Travel technology glossary

A global reservation network — the largest are Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport — that aggregates real-time availability and fares from airlines, hotels and car-hire suppliers and distributes them to travel agencies. A GDS is a content source a platform connects to, not a booking platform itself.

An IATA XML-based data standard that lets airlines distribute richer content — ancillaries, branded fares, seat maps and personalised offers — directly to sellers, beyond what a traditional GDS feed carries. NDC connections often sit alongside GDS content in a modern booking platform.

A wholesaler that contracts hotel rooms in bulk and resells that inventory to travel agencies and platforms through an API. Examples include Hotelbeds, TBO and RateHawk. Like a GDS, a bed-bank is a supplier you connect to, not a competitor.

Also written "bedbank"; sometimes "hotel aggregator".

A website or app that sells travel directly to consumers — flights, hotels, packages — such as Booking.com or Expedia. OTAs sit on the retail (B2C) side of distribution and are a common customer for white-label booking technology.

B2C sells travel to the end traveller. B2B sells to other businesses — for example a consolidator supplying sub-agents. B2B2C is a hybrid where a business equips its partner agencies with a branded booking tool that those agencies use with their own customers.

A wholesaler that negotiates fares and inventory at volume (often with airlines or bed-banks) and redistributes them to a network of smaller agencies, who could not access those rates alone. Consolidators are a core audience for wholesale travel technology.

A locally based operator that provides ground services — transfers, tours, activities, accommodation — in a specific destination, sold to inbound tour operators and agencies. DMCs often use booking platforms to package and distribute their local product.

The record in a reservation system that holds an itinerary and passenger details for one or more travellers, identified by a unique booking reference. PNRs are created and managed when bookings are made through a GDS or airline.

An IATA system that consolidates the billing and payment between airlines and accredited travel agencies, so an agency settles one statement rather than paying each airline separately. BSP participation is tied to IATA accreditation.

The US equivalent of BSP: ARC handles ticketing settlement and accreditation between airlines and travel agencies in the United States. Agencies typically reconcile ARC/BSP reporting inside their back-office accounting.

Recognition by the International Air Transport Association that allows a travel agency to issue airline tickets and participate in settlement schemes such as BSP. It is a common trust and capability signal for agencies in the air-travel supply chain.

A budget airline (such as Ryanair, easyJet or AirAsia) that often distributes outside the traditional GDS, through its own API or aggregators. Connecting LCC content usually requires dedicated integrations in a booking platform.

A programming interface that exposes travel content and booking functions — search, pricing, booking, cancellation — so a developer can build them into their own website, app or back end. A unified travel API aggregates many suppliers behind a single integration.

Technology supplied by one company but presented under the customer's own brand. A white-label travel portal lets an agency run a booking site or app as if it were built in-house, with its own logo, domain, currency and look.

Combining separate travel components — flight, hotel, transfer, activity — into a single bookable package assembled in real time from live inventory and pricing, rather than from pre-built fixed packages. It lets agencies sell tailored trips at a bundled price.

Rules a platform applies to supplier (net) rates to set the selling price. A markup adds margin; a markdown discounts. Wholesale platforms usually support tiered markup policies so different agents or markets see different prices automatically.

The layer between booking (front office) and accounting (back office) that enforces business rules — fare rules, markup, credit limits, quality control and approvals — as bookings flow through. Strong mid-office automation reduces manual errors and leakage.

The accounting and administrative side of a travel business: invoicing, supplier reconciliation, BSP/ARC settlement, ledgers and reporting. Travel-specific back-office software automates reconciliation that generic accounting tools handle poorly.

A tool that keeps inventory and rates synchronised across multiple sales channels (a hotel's own site, OTAs, GDS) so availability and pricing stay consistent and overbooking is avoided. Most relevant to suppliers distributing their own inventory.

The ability to price, sell and settle in several currencies, applying exchange-rate conversion and currency-specific rules. Essential for wholesalers and agencies that serve sub-agents and travellers across different countries.

The service that securely authorises and processes card or alternative payments between a buyer, the seller and the acquiring bank. Travel platforms integrate gateways (and often virtual cards for supplier payment) into the booking flow.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard — a set of security requirements any business that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data must follow. It governs how booking platforms and gateways must protect payment information.

Software that manages the specific workflow of Umrah and Hajj pilgrimage travel — packages, pilgrim/group records, visas, transport, accommodation near the holy sites, and compliance with Saudi requirements such as Nusuk — which generic booking tools do not cover.

Analytics that turn an agency's booking, supplier and margin data into insight — identifying where profit is won or lost, which suppliers and routes perform, and where pricing or leakage can be improved. It sits on top of the booking and accounting data.