Sabre Travel Network has boosted the capabilities of its cruise shopping and booking tool, Sabre Cruises, and in a nod to even trendier technology, is now using YouTube to show people that its Virtually There product is so easy even Grandma can do it. The latest enhancements to Sabre Cruises focus on improving online cruise shopping capabilities and passenger services and integrating customer relationship management. Agents can now sort through search results by embarkation port, select up to three waitlist cabin categories for booking if their first choice isn't available, look up past passengers' cruise numbers and view only sailings that match the agent's request. They also can now book additional trip components on a passenger-by-passenger basis. This includes such amenities as insurance, air add-on and pre- and post-trip packages. "We are committed to making travel agents' jobs easier by developing and delivering products to help them improve productivity, as well as increase sales," said Lee Rosen, vice president of the Sabre Travel Network leisure segment.
The technology giant also is trying out the viral video medium YouTube to educate both travel agents and consumers who use its Virtually There product, which offers flight information, mapping capabilities and other travel info. Using YouTube's sharing technology, agents can e-mail the Sabre video to clients or post it on their web site. So far, the video has netted over 110,000 views. View it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bPhXpEUyUc or visit www.sabretravelnetwork.com. (DE & JM)