SOUTHLAKE, Texas -- Sabre and Travelocity will form a strategic
alliance July 1 with Yahoo that could have Sabre agencies handling
some Yahoo consumer bookings "possibly by the end of the year," a
Sabre spokesman said.
Visitors to Yahoo Travel would have the option of contacting a
Sabre agency for advice and bookings, he said.
In addition, Sabre and Yahoo are exploring the possibility of
marketing booking and travel management technology from GetThere,
Sabre's corporate online subsidiary, to small and midsize
businesses that use the Yahoo portal for travel bookings, the
spokesman said.
Sabre and Yahoo's Enterprise Solutions unit will collaborate in
developing broadcast services that deliver multimedia applications
to Sabre agents as well as remote training programs.
Travelocity became the exclusive air, car and hotel provider to
Yahoo Travel in 1997; the deal, which included a cobranded site,
was to expire at the end of the year.
Sabre/Travelocity is said to have won out over several leading
online players for the contract, in which Yahoo and Travelocity
will share transaction revenue for Yahoo Travel air, car and hotel
bookings.
Unlike the expiring pact between Travelocity and Yahoo Travel,
the new one involves Sabre, Travelocity and Yahoo (not just Yahoo
Travel), said Kamie Cicinelli, Yahoo's general manager for
travel.
Regarding Travelocity's 34 million registered members and
Yahoo's 237 million monthly visitors, Cicinelli said, "Within
reason, we're going to share data."