New Sabre business examine finds journey corporations making subsequent AI strikes amid maneuvering macroeconomic ‘fog’

‘Compass: Navigating the Fog’ reveals journey executives throughout the business are defending and, in lots of instances, accelerating AI and modernization roadmaps whereas prioritizing near-term effectivity, automation and workforce instruments.

SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Even as international financial and geopolitical uncertainty persists, journey corporations aren’t standing nonetheless. New analysis from main journey know-how firm Sabre (NASDAQ: SABR) finds that many executives are utilizing this era to sharpen their AI and modernization priorities, with 27% accelerating funding and an additional majority defending their roadmaps or shifting spend towards initiatives with near-term return.

Only 17% of executives are curbing modernization spend, suggesting that the dominant response is just not retreat, however disciplined motion by way of uncertainty. Sabre describes this posture as “protection mode:” conserving AI and modernization roadmaps in place whereas directing near-term funding towards inner efficiencies that may shield margin at present. In observe, journey corporations are making sharper choices about the place know-how {dollars} can ship the quickest affect.

The findings come from Compass: Navigating the Fog, a brand new Sabre report combining unbiased macroeconomic evaluation from international monetary establishment Cantor Fitzgerald with proprietary survey information from journey executives throughout companies, airways and accommodations. Together, the info paint an image of an business that’s not in any respect stalled, however, relatively, is adapting: sustaining long-term modernization plans whereas prioritizing the investments almost certainly to ship returns now.

Crucially, this doesn’t sign operational paralysis. It factors to a extra pragmatic part of AI maturity. Facing persistent value pressures, geopolitical fragmentation and swings in client confidence, journey corporations aren’t pausing funding altogether. Instead, they’re resequencing their roadmaps, prioritizing near-term, inner AI efficiencies that shield margin earlier than transferring to longer-runway, strategic transformation

“This is not a sign that the industry has given up on AI as a growth lever,” mentioned Shawn Williams, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Sabre. “It reflects something more practical. Companies aren’t abandoning their roadmaps; they’re making sharper decisions about which investments can deliver value right now, sequencing the larger, enterprise-wide initiatives to follow.”

What journey executives are prioritizing now

The survey information reveal the place that pragmatism manifests:

• AI budgets are holding, not declining: Only 17% of executives are decreasing AI know-how spend. The relaxation are staying the course or pushing ahead – 41% are defending their core roadmap, 27% are accelerating funding, and 15% are pivoting spend particularly towards value discount and effectivity instruments.
• Where the cash goes: The majority are investing to stabilize the enterprise – 70% in workforce instruments and workflows, 63% in value discount and automation, and 40% in information insights and analytics.
• Growth persists: 42% are investing in know-how to help enhanced affords and upsell alternatives, and 17% are directing sources to demand forecasting and pricing.
• Geopolitical instability is deemed the highest menace, nevertheless it hits each sector otherwise: Three-quarters of respondents ranked it their No. 1 concern. For airways, it reveals up as route uncertainty and company travel-policy tightening. For companies, as unpredictable reserving lead occasions and shakier client dedication. For accommodations, it creates strain on group enterprise, MICE – conferences, incentives, conferences and exhibitions – and worldwide inbound demand.
• Soft confidence is making a story of two vacationers, not weakening demand: Weakening client confidence – the No. 2 concern total – is altering conduct greater than suppressing it. Asset-holding vacationers are persevering with to spend on premium journeys and worldwide journey, whereas their value-conscious counterparts are selecting extra modest choices and looking out longer earlier than they commit. The value of holding stock by way of that longer procuring window falls on suppliers and sellers alike.
• Confidence, regardless of every little thing: Two-thirds (66%) of executives say they’re assured in regards to the subsequent 12 months, rising to 73% amongst journey companies, the place demand for specialised providers has held up higher than anticipated.

From quantity to worth: A shift in industrial technique

The analysis factors to a resilient working backdrop, with corporations turning into extra deliberate about the place they make investments. Many are favoring lower-risk, faster-return initiatives whereas conserving broader modernization roadmaps intact. Across {the marketplace}, the shift is much less about chasing quantity and extra about enhancing the worth and profitability of the bookings corporations already appeal to.

“The companies that come out ahead won’t be the ones that waited for the fog to lift,” added Williams. “They’ll be the ones that learned to move confidently through it. Our focus is on helping our customers chart that path with greater certainty.”

Five methods journey corporations can shield income now

To transfer from analysis to motion, the report outlines 5 near-term, high-confidence income strikes that journey corporations can put into observe with out lengthy implementation timelines:

• Guarding margin earlier than another person takes it
• Keeping already-won bookings from falling aside at checkout
• Making as much as $3.40 per reserving with one fee change
• Handling extra quantity with out including headcount
• Seeing market shifts earlier than they flip into guesswork

The full element behind every transfer – together with the whole survey findings and Cantor Fitzgerald’s macroeconomic evaluation – is obtainable within the Compass: Navigating the Fog report at sabre.com/resources/research/the-fog.

Taken collectively, the findings present an business transferring extra intentionally by way of uncertainty – and corporations that make the fitting short-term strikes now will likely be higher positioned to enter the restoration window from a place of power.

About the Report

Navigating the Fog is a part of the Sabre Compass program and combines unbiased macroeconomic evaluation with Sabre’s proprietary survey of 140+ airline, company and lodge government respondents carried out in June 2026. For extra data, go to

About Sabre

Powering the agentic revolution in journey. Sabre is an AI-native know-how chief, backed by one of many world’s largest journey information clouds. With AI at its core and working at unparalleled scale, Sabre transforms insights into innovation, empowering airways, hoteliers, companies and different companions to retail, distribute and fulfill journey worldwide. Sabre is constructed on an open, modular, cloud-native structure and serves because the spine for each established leaders and daring, new disruptors, guiding them to the subsequent age of journey retailing by way of clever, linked, and personalised experiences.

SABR-F

Media contact
Liz Hands
[email protected]

SOURCE Sabre Corporation