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Glossary of Terms

This section contains links to terminology commonly associated with the Travel Industry and modes of transport.

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Full A to Z Terminology
 

Airport Code

 

Three-letter codes used to identify airports.

 

Amenities

 

Services and extras offered by a travel supplier.

 

APEX Fare

 

Advance Purchase Excursion: Generally the lowest and most heavily restricted airfare.

 

ARC

 

Airlines Reporting Corp: Airline-owned corporation which accredits travel agents and sets regulation governing airline-agency relations in the US.

 

Back-to-BackTicketing

 

Booking two overlapping round trips with opposite origin and destination points,where both bookings meet restrictions required to obtain a discount fare; thenusing one segment from each round trip for each direction of a single journey in order to get a lower overall fare.

 

Baggage Check

 

Official receipt issued by a carrier for luggage.

 

Baggage Tag

 

Personal identification that must be attached to luggage checked by an airline.

 

Base Fare/Rate

 

Price of a travel service before taxes and add-on charges.

 

Blackout Periods

 

Days or periods of high demand when special rates are not in effect.

 

Blackouts

 

Dates when lower rates do not apply

 

Boarding Pass

 

A card given to a traveller indicating the seat assignment.

 

Bumping

 

Practice of removing confirmed passengers from overbooked flights.

 

CapacityControlled

 

Limitation on number of airline seats, hotel rooms, or rental cars available under a particular rate or promotional offer. Also known as "yield management".

 

Car Class

 

Size and type of rental car. Classes differ from vendor to vendor, and are stated usually as economy, mid-size, full-size, luxury, and specialty.

 

Car RentalAgreement

 

Contract between car rental vendor and customer.

 

Carrier

 

Company that transports passengers or freight – normally refers to the airline industry.

 

Carry-on

 

Unchecked baggage.

 

Category Supplier

 

A supplier that specialises in offering a service specifically for one category/mode of travel.

 

Charter

 

Aircraft or other mode of transportation reserved entirely for use by a group.

 

City Pair

 

Origin and destination points of a flight segment.

 

Code-sharing

 

An airline marketing practice that allows two or more airlines to sell each other's flights using their own two-letter codes in travel-agent computer reservations systems. Passengers usually benefit from one-stop check-in and pooled frequent-flyer mileage.

 

Collision-damageWaiver

 

Coverage that provides relief from financial responsibility for the loss of or damage to the vehicle, but which is not needed by most consumers.

 

Commission

 

Percentage of sale price that vendors pay to travel agencies for selling their services.

 

Commuter Carrier

 

Regional airline operating from small locales to larger cities, often under an affiliate relationship with a major carrier.

 

Comp Rooms

 

Complimentary rooms which a lodging facility provides without charge based on total number of sleeping rooms occupied by a group.

 

Companion Fare

 

Promotional airfare whereby a second ticket may be purchased at a discount,provided two people are travelling together.

 

Concierge

 

Individual in a hotel responsible for attending to guests special needs and services.

 

Connecting Flight

 

Flight on which passenger must change aircraft at some point, referred to as the Connecting Point.

 Consolidator  

Business that buys international tickets at deep discounts from airlines seating inventory that is expected to remain unsold. Consolidators resell tickets at a mark-up to travel agencies or travellers directly.

 

Consortia Rate

 

The rate given to a consortia of companies or more frequently used as acommon rate offered to all major travel service suppliers.

 

Contract of Carriage

 

An airline's written statement of passenger service, on file with the relevantauthorities and available at ticket offices, airport counters, and most airline web sites. A useful resource for passengers requesting accommodations due to delayed and cancelled flights.

 

Corporate Rate

 

Discount rate available to travelling business men and women 1 Special rates have been negotiated between the corporation and CategorySupplier 2

 

CRS

 

Computer reservations system; travel-booking tool used by travel agents; also known as GDS (global distribution system).

Daily Rate/DailyRental  

A daily rental is for a 24-hour period.

 

Delivery Charge

 

A Rental Car Company charge for delivering to home or point of business.

 

Departure Tax

 

A tax levied when departing a country by land, sea or air.

 

Deregulation

 

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 ended U.S. Government oversight of airline routes and fares.

 

Discount Fares

 

Short-term promotional fares or other discounted fares of varied duration.

 

Double

 

Hotel room with one double bed, or sometimes a room designed to accommodate two people.

 

Drop-off Charge

 

A fee added for returning the vehicle to a different location.

 

e-ticketing

 

Process that offers electronic reservations rather than issuing paper tickets.

 

Extended Stay

 

Generally, a hotel stay of seven or more nights.

 

Fare Basis

 

Conditions, including service class and ticketing provisions that determine a fare. Fare basis is designated by identifying letters and/or numbers on a ticket.

 

Flat Rate

 

Specific room rate negotiated by a group and a hotel.

 

Flight, Connecting

 

A flight with an intermediate stop and a change of aircraft, and possibly a change of airlines.

 

Flight, Direct

 

A flight with one or more intermediate stops, but no change of aircraft.

 

Flight, Non-stop

 

A flight with no intermediate stops.

 

Folio

 

Written or electronic record of hotel guest's account of financial transactions within the property.

 GDS  

Global Distribution System used to access supplier inventory by the TMC orTSP.

 

GNE

 

Global New Entrant competing global reservations system to traditionalCRS/GDS.

 

GNR

 

Guest name record; an electronic file for each hotel guest.

 

Group Rate

 

Room rate charged by a hotel for a group of 10 or more guests.

 

Hourly Charges

 

Vehicles are rented on a daily, 24-hour basis. Hourly charges will apply when a consumer returns the vehicle after their expected time of return.

 

Hub

 

Airport at which an airline has major operations and connecting flights to smaller destinations.

 

Hub-and-Spoke

 

An airline system that involves carrying passengers from origin cities to majorairport hubs, for connecting flights to their destination cities.

 HIATA  

International Air Transport Association International governing body for airlineOperators.

 

Interline

 

To travel on more than one airline with a single ticket; an agreement for airlinesto transfer baggage.

 

Intermodal

 

A trip with multiple forms of transportation, such as air, cruise and rail.

 

ILast-RoomAvailability

 

Electronic reservation system that provides users with current information abouta hotel's available inventory.

 

Last-SeatAvailability

 

Electronic reservation system that provides users with current information aboutairline seat availability.

 

Liability Coverage

 

Insurance protection against injury and damage claims by third parties, available as option for car rentals.

 

Load Factor

 

A flight's percentage of occupied seats, a determining factor when booking orrebooking

 

Local CompanyRate

 

Rate negotiated at a local/regional level with individual hotels. The rate isusually better than the Corporate Rate

 

Loss DamageWaiver (LDW)

 

Variation of Collision Damage Waiver employed by some car rental vendors.Renters are advised to buy LDW to avoid liability for collision, theft, vandalism, loss of car, and other non-collision damages.

 

Lowest FareGuarantee

 

Travel agency's promise to provide clients the lowest fare available when reservation is confirmed.

 

Lowest LogicalAirfare

 

Lowest airfare found within the parameters of a corporation's travel policy.

 ManagementReport  

Data summary (from travel agencies, travel suppliers, and/or credit-card vendors) documenting usage patterns for air travel, hotel stays, or car rental.

 

MCO

 

Miscellaneous charges order; issued by airlines or other travel companies forexpenses other than the booking itself

 

Meeting Fare

 

Negotiated airline discounts, typically for 10 or more persons travelling to thesame event.

 

MileageAllowance/  Mileage Cap

 

Number of miles a rented car is driven beyond the mileage allowance.

 

Mileage Charge

 

Charge assessed for each mile a rental car is driven beyond an established threshold.

 

Mini bar

 

Hotel room cabinet containing snacks and refrigerated beverages. Items consumed are charged to hotel bill.

 

MinimumConnecting Time

 

The minimum time allotted to arrive at and depart from the same airport onconnecting flights, as legally required for a reservation agent or travel agent booking these flights. These times can vary.

 Net Fare/Net Rate  

Price or fare for a travel service, less an agent's commission and without tax.

 

No Show

 

Passenger or hotel guest who fails to cancel a reservation not used.

 

Non Revenue

 

Non-paying passengers or guests, often travel company employees, who are normally accommodated after paying customers.

 

No-show

 

A guest who fails to notify the hotel when cancelling a stay, thereby incurring a fee in many cases.

 

Occupancy Rate

 

A property's percentage of occupied rooms; a measurement of the likely available space.

 

Open Ticket

 

Ticket that is valid for transportation between certain points but indicates no specific reservation.

 

Open-jaw Ticket

 

A round-trip itinerary in which you arrive in one city and depart from another, so that the middle leg is traversed by rail, ship, or car.

 

Overbooking

 

Practice of confirming more seats or rooms than are available, in order toprotect against no-shows.

 

Override

 

A bonus commission paid to a travel agency by a travel supplier for increasedor volume bookings.

 Plan, American  

Rate that includes three meals daily (modified American plan includes twomeals daily).

 

Plan, European or continental

 

Rate that includes continental breakfast daily.

 

PNR

 

Passenger name record; an electronic file for each traveler.

 

Rack Rate

 

A standard or published rate1 Official posted rate for a hotel room, published airfares, or non-contracted carrental rates 2

 

Refuelling Charge

 

Amount charged if the consumer does not fill the car’s gas tank. This can be a significant charge if the car is left vat airports.

 

Revenue Sharing

 

Travel agency rebate of commission revenue received on a corporation's bookings.

 

Rooms, Adjoining

 

Rooms that share a wall but are not connected.

 

Rooms, Connecting

 

Rooms that share a wall and are connected by a private door.

 

Run of the House

 

The discounted room rate applies to any room in the hotel within certain parameters.

 Segment  

Leg or identifiable portion of a route travelled, usually stated in terms of originating and terminating cities.

 

Single Supplement

 

A surcharge added to the per-person cost when travelling alone.

 

Split Ticketing

 

Issuing two one-way tickets instead of a round-trip ticket, usually for purpose ofobtaining a lower fare.

 

Standby

 

Class of air passengers who hold tickets that do not allow for advanced reservations (standby fares), or are waiting for available seats.

 

Suite

 

Accommodations that include a sitting room.

 

Surcharge

 

Assessment by vendor or governmental entity in addition to published price or contracted rate.

 TMC  

Travel Management Company

 

TSP

 

Travel Service Supplier

 Waitlist  

List of travellers waiting for people to cancel reservations for a supplier that is sold out e.g. air, hotel etc.

 

Window ofConvenience

 

Normally found in a Travel Policy as an agreed number of hours on either side of ideal departure or arrival time.

 

Yield Management

 

A complex pricing system that allows travel suppliers to maximise profits by charging varying rates within an aircraft or hotel based on forecasted capacity.