Sabre Travel Network Joins Consortium Dedicated to Promoting Business to Business Visual Communications

Sabre Travel Network, a global technology company serving travel suppliers and agencies, announced today its participation in the Open Visual Communications Consortium (OVCC), a group of global video exchange providers, network providers and equipment manufacturers that have united to expand video communications.

OVCC members are committed to closing connectivity and service gaps that have prevented video communications between companies by specifying use of standards, best practices and connectivity agreements. Sabre is joining as a sponsoring member and will be represented by Jeremy Stubbs, general manager of Sabre Virtual Meetings, part of Sabre Travel Network.

“We believe that Sabre Virtual Meetings will help OVCC achieve its goal of promoting the adoption and use of video collaboration technology by making it easier for corporations to find available rooms and schedule intra- and inter-company meetings,” said Stubbs. “Inter-company collaboration is critical if companies are to leverage the full productivity and relational benefits of visual communications.”

Earlier this month, Sabre announced Sabre Virtual Meetings, a global reservation system for booking and scheduling public and corporate-owned high-definition video conferencing rooms. The system will allow users to view conference room availability in real-time, review rates and features, and book meetings across geographic regions.

When integrated into travel applications such as online booking tools like GetThere or travel agency systems such as the Sabre Red Workspace, travel buyers (including travel agencies, corporate travel managers, small-to-medium businesses, government agencies and corporate employees) will be able to reserve and schedule video conferencing rooms at the same time they book flights and hotels. Sabre and Polycom are working together to develop and market Sabre Virtual Meetings.

“We are excited to see Sabre take a role in OVCC,” said Sue Hayden, executive vice president of Polycom. “Having worked with Sabre on Sabre Virtual Meetings and the other members of OVCC on interoperability services, we see it as a natural fit. A neutral scheduling platform that makes it easier for companies to locate and reserve a video conferencing room combined with services providing ubiquitous video around the world, connecting millions of users, will only help drive awareness and use of video conferencing solutions and, in turn, help our enterprise customers maximize ROI on video conferencing technology investments.”

OVCC members are committed to providing ubiquitous video around the world, connecting millions of users through agreements with interconnected service providers across six continents. As early as mid-2012, service providers will be able to deliver a consistent business-to-business video experience that allows corporate users to place and receive video calls beyond corporate firewalls and across proprietary video platforms.

Sabre expects to launch Sabre Virtual Meetings by mid-next year.

Sabre Travel Network provides technology to the travel industry. It operates the world’s largest travel marketplace, connecting travel buyers and sellers through the Sabre global distribution system (GDS). Its innovative technology connects 350,000 travel agents to more than 400 airlines, 100,000 hotels, 25 car rental brands, 50 rail providers, 13 cruise lines and other global travel suppliers. More than $100 billion of travel is purchased through this channel annually.

Sabre Travel Network is part of Sabre Holdings, a global travel technology company serving the world’s largest industry - travel and tourism. For more information please visit: www.sabretravelnetwork.com.