The beleaguered software and technology company, Sabre, is reportedly looking into selling its hotel booking engine, SynXis.
The news comes just months after the rumors of another potential sale – this time of the company’s whole hospitality software unit – as Sabre continues to flounder.
The hospitality industry is struggling with a perfect storm of challenges at the moment, ranging from increased costs to labor shortages. Sabre, which traces its roots back to the 1960s, has struggled in this increasingly hostile environment.
SynXis Potentially Worth $1 Billion
It was Reuters, which reported that Sabre is strongly considering the sale of its SynXis platform. The deal could be worth more than $1 billion, says the news service. This would help the company, which had debt net of cash of about $4.5 billion at the end of last year.
Just a few months ago, Skift published a story suggesting Sabre might be trying to sell the entire Sabre Hospitality tech business, which SynXis is part of.
This just in! View
the top business tech deals for 2025 👨💻
Sabre Hospitality provides 10.8% of the company’s total revenue. It helps airlines “…distribute their flights and ancillaries to travel agencies, online and offline, and providing airlines with tech solutions to run their operations,” says the trade news website.
Potential Sale for Sabre…Again
Sabre was reported to have been approaching potential buyers for its whole hospitality tech business two years previously as well.
At the time, Sabre refused to comment; and continues to be close-lipped now. Evernote, the investment bank reported to be working with the Southlake, Texas-based firm on a possible deal, is also refusing to comment.
Reuters says that the SynXis business currently generates about $300 million in annual revenue. The platform is used by more than 40% of all hotels globally, including global chains like Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental.
Rumors Fuel Trading Jump
Just the rumors of a potential sale saw Sabre’s shares jump 3.4% in trading. This marks a possible change of fortune if a sale – either of SynXis or the software business as a whole – comes to pass.
Despite its debt, the company reported last month that it is confident of “maintaining its position” in global distribution systems over the next 10 years “driven by a gradual recovery in corporate travel”.
Sabre was founded by C.R. Smith, the then president of American Airlines, and R. Blair Smith, a sales executive at IBM in the 1960s. It was created to provide a data processing system for the airline industry. Its core purpose was to help them manage seat reservations, but now the company designs to tech to power mobile apps, check-in kiosks, websites, hotel reservations and even eCommerce for travelers.
