Latest news with #Travelport
Travel Weekly
6 days ago
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Breeze Airways will now be bookable via Travelport
Breeze Airways and Travelport have signed a long-term content agreement, the low-cost carrier's second GDS partnership. Breeze content is now available through Travelport's API, Smartpoint and Smartpoint Cloud. Travelport-connected agencies can access fares and ancillaries, including baggage options, seat selection and WiFi. "This partnership with Travelport will help make Breeze's fares and unique nonstop network more accessible for agencies and travelers," said Eric Walters, Breeze Airways' director of pricing, revenue management, distribution and sales. "We're all about making travel more convenient, accessible and affordable, and Travelport will only help further that goal." Breeze initially sold only through its own website and app, but last year it expanded to OTA distribution and corporate travel agencies. It entered a distribution agreement with Amadeus earlier this year. Just this week, Breeze announced plans to fly from Burbank, Calif., just as Avelo said it would exit that market.
Skift
11-07-2025
- Business
- Skift
Travelport's New Tech Chief Aims to Modernize How Agencies Book Trips
Andrew Jordan arrived at Travelport six months ago with a mission to reduce the frustrations travel management companies have with the software their agents use. The new chief product and technology officer has worked previously at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, where he led technology transformation at the $27 billion travel management company. That experience, he said, taught him what agencies actually need from the global distribution systems like Travelport, which they use to book trips for road warriors. "The number of conversations I will have with customers where I start to talk their language and they go, 'Finally, finally, somebody on the GDS [global distribution system] side now understands us,'" Jordan said in his first media interview since joining the company. "I've lived their life." Shifting Expectations Relations with travel agencies matter because Travelport faces competition, having recently lost accounts with BCD Travel, World Travel, and Gary Dawes Travel. Jordan acknowledged those losses but noted that customer turnover is normal in business. This year, Travelport won business with Costco Travel and RateHawk, and it expanded its partnership with Chase Travel Group. "I feel very confident about the support of customers that we've got," he said, adding that he's "very confident" about the company's pipeline of customers. Travelport operates one of four major global distribution systems that airlines, hotels, and car rental companies use to distribute inventory to travel agencies. The others are Amadeus, Sabre, and TravelSky. Thinking Like a Travel Agent Jordan used the phrase "think like a travel agent" repeatedly to emphasize that Travelport's key strategy for success must be to become "agency specialists." He argued that distribution systems have historically failed to recognize agent diversity "to the depth and the detail that is now possible to achieve." The executive said he recognized that travel agents "come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with different requirements and different needs." He said his experience at Carlson Wagonlit taught him how travel agents think about efficiency and workflows, knowledge he said gives him an edge in helping Travelport design relevant tools. The company will tailor tools to different agent communities rather than forcing uniform changes. AI as Potential Disruptor The corporate travel sector hasn't fully grasped how generative artificial intelligence will change customer expectations and require adjustments to their business workflows. Jordan warned that AI-powered travel agents could eventually fire off "100,000 transactions a second" through distribution systems, compared with thousands per second today. "I don't think anybody in this entire industry is ready for that," he said. Jordan believes the industry needs to prepare for the possibility of adding AI-powered interfaces, broadly similar to Microsoft's CoPilot, to agency desktops. "Concepts like conversational commerce and agentic AI haven't yet found their way into the travel industry at scale," Jordan said. "But that's the direction the world is going in." Current AI applications in corporate travel typically handle booking automation, expense processing, and customer service chat tools. However, most implementations remain siloed or limited to point solutions overlaid on older systems. They're not comprehensive platforms with AI baked in. Anticipating Change Jordan sees comprehensive AI platforms as inevitable, comparing the potential disruption to how fintech companies like Monzo and Revolut captured market share from traditional banks by offering greater speed and convenience. "Where the hockey puck is going, technologically speaking, is something that's going to feel a little bit more uncomfortable for the travel industry," Jordan said. Jordan predicted AI will transform travel booking workflows, particularly through better trip disruption management and what he called "personalized" recommendations. Travelport last year launched an AI-powered search tool, which helps agents sort through booking options from multiple sources, including legacy airlines and newer budget carriers. Jordan, who has also had senior tech leadership roles at NEP Group, NBC Universal, and Thomson Reuters, sees the full-platform approach as inevitable over time. Rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach, Jordan wants to tailor workflows and AI-powered tools to match how different agent communities actually work. Financial Firepower Travelport received $770 million in private equity investment and financing in 2023 and 2024, giving it the financial flexibility to invest in technology improvements while keeping debt relatively low. "We are in a very, very strong financial position," Jordan said about the privately held company, which doesn't disclose financial details. Ever since 2019, when Travelport was taken private in a $4.4 billion deal by affiliates of New York activist investor Elliott Management and Siris Capital Group, the company has been reimagining its technology. The company spent recent years consolidating three separate booking platforms and integrating its 2023 acquisition of corporate travel software maker Deem. Jordan said that foundational work created "a steady, stable ship on which to build." Different Customers, Different Needs Many travel agents still book flights using decades-old command-line interfaces that require typing cryptic codes into proverbial "green screens." Jordan wants to modernize those workflows without alienating agents who prefer the speed of familiar systems. "There is an absolute reality that there is a huge disparity between very progressive thinking customers and customers that are quite conservative," he said. All global distribution systems have been trying to get travel agents to use consumer-style interfaces for over a decade. Still, many agents keep using their cryptic commands because they see them as faster and more efficient, thanks partly to practice and muscle memory. Yet some agencies are evolving. One Travelport customer recently reduced 300 automated booking scripts to nine after evaluating their business value, Jordan said. Travelport continues to provide agencies a choice of modern graphical user interfaces and traditional command-line systems. Jordan said Travelport will work with customers to develop new capabilities rather than imposing changes. Jordan declined to provide specifics about upcoming products but said new offerings are in the works to target travel agents' top needs. But he said his goal is to make Travelport become known as the premier agency specialist among all its peer companies. "We're the only ones that act as a pure-play agent provider," he said. He noted that the company is the only one of its peers focused purely on serving travel agents rather than building hotel service suites or airline passenger service systems. "We don't dilute the whole proposition," he said. "That gives us a strength as we focus on the needs of those in agent communities and actually meet them where the technological hockey puck is going." Subscribers to Skift Research can read the April report, Navigating the Future: What's Next for Global Distribution Systems?
Travel Weekly
26-06-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Turkish Airlines returns to Sabre system with NDC content
Turkish Airlines content has returned to the Sabre GDS following a nearly 10-month hiatus. As part of a new agreement, Sabre will begin displaying NDC-enabled Turkish Airlines fares and ancillary products. "Through this collaboration, we aim to diversify the access opportunities available to our partner agencies and contribute to shaping the digital transformation of the industry," Arif Pasha, Turkish Airlines' sales and marketing manager for the United Arab Emirates, said in a LinkedIn post. Pasha didn't offer further details about the NDC integration, but said that information would be disseminated in the coming days. The statement also doesn't specify whether Turkish will assess a GDS surcharge for legacy bookings via Sabre. Sabre also didn't address that issue. Turkish Airlines implemented a $24 surcharge on Travelport and Amadeus legacy GDS bookings last October in concert with the launch of its NDC program.
Skift
22-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
How GDS Commission Shares Impact Global Hotel and Agency Revenue
Part one of this two-part series explores the global landscape for GDS commission shares, which represent tens of millions of dollars in revenue for travel management companies and agencies. A better understanding of gaps by region, country, and hotel class can lead to competitive advantages in global distribution. This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner. It's 5:59 a.m. on a rainy Monday in Chicago. A corporate traveler scans her company's booking tool, hits 'book,' and locks in a room at an upscale hotel in Auckland. That single click unleashes the Global Distribution System (GDS): reservation messages, credit‑card authorizations, and once the guest checks out, a commission to the travel management company (TMC) that facilitated the sale. Multiply that chain by hundreds of millions of transactions, and you begin to see why the GDS agency model remains one of hospitality's most durable revenue engines. Roughly 200 million hotel bookings flow through the three big GDS networks (Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport) every year, primarily from corporate travel. Corporate travel, and by extension, GDS channels, continue to be critical in the hotel booking ecosystem at a time when hotel companies are clinging to stable, predictable revenue streams. GDS Commissions in the Booking Universe: A One‑Slide Crash Course Hotel demand splits into two macro buckets. Direct bookings flow through voice/central‑reservation lines, and walk‑ins. Indirect bookings spread across online travel agencies (OTAs), wholesale, group blocks, and the GDS. Within GDS, two commercial models dominate: Agency / Post‑Pay : The hotel gets paid after the stay and owes a commission to the TMC. : The hotel gets paid after the stay and owes a commission to the TMC. Merchant / Net: The hotel is paid a wholesale rate, and the TMC then upsells the room to travelers to earn a margin on the markup. According to Skift Research data, global hotel bookings from these two models represented about 25% of global gross hotel bookings revenue in 2024. This article zeros in on the Agency/Post-Pay model because it generates commissionable revenue, or GDS Commission Share. GDS Commission Share: A Global Perspective According to OnyxInsights data, hotels paid an estimated $2.1 billion in commissions to TMCs through the GDS networks in 2024. However, GDS commission share, which represents the share of total hotel commissions incurred by GDS bookings, is unevenly distributed. Understanding gaps can lead to competitive advantages for players in the hotel bookings game. Region by Region: How GDS Commissions Differ North America (5% GDS commission share) has spent decades wiring corporate travel programs into back‑office systems. Deep links between TMCs, payment providers, and hotel CRS platforms keep agency bookings fast and relatively cheap. Europe (4.3%) enjoys dense cross‑border business and stringent duty‑of‑care rules, pushing travelers into managed channels. Yet, powerful direct booking campaigns from hotel companies limit GDS growth. Asia‑Pacific (4% and climbing) currently lags but has significant momentum. Multinational companies are scaling hubs in Singapore, Sydney, and Bangalore; local TMCs are modernizing; and card adoption is broadening, together fueling the steepest year‑over‑year gains globally. Country by Country: Where GDS Commissions Carry Higher Shares New Zealand (11% GDS commission share) and Australia (10.5%) top the league table, powered by resource‑sector compliance, lengthy domestic flight sectors, and dominant regional TMCs. The United States (5.1%) tracks just above the global mean of 4.8%, representing the tug‑of‑war between enormous corporate demand and loyalty‑fueled direct‑booking campaigns. Belgium (4.4%) shows how mid‑size economies can under‑index when large corporations negotiate static, direct deals with preferred chains, sidestepping the GDS entirely. How Room Class Drives GDS Commission Share Luxury and upper‑upscale hotels capture 6% to 7% of stays via GDS because they sit at the epicenter of managed‑travel itineraries: meeting space, negotiated last‑room‑available clauses, and premium loyalty tiers. Midscale and economy properties earn less than 3% GDS commission share. Their price‑sensitive guests flock to OTAs, metasearch sites, and air‑hotel bundles. Chain scale magnifies the gap: mega‑brands amortize connectivity costs and lock in global preferred suppliers, while independents shoulder higher fees or skip the channel altogether. Why GDS Commission Share Matters Why do these slight differences matter, if agency/post-pay GDS commissions comprise only about 5% of global hotel commissions? Indeed, hotels more broadly have been making efforts to migrate to direct-heavy distribution strategies since the dawn of the internet age, and Skift Research expects those efforts to intensify in the next several years, according to the 'Hotel Distribution Outlook 2024.' However, Skift Research also estimated in the report that agency bookings are expected to grow 125% by 2030. With every percentage point in GDS commission share representing millions of dollars, there's a significant amount of money on the table for hotels and agencies. Part 2: GDS Commission Implications at the Property Level Region, country, and hotel class explain only part of the variance in GDS commission share. The next Data Snap, coming out in July, will zoom into the property level — branded vs. independents, location, hotel persona — and show how hotels are turning hidden white space into high‑margin bookings. Stay tuned. 'The Data Snap' is a recurring article series that paints a clearer picture of the dynamic hotel booking landscape, empowering hotels and agencies to make data-driven decisions that help them build productive partner relationships and drive more revenue. OnyxInsights offers a comprehensive view of the industry landscape, enabling hotels and TMCs to make well-informed decisions and better serve their clients and partners. Onyx CenterSource processes over 100 million transactions annually on behalf of 200,000 agencies and 150,000 hotels globally, representing nearly $2.1 billion in hotel commission payments. Visit to learn more. This content was created collaboratively by Onyx CenterSource and Skift's branded content studio, SkiftX.
Travel Daily News
12-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Daily News
Sabre appoints Jennifer Catto as Executive VP
Sabre appoints Jennifer Catto as EVP and CMO to lead global marketing strategy, enhancing brand presence and customer engagement. SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS – Sabre Corporation, a leading global travel technology company, announced the appointment of Jennifer Catto as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. As a member of Sabre's Executive Leadership Team, Jennifer will shape the company's global marketing strategy and brand, supporting growth, enhancing customer engagement, and positioning Sabre for future success. Jennifer joined Sabre in February 2025, bringing over 25 years of experience helping companies navigate and accelerate through periods of transformation. A strategist at heart and a natural disruptor, she has built and repositioned brands at the intersection of technology and customer needs, leading integrated marketing and growth strategies at Travelport, Telaria, Travelocity, Condé Nast and SAY. Throughout her career, Jennifer has championed data-driven insights, compelling storytelling and cross-functional collaboration to unlock new market opportunities and drive lasting brand relevance in dynamic industries. 'A brand is a promise you make to the market that the business must uphold. I'm thrilled to lead a strong brand for a company that has truly committed to innovation and product excellence – keeping customers at the centre of every solution it develops,' said Jennifer Catto. 'Sabre has achieved what many only claim – modernising its foundations. It is now a unified, intelligent travel marketplace that prioritises performance over promises. I'm here to craft a brand that precisely reflects that transformation – instilling confidence in the market and strengthening Sabre's presence across all channels and customer experiences.' A respected industry leader, Jennifer has been nominated for a Cannes Lions Award, won the AdAge Brand Leader Award, and was named a GBTA WINiT Top 50 honouree. She is also a regular speaker and commentator for major media outlets, and is passionate about redefining how companies engage audiences and build lasting value through innovation. 'Jennifer's appointment demonstrates our commitment to bold, strategic leadership as we accelerate Sabre's evolution into the premier technology platform for travel,' said Kurt Ekert, President and CEO of Sabre. 'She combines creativity, operational discipline, and deep expertise in digital transformation – an increasingly rare mix. With Jennifer at the helm of marketing, we will elevate Sabre's brand, strengthen ties with customers and partners, and sharpen our competitive edge in the market.' With this appointment, Sabre continues to reinforce its leadership team and focus on delivering innovative technology solutions that shape the future of travel.
