Glossary

This dictionary is a comprehensive document to standardize terminology and calculations. This will continue to be updated and expanded to reflect the most current terms and definitions.

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Terms	Definitions/Descriptions	Calculation
Abacus	A GDS based in Singapore serving primarily Asian travel agents and planners
Accommodations	Single Room: A room with one bed for one person. Twin Room: A room with two beds for two people. Double Room: A room for two persons with a double bed. Triple Room: A room for three persons, usually consisting of two beds plus a rollaway. Quad Room: A room for four people, usually consisting of at least two beds and possibly two rollaways. Ocean Front: A room directly facing the ocean. Ocean View: A room with a view of the ocean usually located on the side of the hotel.
Adjustments	A correction or modification to an existing checked-out reservation to reflect actual conditions
ADR (Average Daily Rate)	This is a macro measurement used to calculate the average revenue achieved on consumed room nights. Data in this measurement can be substituted to determine ADR on "Consumed" or "Net" data. See Explanatory Notes.	Consumed Revenue / total Consumed Room Nights = Average Daily Rate
Aeronautical Radio, Inc. (ARINC)	An independent non profit communications company which provides communication network services to link GDSs to travel service vendors such as hotel and car rental companies
Agent	One who acts for or as the representative of another
Agent Display	The screen and information the agent sees when they enter a specific format. For example: air, car or hotel availability.
Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC)	The U.S. airline industry organization which issues the identification numbers to accredited U.S. travel agents which are used by the hotel industry for commission payment
Amadeus	A worldwide GDS based in Europe. Principal partners are Air France, Lufthansa German Airlines and Iberian Airlines
America On-Line	An information service which offers news, email, and a diverse range of databases to general public subscribers via computer and modem
American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA)	The leading trade association with U.S. retail travel agents and tour operators as allied members
Anasazi	The software company in Phoenix, Arizona who developed the Promus CRS
Apollo	Originally developed as the internal CRS for United Airlines. Apollo is the GDS operated by Galileo International from offices in Rosemont, Illinois. Marketed in Canada, Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa under the Galileo name and in the United States and Mexico as Apollo
ARC (Airline Reporting Corporation) Number	The membership identification number assigned to accredited travel agencies in the U.S. ARC numbers are accepted by the hotel industry as indicating a legitimate travel agency to which a commission should be paid.
ARU	Automatic Rate Update -- See Electronic Rate Update (ERU)
Available Room Nights	The total number of room nights that can be sold (often referred to as inventory).
AXESS	GDS developed by Japan Airlines to serve primarily Japanese travel agents and travel planners
Benchmarking	The search for those best practices that will lead to the superior performance of a company
BDT (Bulk Data Transfers)	See Electronic Rate Update
Booked Rate	See Gross Booked Rate and Net Booked Rate
Booked Revenue	See Gross Booked Revenue and Net Booked Revenue
Booked Room Nights	See Gross Booked Room Nights and Net Booked Room Nights
Booker	A person who regularly makes reservations for others such as an administrative assistant or individual travel agent
Booking Engine	A computerized reservation system that provides supplier availability of products, rates, descriptions and reservations to the end user. For example: GDSs – Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Worldspan.
Browser	A computer program used for accessing sites or information on a network such as the World Wide Web. For example: Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.
Cancellation	The CRS transaction generated by a request to cancel an existing confirmation Number(s) and/or segment(s) of a reservation	Gross Bookings - Net Bookings = Cancellations OR (Gross Conversion Rate - Net Conversion Rate) * Handled Calls = Cancellations
CBT (Computer Based Training)	A self administered, individually paced training program provided on a computer terminal. The program delivers instructions without instructor participation.
Central Reservation Office (CRO)	The central operation which processes both toll-free telephone reservations and electronic reservations
Central Reservation System (CRS)	The computer network which stores individual supplier information, rates and inventory/availability and allows inquiries to be made and reservations confirmed.
Chain Code	A two-letter identification code used to identify a supplier company or a Reservation Service Provider in the CRS or GDS.
Change	A transaction generated by a request to modify an existing reservation.
Checked-Out Reservations	The tracking and reporting of reservation data in which the guest has completed the stay
Client Rate	A rate offered to a corporate client.
Client Profile	Information that is stored in the CRS specific to a guest, corporation, travel agency, or booker
Commission	The amount a travel agent receives from the supplier for selling transportation, accommodations, or other services
Commissionable	Rates for rooms that are booked by retail or wholesale travel agents for which the hotel agrees to pay the booking agent a booking commission (usually 10 percent)
Complete Access	Type A link processing for Amadeus that enables travel agents to receive instant response to bookings
CompuServe	An information service which offer news, email, and a diverse range of databases to general public subscribers via computer and modem
Confirmation Number	A unique number assigned to each reservation made through the CRS
Connectivity	The ability to connect or to communicate with another community
Connect Time	The amount of time spent by callers in que or ringing before being answered by an agent
Consumed Bookings	See Checked-Out Reservations and the Explanatory Notes
Consumed Revenue	The amount of revenue actually generated from reservation activities in which the guest has completed the stay. -- See Explanatory Notes	total Consumed Room Nights * Average Daily Rate = Consumed Revenue
Consumed Room Nights	The total number of room nights actually sold in which the guest has completed the stay. -- See Explanatory Notes	Occupancy * Available Room Nights = Consumed Room Nights
Consumed Stay	A stay in which the guest has actually checked out of the hotel. -- See Explanatory Notes
Contractual Rate	A rate agreement between a hotel and a consortium or group of travel agencies.
Contribution to Occupancy	The average percentage of Consumed Room Nights booked by each distribution channel	Consumed Room Nights by Distribution Channel/ total Consumed Room Nights = Contribution to Occupancy
Corporate ID	A unique numeric identifier assigned to companies that will qualify travelers for discounted rates
Cost Per Booked Room Night	The average cost incurred for each room night reserved through advance bookings	Total Expenses / Net Booked Room Nights = Cost Per Booked Room Night
Cost Per Consumed Room Night	The average cost incurred for each room night occupied	Total Expenses / Consumed Room Nights = Cost Per Consumed Room Night
Cost Per FTE	The average cost incurred for each full-time equivalent	Total Expenses / Total FTE Count = Cost Per FTE
Cost Per Gross Booking	The average cost incurred for each reservation booked, regardless of the number of room nights generated at the time of booking	Total Expenses / Gross Bookings - Cost per Gross Booking
Cost Per Net Booking	The average cost incurred for each reservation booked less cancellations, regardless of the number of room nights generated at the time of booking	Total Expenses / Net Booking = Cost Per Net Booking
Cost Per Sold Room Night	See Cost Per Consumed Room Night
COVIA	Former owner and operator of Apollo which merged with Galileo to form Galileo International
DATAS II	GDS formerly owned by Delta Airlines, now replaced by Worldspan. See Worldspan
Defined Viewership	GDS allows classified information to be seen only by authorized viewers. It is commonly used in conjunction with negotiated rates or contracts.
Delphi	An information service which offers news, email, and a diverse range of databases to general public subscribers via computer and modem
Denials	A reservation request not booked due to lack of availability of inventory. Measured mostly by the CRO. Denials indicate turn-away because there is no availability for a specific hotel.
Direct Access	A term used by GDS to describe the mode of reservation processing in which the supplier's reservation system provides a confirmation number within seven seconds of the completion of the booking requests and prior to the travel agent ending the booking transaction
Direct Connect	Type A link processing for SABRE that enables travel agents to receive instant response to bookings
Direct Reference Screen (DRS)	The section of GDS containing sales oriented descriptions of services to assist travel agents in booking the product or service offered
Distribution Channel	The original method in which reservations are booked, i.e., Central Reservation Office, Global Distribution Systems, Hotel Direct, Hotel to Hotel, Walk-In, or other
Downtime	The total time a system is not working due to some software or hardware failure
EDS (Electronic Distribution Systems)	Computerized reservation systems which subscribed users can view and book travel products or services
EDT (Electronic Draft Transmission)	A method for hotels to transmit credit card payments through the CRS to the Data Center and then to the credit card company or bank
Electronic Rate Update	The automated electronic communication of rate changes from the CRO database to the GDS databases
Electronic Reservation Service Provider	An ERSP provides corporations and consumers with booking capabilities and travel supplier’s inventory, rates, information via the Internet, Intranet or online service. Unless accredited as a travel agent by ARC, IATA or an airline carrier they cannot issue tickets. For Example: Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, TravelWeb, TravelWiz, Internet Travel Network
Emulator	The menu option on the hotel's screen that allows them to access the CRS
Extranet	A private network operating like the World Wide Web but having access restricted externally to a limited group of authorized users such as specific clients.
Falcon	Travel agency distribution system which uses SABRE applications and marketed in the Middle East by Gulf Air
Familiarization Tour	A complimentary or reduced-rate travel program for travel agents and/or airline employees that is designed to acquaint them with specific hotels or destination(s) in order to stimulate travel sales
Fantasia	A regional GDS operated by Quantas Airlines in partnership with the SABRE Travel Information Network to serve primarily travel agents and travel planners in Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)	Software that allows files to be transferred between different types of computers.
Full Time Equivalent (FTE)	Expression used to convert full-time, part-time, and temporary positions into Full Time Equivalent positions.	Paid Hours / 8 hours per day per person = Full Time Equivalent
Galileo	GDS serving users in Canada, Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa
Gateway	Technology of using a remote computer or service to connect to a third computer to process information or feed information directly
GDS (Global Distribution System)	The entire electronic travel information network that travel agents and consumers who subscribe to on-line services use to book airline seats, rental cars, hotel rooms, and other travel reservations and services
GNR (Guest Name Record)	The file in the CRS which contains the details of an individual reservation.
Graphical User Interface (GUI)	"Gooey" A special environment built into software taking cryptic codes and making the screens more user friendly and easier to use through pull-down menus on-screen buttons, and toolbars that can be manipulated with a mouse.
Gross Booked Rate	The average rate theoretically booked for the total number of room nights reserved through advanced bookings for a specific stay by a particular agent	Gross Booked Revenue / Gross Booked Room Nights = Gross Booked Rate
Gross Booked Revenue	The amount of revenue theoretically generated from the total number of room nights reserved through advanced bookings	Gross Booked Room Nights * Gross Booked Rate = Gross Booked Revenue
Gross Booked Room Nights	The total number of room nights theoretically reserved through advanced bookings
Gross Bookings	The total number of advanced reservations theoretically reserved through advanced bookings
Gross Conversion Rate	This variable is a measurement of the ability to convert sales opportunities to reservations	Gross Bookings / Handled Sales Calls = Gross Conversion Rate
Gross Revenue Per FTE	This is a macro measurement used to calculate the revenue produced per Full-Time Equivalent. This measurement can be used on an hourly, daily, monthly, etc., basis depending on the availability of data	Gross Booked Room Nights = Gross Booked Rate / Total FTE Count =Gross Revenue Per FTE
Gross Room Nights Per Booking	This is a macro measurement used to calculate the average number of room nights booked per reservation.	Gross Booked Room Nights / Gross Bookings = Gross Room Nights Per Booking
Guaranteed Reservation	A hotel reservation secured by cash prepayment, credit card, corporate account or contract. If the guest does not arrive, the hotel may charge the guest (usually one nights' room and tax)
HCC (Hotel Clearing Corporation)	The THISCO subsidiary created to provide worldwide centralized commission payment in local currency for hotel chains that are members
HEDNA (Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association)	The organization of hotel marketing automation staff, GDS and travel agency representatives formed in 1991 to advance communication, procedures, and technology for the sale of hotel accommodations through electronic distribution systems
HMS	Hotel Management System -- See also Property Management System
HOD	Hotel description information for a property or hotel chain in the GDS. All relevant information regarding location, amenities, and policies is sorted and accessed in this arena.
Hotel Direct	Distribution channel method in which advance reservations are booked by the destination hotel
Hotel to Hotel	Distribution channel method in which reservations are booked by one hotel for another hotel
HRS	Hotel Reservation System, also referred to as CRS
IATA (International Air Transport Association)	The world trade association of airlines which operates domestic and international services and acts as a supranational organization proposing rates, conditions or services, safety standards, etc. IATA appoints retail travel agents for international ticketing through its IATAN subsidiary
IATA Number	The membership identification number assigned to accredited travel agencies situated outside the U.S.
IATAN (International Airlines Travel Agent Network)	Wholly owned subsidiary of IATA which is responsible for accrediting travel agents for member airlines
Incomplete Transmission	The process of transmitting hotel revenue and travel agent commission data nightly from each hotel that is not received properly. The hotel must retransmit the revenue to report but the travel agent commission data is not retransmitted.
Index Points	A cross reference system employed by several GDSs to allow a hotel to list its distance and direction from specific points, i.e., airports of landmarks.
Infini	Japan based regional GDS owned by Abacus and ANA
Inquiry	A request for information, i.e. missing commission
Inside Availability	Apollo/Galileo's Seamless Connectivity product which enables travel agents to view rates and other property information directly from the hotel CRS
Inside Link	Type A link processing for Galileo International that enables travel agents to receive instant response to bookings
Intranet	A private network operating like the World Wide Web but having access restricted internally to a limited group of authorized users such as employees of a company.
Internet	The worldwide network of computers originally developed by the U.S. Government, traditionally used for scientific and academic research and communication. It has been broadened to include more business-oriented activities including the listing of hotels. Internet is configured in a series of "webs" with the World Wide Web most often used for travel information. Using a software package such as Mosaic, Internet users can view full color photos and detailed displays on participating hotel priorities.
Inventory	The supply of guest rooms at a hotel and their status, i.e., available/sold and open/closed
Itinerary	The travel schedule provided by a travel agent which details hotel names, flight numbers, departure times, etc.
KAD	A term for Key Account Director. The liaison between the supplier and the distributor who handles account management and the preferred rate negotiations.
Last Room Availability (LRA)	A travel agent's ability to book the last room available in a hotel
Manual Commission	The process by TAC in which travel agent commission must be manually entered in the GNR for automatic payment
Meals	Continental Breakfast: Usually consists of bread, rolls, butter, jam and tea or coffee. AP (American Plan): Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. MAP (Modified American Plan): Includes breakfast and dinner.
Message Delivery System (MDS)	A portion of the CRS which handles messages between the hotels and the CRS
Multilevel Rates	Term for negotiated rates in Apollo/Galileo
Negotiated Rate	A commercial rate that has been offered to a travel agency or a consortium of travel agencies to be used for any of heir clients in return for volume business. These are sometimes called Preferred Rates. Viewership of these rates in the GDS by users are restricted unless an authorized code is entered.
Net Booked Rate	The average rate actually booked from the total number of room nights reserved minus cancellations for a specific period regardless of when the stay actually occurs. Even though this calculation uses "Net" data, it does not suggest "Consumed" data. See Explanatory Notes.	Net Booked Revenue / Net Booked Room Nights = Net Booked Rate
Net Booked Revenue	The amount of revenue actually generated from the total number of room nights reserved through advanced bookings minus cancellations. See Explanatory Notes.	Net Booked Room Nights * Net Booked Rate = Net Booked Revenue
Net Booked Room Nights	The total number of room nights actually generated from advanced bookings minus cancellations. See Explanatory Notes.	Gross Booked Room Nights - Cancellations = Net Booked Room Nights
Net Bookings	The total number of reservations actually generated minus cancellations. See Explanatory Notes.	Gross Bookings - Cancellations = Net Bookings OR (Handled Calls - Transferred Calls) * Net Conversion Rate = Net Bookings
Net Conversion Rate	This variable is a measurement of the agent's ability to convert sales opportunities to reservations. See Explanatory Notes.	Net Bookings / Handled Sales Calls = Net Conversion Rates
Net Non-Commissionable	Rates that have no commissions attached to them. A rate offered by a hotel whereby the travel agent or wholesaler agrees to forgo commission
Net Revenue Per FTE	This is a macro measurement used to determine the net revenue produced per Full Time Equivalent. See Explanatory Notes.	Net Booked Room Nights * Net Booked Rate / Total FTE Count = Net Revenue Per FTE
Net Room Nights Per Booking	This is a macro measurement used to calculate the average number of room nights booked per reservation less room nights canceled. See Explanatory notes.	Net Booked Room Nights / total Net Bookings = Net Room Nights Per Booking OR Net Booked Room Nights / (total Gross Bookings - total Cancellations) = Net Room Nights Per Booking
Network Data Mover (NDM)	A software application used to transmit revenue and guest information from hotel level to corporate level
Occupancy	The percentage of rooms sold	Consumed Room Nights / Available Room Nights = Occupancy
Occupied Room Nights	See Consumed Room Nights
Onward Distribution	The distribution of supplier data and products by the GDSs acting either passively (behind the scenes) or actively via the Internet, Intranets and Extranets.
Open Viewership	Allowing anyone to access rates.
PARS	Passenger Airline Reservation System. GDS formerly owned by Northwest Airlines and TWA, now replaced by Worldspan. See Worldspan.
Passenger Name Record (PNR)	A booking in the GDS. A PNR can include all segments of the client's itinerary such as air flights, rental cars, and hotel reservations. A PNR is crated and "owned" by the travel agent and remains in the GDS database. CROs and individual hotels may not view or change a guest's PNR.
PMS (Property Management System)	The computer system in a hotel that contains information about available and occupied guest rooms, future reservations, and guest charges.
Point of Sales	Same as Defined Viewership. It can also be geographic or demographic areas to which a travel agent has exclusive access.
Pseudo City Code	An identification code established by GDS companies for a terminal location. This code allows classified information such as preferred rates to be accessible by a specific agency.
Preferred Rates	Rates that are agreed upon between the supplier and the distributor that are discounted based on volume. Other terms referring to preferred rates are: contracted, negotiated, muli-level, tiered and secured rates depending on the GDSs.
Prodigy	An information service which offers news, email, and a diverse range of databases to general public subscribers via computer and modem
Pseudo-City Code	A code which identifies the location of the terminal of a travel agency which makes reservations for a designated company. This allows classified information to be accessible only to that agency. This is also referred to as Defined Viewership.
Queue	Messages or data waiting to be processed, delivered, or printed
Rate Code	A series of alpha-numeric characters which define a particular rate category at a hotel to the GDS, i.e., WKD is a weekend rate category code. When used in combination with a room code, the result is a booking code.
Rate Return	The process whereby a hotel's CRS edits the booking segment and returns a rate that is equal to or less than the rate shown in the segment.
Regret	Any other reason besides availability why a call to our CRO does not become a booking. Regrets indicate turn-away for all other reasons, such as rate, restrictions such as closed-to-arrival and requested room type not available.
Reject Message	A reservation message from a GDS which cannot be automatically processed and confirmed by the hotel CRS. It must be reviewed and amended by a CRO staff member.
Reservation	An arrangement to have a room held for one's use. A reservation may consist of multiple rooms at multiple destinations. See Explanatory notes.
Revenue Per Available Room (REVPAR)	This is a macro measurement to determine the amount of money a hotel earns for each room available. This is a more accurate measure of performance than average rate or occupancy alone because it accounts for rooms that go unsold. It shows the result of a hotel's balance of the strategies of occupancy and rate.	Net Booked Revenue / total Available Room Nights = Revenue Per Available Room OR Occupancy * Average Daily Rate = Revenue Per Available Room
Room Code	A series of alpha-numeric characters which identify a particular room at a hotel to the GDS
Room Type	General room description by classification (superior, standard, etc.) and bedding (single, king, queen, double).
SABRE	Semi-Automated Business Research Environment. Originally developed as the reservation system for American Airlines, it is now a worldwide GDS based in Dallas, TX.
Seamless Connectivity	The ability for a travel agent to access complete information directly from the CRO through the GDS
Segment	Individual parts of a reservation which can consist of multiple destinations for the same guest
Self-Through	A hotel CRS room inventory control function. It indicates that arrivals or short multiple night reservations cannot be confirmed for this date, but reservations with arrival on a previous date and a long length of stay can be confirmed.
Service Charge	Service charges are a fixed percentage automatically added to room and meal charges.
Service Level	A time specified in seconds within which all offered calls should be answered. Normally set as an objective by management. Industry standards are typically 80% of all calls answered in 20 seconds or less.	Acceptable / total Offered Calls = Service Level
Sign-In Message	Promotional opportunity offered by most GDSs which places a hotel or other supplier's message on GDS computer screen when travel agents log-on to their terminal
Sold Room Nights	Consumed Room Nights
Special Rate Plan	Special rate plans that hotels offer to selected guests. SRPs can be system-wide, local, or convention.
Stay	See Explanatory Notes
Suspended Records	All checked-out reservations in which information is incomplete or does not meet edit requirements. For Example: A travel agent number not in the CRS or a room rate that does not pass edit requirements. These records must have manual adjustments in order to be stored.
Switch Company	An organization such as Wizcom International or Pegasus Systems which provides communication connections, data communications, data reformatting services to link the distributor to the supplier.
System One	A GDS developed by Eastern Airlines. Once Amadeus bought System One, users migrated to Amadeus and System One is no longer used.
TAAHD (Travel Agent Airline Help Desk)	A service to provide travel agents with assistance in booking hotel reservations electronically. TAAHD is responsible for reservation messages from a GDS that cannot be automatically processed and confirmed by the hotel CRS. These reservations must be reviewed and amended manually by a TAAHD staff member.
TACS (Travel Agent Commission Services)	A service in which commissions are centralized and paid to the appropriate individual travel agents. Each hotel is sent a monthly itemized bill for the total dollar amount that was paid on behalf of that specific hotel. The program may also service agent payments.
Taxes	Monetary charges that are established for sales and occupancy taxes by the city, state and/or federal government. Value Added Tax (VAT): Are taxes imposed by governmental authority in countries outside.
The Hotel Industry Switch Company (THISCO)	A non-profit organization founded in 1989 by 16 hotel companies who first developed Ultraswitch
Total FTE Count	See FTE	total Paid Hours in a specific period / number of hours in specific period = Total FTE Count
Transaction	Terminology used in GDS for a reservation. A transaction may consist of multiple segments containing multiple room nights. See Explanatory Notes.
Travel Agency	A company which employs travel agents to assist clients in selecting and reserving travel services
Travel Agent	An individual working for a travel agency who assists in the selection of travel services and reserves those services
Type A	Interactive automated communication link between a GDS and a hotel company through which reservations are delivered to the supplier's CRS for review with a confirmation number returned to travel agents within seven seconds.
Type B	Batched-type (teletype) electronic communication process linking a GDS and a hotel company through which reservations are delivered to the supplier's CRS for review. A confirmation is returned to the travel agent's GDS queue from which they are recovered and read by the agent.
UltraSwitch	A system designed by Anasazi and a service of THISCO to provide an interface between subscribers and hotel reservation systems with the capability to provide immediate room confirmation numbers for each hotel property participating.
Uptime	The uninterrupted amount of time that network or computer resources are working and available to a user
Wire Transfer	Electronic transfer of funds, i.e., HCC payments
Worldspan	The Atlanta, Georgia based GDS formed by the merger of the PARS and DATAS II in February of 1991.