Travelgenio, one of Europe’s largest online travel agencies (OTA), has expanded its partnership with Sabre Corporation and has chosen it as the preferred partner for virtual card technology. Rolling out Sabre’s automation and virtual payment technologies (Sabre Virtual Payments) is a cornerstone of Travelgenio’s strategy to tap into the expected surge in leisure travel.
The expansion of its relationship with Sabre marks a new chapter for Travelgenio and is part of a move to streamline its GDS relationships and focus on leveraging technology to create a compelling shopping experience. Operating in more than 50 countries worldwide, Travelgenio will now use Sabre’s industry-leading technology to help boost its revenue and transform its business during the anticipated recovery period and beyond. One key focus will be on Sabre’s integrated automation technology, which will enable the OTA to eliminate many manual processes – reducing costs, removing friction from the travel experience and – ultimately – getting people travelling again.
“In the current state of the travel industry, we are laser-focused on optimizing conversions and performance, while also managing our expenses,” said Joost Schuring, CEO at Travelgenio. “This relies on our investment in technology that creates a highly intelligent and tailored shopping experience for our customers. We’ve been thoroughly impressed by Sabre’s response to a global crisis – accelerating the creation of highly responsive technology and raising capital to weather this storm, and to invest in its robust, stable and agile platform that supports the industry’s expected recovery.”
Travelgenio has already started using Sabre Virtual Payments. The payments sector is expected to play a crucial role in the recovery of travel, creating an urgent need for travel companies to adopt more sophisticated payment technology to drive efficiencies in their businesses. As one of the most flexible electronic payment solutions in the travel industry, Sabre Virtual Payments offers multi-bank, multi-card, credit and prepaid account payments, which allow customers to select the best payment option and the most favorable payment terms.
“Online travel is at the forefront of the industry’s expected recovery and, with its global presence and deep expertise in the consumer digital space, Travelgenio has the potential to recover fast,” said Sean McDonald, vice president – online, Sabre Travel Solutions. “This is a pivotal moment – travel companies must act fast to secure their recovery opportunities, while making long-term investments in robust technology that supports future growth. Travelgenio’s decision to streamline its GDS strategy and expand its relationship with Sabre will position the OTA to grow its business during the recovery and beyond. Investing in Sabre Virtual Payments, for example, couldn’t have come at a better time; virtual payments will be front and center for helping travel companies recover and mitigate against future risk.”
In addition to supporting its customers through the COVID-19 pandemic, Sabre is working to realize its long-term vision regarding personalized travel. The technology company has already invested in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities that will be successively rolled out through its suite of technology this year.
