Welcome to the class of travel lingo 101!
Whether you’re a new travel agent, a business owner, or just someone curious about how travel business works behind the scenes, knowing the right “Travel Talk” is a huge advantage. This blog provides a complete set of A-Z Definitions covering everything from Hotel Pricing & Global Bank Transfer to Intermodal tours & Traveler Safety.
This blog turns technical jargon into clear, actionable information. Whether you’re negotiating a deal or organizing a group tour, these definitions will help you move through the travel world with ease and clarity.
So, let’s get started!
Average Daily Rate (ADR): The average price a hotel charges for a room on a per day basis, & calculated by dividing total room revenue by the number of rooms sold.
Bank TT (Telegraphic Transfer): A secure method of electronically transferring funds between banks across borders (often via SWIFT Network). This International bank transfer is commonly used by travel agents to pay airline suppliers & International hotels.
Cancellation Window: A predefined period prior to a service date (typically 24-72 hours before departure) during which a booking can be modified or cancelled free of charge or with minimum penalties.
Disti Margin: Profit percentage which distributors earn by buying the travel inventory, like hotels & flights from the suppliers at the wholesale rates and reselling it to different travel agents and/or businesses.
Example- A distributor buys a hotel room for Rs.100 from the supplier and sells it to a B2B travel agent for Rs.125, earning a Disti Margin of 20%.
Exclusivity Agreement: It is a contract granting a distributor or travel agency exclusive rights to distribute or sell a supplier’s specific travel products or services, like hotel chains, airlines, tours, within a specific market or territory for a definite period of time.
Familiarisation (FAM) Trip: It is a hosted, educational journey organized by suppliers like hotels and airlines, for travel agents, tour operators, and corporate buyers to give them firsthand experience of a destination, products, or service and boost future sales.
GRT (Gross Registered Tonnage): It measures a ship’s total internal volume, expressed in register tons (100 cubic feet per ton), used in B2B travel business to determine various taxes, cruise ship capacity, port fees, insurance premiums, and regulatory compliance.
Example- Icon of Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship has a GRT of 248,663, measuring its total internal volume for B2B Travel capacity planning.
Holdback: It refers to a percentage or portion of the payment withheld by payment processors until specific conditions are met as a reserve against future chargebacks, cancellations, or disputes.
Intermodal Tour: It is a packaged travel itinerary that combines multiple transportation modes-such as flights, ferries, trains, and buses- under separate contracts to ensure that cargo remains in a single container throughout the journey & for seamless passenger movement across destinations.
Example- An European itinerary B2B package featuring a flight from New York to London, Cruise from London to Mumbai, India, and train from Mumbai to Delhi, each segment under separate transport operators.
Joint Promotion: It is a strategic collaborative marketing arrangement where travel agencies, suppliers, and other businesses share costs and resources in order to execute campaigns and co-promote products, destinations, and packages for boosting mutual sales and market reach.
Example– A hotel chain and airline partner on a B2B Campaign offering discounted flights and hotel rates to travel agencies with an aim of boosting mutual bookings.
Key Account Manager: A professional responsible for managing and growing relationships with high-value key clients, understanding their needs, and ensuring their satisfaction to drive revenue and ensure long-term loyalty.
Land Package: It is a bundled travel deal sold wholesale to agencies, comprising transportation, accommodations, destination services like hotel stays, and guided activities such as sightseeing tours and meals, within a specific destination, excluding airfares.
Meet and Greet Service: It provides personalized assistance at airports or transport hubs, where agents personally escort groups or corporate clients through arrivals, handle immigration processes, assist with baggage claims, and fast-track transfers to ensure stress-free experience and client satisfaction.
Nationality-Based Pricing: It is a pricing strategy where businesses like hotels and suppliers set different prices to travel agencies based on the nationalities of their end clients, reflecting the varying demand, purchasing power, and market preferences.
Example- A hotel charges different fares for the same room based on the buyer’s passport country, like a US tourist paying $200 for a room while a Thai national pays $100.
On-Request Booking: It refers to the process of making a reservation for travel components like hotels or tours that cannot be instantly booked or confirmed online, requiring manual supplier contact to verify the availability within 2-3 days.
Example- A B2B Travel Agency submits an online request for 10 rooms at a Hyatt Hotel during peak season; the supplier manually checks the availability and confirms within 48-72 hours.
Passenger Name Record: It is a unique digital record in the database of a CRS or GDS that contains complete booking details of a group or a passenger, including personal information, itinerary, and special requests, to enable seamless coordination among airlines, agencies, and service providers.
Quote Validity: It is a specified timeframe during which an offer or price quote (typically specified in days) for travel services like hotel, and tour remains fixed, bookable, and protected from rate changes and market volatility.
Example- A Dubai hotel quotes $150/night to a travel agency for a room, with validity of 7 days-after which rate may increase due to demand, requiring re-quoting.
Rooming List: It is a vital detailed document provided by travelling agencies or DMC’s to hotels which includes guest’s names, room assignments, check-in/outs, and special requests to streamline hotel booking and guest accommodations.
SIC (Seat in Coach): It is a shared transportation option where travellers join pre-scheduled coaches with others heading to the same destination, making it a sociable and cost-effective travelling option.
Thematic Tours: These are specialized travel packages centered around a specific theme or interests, such as music, food, or sports, in order to offer customized experiences that align with the interests of clients.
Upselling: It involves persuading customers to purchase premium travel products or additional services, such as higher-end accommodations or exclusive tours, to increase revenue and create a more memorable experience.
Vouchers: These are prepaid certificates or cards issued by tour operators or DMC’s to agencies or travelers, that can be used to pay for various travel-related expenses such as tours, flights, and hotels.
Wholesale Rates: These are discounted base prices offered by suppliers like Hotels to travel agencies and tour operators, typically below 15-40% retail rates, to allow agencies to add their own markup and maximize profitability.
X-Coach: It refers to premium and luxury coach services offered through specialized contracts for upscale group travel experiences.
Yield Management: It is a dynamic pricing strategy used by businesses to adjust prices and inventory allocations based on real-time demand forecasts and market conditions to maximize revenue and ensure profitability.
Zero-based Itinerary: It is a custom-built itinerary constructed from scratch without any pre-existing templates, ensuring that resources are allocated based on the client’s strategic requirements and business priorities.
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