As 2015 came to a close, Brazilian hotel chain Intercity Hotels brought a unique challenge to Sabre. While their technology infrastructure was sound, booking production was not as high as expected at the rapidly-growing chain’s 35 midscale properties. Lower-than-expected room sales in the GDS channel were causing concern among the company’s leadership.
“We were performing well in the total channel mix, despite the deep crisis that the Brazilian market was suffering, but the GDS codes held by Sabre were not delivering at the same level,” said Paulo Salvador, head of distribution at Intercity Hotels.
When Sabre’s regional account director, Tatiana Vanvelzor, heard these concerns, she stepped in personally to gather resources and create a plan of action.
“We first did a full audit of all their loaded rates, then we surveyed each hotel individually to look at availability,” Tatiana said. “We created a strategy to improve their internal processes so that rates could be loaded as early and accurately as possible.”
Sabre’s Consulting Services team is skilled at examining hotel operations, finding gaps that could impact efficiency and creating action plans that can help hotels increase bookings and revenue. Sabre undertook a full system audit of Intercity Hotels to determine how Sabre, as technology partner, could provide resources and technical support.
“We helped Intercity improve their descriptive content in the GDS, and we worked with them to create a parity rate structure that takes manual intervention out of the equation,” Tatiana said. “Working together, we identified gaps in knowledge and training that we were able to rectify.”
Sabre consultants trained Intercity’s commercial teams, creating a strategy that would help them target travel agents and corporate travel negotiations in a very focused way.
The results were immediate and dramatic. By the time 2016 came to a close, Intercity saw 98 percent growth year-over-year in bookings, with a corresponding 64 percent growth in the number of room nights sold through the GDS channel.
“The switch in descriptive content allowed us to better present the hotels to the shopper, ensuring Intercity’s value and unique brand were well represented across Sabre´s GDS channel,” Tatiana said. “And we made sure that their channel mix was optimized for all of the consumers they hope to reach.”
As a strategic partner, Sabre provides deep expertise and best practices paired with a customized, analytical approach to solving the challenging problems faced by hoteliers every day.
“When you partner with Sabre, you’re not only getting the benefits of the best technology – you’re also working with experts, many of whom have been hoteliers,” Tatiana said. “We have deep hospitality expertise and we know how to make our technology work for you.”
“With Intercity, we heard their situation and we used our knowledge to put together a strategy that would generate more revenue, but also save them valuable time and effort,” Tatiana said. “We’re not here to sell a tool and walk away. We’re here to be an extension of your hotel, and we’re ready to work for you. When you win, we win.”
Learn more about Sabre’s Consulting Services team
