There’s a saying in our industry: “The only thing more fragmented than a low-cost carrier’s seat selection menu is a travel agency’s tech stack.” And by all accounts, it’s no joke.
Across the globe, over 90% of agencies now juggle four or more booking systems. A weary few are wrangling seven. That’s not business continuity—it’s digital contortion. It’s like trying to play Bach on a piano with three broken keys, two missing pedals and a cat sitting on your sheet music.
But a glimmer of hope has emerged through the clutter—and it goes by the name SabreMosaic Travel Marketplace, a platform that’s equal parts technical renaissance and operational redemption. Leading this bold transformation is Jen Catto, Sabre’s Chief Marketing Officer, whose candour and clarity deserve a standing ovation.
“We didn’t arrive here by choice,” Catto tells me matter-of-factly. “Suppliers fragmented the path forward. Agencies bolted on tools just to survive.”
From GDS Legacy to Tech Fatigue: A Crisis of Our Own Making
To be fair, it’s not that agents failed to evolve. They were forced to evolve unevenly—bolting new pipes onto rusting plumbing to stay afloat.
Jen Catto, Chief Marketing Officer, Sabre
The result was predictable, with airlines plunging into NDC and proprietary direct connects, LCCs bypassing legacy channels, and hoteliers stitching wholesaler logic onto OTA-led systems.
“Traditional GDS platforms simply didn’t keep up,” Catto says. “Aggregators helped a bit, but they didn’t fix usability or servicing.”
Instead, we had a digital Frankenstein: APIs, screen scraping, and clunky mid-office workarounds. And while the industry adapted, it did so like a man changing a flat tyre on a moving car—technically impressive, but hardly sustainable.
Fragmentation’s Price Tag: Burnout and Broken Trust
Catto doesn’t mince words when asked about the cost of this chaos.
“It’s both a cost issue and a customer experience issue—and they’re directly connected.”
According to Sabre’s global agency study, 93% of respondents say fragmentation has increased operational costs, while 90% report it’s weakened the traveller experience.
That’s no coincidence.
“Agents today are spending 25% more time re-shopping than they were three years ago,” she says. “They’re managing inconsistent refund logic, unreliable content, and duplicate offers.”
The result? Disjointed fare displays, missed upsell opportunities, and post-booking chaos. It’s little wonder many agents feel less like curators of exceptional journeys and more like overworked tech troubleshooters.
Introducing SabreMosaic: Not Just Another Dashboard
So, what makes SabreMosaic different? The name may evoke stained glass, but this isn’t about prettying up broken pieces. It’s about replacing the entire window.
Sabre team at GBTA
“SabreMosaic is a global travel marketplace designed to collapse complexity,” Catto explains. “It’s not just more content—it’s harmonised, AI-powered retailing across every vertical.”
Indeed, it’s a modular architecture that integrates NDC, LCC, EDIFACT, rail, car, lodging, and more into one unified system. It runs over 700 active AI models, uses Google Cloud infrastructure, and is designed to automate and orchestrate—not just display—travel content.
“We’re not layering more tech on top,” she insists. “We’re replacing fragmented logic with a common intelligence layer.”
Unified, Not Added-On: Why Agents Should Believe
It’s easy to be sceptical. Many agents have been burned by promises of “simplification” before, only to end up managing yet another portal with yet another password.
But Sabre insists this isn’t one more silo. It’s a rethinking of the stack itself.
“For existing Sabre users, no migration is needed,” Catto confirms. “Red 360 and Sabre APIs are already connected. For others, onboarding is modular—search, offer management, automation, post-booking.”
It’s not another login. It’s a foundational platform. One that works with the tools agents already know.
“Access Everything. Offer Anything.” More Than a Slogan?
Marketing slogans are easy to dismiss. But Catto backs Sabre’s with substance.
“The real magic is in how Mosaic restructures access and decisioning,” she says.
Agencies don’t have to manage separate supplier contracts or multiple content integrations. Mosaic does that behind the scenes.
With its AI, it deduplicates, normalises, and merchandises content in real time. That means fewer pricing discrepancies, more reliable availability, and quicker quotes.
“We replace backend noise with structured intelligence,” says Catto. “It lowers operational effort and raises performance across the board.”
Is AI Coming for Our Jobs?
This question has haunted the travel industry since the first chatbot learned how to say “your booking is confirmed.”
Catto addresses it head-on:
“AI in SabreMosaic isn’t a threat. It’s a force multiplier. We eliminate low-value work—fare matching, refund handling, re-shopping—so humans can focus on high-value tasks.”
This is AI as an enabler, not a replacement. It handles the grunt work so agents can be what they were meant to be: travel advisers, strategists, storytellers.
A Look Under the Hood: 700 Models and Counting
Is SabreMosaic just a fancy search bar in disguise? Not.
“This is applied machine intelligence at enterprise scale,” Catto states firmly.
With natural language processing, predictive pricing, traveller segmentation, and itinerary optimisation, the platform doesn’t just process requests—it anticipates them.
It uses contextual signals, such as historical bookings, market trends, and yield optimisation, to personalise offers in real time.
“This is a system-wide transformation,” she emphasises.
Designed to Relieve, Not Overwhelm
Today’s agents are time-poor and tool-fatigued. Sabre knew that, which is why the core design philosophy behind Mosaic is reduction.
“Fewer logins. Fewer exceptions. Fewer integrations,” Catto summarises.
Agents still use their familiar interfaces. Mosaic enhances what happens behind them. No new learning curves—just smarter infrastructure.
Not Just Catching Up—Changing the Game
For decades, the industry has added tech without replacing the bones underneath. Sabre’s answer? Burn it down and build better.
“This isn’t just digitising legacy logic,” Catto says. “It’s building an open, cloud-native platform that adapts to offer-based retailing across all verticals.”
EDIFACT is no longer the backbone. Microservices, modern APIs, and modular intelligence now define the platform. In Catto’s words: “The GDS is now just one tile in the broader mosaic.”
Big Numbers, Real Results
Sabre claims Mosaic offers 38 NDC airlines, 2 million lodging options, and 70+ rail and car providers. But is it real-time, bookable content?
Catto doesn’t blink.
“Yes. These are live connections—not scraped feeds. Hotel content is normalised across Bedsonline and major chains. NDC offers have full servicing. Car and rail are integrated with actual availability.”
And with mid-office automation built in, handoffs are seamless.
The Next Five Years: Simplify or Stagnate
So what does the future look like?
“Content sources will stay fragmented. But access won’t,” says Catto.
Agencies that adopt platforms like SabreMosaic will regain control. They’ll move from operational patchwork to intelligent orchestration.
“In five years, the winners won’t be the ones who added tools—they’ll be the ones who simplified.”
One Final Message: For the Agent About to Walk Away
Catto knows the struggle. She sees the weariness. And she’s got a message for the agent toggling between seven tabs, ready to throw in the towel.
“You didn’t enter this business to debug APIs. You joined to craft unforgettable travel experiences,” she says. “SabreMosaic gives you the time, the context, and the clarity to do just that.”
By Susan Ng
