HOTELS


TECHNOLOGY


Sabre to launch


digital airline commercial platform


Principal London opens its doors


THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED HOTEL PRINCIPAL LONDON opened its doors in April following an extensive £85 million restoration project. Formerly known as the Hotel Russell, the historic building was designed by Charles Fitzroy Doll in 1898 and overlooks Russell Square. Following the refurbishment, the hotel now features 334 bedrooms and suites, including the two-bedroom Principal suite. Lead designers Tara Bernerd & Partners worked with the in-house team to design the interiors of the rooms.


Eight additional meetings & events spaces on the lower-ground floor will be


opening throughout May and June, and each will be able to accommodate up to 100 delegates.


The meeting spaces are equipped


with audio-visual and IT in line with Principal’s Smart Space concept, as well as up to 1GB super-fast wifi, interactive displays and an on-site team of experts for support. Meanwhile, the building’s historic Grade II-listed ballroom is scheduled to open in early summer. It will feature a private entrance on Bernard Street, as well as double-height ceilings, ornate windows on one wall and a mezzanine gallery. It will hold up to 450 delegates for a reception and 260 banquet-style.


SABRE CORPORATION HAS OUTLINED PLANS to launch a digital airline commercial platform in what it calls an industry first. The technology provider said the


platform will include innovation in both its Sabresonic passenger service system and Airvision commercial planning products. Dave Shirk, president of Sabre Airline Solutions, said the company “will build on its history of innovation to advance development of a platform that enables ultra-fast shopping, an open microservices hub and an omnichannel experience”. As it unveiled its plans, Sabre said


the platform would be brought to market via a phased launch. Starting in Q4 2018, the platform will deliver intelligent retailing in a mobile-first, consumer-grade digital agent interface. Additional capabilities are expected to follow in stages, including deeper integration across commercial planning, NDC-enabled offer and order management, and expanded global cloud deployment.


CONSULTATION


Government launches airline insolvency review


THE GOVERNMENT HAS CALLED for evidence as part of a consultation to review airline insolvency procedures in the wake of the collapse of Monarch. The Airline Insolvency Review “will look to ensure airlines can wind down with the minimum impact on passengers and the taxpayer”, according to the Department for Transport.


BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM


Peter Bucks, chair of the review, pointed out in the foreword to the document that there was a call for evidence that a growing proportion of leisure air purchases are not covered by the ATOL scheme.


He said this statistic is worrying as airline consolidation is expected and the scale of future failures may be “greater


than anything the scheme has dealt with in the past”.


The call for evidence closes on


11 May, with an interim report due this summer. The final report will be produced by the end of 2018 and will include recommendations on how the government should handle airline insolvency and repatriation in the future.


BBT May/June 2018 23


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