Saber said last month that it was planning to sell the business travel reservation tool, GetThere. And in September, we reported that the company was trying a second time to sell arm of its hospitality.
But for now, Saber CEO Kurt Ekert says he is focused on growing all the company’s divisions, especially the two IT businesses for airlines and hotels.
Sabre’s core business is its global distribution system (the intermediary between airlines and travel agents), which accounts for nearly 70% of revenue.
Ekert, speaking Wednesday at the Phocuswright conference in Phoenix, did not comment on the potential sale of Saber Hospitality, whose core product helps hotels manage pricing and reservations.
“That business next year, based on what we’ve talked about publicly, will be $100 million better on an EBITDA basis than it was in 2022. So within three years, a big turnaround in changing that business. That’s only about 10% of the business now, but it’s growing like a weed.
Hyatt is on track to fully integrate pricing and reservation software into its hotels next year.
Slow Adoption for New Airline Tech
Saber earlier this year released SabreMosaic, what it is touting as a next-generation in-flight marketing system. It’s meant to replace decades-old systems used by airlines, and SabreMosaic is designed to make airline retail more like Amazon’s personalized shopping experience.
Saber has tested the retail platform of American Airlines, Virgin Australia, Air Serbia, and Oman Air.
But it is a “monumental” process to completely transfer. A large airline with an old retail system might have 300 to 900 applications connected to it, Ekert said.
“It’s probably a four, five, six year journey, and I think there’s going to be a longer pregnancy period because of the pain of that process,” she said.
Although adoption has been slow, Ekert believes that’s where the industry is headed. That’s why the company is focusing so much on this area.
“For the first time in a long time, Saber will be able to play an aggressive offense all over the world.”