Sabre Buys Startup That Helps Luxury Hotels Sell Gift Cards

Sabre said on Wednesday it had acquired a small startup, Techsembly, which helps luxury hoteliers manage the sales of gift cards, among other cloud-based software services.

The companies didn't disclose the deal terms or acquisition price. The London-based Techsembly raised about $1.1 million (£1 million) in 2021 from SuperSeed Ventures and a handful of undisclosed private investors.

Sabre, a U.S. travel technology company, plans to integrate the service and team into its SynXis suite of services. Sabre's central reservation system is one of the most-used in the world for hotels taking reservations online.

Techsembly, led by co-founder and CEO Amy Read, is perhaps best known for helping luxury hotel brands — such as its marquee client The Peninsula — to sell property-specific experiences via global gift cards, which can be redeemed across multiple properties and currencies.

Today Sabre's "SynXis Retail Studio" lets hotel companies sell products and services as upsells and cross-sells along with room reservations. The company plans to integrate Techsembly's e-commerce marketplace and gift card capabilities into its platform. The idea is for hoteliers to use just one system to manage e-commerce sales, rather than manage multiple sites via multiple tools.

Scott Wilson, president of Sabre Hospitality, said the acquisition would accelerate his company's growth in selling software services to hotels. Sabre's acquisition of Techsembly reaffirms its commitment to its hotel software business, which had seemed shaky during the pandemic.