travel policies are two of the most time-consuming and important aspects of most corporate travel programs.
The new report, Travel Manager 2020 – Foundational Shifts in the Role of the Travel Manager, discusses how corporate travel managers increasingly rely on technology and data as critical tools in negotiating contracts with suppliers, identifying hard-dollar savings, and monitoring compliance. In addition, as corporate travel managers are more pressed for time and resources, many are asking for expert assistance when building effective hotel programs.
“As hotel rates continue to climb, a corporation’s hotel spend can account for as much of the travel budget as air travel. So it’s extremely important that corporations can tie negotiated rates to booked rates to ensure travelers are being offered what was negotiated and that they track that savings throughout the year – not just during negotiation season,” continued Alt.
Sabre Business Travel Services provide the ability to integrate negotiated rate data into both the hotel’s reservation system and into the travel buyer’s online and offline booking channels to maximize savings and efficiency. The solutions portfolio builds upon Sabre’s existing Sabre Hotel RFP technology and hotel consortia program to add an elite hotel consortia tier, BT Advantage, and Global Account Management:
BT Advantage provides corporate agents with easy access to hundreds of pre-qualified business travel hotels in North America and the UK with plans to expand to other regions over the next 12-18 months.
Global Account Management Services provides RFP representation to hotels, offering corporations and buyers a free, one-stop connection to reach thousands of pre-qualified global upscale, independent properties catering to business travelers.
Hotel RFP, Sabre’s award winning, self-service RFP technology, makes it easier for corporations and agencies to source hotels from the more than 175,000 GDS and non-GDS hotels worldwide. Corporate travel programs gain speed, efficiency and year round access to the data needed to manage and audit rates for high value corporate hotel programs. In addition, Sabre has partnered with a leading independent travel consultancy with experience sourcing over 250 engagements in the last five years who can help corporations save money by building and executing a sourcing strategy that optimizes their negotiated hotel programs leveraging Hotel RFP technology.
