Sabre launches new hotel negotiated rate audit tools

June 24, 2009 | Hospitality Industry

Sabre Travel Network introduced Rate Assured Negotiated Rate Auditing, a new service that provides travel management companies and corporations assurance that negotiated rates are properly available for shopping and booking in the Sabre GDS.

Sabre Hospitality Solutions executives are showcasing the new service at Booth #850 at HITEC, the world’s largest hospitality technology event, taking place this week at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.

Building off the innovative foundation of its Bidstork acquisition in the summer of 2008, Sabre’s Rate Assured raises the bar for hotel rate auditing. With an easy-to-read dashboard, the Negotiated Rate Auditing service allows corporations and agencies to:

- Ensure that negotiated rates at individual properties are loaded and bookable;
- Compare negotiated rates with BAR (best available rate) on a hotel-by-hotel basis;
- Automatically send notification emails to suppliers when correct negotiated rates are not available in the GDS;
- Provide interested parties with a copy of the actual hotel availability display, showing the status of rates present or not;
- Calculate estimated losses from rate differences, which can then be used in future negotiations; and
- Build compliance reports.

The Rate Assured negotiated rate audit service enables users to maximize the value of their corporate hotel programs, thereby reducing overall corporate travel spend and improving agency efficiencies.

“The recessionary economy has virtually all buyers and suppliers closely examining their preferred agreements, with an increasing number of corporations looking to their travel agency to help ensure they are maximizing the value of each preferred deal,” said Stephen Fitzgerald, chief operating officer of Sabre Hospitality Solutions. “Rate Assured represents yet another service in the Sabre portfolio that delivers savings and efficiency for all parties on the travel transaction circle, giving corporations, hoteliers and the travel agencies that serve them a solution that drives value in any economic climate.”

The Rate Auditing service builds upon Sabre’s already existing Rate Assured Hotel Certification program, which provides agencies with assurance that they have access to the lowest publicly available unrestricted rates through the Sabre global distribution system. Sabre is the only GDS that actively monitors third party and brand.com web sites to ensure that hotels provide Sabre with their lowest publicly available rates, and is the only GDS that de-preferences non-compliant hotels. Rates are monitored by Rubicon, a leading provider of market intelligence services to the travel industry.

An online demonstration of the Negotiated Rate Auditing service is available at http://www.sabretravelnetwork.com