Sabre Holdings Corporation,
the leading provider of technology and marketing services for the travel
industry, introduced the launch of Sabre(R).Res, a suite of online booking
engine products designed to serve the global community.
Sabre acquired Dublin-based e-Commerce specialist Gradient Solutions in August 2000.  Since then, Sabre and Gradient have developed a suite of third generation reservation products which offer multi-lingual and multi-currency capabilities. In addition, through the .Res product suite, Sabre is the only global distribution system (GDS) which offers multi-GDS connectivity.
.Res leverages the power of the world`s leading GDS with the international
focus of Gradient`s technology. The acquisition of Gradient was part of
Sabre`s e-Commerce strategy to broaden its product capabilities and expand
internationally, building on its established position in the North American
marketplace.  From its outset, Gradient has provided solutions customized for
both the U.S. and European marketplaces, since global capability is a key
requirement among European travel resellers. The result is technology that
meets the complexities of international travel booking and distribution. This
combined expertise and capability for the global marketplace will continue to
drive future developments of the .Res product suite.
“Sabre .Res represents a new era in online booking marketplace. Our industry is a dynamic one, so much has changed in the last two years alone. Travel resellers are now looking for different, enhanced features than before
that will differentiate them from their competition. They also want to maintain speed of service, customization and minimal maintenance cost,” said Jeff Harmon, senior vice president of Online Travel Solutions for Sabre.
“Sabre .Res offers the best technology available today in the online channel to meet these requirements. Our product suite addresses the needs of all travel resellers, regardless of size and budget,” Harmon continued.
To enhance the international capabilities of .Res products, development
teams are located in Ireland, Poland and the U.S. Hosting services are available from both Ireland and the U.S.
The .Res product suite integrates easily with other Sabre value-added
products such as Virtually There enabling travel resellers to offer a complete
solution to their customer.
.Res has three levels of products to meet different customer requirements.
Essentia.Res is for small to medium sized travel agencies and provides the tool for an effective online presence with a low-cost solution. Meridia.Res is for mid-sized agencies and resellers and allows for greater customization than the Essentia.Res product and displays a variety of negotiated fares. Optima.Res is a fully customizable product that is tailored to meet the unique business needs of the customer.
Essentia.Res offers a state-of-the-art online ordering and customization tool that allows agencies to get up and running with their own Website within 48 to 72 hours. Essentia.Res is a turnkey solution with real-time booking capabilities that are affordable, flexible and drive sales to agencies
24 hours a day from anywhere in the world. Essentia.Res can also link directly to existing Web sites, expanding capabilities and reach with minimal investment. As with all the .Res products, Essentia.Res is available in six languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, or German. Some versions of .Res are also available in Asian languages such as Kanji. With the Essentia.Res Website, travelers have the ability to book integrated or separate air, car and hotel reservations via the travel agent`s Website. Once travelers submit a booking request on the Websites, the
passenger name record (PNR) is automatically queued to the agency for ticketing.
Essentia.Res will allow travelers to choose the best dates for travel based on their selected fare, and to check gate and flight arrival and departure information.
Essentia.Res is available to order via Sabre.com.
“Our intent at Sabre is to be the travel consultant`s partner to provide them the tools they need to effectively compete in the online market,” said
Harmon. “Our expertise in travel technology along with the international
expertise of Gradient provide leading edge Internet technologies to enable
agencies and resellers to operate a 24-hour virtual store anywhere around the
world.”
——-