Travel technology glossary

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3D Secure

An extra check of the customer’s identity by the card-issuing bank in an online card payment: approval in the banking app or an SMS code. It prevents fraudulent payments. More: online payments

A

Aggregator

An intermediary that provides content from many airlines or hotels through one API. NDC aggregators, for example, bring together the NDC fares of dozens of airlines. More: what is NDC

Allotment

A fixed number of rooms or seats that a hotel or airline sets aside for a tour operator for given dates. Unsold allotment is returned by the release date.

Amadeus

One of the world’s largest global distribution systems (GDS). Agencies use it to search and book products from hundreds of airlines, hotels and car rental companies. Its system code is 1A. More: what is Amadeus

API

A set of rules that lets two programs exchange data. In travel, a website talks to GDSs, NDC, bedbanks and banks through APIs.

Authorisation (payment hold)

Blocking an amount on the customer’s card without charging it yet. Once the ticket is issued or the hotel confirmed, the amount is captured; if not, the hold is released. More: online payments

B

B2B

Business-to-business sales. In travel, a tour operator or consolidator selling to sub-agents at net or commissionable prices. More: B2B travel portal

B2B portal

A closed online platform where a tour operator or consolidator sells to its sub-agents: agent accounts, balance, credit limit, commission. More: B2B travel portal

B2C

Business-to-consumer sales. In travel, the model where the traveller books on the website and pays by card.

Bedbank

A supplier that sells hotel rooms wholesale, at net rates, to tour operators, agencies and online platforms. Examples: Hotelbeds, WebBeds, GoGlobal. More: bedbank API integration

Board codes

RO: room only. BB: breakfast. HB: breakfast and dinner. FB: three meals. AI: all inclusive. Suppliers may write the codes differently.

Booking engine

The part of a website that handles search, pricing, booking and payment in real time. It connects to suppliers and shows results with your pricing rules. More: what is a booking engine

BSP (Billing and Settlement Plan)

IATA’s settlement system between agencies and airlines. An IATA agency issues tickets and pays the airlines through BSP.

C

Certification

A supplier (GDS, airline, bedbank) checking an integration in its test environment and approving it to go live. More: integrations

Channel manager

A system that updates a hotel’s rooms and rates across all sales channels (website, OTAs, bedbanks) at once. It prevents double bookings. More: integrations

Chargeback

A customer claiming a payment back through their bank. The merchant must provide evidence such as the ticket, voucher and accepted terms. More: online payments

Charter flight

A flight that a tour operator or company hires in full or in part for given routes and dates. Seats are usually sold within tour packages.

Commission

A fee paid to the seller as a percentage of the sale. In B2B sales the agent sells at the final price and the operator pays a commission back. More: B2B travel portal

Consolidator

A large IATA-accredited agency that issues tickets for other agencies. It usually sells to sub-agents through a B2B portal. More: B2B travel portal

CRS (Computer Reservation System)

A computer reservation system. Originally the name for an airline’s system for selling its own seats; today often used to mean the same as GDS. More: what is a GDS

D

DMC (Destination Management Company)

A receiving travel company that arranges hotels, transfers, excursions and events in its own country for foreign tour operators and agencies.

Dynamic packaging

Combining flights, hotels, transfers and other services from different suppliers in real time into one package at one price. More: dynamic packaging

E

E-ticket

The electronic form of a flight ticket. The ticket number is stored in the airline’s system, and the passenger receives a receipt by email.

EDIFACT

The old data format GDSs have used for decades. It carries flight, class and price, but struggles to show fare bundles and ancillaries. More: what is NDC

EMD (Electronic Miscellaneous Document)

An electronic document for ancillaries such as baggage, seat selection and meals. It is issued separately from the ticket.

F

FOP (Form of Payment)

The payment method in a booking: cash, agency account, card, etc. In some cases the customer’s card is passed directly to the airline as the form of payment.

G

GDS (Global Distribution System)

A global reservation system that delivers the products of airlines, hotels and other suppliers to thousands of agencies. The main ones: Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport. More: what is a GDS

I

IATA

The International Air Transport Association. It sets airline standards (NDC, codes), accredits agencies and runs BSP.

IATA accreditation

An agency’s right to issue flight tickets in its own name. Agencies without it issue tickets through a consolidator. More: flight booking system cost

IATA codes

Standard codes: three letters for airports and cities (GYD, IST), two characters for airlines (J2, TK).

L

LCC (Low-cost carrier)

A low-cost airline. Fares often exclude baggage and ancillaries are sold separately. Some are not in GDSs and are connected directly via API.

Look-to-book ratio

The ratio of searches to bookings. Some suppliers restrict or charge those who search a lot and book little. More: what is a booking engine

M

Mapping (hotel mapping)

Merging the same hotel, which arrives from different suppliers under different names and codes, into one hotel. Without it, the customer sees the same hotel several times. More: bedbank API integration

Markup

The profit added on top of the net price. It is set with rules by destination, supplier, airline or agent.

N

NDC (New Distribution Capability)

An IATA standard for airlines to send fare bundles, baggage and personalised offers directly to agencies through a modern API. More: what is NDC

Net rate

The price the supplier gives you, with no markup. The final selling price is the net rate plus your markup.

O

Offer and order

The two key concepts of NDC. An offer is the airline’s answer to a specific request; an order is the record created when the customer accepts it, combining flights, services and payment. More: what is NDC

OTA (Online Travel Agency)

An online travel agency: a company that sells flights, hotels and tours only through a website and app.

P

Package rate

A usually cheaper rate that a hotel or airline allows to be sold only together with another service, inside a package. Its price is not shown separately. More: dynamic packaging

PCC (Pseudo City Code)

The code of an agency office in a GDS. Bookings, permissions and fare agreements are tied to it, and a booking can be passed from one PCC to another.

PMS (Property Management System)

A hotel’s internal management system: rooms, check-in, folios. It integrates with the channel manager and the website. More: integrations

PNR (Passenger Name Record)

The booking itself in a GDS: passengers, flights, contact and payment details. It is found by a six-character code. More: what is Amadeus

Q

Queue

The list in a GDS where schedule changes, time limits and alerts reach the agency. It needs to be worked regularly to manage bookings on time.

R

Release period

The last date by which unsold rooms or seats in an allotment can be returned to the hotel or airline without penalty.

S

Sabre

A global GDS that grew out of the first computer reservation system. It is especially strong in North America. Its system code is 1S. More: Amadeus, Sabre or Travelport

Segment

One leg of a flight. A Baku–Istanbul–London trip is two segments. GDS fees and incentives are often calculated per segment.

Sub-agent

An agency that sells through a tour operator or consolidator. It usually has its own account, balance and commission on a B2B portal. More: B2B travel portal

T

TIDS

IATA’s identification code that does not give ticketing rights. It identifies an agency to airlines and suppliers.

Time limit

The deadline by which a booking must be ticketed. If the ticket is not issued in time, the airline may cancel the seats.

Travelport (Galileo)

The GDS that brings together the Galileo, Worldspan and Apollo systems. Galileo’s new name is Travelport+, code 1G. More: Amadeus, Sabre or Travelport

TST (Transitional Stored Ticket)

In Amadeus, the pricing record stored in the PNR. The ticket is issued from it. More: what is Amadeus

V

Voucher

A document confirming that a hotel, transfer or excursion has been paid for. The customer presents it to the supplier.

W

White label

A ready-made booking platform built by another company that runs under your brand. More: white label vs custom system