Say it like an advisor
121 travel industry terms, defined plainly, then translated honestly. For new advisors, seasoned ones and every client who has wondered what a net rate is.
A
-
ABTA
The UK's main travel trade association. Its members follow a code of conduct and must protect customers' money on holidays that don't include flights.
The logo UK travellers look for before handing over a deposit.
-
ADM (Agency Debit Memo)
A charge an airline issues to an agency through BSP or ARC for a ticketing error or fare-rule breach.
The airline's invoice for your typo.
-
Advisor
A travel professional who plans and books trips for clients, earning commission from suppliers, client fees, or both. In North America, it's now the preferred term for a travel agent.
Someone who knows which villa has the bad wifi before you do.
-
Agency of record
The travel agency named on a booking, which earns its commission and is the supplier's contact for changes.
Who gets paid, and who gets the call when it goes sideways.
-
Air-inclusive
A package price that includes flights.
One price, from the departure airport to the hotel.
-
All-inclusive
A rate that includes the room, all meals, most drinks and many activities, common at beach resorts and on safari.
One price, no wallet.
-
Allotment
A block of rooms or seats a supplier reserves for a wholesaler, operator or agency to sell, which is usually released back if not sold by a set date.
Inventory with an expiry date.
-
Amenity
A perk a hotel or supplier adds to a booking, such as breakfast, a resort credit, a room upgrade or late checkout. It's often reserved for bookings made through preferred-partner programs.
The reason the same room costs the same but feels like a better deal.
-
Ancillaries
Extras sold on top of the base fare, such as seats, bags, meals or Wi-Fi.
The fare after the fare.
-
APD (Air Passenger Duty)
The UK tax on flights departing UK airports, higher for premium cabins and long haul.
The UK's toll for leaving.
-
ARC
The Airlines Reporting Corporation, which accredits U.S. travel agencies and settles the money between them and airlines for tickets they sell.
The clearing house between a U.S. agency's ticket sales and the airline's bank account.
-
ATAS
The accreditation scheme for Australian travel businesses, run by the Australian Travel Industry Association (formerly AFTA). Accredited sellers meet set standards for finances and complaints.
Australia's trust mark for the people selling your trip.
-
ATOL
The UK Civil Aviation Authority's financial protection scheme for package holidays that include a flight, and some flight bookings, sold by ATOL-licensed UK firms. If the firm fails, protected travellers get refunds or are brought home.
The reason a UK traveller isn't stranded when their tour operator goes bust.
-
Attrition
A clause in a group contract that charges a penalty if the group uses fewer rooms than agreed, beyond an allowed percentage.
Paying for the rooms your guests didn't book.
B
-
Back-to-back
Two or more consecutive cruises booked together on the same ship, without getting off in between.
Staying on board when everyone else goes home.
-
BAR (Best Available Rate)
The lowest publicly available, unrestricted room rate a hotel offers on a given date.
The price the hotel would like you to think is the price.
-
Bespoke
A trip designed from scratch around one client's interests, pace and budget rather than adapted from a set itinerary.
Tailor-made, with a longer email thread.
-
Block
A set number of rooms or cabins held for a group or event at an agreed rate until a release date.
Rooms on hold, with a countdown.
-
Booking engine
The software on a website or agency system that searches availability and takes bookings.
The search bar behind the search bar.
-
Booking window
How far ahead of travel people typically book a trip, also called lead time.
How long before departure clients finally decide.
-
BSP
IATA's Billing and Settlement Plan, the system that settles air ticket sales between agencies and airlines outside the United States.
ARC, for the rest of the world.
C
-
Cabin category
The level of a cruise cabin, set by its type (inside, ocean view, balcony, suite), size and location on the ship.
Where you sleep, and how much you see.
-
Cancellation policy
The rules for what a traveller gets back, if anything, when they cancel, and by when.
The paragraph clients skip until they need it.
-
Clawback
Commission a supplier reclaims when a booking cancels after the commission was paid.
Commission with a return policy.
-
CLIA
The Cruise Lines International Association, the cruise industry's main trade body, which also offers advisor training and certification.
Cruise school.
-
Client trust account
A separate bank account where an agency holds customer payments until it pays suppliers, required in some provinces and states.
Money that isn't yours yet.
-
Codeshare
An agreement that lets one airline sell seats under its own flight number on a flight operated by another airline.
Why your Air Canada flight has a Lufthansa crew.
-
Commission
The percentage of a booking's value a supplier pays the advisor who sold it: usually around 10% for hotels and 10–16% for cruises and tours, more with overrides or preferred-partner deals.
The reason your advisor is free (mostly).
-
Comp
Short for complimentary: a room, upgrade, meal or service provided free of charge.
Free, but someone tracked it in a spreadsheet.
-
Comp ratio
The number of paying guests a supplier requires before it gives one free place, often for a tour leader, such as one free berth for every eight cabins (16 guests) on many cruise lines.
The math that puts a tour leader on board for free.
-
Consolidator
A wholesaler that buys airline seats at negotiated rates and resells them through travel agencies, often for long-haul and premium cabins.
Where the good business-class fares quietly come from.
-
Consortium (plural: consortia)
A membership network of travel agencies, such as Virtuoso, Signature Travel Network or Ensemble, that negotiates better commissions, client amenities and marketing support collectively.
A buying club with nicer parties.
-
Consumer protection
The laws, licences and funds that protect travellers' money if a travel company fails or doesn't deliver.
The fine print that suddenly matters a great deal.
-
Contracted rate
A rate negotiated in advance between a supplier and an agency, consortium or operator, usually fixed for a season.
The price that was agreed before anyone asked.
-
CPBC
Consumer Protection BC, the provincial agency that licenses travel agents and agencies in British Columbia and runs its Travel Assurance Fund.
TICO's counterpart west of the Rockies.
-
Cut-off date
The date unbooked rooms in a group block go back to the hotel's general inventory.
The day the group rate stops being a promise.
D
-
Deposit
The part of a trip's price paid at booking to secure it, with the balance due by the final payment date.
Commitment, in instalments.
-
Destination specialist
An advisor who has completed a tourism board's or supplier's training program, such as Aussie Specialist or BritAgent PRO.
The badge that says you've done the reading.
-
Direct booking
A reservation made straight with the hotel, airline or cruise line rather than through an agency or OTA.
Booking without a middleman, and without a backup.
-
DMC (Destination Management Company)
A local company that arranges ground services in a destination, including transfers, guides, activities and events, on behalf of advisors and tour operators.
The person in-country who answers the 3 a.m. phone call.
-
Double occupancy
The basis most hotel, cruise and tour prices use: the price per person when two people share a room or cabin.
The asterisk behind most "from" prices.
-
Dynamic packaging
Building a package in real time by combining separately priced flights, hotels and extras into one price.
A made-to-order holiday, priced on the spot.
E
-
Educational
A training session, webinar or short trip that teaches advisors about a supplier or destination. Often shortened to "edu".
Homework that sometimes comes with lunch.
-
Embarkation
The process and day of boarding a cruise ship at the start of a voyage.
The longest queue of a cruise, and the most exciting.
-
Exclusive use
Booking an entire villa, lodge, island or ship for one party.
Nobody else at breakfast.
-
Expedition cruise
Small-ship voyages to remote regions such as Antarctica or the Arctic, with landings by Zodiac and naturalist guides.
A cruise where the itinerary is a suggestion.
F
-
Fam (familiarization trip)
A hosted trip, usually subsidized by a tourism board, hotel or operator, that lets advisors experience a destination or property firsthand so they can sell it.
Homework, but it's in the Maldives.
-
Fare class
The letter code on an airline booking that sets the fare's price, rules, upgrade options and refund terms, even within the same cabin.
Two people in the same seat row, paying very different amounts.
-
Fifth freedom
The right of an airline to fly passengers between two foreign countries on a route that begins or ends in its home country, such as Emirates between Milan and New York.
The secret luxury cabin on a route nobody expects.
-
Final payment
The date the full balance of a booking is due. Cancellation penalties often get stricter after it.
The date the trip gets very real.
-
FIT (Fully Independent Traveller)
A customized, individually planned trip, as opposed to a group tour or a packaged departure.
A trip that took 40 emails to build and looks effortless.
-
Flexible rate
A rate that can be cancelled or changed without penalty until a set deadline, usually priced higher than a non-refundable rate.
Paying a little more for the right to change your mind.
G
-
Gateway city
The city where international travellers first arrive in a country or region, and often stay a night before going on.
The first night of the trip, and the easiest upsell.
-
GDS (Global Distribution System)
A computerized reservation network, such as Sabre, Amadeus or Travelport, that advisors and agencies use to search and book flights, hotels and cars.
The green screen that still runs half the industry.
-
GIT (Group Inclusive Tour)
Travel booked as a group with shared arrangements and, often, a negotiated group rate.
One rooming list, 40 opinions.
-
Gratuities
Service charges added daily to a cruise or tour account, or tips paid directly, depending on the company.
The tipping question, answered for you on most ships.
-
Ground handler
A local company that runs the on-the-ground parts of a trip, from transfers to guides, for an operator or agency.
Another name for the DMC's crew.
-
Group rate
A discounted rate a hotel, cruise line or airline offers when a minimum number of rooms, cabins or seats are booked together.
The discount that comes with a spreadsheet.
-
Guarantee cabin
A cruise booking in a cabin category where the line assigns the exact cabin later, sometimes upgrading it, in exchange for a lower price.
A cabin lottery that only goes up.
H
-
Host agency
An agency that gives independent advisors its accreditation, supplier relationships, technology and back-office support, in exchange for a share of commission or a fee.
The office you work for without going to an office.
-
Hosted buyer
A trade show guest, usually an advisor or operator, whose travel and hotel are paid by the organizer in return for meeting exhibitors.
Free flights, full appointment book.
I
-
IATA number
An accreditation code issued by the International Air Transport Association that identifies a travel agency to airlines and suppliers, allowing it to be paid commission.
The industry's version of a library card.
-
IATAN
The International Airlines Travel Agent Network, which accredits U.S. travel agencies and issues the IATAN card that identifies working advisors.
The card that proves you're in the trade, not just very enthusiastic.
-
Inbound operator
A company that designs and sells trips in its own country to agencies and operators abroad.
The local expert selling home to the world.
-
Interline
An agreement between airlines to carry each other's passengers and bags on one ticket, so a missed connection is the airlines' problem, not the traveller's.
The difference between being rebooked and being stranded.
L
-
Land-only
A tour or cruise price that doesn't include flights; travellers book their own air.
Flights not included, and the travellers get there themselves.
-
Lead-in rate
The lowest advertised price for a product, usually for the smallest room or least popular date.
"From $999*". The asterisk is load-bearing.
-
Low season
The quietest, cheapest time at a destination, often because of weather or school calendars.
Fewer crowds, a few more umbrellas.
M
-
Markup
The amount an advisor or operator adds to a net rate to set the selling price.
The margin between the net rate and the price the client sees.
-
Meal plan
The meals included in a hotel rate: EP (room only), CP (breakfast), MAP (breakfast and dinner) and AP (all meals). In the UK and Australia: room only, B&B, half board and full board.
Alphabet soup, with breakfast.
N
-
NDC
New Distribution Capability, an IATA standard that lets airlines send richer fares and extras such as seats and bags to agencies, through direct connections or NDC-enabled GDSs.
Airlines rewriting how agencies see their fares, one API at a time.
-
Net rate
The wholesale price a supplier charges an advisor or operator before any markup is added.
The number nobody says out loud.
-
No-show
A guest who doesn't arrive for a booking and doesn't cancel. Most suppliers charge for at least the first night or the full stay.
The most expensive way not to go.
-
Non-commissionable fare
The part of a cruise fare, such as certain taxes and fees, on which the line pays no commission.
The slice of the price the advisor doesn't earn on.
-
Non-refundable rate
A cheaper rate paid in full at booking that can't be cancelled or changed without losing the money.
Saving 15 percent by betting nothing changes.
O
-
Opaque fare
A discounted price where the traveller doesn't see the exact airline, hotel or schedule until after they pay.
A mystery box with a boarding pass.
-
OPC
Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur, which licenses travel agencies in the province and oversees the compensation fund for travellers (FICAV).
Quebec's regulator, and the reason Quebec receipts mention FICAV.
-
Open jaw
A return trip that flies into one city and home from another, or departs from a different city than it returns to.
Rome in, Venice out, no backtracking.
-
OTA (Online Travel Agency)
A website that sells travel directly to consumers, such as Expedia or Booking.com.
The competitor with a call centre instead of a person.
-
Override
A bonus commission paid by a supplier on top of standard commission, usually for hitting sales targets or through a consortium agreement.
A loyalty points program for advisors.
P
-
Package Travel Regulations
The UK rules (and their EU equivalents) that make the organizer of a package responsible for delivering every part of it, and for protecting customer money.
Bundle it, own it.
-
Pax
Short for passengers. Trade shorthand for the number of travellers on a booking.
Industry for "people", in as few letters as possible.
-
Peak season
The busiest, most expensive period at a destination, when demand and prices are highest.
When everyone else wants to go too.
-
Planning fee
A fee an advisor charges a client directly for research and itinerary design, separate from supplier commission.
Proof that expertise isn't free, even when commission pays for most of it.
-
PNR (Passenger Name Record)
The unique record in a reservation system that holds a traveller's booking details, usually referenced by a six-character locator code.
The six letters the airline will ask you for, every time.
-
Port charges
Fees, taxes and port expenses added to a cruise fare, set by ports and governments rather than the cruise line.
The part of the cruise price nobody sets in a sale.
-
Preferred hotel program
A hotel brand's own advisor program offering amenities, such as Four Seasons Preferred Partner or Belmond Bellini Club.
The VIP list with a membership card.
-
Preferred partner
A supplier with a formal agreement with an agency or consortium that offers advisors higher commission and their clients added amenities.
The hotels your advisor will mention first, for good reasons.
R
-
Rack rate
A hotel's official, published undiscounted price for a room, which few guests actually pay.
The number on the back of the door.
-
Rate parity
The practice of a hotel offering the same price for a room across all public booking channels, often written into OTA contracts, though European regulators have restricted those clauses.
Why advisors compete on perks, not price.
-
Record locator
The six-character code that identifies a booking in an airline's or a GDS's system.
The code you read out slowly, twice, on hold.
-
Release date
The date a supplier takes back unsold rooms, seats or cabins held for an operator or agency.
When the held inventory goes back on the open market.
-
Repositioning cruise
A one-way voyage that moves a ship from one cruising region to another between seasons, such as from the Caribbean to Europe in spring.
A long, cheap crossing with more days at sea.
-
Resort credit
A set amount a guest can spend at a hotel's restaurants, spa or activities, often included in a package or partner amenity.
Pocket money from the hotel.
-
Resort fee
A mandatory daily charge some hotels add on top of the room rate for amenities such as wifi, pools or gyms.
The rate before the rate.
-
Roadshow
A touring event where suppliers or a tourism board visit several cities to train and meet local advisors.
The destination comes to you, with canapés.
-
Rooming list
The list of guests, room types and bed configurations a group sends a hotel before arrival.
A spreadsheet that decides who sleeps where, and who complains.
-
Run of house
A booking where the hotel assigns any available standard room at check-in rather than a specific room type.
The hotel picks the room; hope for the view.
S
-
Seller of travel
Laws in several U.S. states that require travel sellers to register, and sometimes post a bond or hold client money in trust. California, Florida, Hawaii and Washington have the best-known ones.
Paperwork that depends on where your clients live, not where you do.
-
Shore excursion
A tour or activity sold for a cruise passenger's time in port, by the cruise line or an independent operator.
The day off the ship, with a schedule.
-
Shoulder season
The period between a destination's peak and low seasons, often offering lower prices, fewer crowds and decent weather.
The season advisors book for themselves.
-
Single supplement
An extra charge solo travellers pay for having a room or cabin to themselves, often 25 to 100 percent of the per-person price.
The tax on travelling alone.
-
Site inspection
A visit an advisor makes to a hotel or venue to evaluate its rooms, service and facilities before recommending or booking it.
Opening every closet so the client doesn't have to.
-
Soft opening
A hotel's early, limited opening before its official launch, often with some facilities still closed.
Opening night, before the reviewers arrive.
-
Stop-sell
A supplier's instruction to stop selling a room type, rate or date because it's full or the rate is closed.
The "sold out" sign, sent by email to the trade.
-
Stopover
A planned stop of more than 24 hours on an international journey, often allowed at little or no extra fare.
A free mini-holiday hidden in the fare rules.
-
Supplier
Any company that provides the travel product itself, such as a hotel, airline, cruise line, tour operator or DMC.
Everyone who isn't the advisor or the client.
T
-
TAANZ
The Travel Agents Association of New Zealand. Its bonding scheme can refund customers' unticketed travel money, up to a cap, if a bonded member agency fails.
New Zealand's version of a trade body with a safety net.
-
Tender port
A port where a cruise ship anchors offshore and passengers reach land by small boat, or tender.
A port you reach by lifeboat, in the nicest sense.
-
Ticketing time limit
The deadline by which a held airline reservation must be paid and ticketed, or it cancels automatically.
The alarm clock on every held fare.
-
TICO
The Travel Industry Council of Ontario, the regulator that registers Ontario travel agencies and wholesalers, certifies the advisors who work for them, and administers the province's compensation fund for travellers.
The reason your Ontario advisor did an exam.
-
TIDS
IATA's Travel Industry Designator Service code, which identifies a non-accredited agency to suppliers so commission can be tracked.
An IATA number with training wheels.
-
Tour operator
A company that packages accommodation, transport and activities into trips, sold directly or through advisors.
The people who put the wheels on the trip.
-
Travel insurance
Cover for trip cancellation, medical emergencies, evacuation, delays and lost bags. Policies vary widely in what they cover and exclude.
The thing advisors insist on for good reason.
-
Twin share
The Australian and New Zealand term for prices based on two people sharing a room.
Double occupancy, with a southern accent.
U
-
Upgrade
A move to a better room, cabin or seat than the one booked, either paid or complimentary.
The thing every client asks about, and preferred partners sometimes deliver.
-
Upsell
Encouraging a client to choose a higher-value option, such as a better room category, a longer stay or an added experience.
"Have you considered the suite?"
V
-
Value-add
Extra benefits included with a booking instead of a discount, such as breakfast, transfers or a credit.
A way to give a deal without lowering the price.
-
VIP code
A level a hotel assigns to a guest's reservation so staff know how much special attention to give, such as amenities or a welcome from the manager.
The secret score on a hotel reservation.
W
-
Walked
What happens when an overbooked hotel sends a guest with a reservation to another hotel, usually at its own cost.
Arriving with a reservation and leaving in a taxi.
-
Wholesaler
A company that buys travel inventory in bulk at net rates and resells it to advisors, often as packages.
A warehouse store, but for hotel rooms.
No term matches that yet. Tell us what we're missing: editorial@notanatlas.com.
You're a pro if you know these
Five definitions, five terms. Pick the right one.