Glossary
Corporate travel glossary
The terms that come up when you set up or compare a business travel program, explained in plain English for a US company. Where silentVIP handles something, the entry links to the page that explains how.
A
- Advance purchase
How many days before departure a ticket is bought. Many fares require a minimum advance purchase, and many travel policies ask for flights to be booked a set number of days ahead, with a reason required for later bookings.
- Agent-assisted booking
A booking made by a travel agent by phone, email or chat rather than by the traveler in an online tool. TMCs often charge a different fee for it.
- Ancillary fees
Charges on top of the airfare for things such as checked bags, seat selection, early boarding or onboard Wi-Fi. They are often paid separately and can be missed in travel reports.
- ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation)
The US company, owned by airlines, that accredits travel agencies to issue airline tickets and settles payments between agencies and airlines. An ARC number identifies the issuing agency in the US.
B
- Basic economy
The most restricted economy fare. Depending on the airline it may not allow changes, seat selection or a full-size carry-on, and it may earn fewer loyalty benefits. Many policies say whether travelers may book it.
- Booking class
A single letter (such as Y, B or M) that an airline uses for a price level within a cabin. Two seats in the same economy cabin can be in different booking classes with different prices and rules. Also called fare class or reservation booking designator (RBD).
C
- Cabin class
The section of the aircraft: economy, premium economy, business or first. Travel policies usually set the highest cabin allowed, often by flight length.
- Central billing
Paying for travel through one company account rather than travelers' own or individual corporate cards. The TMC bills the company, or charges a central company card, so employees don't front the cost.
- Change fee
A penalty an airline or agency charges for changing a booking. It is separate from the fare difference, which is the change in price between the old and new tickets. Many US airlines dropped change fees on standard economy and above, but not on every fare.
A flight sold by one airline but operated by another. The operating airline usually handles check-in, seating and disruption, while baggage rules and fees depend on the airlines and the ticket, so check both when a trip is booked or disrupted.
- Consolidator
A wholesaler that sells airline tickets to agencies, often at net fares not available to the public. Some smaller agencies issue tickets through a consolidator rather than their own accreditation.
- Corporate rate
A hotel, airline or car rental price agreed for a company's employees, usually in return for expected volume. Also called a negotiated rate. It only saves money if the agency loads it and books it.
- Cost allocation
Assigning each travel charge to the legal entity, department, cost center or project that should bear it. Done at booking, it saves finance reworking charges at month end.
- Cost center
An accounting unit, often a department or team, that travel costs are charged to for budgeting and reporting.
D
- Delegate
A person allowed to act for someone else: an assistant who books for an executive, or a stand-in who approves trips while the usual approver is away.
- DESNZ conversion factors
Greenhouse gas conversion factors published each year by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (previously by DEFRA and BEIS). They are widely used outside the UK to estimate emissions from flights, hotel stays and rail. The US EPA publishes its own emission factors.
- Duty of care
An employer's responsibility to take reasonable steps to protect employees' health and safety, including while traveling for work. In practice it means knowing where travelers are, being able to reach them, and having a plan for incidents.
E
- Entity billing
Invoicing travel to the right legal entity when a company has more than one, such as a US parent and a UK subsidiary, so each entity's books carry its own costs.
- Exchange
Using the value of an existing ticket toward a new one, usually when dates or routes change. The traveler pays any fare difference and change fee. Different from a refund, where money goes back to the original form of payment.
F
- Fare basis code
A code of letters and numbers on a ticket that identifies the exact fare and its rules: booking class, season, advance purchase, minimum stay and whether it can be changed or refunded.
- Fare difference
The amount by which a new ticket costs more (or less) than the original when a booking changes. It is charged in addition to any change fee.
- Fare rules
The conditions attached to a fare: whether it can be changed or refunded, the penalties, advance purchase and stay requirements, and how long the ticket is valid. Read them before booking, not after a plan changes.
G
- GDS (global distribution system)
A network that connects travel agencies to airline, hotel, car rental and rail inventory so they can search, book and ticket. Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport are the main ones.
- Group booking
A booking of many travelers to the same place, such as an offsite or conference, often with its own fares, hotel room blocks and contract terms.
H
- Hotel attrition
A clause in a group hotel contract that charges the company if it uses fewer rooms than it committed to, beyond an agreed allowance.
I
- IATA (International Air Transport Association)
The global airline trade body. IATA accreditation lets an agency issue tickets on member airlines and identifies it with an IATA number. US agencies are accredited and settle ticket sales through ARC; IATAN, part of IATA, issues US agency identification numbers.
- Itinerary
The full plan of a trip: flights, hotels, rail, cars and transfers, with times, confirmation numbers and locations.
L
- Leakage
Travel booked outside the company's program, for example directly on an airline or hotel website. It is missing from policy checks, reports and incident lists, and doesn't count toward negotiated volumes.
- Lodge card
A company card account lodged with the TMC, which charges travel bookings to it, rather than cards issued to individual employees. It gives one statement for travel spend. Also called a central travel account.
- Lowest logical fare
The cheapest fare that reasonably fits the trip, taking into account timing, connections and the traveler's schedule. Policies use it to compare what was booked against a sensible alternative, not the absolute cheapest seat.
M
- Managed travel program
Business travel run under a written policy, usually through a TMC, with central payment, approvals, reporting and support, rather than each traveler booking on their own.
N
- NDC (New Distribution Capability)
An IATA data standard that lets airlines sell fares and extras directly to agencies, originally outside the traditional GDS route. NDC offers now also reach agencies through GDSs and other aggregators. Some fares are available only through NDC, so it affects what a TMC can see and book.
- Negotiated rate
See corporate rate. A price agreed between a company, or a TMC on behalf of its clients, and a supplier.
- No-show
A traveler who doesn't take a booked flight or arrive for a booked hotel night without canceling. Airlines may cancel the rest of the itinerary, and hotels usually charge at least one night.
- Nonrefundable fare
A ticket whose value isn't returned as money if canceled. With many airlines, its value can still be used later as a credit, minus any fees, within the ticket's validity.
O
- Online booking tool (OBT)
Software where travelers search and book within policy themselves. Also called a self-booking tool. Many TMCs pair one with agent support.
- Open booking
A policy that lets travelers book wherever they like, with spend captured afterward from receipts or card data. It gives travelers choice but makes policy checks, support and safety harder.
- Out-of-policy
A booking that breaks a rule in the travel policy, such as a cabin above the allowance or a hotel over the city cap. Most programs allow it with a reason and an approval rather than blocking it.
- Override
An extra commission an airline or hotel pays an agency for reaching volume targets. It is one reason to ask a TMC to list every source of its income.
P
- Per diem
A fixed daily allowance for meals and incidental costs, and sometimes lodging, instead of reimbursing receipts. US companies often base it on federal rates: GSA sets them for the continental US, and the State Department sets rates for foreign locations.
- PNR (passenger name record)
The reservation record in an airline or booking system, identified by a six-character record locator. It holds the traveler's name, itinerary, contact details and ticketing information.
- Policy group
A set of travelers who share the same policy limits, such as standard and senior, so different levels can have different rules without separate policies.
- Pre-trip approval
Approval of a trip, or an exception, before it is booked. It lets the approver see the cost and reason while the decision can still change the spend.
- Preferred supplier
An airline, hotel chain or car rental company a company favors, often because it has a negotiated rate. Policies may require, encourage or simply show preferred suppliers first.
R
- Radiative forcing
The extra warming effect of aircraft emissions at altitude, beyond the carbon dioxide alone, from effects such as nitrogen oxides and contrails. Some emissions factors include an uplift for it. Check whether a report includes it before comparing figures.
- Refund
Money returned to the original form of payment when a refundable booking is canceled, or when an airline cancels or significantly changes a flight. Refunds can take weeks, so track them until the money arrives.
- Reprotection
An airline moving a traveler onto another flight after a cancellation or schedule change it caused. The traveler or agency can often ask for a different option if the one offered doesn't work.
- Room block
A set of hotel rooms held for a group at an agreed rate until a cutoff date, after which unclaimed rooms are released.
S
- Schedule change
An airline altering a flight's time, number or routing after booking. Significant changes often give the traveler the right to change or cancel without penalty.
- Scope 3, category 6
In the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, business travel is category 6 of scope 3 (indirect) emissions: emissions from employees' work trips in vehicles the company doesn't own or control.
- Service level agreement (SLA)
Contracted commitments on service, such as response times and portal availability, often with service credits if they're missed.
T
- Ticket validity
How long a ticket, or the credit from an unused ticket, can be used. It is often a year from the original issue date, but each airline and fare sets its own rules.
- TMC (travel management company)
An agency that books, services and reports on business travel for companies under their travel policy. It usually provides agents, a booking portal, payment options, reports and support during disruptions.
- Transaction fee
The fee a TMC charges per booking, change or service, such as a flight booking, a hotel booking or an after-hours call. Compare fee schedules on the same set of trips.
- Traveler profile
The stored record of a traveler's details: name as on the passport, contact details, loyalty numbers, known traveler number, seat and meal preferences and policy group.
- Traveler tracking
Knowing where travelers are during a trip, usually from the itineraries on file. Some services also use phone location, with the traveler's consent. It is a basic part of duty of care.
U
- Unused ticket credit
The value left from a canceled nonrefundable ticket, held by the airline for future travel. It usually expires, may be tied to the original traveler, and is easy to lose without tracking.
V
- VAT reclaim
Recovering value-added tax paid on foreign travel costs, such as European hotel stays. Some countries refund VAT to US businesses, subject to their own rules and paperwork. It doesn't apply to travel within the US.
- Virtual card
A single-use or limited-use card number generated for one booking or supplier, often used to pay hotels directly. It limits fraud risk and makes each charge easy to match to a trip.
- Void
Canceling a ticket shortly after it is issued, usually the same day, so it is as if it was never sold and no change fee applies. The window depends on the airline and the issuing agency's rules. Separately, US rules let travelers cancel many bookings made at least a week ahead within 24 hours without penalty.
Definitions describe common US industry usage. Airline, hotel and agency rules vary, so check the fare rules and your contract for the specific terms that apply to you.
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