SABS Travel Technologies has written to travel agents using its back-office systems to say they are being discontinued.
The Bradford-based technology specialist launched its Quantum cloud-based platform for agents last summer to replace legacy system Traveller.
Brian Sheerin, SABS Travel Technologies managing director, said in a letter to clients that Quantum will be removed from the marketplace from August 31 and closed down.
Those using Traveller will have support on the product until December 31.
“With an ever increasing cost base and a diminishing high street market to target, sustaining the product offerings post-pandemic has become commercially and operationally unviable,” he wrote.
“I am hopeful that these dates will provide you with sufficient time to implement an alternative solution.”
Chris North, managing director of Vertical Systems, said he has been “inundated” with queries from agents needing to migrate from SABS, while Dolphin Dynamics’ managing director, Chuck Richardson, said his company has been in contact with “dozens” of Traveller and Quantum customers over the past few days.
One travel agent told Travel Weekly anonymously that they felt “let down” as they had made a “monumental effort” to switch bookings over manually from Traveller to Quantum earlier this year.
“It was a long process and cost us time and money,” he said.
“I felt drained at the thought of having to do it all again. We’re trying to concentrate on sales and not moving across [systems].”
Another agent said to Travel Weekly: “This will be a huge headache and puts a lot of pressure on us to find a new back office supplier in the next few months.
“We have been with SABS Travel Technologies for 20 years. We have just switched from their Traveller back office system to their new updated system Quantum and it’s taken months – we had to manually transfer all the information across. And then we got an email last night to say it was to be discontinued.”
North said agents moving to Vertical Systems can export all of their booking information into his firm’s back-office system quickly “from one day to the next”.
“We’ve done it a number of times: when Thomas Cook went down, we had people trading again within 24 hours so it was a seamless transition,” he said.
“We’re very affordable and we’ve just completed the migration of Advantage over to us, from the Traveller system.”
Vertical Systems also works with other groups such as Midcounties, Barrhead, Althams and The Travel Network Group, North added – as well as smaller agencies with just a few shops.
Richardson highlighted how Dawson & Sanderson has recently moved to Dolphin, along with seven other agencies over the past six months.
“We have developed a tailored and streamlined onboarding process for Traveller and Quantum users,” he added.
“In light of the very difficult predicament these businesses have suddenly found themselves in, we are also offering a 50% discount for the upfront investment to implement Dolphin, to any who take the decision to migrate to Dolphin within the next month.”
“We will do everything we can to help Quantum and Traveller users cut over to Dolphin before the plug is pulled.
“Those that have already moved from Quantum or Traveller have enjoyed considerable business and process improvements.”
Travel Weekly has contacted SABS for a comment.