BUSINESS NEWS


Sabre tips new technologies to transform travel retailing


Ian Taylor


Artificial intelligence and machine learning are poised to transform travel technology and to do so at an accelerating pace. That is according to Sergey


Shebalov, vice-president and head of research at Sabre Labs, part of US-based travel technology provider and global distribution system Sabre. Shebalov leads a research team of


about 70 working on the introduction of machine learning on a platform hosted by Google. He told Travel Weekly: “The


technology is changing drastically. Our data and systems are migrating to Google, which provides artificial intelligence [AI] and machine learning [ML] capabilities that allow our data scientists to build ML applications. We see a real difference to how we worked before.” Sabre signed a 10-year partnership


with Google Cloud in January 2020 and the platform was launched last year. One immediate change, he


said, is “the ability to manage huge amounts of data. It is much more


a customer, we need to know their preferences, their attributes, and we need to recognise different segments. “For retailing, we need to determine


what the price should be for an offer, not just the flight but the ancillaries, and this needs to be very fast.” The technology “takes all this into


account, including the strategy of the airline on pricing”, he said. But that is not all. Shebalov


Sergey Shebalov


convenient to grab data, to manage data, to train a machine-learning platform and to see patterns. AI and ML are very good at digging through a vast amount of data and this allows development of a lot of tools. “For example, to be able to


construct a reliable [fare] offer to


explained: “We must display an offer the customer is likely to pick up. That is particularly important with mobile because only two or three offers display [on a screen]. It’s important the offers are relevant.” In addition, “for a travel agency or OTA, the display must look convenient”. That is just the retailing. AI and


ML can also transform ‘fulfilment’, he said, for example during a shutdown of traffic. “When informing customers or


reimbursing them, we need to look at all available seats and we want the options in minutes. It’s impossible manually. You need very complicated algorithms. AI allows us to solve these problems.”


‘Consumers will drive evolution of travel technology’


Travel technology will evolve rapidly because of the competitiveness of the sector and the demands of consumers, according to Sergey Shebalov. Sabre’s vice-president and


head of research at Sabre Labs insisted: “We’re not reinventing the industry, but we can help businesses be more profitable. “I see technology improving


because the sector is competitive and any innovation that confers an advantage will be adopted. “Consumers are also trained


in what technology is capable of by the retail and entertainment industries. The travel industry has to stay on a par to satisfy customers. They want things simpler, quicker, more efficient, and we can deliver that.” In the longer term, he


foresees “integration of the travel ecosphere – of providers, airlines, hotels, ground transport – so the traveller has no need to go to 20 websites. The traveller can construct everything seamlessly, and if any portion of a trip changes, all changes seamlessly.”


End of insolvency protection triggers debt recovery rise


Industry specialists are seeing a “huge increase” in debt recovery following the end of pandemic-era protections against insolvency at the end of March. Travlaw partner Krystene


Bousfield told a Travlaw webinar: travelweekly.co.uk


“We see a huge increase in businesses seeking to recover money or being pursued for money and threatened with legal action.” The Corporate Insolvency


and Governance Act of June 2020 suspended winding-up orders but was phased out from last October when a debt threshold of £10,000 was placed on compulsory liquidations until March 31. Since April, a creditor can apply to court to liquidate a company owing as little as £750. Bousfield advised: “If you want


Krystene Bousfield


make sure your accounts are in order. Clarify your expectations. Would you be happy with a payment plan? Are you entitled to interest? Can you use that to negotiate?” A debt specialist will set out the


expectations in a letter which can “open the way to payment”. She advised businesses which


to recover money and the debt is not disputed, don’t just issue a claim. You don’t want to spend money recovering money. Check your contracts and agreements,


owe money: “Take action as soon as possible. Have your paperwork in order. Is the debt agreed? Have you made any payment proposal? Make realistic proposals and stick to them.”


9 JUNE 2022 47


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