Uniglobe Travel has awarded Sabre Travel Network its ‘Technology Supplier of the Year’ award.  UK-based travel agency owners and employees who are part of the Uniglobe franchise voted the GDS operator best technology company, beating two other contenders.
Sabre Travel Network has converted two thirds of Uniglobe’s members to its system over the past two years.

Derek Hearl-Maunder, president and chief operating officer of Uniglobe Travel, said: “Sabre Travel Network is the deserving winner of our Technology Supplier of the Year award.  Agents like the range of bookable business and leisure travel products, the quality of those products and the accuracy of the system.”

The Uniglobe agencies use Sabre Travel Network’s Hardware VPN (Virtual Private Network) to connect to the GDS.  Not only does this shave hundreds of pounds a month off their communication costs, it also enables them to negotiate with a range of telecommunication providers for the most cost-effective package.
                                                                                   
Uniglobe agencies use the MySabre booking product, which provides single-screen access to published, private and web fares, including fares from major no-frill airlines in Europe and elsewhere.  It is an Internet-based tool that combines traditional products bookable in the Sabre system, such as airlines, car hire, hotels, cruise and rail, with content from the Internet and third-party suppliers.
                                                                                       
It also simplifies the booking process by combining traditional Sabre system screens and codes with drop-down menus and the ability to use a mouse to enter data.  Agents can simply ‘point and click’ at booking information, or drop down items, reducing the number of keystrokes needed to complete a booking.  Hotel and car bookings, for example, are twice as quick as with conventional products.

Reet Wiseman, Sabre Travel Network’s vice-president for the UK and Ireland, said:  “We are delighted to be recognised in this way as it’s proof that our customers believe we are the best alternative to Galileo.  The fact that we have converted 16 of the 24 Uniglobe agencies shows that it’s not difficult to change from one GDS provider to another, as long as you know what you’re doing, go in with your eyes wide open, and have good support from your new provider.”

——-