Through the Sabre Corporate Connect booking fee program, when corporations, using the GetThere booking tool through the Sabre network, and their agency of record opt for the new pricing, their designated airlines will automatically receive an approximately 50 percent reduction on the booking fee from Sabre.
Incentives will no longer be paid for corporations or travel agents opting into the program; however, incentives will remain in effect through January 1, 2003, to enable agencies to make any necessary adjustments to their business models. This is similar to other non-incentive based direct connect models pursued by travel agencies and airlines.
The new pricing program provides corporations with the opportunity to improve the economics, relationships and services with their preferred suppliers, said William J. Hannigan, chairman and CEO, Sabre Holdings Corporation. Our Corporate Connect program provides agencies with a direct connect solution that is fully integrated into their existing work processes, eliminating the need for new technology investment. The new model also helps our airline customers do something they have wanted to do: reduce their costs and have more predictable costs in the emerging channels of distribution.
The new model creates an environment for suppliers to offer corporations their best content in order to direct bookings to this lower cost channel. It also provides corporations with an opportunity to extend their ability to cut corporate travel costs through online reservations. The program is available today, with the consent of the participating corporation and their travel management firm of record.
We applaud Sabre for implementing a new business model that allows our customers the opportunity to achieve cost reductions and to gain access to all fares. The Corporate Connect program when implemented will eliminate the airlines’ focus on agency commissions and GDS fees as the source of their profitability problems, said Dan Green, CEO of Sea Gate/Advanced Travel Group, one of America’s oldest and most respected names in corporate travel with clients that include several Fortune 100 and 500 companies.
Over the past several years, the industry has been pursuing low cost distribution alternatives, commonly referred to as direct connections, between suppliers and their preferred customers. This program accelerates GetThere’s initiatives to lower the costs of corporate travel distribution by leveraging the connectivity of the Sabre network. Through this approach, GetThere, its customers, and airline suppliers are able to avoid the technology development, work process and implementation issues that are slowing the adoption of other direct connect programs in the market. Participants also benefit from immediate connections to more than 450 airlines and thousands of travel agents. Corporate travel agents can continue servicing customers into the future without disruption to their current processes, as they have the ability to seamlessly support bookings that flow through this channel.
The new Sabre model is a positive step for the travel industry as it helps to rationalize distribution costs, and clarifies the financial relationships between travel suppliers, said Mark Williams, Director of Travel and Meeting Management, Americas Travel, PricewaterhouseCoopers. We believe that this program can reduce some of the inefficiencies in the system and make it easier for all of us to do business.
The Corporate Connect program will be available to all corporations using the GetThere booking tool.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
