Knowledge hub · 117 terms

Travel technology glossary. Every term a travel business runs into, explained.

Clear definitions of airline distribution, ticketing, fares, payments and travel software terms, each with how it works, real examples and answers to common questions. Written for travel agents, OTAs, TMCs and the developers who build for them. For longer explainers, see our travel technology guides and the airline directory.

A

ACM Agency Credit Memo An ACM (agency credit memo) is a credit an airline issues to a travel agency, usually through BSP or ARC, to return money owed to the agency on a ticket or related docum… Reservations & ticketing ADM Agency Debit Memo An ADM (agency debit memo) is a charge an airline raises against a travel agency, usually through BSP or ARC, to collect money it believes it is owed on a ticket or book… Reservations & ticketing ADR Average Daily Rate ADR (average daily rate) is the average room revenue a hotel earns for each room sold in a period. Hotel distribution Agency Commission Agency commission is the payment a supplier such as an airline, hotel or tour operator makes to a travel agency for selling its product, usually a percentage of the fare… Fares & pricing Airline Alliance Global airline alliance An airline alliance is a formal partnership between independent airlines that links their networks, loyalty programmes and airport services so passengers can travel acro… Airline distribution Airline Retailing Modern airline retailing (offers and orders) Airline retailing is the shift from selling seats at filed fares to selling complete products the way a retailer does. Airline distribution Allotment Hotel allotment (room allocation) An allotment is a block of hotel rooms, or sometimes airline seats, that a supplier sets aside for a tour operator, wholesaler, DMC or agency to sell for agreed dates at… Hotel distribution Ancillaries Ancillary services (optional airline services) Ancillaries are optional services an airline sells in addition to the base fare, such as checked baggage, seat selection, meals, lounge access, Wi-Fi or flexibility to c… Fares & pricing ARC Airlines Reporting Corporation ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation) is the airline-governed company that accredits travel agencies in the United States and settles the air tickets they sell. Payments & settlement ARI Availability, Rates and Inventory ARI (availability, rates and inventory) is the set of data a hotel publishes to every sales channel: which room types and rate plans are open on each date and under what… Hotel distribution ATPCO Airline Tariff Publishing Company ATPCO (Airline Tariff Publishing Company) is an airline-owned company that collects fares, fare rules and related pricing data from airlines and distributes it to GDSs,… Airline distribution

B

B2B travel portal A B2B travel portal is a booking platform that a travel wholesaler or consolidator gives to its sub-agents, with wallets, credit limits, markups and ticketing controls. Travel business models · Full guide Baggage allowance Free checked baggage allowance A baggage allowance is the amount of checked and cabin baggage a passenger may carry without extra charge under the fare they bought. Fares & pricing Bedbank Hotel bedbank (wholesale accommodation supplier) A bedbank is a business-to-business hotel wholesaler that contracts rooms from hotels at net or discounted rates and resells them to travel agencies, OTAs, tour operator… Hotel distribution Booking class Reservation Booking Designator (RBD) A booking class, formally a reservations booking designator (RBD), is the single-letter code used in airline reservations to identify a cabin and a bucket of seat invent… Reservations & ticketing Booking engine Travel booking engine (internet booking engine, IBE) A booking engine is software that lets travellers or travel agents search, price and book travel products such as flights, hotels, cars or packages, by querying supplier… Travel software & APIs Booking window Booking lead time A booking window is the time between when a booking is made and the date of travel or arrival, usually measured in days. Fares & pricing Branded fares Branded fares (fare families) Branded fares are airline fares grouped into named products, often called fare families, that each bundle a defined set of services such as checked baggage, seat selecti… Fares & pricing BSP Billing and Settlement Plan A BSP (Billing and Settlement Plan) is IATA's system for reporting and settling airline ticket sales made by accredited travel agencies. Payments & settlement

C

Channel manager Hotel channel manager A channel manager is hotel software that sends a property's rates, availability and inventory (ARI) to many online sales channels, such as OTAs, bedbanks, metasearch and… Hotel distribution Chargeback Card chargeback in airline and travel sales A chargeback is the reversal of a card payment that the cardholder's bank forces through after the cardholder disputes it. Payments & settlement Codeshare Code-sharing agreement A codeshare is an arrangement in which an airline sells seats under its own flight number on a flight operated by another airline. Airline distribution Consolidator A consolidator in travel is a wholesale agency, usually IATA-accredited, that buys or contracts airline fares in bulk and resells them to other travel agencies. Travel business models Continuous pricing Continuous (class-free) airline pricing Continuous pricing is an airline pricing method in which the price of a flight can be any value within a range, calculated at the time of the request, instead of one of… Fares & pricing Corporate fare Corporate negotiated fare A corporate fare is an airline fare or discount negotiated between an airline and a specific company for its employees' business travel. Fares & pricing Corporate travel policy Business travel policy A corporate travel policy is an organisation's written set of rules for business travel. Travel business models CRS Computer Reservation System A CRS (computer reservation system) is software that stores travel inventory, schedules, fares and bookings so that seats or rooms can be sold and recorded electronicall… Airline distribution

D

Direct Connect Airline direct connection A direct connect is a link between a travel seller and an airline's own systems that lets the seller shop and book without going through a GDS. Airline distribution DMC Destination Management Company A DMC (destination management company) is a local travel company based in a destination that plans and delivers ground services there, such as transfers, tours, activiti… Travel business models Duty of care Duty of care in business travel Duty of care in business travel is an employer's responsibility to protect the health, safety and security of employees travelling for work. Travel business models Dynamic currency conversion DCC Dynamic currency conversion (DCC) is a card payment service that lets a cardholder paying abroad, or on a foreign website, pay in their own card currency instead of the… Payments & settlement Dynamic packaging Dynamic travel packaging Dynamic packaging is the practice of combining separately sourced travel services, typically a flight and a hotel and sometimes transfers, car hire or activities, into o… Travel software & APIs Dynamic pricing Dynamic pricing of airline offers Dynamic pricing in airline retailing is the practice of calculating an offer's price at the moment of shopping, using context such as time before departure, length of st… Fares & pricing

E

E-ticket Electronic ticket An e-ticket (electronic ticket) is the airline's digital record of a paid passenger journey, stored in the validating carrier's database instead of on paper. Reservations & ticketing EDIFACT Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport EDIFACT (Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport) is a United Nations syntax standard for exchanging structured business messages between… Airline distribution EMD Electronic Miscellaneous Document An EMD (electronic miscellaneous document) is an IATA-standard electronic document airlines use to charge for services other than the fare itself, such as seats, extra b… Reservations & ticketing

F

Fare basis Fare basis code A fare basis code is the alphanumeric code, up to eight characters long, that identifies the exact fare used to price and issue an airline ticket. Fares & pricing Fare caching Fare and shopping result caching Fare caching is the practice of storing recent flight or fare search results so that repeat searches can be answered without asking the airline or GDS again. Travel software & APIs Fare construction International fare construction Fare construction is the set of rules used to build the price of an international airline ticket from its fare components. Fares & pricing Fare Filing Airline fare filing Fare filing is the process by which an airline publishes its fares and the rules that govern them to a central fare distributor, mainly ATPCO, so that GDSs, online trave… Airline distribution Fare rules Airline fare rules (ATPCO rule categories) Fare rules are the conditions an airline attaches to a fare, covering who can buy it, when it can be sold and flown, how it combines with other fares, and what changes o… Fares & pricing

G

GDS Global Distribution System A GDS (global distribution system) is a shared network that lets travel agencies search, price and book airline, hotel and car inventory from many suppliers through one… Airline distribution · Full guide GDS queue Queues in a global distribution system A GDS queue is a numbered electronic in-tray, belonging to an agency's PCC or Office ID, where bookings that need attention are placed. Reservations & ticketing GDS segment fee GDS booking fee per segment A GDS segment fee is the booking fee a global distribution system charges an airline for each flight segment sold through it by travel agencies. Airline distribution GDS surcharge Distribution cost charge A GDS surcharge, or distribution cost charge, is a fee some airlines add to tickets booked through a GDS over legacy EDIFACT connections, charged per ticket or per segme… Airline distribution · Full guide Group booking Airline group reservation A group booking is a single airline reservation for a set number of passengers travelling together, usually ten or more, priced with a negotiated group fare. Reservations & ticketing

H

Hidden-city ticketing Hidden-city ticketing (point-beyond ticketing, skiplagging) Hidden-city ticketing is buying a ticket to a point beyond the traveller's real destination and leaving the journey at the connecting city, because the longer itinerary… Reservations & ticketing Host agency Host travel agency A host agency is an established travel agency that lets independent, often home-based travel advisors book under its accreditation numbers and supplier agreements. Travel business models Hotel content mapping Hotel and room mapping across suppliers Hotel content mapping is the process of matching the same hotel, and its room types, across different suppliers' codes and descriptions so a booking platform shows one p… Hotel distribution

I

IATA International Air Transport Association IATA (the International Air Transport Association) is the global trade association for airlines. Industry bodies & codes IATA code IATA airline designator and location code An IATA code is an identifier assigned by the International Air Transport Association for commercial airline use. Industry bodies & codes IATA EasyPay IATA EasyPay prepaid e-wallet for BSP ticketing IATA EasyPay is a prepaid e-wallet that IATA-accredited travel agents fund in advance and use to issue tickets and EMDs through the BSP. Payments & settlement IATA number IATA Numeric Code An IATA number is the numeric code that IATA assigns to each approved location of an accredited travel agency. Industry bodies & codes IATA Pay IATA account-to-account payment method for airline tickets IATA Pay is an IATA payment method that lets travellers pay for airline tickets straight from their bank account instead of by card. Payments & settlement IATAN International Airlines Travel Agent Network IATAN (International Airlines Travel Agent Network) is the not-for-profit, IATA-affiliated body that accredits travel agencies in the United States and issues the IATA/I… Industry bodies & codes ICAO code ICAO airline designator and location indicator An ICAO code is an identifier set by the International Civil Aviation Organization for flight operations. Industry bodies & codes Interline Interline agreement / interlining Interlining is an arrangement between airlines to sell and ticket each other's flights on a single ticket, accept each other's travel documents and often check baggage t… Airline distribution Involuntary reissue Involuntary ticket exchange An involuntary reissue is the exchange of an airline ticket for a new one because the airline, not the passenger, changed or disrupted the journey. Reservations & ticketing

L

LCC Low-Cost Carrier An LCC (low-cost carrier) is an airline whose business model is built on keeping costs and base fares low, typically by unbundling services, flying a simple fleet and se… Airline distribution Look-to-book ratio Look-to-book (L2B) ratio The look-to-book ratio (L2B) is the number of availability or shopping requests a travel seller sends to a supplier system for every booking it makes. Travel software & APIs

M

Markup A markup in travel is the amount a seller adds to a supplier's net price to set the price its customer pays. Fares & pricing Married segment Married segment logic (O&D availability control) A married segment is one of two or more flight segments that an airline links together because they were sold as a single origin-to-destination journey. Fares & pricing Metasearch Travel metasearch engine Travel metasearch is a business model in which a search engine compares prices for flights, hotels or car hire from many airlines, hotels and online travel agencies, the… Travel business models Mid office and back office Travel agency mid-office and back-office systems In a travel agency, the mid office is the set of systems and processes that check, complete and fulfil bookings after they are made, such as quality control, policy chec… Travel software & APIs Minimum connecting time MCT Minimum connecting time (MCT) is the shortest interval needed to transfer a passenger and their baggage from one flight to a connecting flight at an airport. Reservations & ticketing

N

NDC New Distribution Capability NDC (New Distribution Capability) is an IATA XML standard that lets airlines send their own offers, including bundles and ancillaries, directly to travel sellers instead… Airline distribution · Full guide NDC aggregator An NDC aggregator connects to many airlines' NDC APIs and exposes them to travel sellers through one integration, handling certification, schema differences and servicin… Airline distribution · Full guide NDC certification IATA NDC certification and the ARM index NDC certification was IATA's programme for confirming that an airline, travel seller, aggregator or IT provider used NDC messages that conformed to the official schemas,… Airline distribution Net fare Net (non-commissionable) airline fare A net fare is a non-commissionable airline fare that represents the amount the airline will accept from a travel agency or consolidator. Fares & pricing NewGen ISS New Generation of IATA Settlement Systems NewGen ISS (New Generation of IATA Settlement Systems) is IATA's programme to modernise the BSP. Payments & settlement No-show Passenger no-show A no-show is a passenger who holds a confirmed booking or ticket but does not check in or board the flight and did not cancel it in time. Reservations & ticketing NUC Neutral Unit of Construction NUC (Neutral Unit of Construction) is a common accounting unit used to build international airfares, so fare components filed in different currencies can be added togeth… Fares & pricing

O

OBT Online Booking Tool An OBT (online booking tool) is self-service software that lets a company's employees book business travel, such as flights, hotels, rail and car hire, within the compan… Travel software & APIs Offer and order management Offer Management System (OMS) and Order Management System Offer and order management is the pair of airline systems at the centre of modern retailing. Airline distribution ONE Order IATA ONE Order standard ONE Order is an IATA standard that replaces an airline's separate booking, ticketing and ancillary records with a single customer order. Airline distribution Open jaw Open-jaw itinerary An open jaw is a return itinerary in which the traveller does not fly back from the same point they flew to, or does not return to the same point they started from. Fares & pricing OpenTravel Alliance OpenTravel Alliance (OpenTravel) The OpenTravel Alliance is a not-for-profit travel industry trade association, founded in 1999, that publishes free message specifications for exchanging travel data. Industry bodies & codes OSI Other Service Information An OSI (other service information) is a free-text message in a PNR that gives an airline information about a passenger or booking without asking it to act. Reservations & ticketing OTA Online Travel Agency An OTA (online travel agency) is a travel agency that sells flights, hotels, car hire, activities or packages to customers through a website or app, without a physical s… Travel business models

P

Passenger type code Passenger type code (PTC) A passenger type code (PTC) is a short code, usually three characters, that tells an airline pricing system what kind of traveller is being priced, such as ADT for adult… Reservations & ticketing Passive segment Passive (non-active) booking segment in a GDS A passive segment is a flight segment added to a GDS booking record for information or ticketing only, without requesting a seat from the airline. Reservations & ticketing PCC Pseudo City Code A PCC (pseudo city code) is the alphanumeric identifier a GDS assigns to a travel agency location, giving it access to the system and tying bookings, fares and queues to… Reservations & ticketing PCI DSS Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is the global security standard for any business that stores, processes or transmits payment card data. Payments & settlement PMS Property Management System A PMS (property management system) is the core operational software of a hotel. Hotel distribution PNR Passenger Name Record A PNR (passenger name record) is the reservation record that a GDS, airline or other travel supplier creates for a traveller or group. Reservations & ticketing Point of Sale POS Point of sale (POS) in airline pricing is the country or location where a ticket is sold, usually identified by the selling agency's or website's location. Fares & pricing Private fare Private (negotiated) airline fare A private fare is an airline fare that is not available for general sale and can only be sold or used by authorised parties, such as a contracted travel agency, consolid… Fares & pricing PSS Passenger Service System A PSS (passenger service system) is the core software an airline uses to run reservations, seat inventory, ticketing and departure control. Airline distribution Published fare Published (public) airline fare A published fare is an airline fare filed for general sale, so any authorised travel agency, booking channel or customer can see and book it under the same conditions. Fares & pricing

R

Rate parity Rate parity (price parity clauses) in hotel distribution Rate parity is the practice of a hotel offering the same price and conditions for a room on every sales channel. Hotel distribution Rate plan Hotel rate plan A rate plan is a hotel's set of prices and selling conditions for a room type, covering things such as cancellation terms, payment timing, included meals and who may boo… Hotel distribution Revenue management Airline revenue management (RM) Revenue management is the practice airlines use to maximise revenue from a fixed number of seats by forecasting demand and deciding how many seats to sell at each price… Fares & pricing RevPAR Revenue Per Available Room RevPAR (revenue per available room) is a hotel performance metric that divides room revenue by the number of rooms available in a period, whether or not they were sold. Hotel distribution

S

Schedule change Airline-initiated flight change A schedule change is a change an airline makes to a booked flight before departure, such as a new departure time, flight number, routing or a cancellation. Reservations & ticketing SITA Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques SITA is an information technology and communications provider owned by the air transport industry. Industry bodies & codes SSR Special Service Request An SSR (special service request) is a coded message in a booking that asks an airline to provide a service or record required passenger data. Reservations & ticketing Stopover Stopover (deliberate break in a journey) A stopover is a deliberate break in a journey at an intermediate point between origin and destination, agreed in advance with the airline. Reservations & ticketing Sub-agent A sub-agent in travel is a travel agency that sells flights, hotels or packages using another company's contracts, accreditation and booking platform, rather than its ow… Travel business models

T

Ticket designator Ticket designator (fare basis suffix) A ticket designator is a short code added after the fare basis code, separated by a slash, that identifies a special condition of the fare such as a discount, a negotiat… Fares & pricing Ticket reissue Ticket exchange A ticket reissue, or exchange, is the replacement of an issued airline ticket with a new ticket after a change to the journey. Reservations & ticketing Ticket void Voiding an airline ticket A ticket void is the cancellation of an airline ticket within a short window after issue, before the sale is settled, so the transaction is removed as if it never happen… Reservations & ticketing Ticketing time limit TTL / TKTL A ticketing time limit (TTL) is the deadline by which a reserved airline booking must be ticketed. Reservations & ticketing Ticketless travel Ticketless airline booking (record locator only) Ticketless travel is a booking model in which an airline confirms and accepts payment for a reservation without issuing any ticket document, paper or electronic. Reservations & ticketing TIDS Travel Industry Designator Service TIDS (Travel Industry Designator Service) is an IATA programme that gives travel sellers without IATA accreditation, such as agencies, tour operators and event planners,… Industry bodies & codes TMC Travel Management Company A TMC (travel management company) is a travel agency that runs business travel programmes for companies and organisations. Travel business models Tour code Tour code (ticket tour code box) A tour code is an airline-issued reference printed in the tour code box of a ticket that identifies the commercial agreement under which it was sold, such as a tour pack… Fares & pricing Tour operator Package organiser A tour operator is a travel company that combines two or more travel services, such as flights, accommodation, transfers and tours, into a package sold at one price. Travel business models Travel aggregator Travel content aggregator A travel aggregator is a company or platform that collects bookable content from many suppliers, such as GDSs, NDC airline APIs, low-cost carriers and bedbanks, and deli… Travel business models Travel API A travel API is a programmatic interface that lets software search, price and book travel content such as flights, hotels and transfers, either from one supplier or aggr… Travel software & APIs · Full guide Travel CRM Customer relationship management for travel businesses A travel CRM is customer relationship management software built for travel agencies, tour operators and TMCs. Travel software & APIs Travel middleware Travel distribution middleware Travel middleware is the software layer between a seller's booking applications and its supply sources, such as GDSs, NDC airline APIs, low-cost carrier connections and… Travel software & APIs Travel wholesaler Wholesale travel supplier A travel wholesaler is a business-to-business company that buys travel products such as hotel rooms, packages, transfers and tours in bulk or at negotiated net rates and… Travel business models

V

Validating carrier Plating carrier / ticketing airline A validating carrier, also called the plating carrier, is the airline whose ticket stock is used to issue an airline ticket. Reservations & ticketing VCC Virtual Credit Card A VCC (virtual credit card) in travel is a card number issued electronically for a single booking or supplier payment, usually with a fixed amount, validity window and m… Payments & settlement

W

Waitlist Airline waitlist booking A waitlist is a queue of unconfirmed requests for seats on a flight or booking class that is full. Reservations & ticketing White-label White-label travel platform A white-label travel platform is booking software built and run by a technology provider that a travel agency, airline partner, bank or other brand rebrands and sells as… Travel business models

Y

YQ/YR Carrier-imposed surcharges (YQ and YR codes) YQ and YR are codes for carrier-imposed surcharges, which are charges set by the airline itself and shown in the tax box of a ticket alongside government taxes. Fares & pricing

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Terms by category

Airline distribution

How airline content reaches sellers: GDS, NDC, direct connections and the systems behind them.

Airline Alliance Airline Retailing ATPCO Codeshare CRS Direct Connect EDIFACT Fare Filing GDS GDS segment fee GDS surcharge Interline LCC NDC NDC aggregator NDC certification Offer and order management ONE Order PSS

Payments & settlement

How money moves between travellers, agencies, airlines and hotels.

ARC BSP Chargeback Dynamic currency conversion IATA EasyPay IATA Pay NewGen ISS PCI DSS VCC

Travel software & APIs

Booking engines, middleware, back-office and the software stack of a travel business.

Booking engine Dynamic packaging Fare caching Look-to-book ratio Mid office and back office OBT Travel API Travel CRM Travel middleware

Hotel distribution

How hotel rooms are distributed: bedbanks, channel managers and property systems.

ADR Allotment ARI Bedbank Channel manager Hotel content mapping PMS Rate parity Rate plan RevPAR

Industry bodies & codes

The organisations and code systems the travel industry runs on.

IATA IATA code IATA number IATAN ICAO code OpenTravel Alliance SITA TIDS