Travel Industry Glossary

The Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) is a system managed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to simplify and streamline the financial selling, reporting, and payment processes between accredited B2B travel agents and international commercial airlines.

A Global Distribution System (GDS) is a computer network that consolidates real-time travel inventories—including flight seats, hotel rooms, car rentals, and rail tickets—across global service providers to enable seamless booking and transaction processing by travel management systems and agencies.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the global trade association for airlines, representing approximately 330 carriers. IATA establishes standard airline codes, ticketing protocols, safety criteria, and financial settlement frameworks across global passenger aviation networks.

New Distribution Capability (NDC) is an XML-based data transmission standard developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to enable airlines to distribute rich flight content, customizable seat selections, dynamic pricing models, and baggage ancillaries directly to B2B travel aggregators and agents.

A room allotment allocation is a pre-negotiated block of hotel rooms reserved by a property for a designated tour operator, travel agency, or DMC, allowing them to sell the rooms with instant booking confirmation up to a specified cancellation release date.

Wholesale hotel net rates are pre-negotiated room prices sold by properties directly to B2B travel agents, DMCs, and tour operators, excluding any built-in agent commissions and allowing operators to apply custom markups to manage their margins.