Sabre Corporation, a software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, has signed an agreement with Hotel M’s Co. Ltd in Kyoto, Japan, to help the chain to grow geographic reach and attract international travellers as Japan eases border restrictions.
Japan has been steadily relaxing travel restrictions since March ahead of a wider-scale re-opening to foreign visitors. To prepare for, and capture, the expected influx of tourism, Hotel M’s Co. Ltd has inked a new technology agreement with Sabre. The deal will enable the chain to put its inventory in front of hundreds of thousands of travel agents globally across all major Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) through Sabre Hospitality’s innovative SynXis platform.
“We want more people to know about Kyoto and to love the city as much as we do, and we want all of our guests to come back again and again,” said Kohei Otsuki, President for Hotel M’s Co. Ltd. “Our philosophy when it comes to true hospitality is to look outside of services that are traditionally thought of as within the bounds of the hotel. We think about the entire city as a hotel. So, it’s vital to us to have a technology partner who will enable us to expand our geographic reach while sharing a forward-thinking vision of hospitality retailing that goes beyond the hotel room.”
Just as Sabre has advanced its technological transformation during the pandemic, Hotel M’s has taken time to rethink its own growth strategy. Established in 2014, the chain has 16 hotels across Kyoto city, opening one close to Kyoto Station during the pandemic in anticipation of future inbound tourists. With 1,274 hotel rooms currently, the chain has selected Sabre technology to help advance its expansion strategy and revenue growth.
“Our Sabre recovery data clearly shows that as soon as borders re-open and markets open up, there’s an influx of inbound and outbound tourism, so we expect that as soon as it is possible to travel to Japan, there will be a huge demand to do so,” said Frank Trampert, Senior Vice President and Global Managing Director of Community Sales for Sabre Hospitality. “It’s essential hoteliers have the right technological tools to put their offers in front of global markets, and we’re very excited to be working with Hotel M’s to enable them to capture and create future travel demand at this key moment for Japanese tourism.”