Abacus resets travel distribution in APAC
Abacus announced its most radical roll-out at its Asia Pacific customer conference. Leveraging shareholder Sabre’s award-winning technology, Abacus is using the Red App capabilities of the new Abacus WorkSpace point-of-sale platform to bring a multitude o
bacus is bringing together the best of global with the best of local,” explained Martin Symes, CMO, Abacus who presented a range of new products and solutions to an audience of 500, representing the region’s most powerful retail travel brands. Highlights include:
Abacus ContentPlus aggregates the most competitive air, hotel, car, insurance and ground products to be sold stand-alone or as part of a package.
Travel agents no longer have to access multiple systems: all content sources are accessible within a single point-of-sale – with super-PNR integration between Abacus ContentPlus and the Abacus GDS.
“We are solving the problem of content fragmentation, while making travel agents so much more productive and competitive,” said Symes.
For accommodation, Abacus RoomDeal, delivered in partnership with Indonesia’s ‘bedbank’ brand, MG Group, will channel net rates from up to 25 leading hotel content aggregators for unparalleled pricing and availability.
UK-based Travelfusion will scale the company’s low cost carrier (LCC) options. Already home to the largest portfolio of LCCs in Asia Pacific, Abacus will now offer over 180 budget airlines, with their ancillary products and services phased in.
Abacus ContentPlus will integrate City Discovery’s portfolio of destination products, introducing 8,000 trending activities, attractions, event ticketing and tours, together with a wealth of airport transfers, while Cartrawler provides pre-paid rentals from over 1,200 car rental suppliers and chauffeur driven services in 30,000 destinations. Insurance specialist AIG Group completes the range of launch content providers.
Planned future phases will see further additions to
“Wholesalers want to be more tactical to maximise their distribution,” said Symes. “The capabilities of Abacus TravelPlus, including its built-in eFlyer creation tool, will move more inventory faster, increasing productivity.”
It will make it possible for any travel agency to launch, with minimal investment, their own branded mobile app with all the critical functions needed by travellers. As well as bookings, these include check-in prompts, timely trip alerts, flight status and contextually relevant destination information such as weather and events, together with personalised promotions in-trip - ideal for last minute reservations.