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What is Sabre GDS? Learn how it works

  Posted in Resources  Last updated 15/01/2025

What is Sabre GDS?

Sabre is a travel distribution company that utilises the GDS to allow travel agents and corporations to search, book and manage reservations for flights, hotels and car rentals.

What does Sabre GDS stand for? The name is actually one long acronym: Sabre stands for “Semi-Automated Business Research Environment”, and GDS stands for “Global Distribution System”. Created back in the 1950s, the GDS was the first technology of its kind.

GDS infographic

What does Sabre GDS do?

Sabre uses the global distribution system (GDS) – a key hotel distribution channel – to connect travel agents with travel service providers such as airlines, hotels, or car rental companies.

Sabre allows GDS users real-time access to travel inventory, so they can efficiently search, compare and book travel services for their clients. By utilising large amounts of travel data, it streamlines the booking process and allows both agents and hotels to work more efficiently.

In this blog we’ll explore how hotels can capitalise on the opportunities that the GDS and a vendor like Sabre represent.

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The impact of Sabre GDS for hotels

Having visibility on the Sabre GDS marketplace via a connectivity partner such as SiteMinder will help you register on the radar of 400,000 travel agencies in 160 different countries. These agencies serve millions of traveller clients looking for accommodation and travel packages.

A presence on the GDS can earn you more bookings and drive more revenue. It also does this in the most efficient of ways, because travel agents tend to be easier and more efficient to deal with than individual guests – they ask fewer questions, and complete the bookings themselves.

It also grants your hotel access to the valuable corporate travel sector, which predominantly uses GDS platforms like Sabre to make a booking. The guests won through this channel also tend to spend more, stay longer and are more likely to book mid-week.

Gain easy access to the GDS with SiteMinder

With the help of SiteMinder, you can connect your hotel seamlessly to all the main GDS vendors to generate more visibility, bookings and revenue than ever before.

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History and development of Sabre GDS

The history of Sabre began in the 1950s, when the bookings team at American Airlines was struggling to keep up with fast-increasing passenger volumes. The process was totally manual, and it would take an average of 90 minutes for a worker to book a single seat.

While an electromechanical computer was introduced in 1952, a year later, after a chance meeting between an IBM salesperson and the president of American Airlines, the idea for a more automated system came about.

Sabre GDS finally became operational in 1960. It was initially used exclusively within American Airlines, but in 1976 access was granted to travel agents too, leading to the GDS marketplace used by travel professionals and service providers today.

Is Sabre GDS better than Amadeus GDS?

Both Sabre and Amadeus have a strong GDS network, allowing the inventory of hotels to be found and booked by thousands of travel agencies worldwide.

With SiteMinder GDS however, you’ll have a seamless distribution experience that includes Sabre and Amadeus, including being able to manage the GDS channel alongside all other distribution channels such as OTAs.

Sabre GDS

How to take advantage of the Sabre GDS platform

There are a few key steps involved in making the most of Sabre and other GDS companies.

Step 1: Access the GDS

To get a simple experience while also maximising your exposure, you can use an intermediary like SiteMinder GDS (which can also connect you to Amadeus and Travelport). At registration you’ll be assigned a unique identifier – such as a Chain Code – for your property.

Step 2: Configure property profiles and inventory

Load your listing information into SiteMinder’s system: your room types, amenities, rates and policies. You can upload and manage real-time inventory across multiple properties to ensure that availability and pricing are consistent.

Step 3: Optimise rate and channel management

Use SiteMinder to synchronise rates across the GDS and all of your other distribution channels. Use dynamic pricing strategies to stay competitive and maximise your bookings and revenue.

Step 4: Monitor booking trends and performance

Use the detailed analytics and reporting functionalities of SiteMinder to monitor the performance of your hotel and identify trends. Use these insights to adjust your marketing and pricing strategies for better results.

Benefits of using Sabre GDS for groups and chains

Being visible to travel bookers on the Sabre GDS marketplace can be particularly valuable for hotel groups and chains, as it can be an efficient way to fill your rooms, especially during mid-week and low season lulls, thanks to its popularity with the corporate travel segment.

The benefits that can come from being distributed on Sabre GDS include:

Drive revenue with analytics

You’ll have a valuable source of pricing and booking data via your channel manager. You can use it to inform your dynamic pricing strategies, and to identify new revenue opportunities, such as demographics that you may not have identified or targeted before. You can also leverage promotional tools and offer special rates to attract corporate and group bookings

Scale to reach new markets

The ‘G’ in GDS stands for global for a reason, and with hundreds of thousands of users spread across 160 different countries, Sabre caters to a truly global audience, allowing your hotel group or chain to reach people from around the world, or more effectively enter new geographic markets.

Streamline operations through seamless integration

By managing GDS connections all from place and integrating them with your property management system (PMS) using SiteMinder, you can update your pricing and availability across all your distribution channels in real time, while streamlining and simplifying your internal operations.

By Dean Elphick

Dean is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist of SiteMinder, the leading technology provider delivering hoteliers unbeatable revenue results. Dean has made writing and creating content his passion for the entirety of his professional life, which includes more than six years at SiteMinder. Through content, Dean aims to provide education, inspiration, assistance and value for accommodation businesses looking to improve the way they run their operations achieve their goals.

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