Travel Technology Glossary

Key features

• Flights

  GDS, NDC, PNR, LCC, ticketing, consolidator and ancillary.

• Hotels

  Bedbank, net rate, allotment, run of house, board basis and rate parity.

• Business models

  OTA, B2B, B2C, DMC, FIT, GIT, sub-agent and white label.

• Payments

  3D Secure, merchant of record, chargeback and deposit.

• Pilgrimage

  Umrah group, Mahram, Nusuk and Hajj quota.

3D Secure

An extra check by the card-issuing bank during an online payment, often a code or a banking app approval. It reduces fraud and can shift liability for some disputes away from the merchant. More on 3D Secure

Allotment

A set number of rooms or seats a hotel or airline holds for one seller at agreed rates, for a set period. Unsold rooms usually go back by a release date.

Ancillary

Anything sold on top of a basic fare, such as extra bags, seat choice or meals. More on Ancillary

API

Application Programming Interface: a defined way for one piece of software to ask another for data or to take an action, such as searching for hotels or creating a booking. More on API

B2B

Business to business. In travel, one company selling to other travel companies, such as a wholesaler or an agency with sub-agents. More on B2B

B2C

Business to consumer. Selling directly to the traveller, for example through a public booking website. More on B2C

Bedbank

A wholesaler that contracts hotel rooms in bulk and sells them to travel companies at net rates, usually through an API. More on Bedbank

Board basis

What meals a room rate includes, such as room only, bed and breakfast, half board or full board.

Booking engine

The software that lets a customer search, choose and pay for travel on a website, and that places the booking with the supplier. More on Booking engine

Cancellation policy

The rules for cancelling a booking: the deadline for free cancellation and the charge after that. Each rate can have its own policy, so one hotel can have several.

Chargeback

When a bank takes a card payment back from a merchant after the cardholder disputes it. The merchant can respond with evidence such as the booking and voucher.

Commission

The share of a sale that a seller earns from a supplier, or that a sub-agent earns from the agency above it. More on Commission

Consolidator

A company that buys flights or rooms at volume rates and resells them to other agencies, often with credit terms and support.

Deposit account

A prepaid balance held with a supplier. Bookings are paid from it, so it has to stay funded for bookings to go through.

DMC

Destination Management Company: a local company that arranges services in its own destination, such as transfers, tours and hotels, usually for other travel companies.

E-ticket

The electronic record of a flight ticket, issued by or for the airline. The customer normally receives its number and the itinerary by email.

FIT

Free Independent Traveller: someone travelling alone or in a small party on their own itinerary, as opposed to on a group tour.

GDS

Global Distribution System: a large network such as Amadeus, Sabre or Travelport that lets travel sellers search and book airline seats and other services. More on GDS

GIT

Group Inclusive Tour: a group that travels together on a shared itinerary, usually on a negotiated group rate. More on GIT

Hajj quota

The number of Hajj places Saudi Arabia allocates to each country. National authorities then distribute these places, often through approved operators.

IATA

International Air Transport Association: the airline trade body. Its accreditation lets an agency issue tickets through its settlement system, known as BSP.

LCC

Low-cost carrier: an airline with a basic fare and paid extras. Some sell only through their own systems or specific aggregators.

Look-to-book ratio

How many searches you run for each booking made. Suppliers often set a limit in their contract, or charge above it. More on Look-to-book ratio

Mahram

A close male relative a woman cannot marry under Islamic law, such as her father, brother or son. Rules on whether women need a Mahram for Hajj or Umrah have changed over time, so check current official guidance.

Markup

The amount a seller adds to a net rate to reach the selling price. It can be a percentage or a fixed amount, and it is the seller's margin. More on Markup

Merchant of record

The company legally selling to the customer and taking their payment, whose name appears on the card statement. It also carries chargeback and refund duties. More on Merchant of record

NDC

New Distribution Capability: an IATA standard that lets airlines sell directly to travel sellers through modern APIs, including bundles and extras. More on NDC

Net rate

The price a supplier charges the seller, before any markup. It is confidential, and a seller should not show it to customers.

Nusuk

Saudi Arabia's official platform for pilgrims, used for services such as Umrah permits and Rawdah appointments. Check the official platform for what applies to your customers. More on Nusuk

OTA

Online Travel Agency: a company that sells travel mainly through a website or an app. More on OTA

PNR

Passenger Name Record: the airline or GDS record of a booking, identified by a short code. A PNR confirms a reservation, and on its own does not mean a ticket has been issued. More on PNR

Rate parity

A rule in some contracts that a hotel room must be sold at the same public price across channels. Terms vary, so check your contract before discounting.

RTL

Right to left: the reading direction of Arabic and Urdu. A proper RTL site mirrors the whole layout as well as translating the words. More on RTL

Run of house

A rate where the hotel chooses which room to give the guest at check-in, usually from its standard rooms. It is often cheaper because no room type is promised.

SaaS

Software as a Service: software you rent and use online, run by the vendor. The opposite is a licence you install on your own server. More on SaaS

Sub-agent

A smaller agency or person who sells through a larger agency's contracts and system, in return for a commission or a preferential rate. More on Sub-agent

Ticketing

The step that turns a flight reservation into an issued ticket. It usually has a deadline, and the fare can be lost if the deadline passes. More on Ticketing

Umrah group

Pilgrims travelling together on one departure with shared flights and hotels, usually arranged by an approved agent. Places are limited by seats and rooms. More on Umrah group

Voucher

The document a customer shows to get a service, such as a hotel stay. It carries the booking reference, guest names, dates and room details.

White label

Software made by one company and sold under another company's brand, so that the customer sees only the seller's name. More on White label

XML

A text format with tags for exchanging structured data. Many older travel APIs use it, while newer ones often use JSON.

Five terms to learn first

If you are starting an agency, learn net rate, markup, voucher, cancellation policy and merchant of record first. Those five shape most decisions about pricing and risk. A net rate plus your markup makes the price. The cancellation policy decides what you owe if a customer changes their mind. The merchant of record is who the customer's bank will come to if a payment is disputed.

Words that get confused

A PNR is a reservation, and a ticket is a separate step, so a customer holding a PNR may not have a ticket yet. A bedbank and a consolidator both resell in volume, though the word bedbank refers to hotels and consolidator is most often used for flights. White label describes how software is branded, and says nothing about whether it is hosted or installed. SaaS describes how software is delivered.

Commission and markup both produce margin, in opposite directions. Commission is paid to you by the supplier from a price the supplier set, and markup is added by you on top of a net rate.

Frequently Asked Questions