Sabre has appointed hospitality technology and revenue management veteran Chinmai Sharma as global head of Sabre Travel Solutions’ lodging, ground and sea distribution segment, the company announced.
Sharma most recently was president of the Americas for hospitality technology provider RateGain, which he helped grow to an initial public offering in 2021, and he also has had executive revenue management roles with hotel companies including Taj Hotels, Louvre Hotels Group, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Joie de Vivre Hotels. Additionally, he is active on the boards of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International and the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association.
“The managed travel category brings quality travelers to our travel suppliers, and I am looking forward to working at Sabre in building an end-to-end travel marketplace with market-leading solutions,” Sharma said in a statement.
While lodging, ground and sea is a much smaller segment within Sabre’s distribution business than air—total bookings for the segment in the third quarter was 13.4 million, compared with 76.1 million air bookings, according to Sabre’s earnings report on Thursday—it is a “significant focus and expected growth area” for Sabre, the company said. Sabre Travel Solutions chief commercial officer Roshan Mendis said Sharma “will be a great asset in leading the LGS team to create a winning market solution for hotels in addition to growing our car and rail business.”
