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Sabre has announced the finalists in the competition to win the first Sabre Red Appy award, a prize for the best app developed for the company’s recently launched Sabre Red App Centre.
The finalists were selected based on creativity, innovation and value delivered to travel buyers through improved efficiency, new revenue opportunities and enhanced customer services. The winner will receive the Sabre Red Appy along with a $10,000 cash prize.
“It’s been exciting to see the Sabre Red Appy entries roll in. Each developer has submitted a great idea for a Red App that addresses a specific need or opportunity for agents and travelers,” said Chris Kroeger, senior vice president – marketing for Sabre Travel Network. “We’ve seen in the consumer world that the application store concept is a proven and successful model that helps drive real creativity and innovation. We’re seeing the same with the Sabre Red App Centre, where daily exchanges of innovative ideas, products and services are taking place. The Red App Centre is finding its place as a valuable resource for buyers and sellers of travel innovation.”
The finalists for the Sabre Red Appys are:
– Global Net Fares – This Red App offers a visual air shopping tool that allows agents to compare flight information side by side including carriers, schedules and fares. Based upon Sabre’s low fare search functionality, the app delivers robust trip options in an easy to see format, which helps agents save time and increase productivity.
– ExpertFlyer.com – The Seat Alerts Red App will allow agents to help travelers who are stuck in an undesirable seat, such as a middle seat, to change to a better seat as one becomes available. Agents will be able to create a Seat Alert with flight specific options and will be notified when the best seat becomes available, helping them deliver outstanding personal service to travelers. Seat Alert is currently available on ExpertFlyer.com.
– HipGeo – HipGeo knows that word of mouth is the best way to attract new customers. This Red App will help agencies tap into their customer pool to promote their travel services by distributing the HipGeo smart phone travel app within their agency communications. HipGeo is used by travelers to share their adventures, excursions, and trips via the HipGeo travel blogs. Each post made by the customer will contain agency branding and links to the agency’s website. This serves to promote the agency, drive web traffic and improve search engine optimization, and gives the traveler an easy way to share their travel experiences.
– Limos.com – The Red App from Limos.com is a powerful search, compare and booking application for private car services. Bookings integrate into customers’ itineraries, streamlining the reservation process and increasing agent productivity.
– Travel Automation –The Qbotic Pro Red App will automatically revalidate or reissue tickets due to involuntary changes. Instead of agents spending an average of 4-5 minutes per booking, QBotic Pro will do the job in about 45 seconds. It can also be configured to handle bookings in full robotic mode with no agent intervention at all, delivering truly touch-less handling of involuntary reissues.
– TripLingo – TripLingo’s Red App will let travel buyers offer the company’s award winning mobile consumer app to clients whose itinerary includes a covered country. TripLingo is a mobile translation service, providing basic phrases and the ability to translate in more than 14 languages. Agents using the TripLingo Red App will add extra value to customers, stay in front of the traveler throughout the trip with a cobranded app, and earn extra revenues when users purchase premium content.
– TRX – The Queue Manager Red App is a workflow management tool that allows travel agencies to set priorities on how travel agents should work outstanding queues, i.e., reaccommodations should be handled ahead of new reservations. The Red App will monitor the agent’s queue and present the next action item based on the established priorities. The travel agent does not have to apply rules themselves and priorities remain consistent across the agency. The Red App also captures metrics on how agents are processing action items for further analysis by the agency.
In addition to competing for the cash prize, each finalist will show their app at the Sabre Technology and Marketing University (TMU) event where more than 350 travel buyers will convene this week to explore best practices, discover new marketing techniques, conquer the latest technology trends, and tap into the collective insight of industry leaders.
During TMU, each finalist will pitch their application to a panel of judges and travel buyers. The winner will be announced at the Sabre Red Appys awards event on June 7 before a combined audience of developers attending the Sabre Developer Conference and TMU attendees.
Launched in March, the Sabre Red App Centre is the first online marketplace to connect travel buyers, including travel agencies, travel management companies and leisure operators, with application providers from around the world.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
