Travelocity and Lastminute.com to run on global common platform

Global distribution giant Sabre is developing a common platform for its consumer direct brands, which come under the Travelocity umbrella.

Travolution can reveal that the platform is being created over the course of this year with a plan for brands including Lastminute.com and its subsidiaries as well as sites under the Travelocity name and Reisefeber across Scandinavia, to migrate over one by one.

The move represents Sabre’s first step towards building a common platform since it purchased Lastminute.com in May 2005.

However, the development is not the first by a major travel player to attempt a common technology platform across a number of brands.

Orbitz Worldwide, which owns Orbitz, Ebookers and Cheaptickets, suffered a series of setbacks last year when it attempted a similar project.

Speaking to Travolution, Dr Ben Vinod, Sabre’s vice president and chief innovator, described 2008 as the year of ‘global convergence’ for its online brands.

“We’re standardising our platforms so there will be a common one for all our online brands.”

Dr. Vinod said the development would enable the sharing of technology services - such as the experience finder and volunteerism software on Travelocity - between brands and make them available through all points of sale.

He could not say when the project was likely to be completed but said the company had set a series of ‘milestones’ for itself over the coming months.

Dr Vinod said: “The platform is going fairly rapidly and will go on through the whole year. It is brand by brand because of everything that we have."

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