Sabre Travel
Network has announced the launch of Sabre
Corporate Efficiency Formula for the U.S. marketplace.This
comprehensive set of technology and services provides the ability for
travel management companies to fully automate self-service
reservations and streamline processing of agent-assisted transactions.
The Corporate Efficiency Formula enables agencies to more effectively
compete and win in the growing online-led managed business travel
space.

  Recent studies indicate that the North American managed travel
segment is projected to grow at a rate of approximately 4 percent
annually through 2009. Within the managed travel segment, projections
call for a continued shift to online reservations, with an estimated
annual growth rate of 20 percent per year.

  Sabre is deploying the Corporate Efficiency Formula specifically
to help travel management companies further adapt their business
practices to succeed in this evolving segment.

  “The Corporate Efficiency Formula is all about leveling the
playing field - enabling our agency customers to retain and win more
than their share of price sensitive, technology savvy customers, and
to do so profitably by being as efficient as possible,” said Chris
Kroeger, senior vice president Sabre Travel Network, North America.

  The Corporate Efficiency Formula addresses three key areas that
together represent a proven prescription for maximum efficiency in
serving corporate clients looking for best-in-class service and
support for their managed travel programs:

  1. Integrated product and technology: A focus on automation
whenever possible through a consolidated set of tools for booking,
ticketing, invoice and itinerary information, traveler notification
services, and more.

  2. Policies that encourage the use of self-service technology:
Powerful self-service tools and proactive management of traveler
behaviors should be encouraged to support a “touchless” model for the
maximum number of transactions.

  3. Aligned commercial terms: Client fees should be aligned with
the value received and agency resources required. For instance, fees
could be lower when travelers use more of the self-service tools than
for a more hands-on itinerary and booking.

  To enable this prescription for maximum efficiency, the Sabre
Corporate Efficiency Formula features a set of core capabilities
optimized to work together to fully automate self-service reservations
and streamline processing of agent assisted transactions

  — Online reservations through GetThere, and agent-assisted
reservations through Turbo Sabre or MySabre.

  — File finishing, mid-office quality control and automated
ticketing through Ticketing Assistant.

  — Automated calculation and application of fees based on
specific services provided through Agency Fee Manager. This
next generation service fee management application features
configurable rules with 33 eligible PNR elements. Integration
with Agency Fee Manager and Sabre Card Services provides a
lower cost, automated settlement solution for client fees.

  — Automated, secure invoice and itinerary delivery and mobile
traveler notification services through Sabre VirtuallyThere.

  — Seamless data integration into back office systems including
TRAMS and Sabre CentralCommand.

  At the heart of this proven formula for maximum efficiency are
Sabre Corporate Efficiency Consultants who work with agencies to
assess current processes in the three key areas and develop a
recommended action plan based on industry best practices.

  “While the products offered through our new efficiency formula
provide the ‘toolkit’ for implementing a fully automated solution for
the corporate marketplace, we don’t stop there. Our vast experience
serving the most successful travel management companies in the world
shows the best results are achieved when service and support are
aligned with technology,” said Kroeger. “Therefore, the foundation of
our three-step formula is facilitated by a new team of efficiency
consultants that will be working with corporate agencies to assess,
analyze, and prescribe the steps needed to refine a corporation’s
overall workflow to meet its internal efficiency goal leveraging
industry best practices.

  “At Sabre we have a business unit that has provided a showcase for
the use of Sabre-proven efficiencies for corporate travel, and we are
now excited to offer these same types of efficiency and integrated
technology solutions to our agency partners,” Kroeger added.

  The Corporate Efficiency Formula builds upon a combination of the
best travel product selection and the most advanced shopping
capabilities in the world as a foundation for Sabre’s end-to-end
solutions for the corporate marketplace. Sabre will be announcing
additional elements of the end-to-end offering throughout 2007.
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