Sabre signs up over 25 specialist UK travel agencies

Sabre Travel Network has signed up over 25 UK-based specialist travel agencies to the Sabre GDS since the beginning of the year. The agencies, located mainly in the Midlands and Northern England, range from business travel experts through to those servicing the visiting friends and family sector.

Sabre Travel Network launched recently a new support and help-desk service designed specifically for specialist travel agencies servicing the leisure sector in the UK and Ireland. Delivered by account managers using state-of-the-art customer relationship management technology, customers are benefiting from increased and faster contact, advice and assistance that is tailored to their unique business focus.

Behind the new service lies iCRM customer relationship management technology. All customer information is held in one central source, giving each account manager an entire overview of Sabre Travel Network’s relationship with an agency customer. iCRM brings together details such as agency contact details, contract information, billing status, history of help desk calls and queries and a register of all inbound and outbound calls and email communications. It also contains a record of all training courses attended by travel agency staff.

Mike Altan, general manager of Green Island, the London-based agency that specialises in Cyprus, said: “It became pretty clear that we needed to switch from our previous GDS provider. We are convinced that Sabre Travel Network’s service offering and product range, in particular Sabre Air and MyFares, will enable us to provide a better service to our customers and help grow our revenues.”

Launched in January, Sabre Air helps travel agents more efficiently find the best fare options for their clients by displaying more choices and delivering more alternative itineraries with different fare options. Sabre Connected agents are now able to access all fare information for all passenger types by using a single entry key. They also have easy access to their negotiated rates, along with the full content available in the Sabre GDS, with screen displays clearly differentiating agency negotiated fares from industry published fares.

Another key component of Sabre Air is Sabre MyFares, a new fare management system, enabling agencies to quickly and easily load their private fares into the Sabre GDS. Using Sabre MyFares, agents can improve their productivity and accuracy and thereby reduce the cost of managing and distributing their private fares, leading to an improvement in the quality of service they offer to their customers.

Reet Wiseman, Sabre Travel Network vice-president, said: “We are delighted to sign these new accounts as our specialist agency customer base is important to us. These agencies will receive a proactive service aimed at meeting their unique needs. Sabre is demonstrating its commitment to helping specialist businesses thrive by enhancing its service to this segment, combining expertise with sophisticated online account management tools.”

About Sabre Travel Network

Sabre Travel Network, a Sabre Holdings company, provides the most comprehensive end-to-end solutions for corporate and leisure travel. The Sabre GDS is the foundation for these solutions, providing a ready-built efficient marketplace that connects travel suppliers, including hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotels, with more than 50,000 travel agency locations.

Key brands of Sabre Travel Network include the GetThere online corporate travel booking tool and the TRAMS mid- and back-office solution and marketing service for travel agencies.

Sabre Travel Network works closely with sister company Sabre Airline Solutions, the world’s largest provider of products to help airlines market themselves, sell their products, serve their customers and operate more effectively, from planning to execution. The combined portfolio of marketing, sales, distribution, operational and decision-support technology is unique, and of huge value to airlines all over the world.

Sabre Holdings connects people with the world’s greatest travel possibilities.

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