Sabre: Corp. Travel Rebounds Following Omicron-Fueled Plunge

Corporate travel’s momentum has returned since the drop-off caused by the Covid-19 omicron variant, although full corporate travel recovery remains several years down the road, Sabre Corp. CEO Sean Menke said in an earnings call on Tuesday.

In November, prior to omicron’s emergence, global corporate travel was seeing its “best recovery period” with volumes about half of what they were in 2019, Menke said. By early January, however, bookings had plunged to only about a third of pre-Covid levels, he said. Since then, they have recovered to about 50 percent of 2019 levels again, led by North American bookings.

“Based on historical pre-Covid booking curves, and the absence of a future travel-restricted Covid insurgence, we are optimistic that the current momentum in corporate and international as well as leisure demand will accelerate into the strong seasonal travel months ahead,” Menke said.

In terms of demand mix, bookings are skewing about 65 percent to 70 percent leisure compared with corporate, in contrast to what traditionally has been a 50-50 balance, Sabre EVP and CFO Doug Barnett said. Even in its forecast to 2025, Sabre expects corporate travel to remain about 10 percent off its pre-pandemic levels.

Still, Menke said Sabre “continues to be bullish on the return of corporate travel,” citing the collaboration between Sabre and American Express Global Business Travel for technology development and investment that started this year.

Sabre reported about $500 million in total revenue for the fourth quarter, up from $314 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Distribution revenue was up 118 percent year over year to $286 million, with total global bookings at 45 percent of pre-Covid-19 levels.

Sabre’s net loss for the fourth quarter was $192 million, an improvement from a $325 million net loss in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Michael B. Baker www.businesstravelnews.com