Sabre Recruits Serko For T&E Upgrade

Travel and expense management firm Sabre is developing its newest Sabre Online iteration, and this time, the firm has recruited some help.

Monday (Aug. 29) reports said Sabre Corporation is working with New Zealand corporate travel booking and expense management platform Serko to create the newest version of Sabre Online, which provides SMEs with an online booking tool across Australia and New Zealand.

Their partnership will aim to land new customers with each, according to the companies.

“This is a[n] exciting opportunity for both Serko and Sabre,” said Serko Chief Executive Darrin Grafton in a statement. “It gives Sabre access to a broader corporate online booking portfolio and gives Serko access to a market of mid-sized organizations, which is growing faster than any other market.”

“Additionally,” Grafton continued, “both Sabre and Serko’s Travel Management Company customers will have access to a wider range of corporate travel solutions, while enjoying the operational benefits of using a single underlying booking platform.”

The companies said the platform that results from the joint venture will debut in the third quarter of this year, while upgrades are expected to be complete by the end of 2016.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Serko was looking to debut on the ASX stock exchange with a market value of about $56 million at the time.

Meanwhile, Sabre has made its own partnerships with other players in the industry. Last June, the firm revealed that it would work with Chrome River to integrate its expense management solutions for Sabre’s own employees. One month prior, Sabre also revealed a collaboration with Coupa, which allows companies booking travel through Sabre to integrate that booking data into Coupa’s expense management platform.