Articles tagged “sabre”

Sabre has been an active acquirer over the years, but in 2013 it sold three businesses -- Travelocity Business, Holiday Autos and Zuji -- all at a loss. Sabre wanted to execute a successful IPO, and it had plenty of things to tidy up.

Neither American Airlines nor Sabre got exactly what they wanted in their protracted lawsuits, but Sabre was clearly the loser. American didn't obtain an edict that the global distribution industry is an anticompetitive monopoly, but it forced Sabre to cease its hostile acts and picked up a $200 million settlement in the bargain.

Now that the Expedia-Travelocity agreement's implementation has begun, we can expect to hear about some of the financial benefits to Expedia during its upcoming Q4 earnings call. The agreement is being phased in, and the rollout is taking place somewhat faster than expected.

A Sabre IPO has been long anticipated as it has shed assets, off-loaded Travelocity North America operations, trimmed staff levels and brought in new management in anticipation of going public.

By bringing in former Continental chairman and CEO Larry Kellner as Sabre chairman, and installing Tom Klein as the new CEO, Sabre is signaling that it is readying a strategic move, possibly an IPO, in the near future. The Travelocity deal with Expedia, Travelocity divestments of zuji and Travelocity Business, and these layoffs may all be pieces of the puzzle.

The Travelocity-Expedia deal is widely seen as a way for Travelocity's parent, Sabre Holdings, to trim expenses before a possible IPO in 2014.

The hotel operators worry whether going green means sacrificing their service standards at times, and this study show it surely won't hurt. And there are bigger benefits beyond bookings, including energy savings and tax credits from local municipalities, among others.

Sabre is smart to bring in Kellner and to make a break with the Gilliland era in taking steps toward an IPO. But, private company or not, Sabre handled the transition very clumsily.

Expedia couldn't acquire Travelocity even if it wanted to because it would have triggered an antitrust investigation. The pact marks the obituary of the Travelocity turnaround attempt, and the big winner is Expedia, which gets more volume and EVEN MORE negotiating clout with suppliers. Bad news for hotels.

Mergers are the most likely cause for software breakdowns; a bad omen for American and merging partner US Airways who will now be even more vigilant in integrating their IT systems.