Kurt Ekert on artificial intelligence
From A retailing revolution with Sabre's CEO Kurt Ekert - The #Phocuswright Conference · · Phocuswright
“AI is simply the ability to deploy capital more efficiently and to monetize eyeballs more efficiently. I don't think AI in and of itself will drive more supplier direct sales; in fact, the inverse may be true. The utility we provide as an intermediary—aggregation, booking, and downstream servicing—is still essential, so I am not worried about disintermediation of GDS or travel agents.”
On , Kurt Ekert, Chief Executive Officer, President & Director at SABRE CORP, spoke about artificial intelligence during A retailing revolution with Sabre's CEO Kurt Ekert - The #Phocuswright Conference on Phocuswright.
About Kurt Ekert
Kurt Ekert, president and CEO of Sabre, has described the company as "very different" from its past, citing its migration to a nearly fully cloud-native infrastructure and the development of open, modular solutions. He has highlighted the launch of Sabre Mosaic, a new offer-and-order platform that is agnostic to passenger service systems and infused with generative AI. Ekert stated that between 2023 and 2025, Sabre is expected to more than double its earnings, and he noted the company paid down a billion dollars of debt in a recent year while growing EBIT. He has also pointed to growth in Sabre's hospitality solutions business, projecting it will move from a loss to a positive $70 million in EBITDA. Ekert has discussed the slow adoption of NDC, estimating it at roughly 1% of total bookings and projecting it may grow to 3-5% by the end of the year, constrained by buyer readiness. He has expressed that he does not see disintermediation of GDS or travel agents occurring in managed corporate travel, arguing that the GDS acts as an operating system for travel management companies. Ekert has also commented on industry consolidation, describing it as a natural phenomenon in mature markets, and has criticized the proposed Credit Card Competition Act, stating it would "devastate the travel industry" by cutting revenue that funds consumer loyalty points.