We're still in the early stages, but artificial intelligence is going to have a major impact on the travel sector, generating major changes and disruptions.
How is the travel market evolving?
W. J. - Like the world around us, which is to say very quickly. In ten years, the way people travel and book has changed. OTAs (Editor's note: online travel agencies) now account for 24 % of distribution, compared with 17 % in 2008. Online sales continue to grow at an exponential rate year on year. Bookings via smartphones have soared, particularly among the younger generation and in emerging countries. Hence the need for a "mobile first" strategy.
The transport sector has not been spared by the changes either...
W. J. - This has been particularly the case with the rise of low-cost airlines, which accounted for 28 % of the market in 2017, compared with 20 % in 2008. This has increased pressure on prices and forced scheduled airlines to review their business model. While air traffic grew by 6 % in 2017 according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), at the same time the sale of ancillary products increased by 12 %. This reveals the action taken by carriers to forfeit their offers in order to encourage more personalised travel.
How will distribution evolve?
W. J. - We are moving towards a high degree of personalisation of responses, which will benefit travellers. What Sabre is trying to achieve through our advances in the new NDC standards - New Distribution Capability - launched by IATA or other current projects - is above all about enriching the shopping and travel experience. Consumers have high expectations, just as they do when they use Amazon, Netflix or Uber in other sectors. Business models and technology will evolve under the influence of these NDC standards. These changes will take place simultaneously, on the one hand with the GDSs (Global Distribution Systems) - including Sabre - for travel agencies, and on the other with the airlines. Some of these airlines hope to be able to recover part of their direct distribution so that they can market their products as they wish. But these airlines will need to be able to handle the large volumes that have hitherto been handled by the GDSs.
How is Sabre adapting to all these changes?
W. J. - Our technology has to be extremely innovative to keep pace with today's transformations. The new Sabre Red Workspace platform features a flexible architecture to meet the multiple needs of a sector characterised by a large number of players and strong segmentation. The aim is for our retail customers to provide the consumer with the best possible response to their request. That's where the complexity lies. A route like London-New York alone represents five billion fare combinations. If you display 300 or 400 responses, the consumer will give up and our client will have a poor conversion rate.
Is there a place for artificial intelligence in travel?
W. J. - We're still in the early stages, but artificial intelligence (AI) is going to have an impact on the sector as a whole, generating major changes and disruptions. It represents a new way of understanding data while bringing efficiency to operations. At the end of 2017, Sabre launched SynXis Analytics Cloud, a platform for the hotel industry that uses AI to help managers improve both revenue and customer experience. Hoteliers can optimise their rates through finer-grained analyses based on a variety of data. This includes occupancy rates, prices, ancillary sales, distribution channels, etc.
What does France mean to Sabre?
W. J. - France is the spearhead of our Western Division, with a growing market share. Sabre has also strengthened its position in Europe over the last five years. However, we still need to improve our performance in certain countries by drawing inspiration from what has been done in France.
