Sabre appoints Sean McDonald as VP online travel

Sabre Corporation has appointed Sean McDonald to lead worldwide sales, commercial operations, business development and solution delivery for online travel agencies (OTAs), metasearch engines and other digital travel companies for its Travel Network business.

In his role, McDonald will build upon the company’s proven results in the online segment and help accelerate growth by winning new customers and increasing the company’s footprint with current accounts.

McDonald comes to Sabre from a role as chief commercial officer at BD4travel, a technology company that delivers AI-driven personalisation and conversion enhancement solutions to online travel companies. Prior to that, McDonald was chief sales officer at Secret Escapes, and served as Senior Vice President Sales at Expedia Affiliate Network (EAN). In his new role, McDonald will be based in Sabre’s London office and will report to Roshan Mendis, chief commercial officer, Sabre Travel Network.

“Sean has a remarkable record of working with the global online travel community,” said Mendis. “He also has vast experience in artificial intelligence and data & analytics, areas that are only going to become more important as we move forward. This expertise, combined with an entrepreneurial approach and results-oriented management style, make him the ideal choice to lead our online travel business.”

Sabre works with eight of the ten largest global travel agents in the world. With innovative solutions like Trip Proposal, FareNabber, Bargain Finder Max or Sabre Virtual Payments, the travel technology provider helps its customers to increase revenue, save costs, improve efficiencies and enhance the customer experience.

“With an impressive suite of cutting-edge solutions, Sabre is a proven leader in online travel,” said McDonald. “The travel industry is going through a dramatic evolution that is facilitated and accelerated by technology – and Sabre is at the forefront of this change. I’m excited to join such an innovative company, and look forward to helping our customers tap into the vast opportunities in travel by becoming even more competitive.”

McDonald also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business studies from Nottingham Trent University.