Glossary
Tour operator glossary
The terms you'll meet when you sell and run tours, explained in plain English.
A
- Allotment
- A number of seats or rooms set aside for a specific reseller or channel to sell.
B
- Balance
- The amount still owed on a booking after the deposit has been paid.
- Booking engine
- Software that shows availability and takes bookings and payments online.
- Booking fee
- A charge added per booking, either by the operator or by a booking platform.
C
- Channel manager
- A tool that keeps availability and prices in sync across several sales channels.
- Commission
- A percentage of the booking value paid to a reseller, agent or platform.
- Cut-off time
- How long before the start a tour stops accepting online bookings.
D
- Departure
- A specific date (and time) a tour runs, with its own capacity.
- Deposit
- A partial payment taken at booking to secure a seat, with the balance due later.
- DMC
- Destination management company: a local business that arranges services such as tours and transport for travel companies.
- Dynamic pricing
- Prices that change by rule, for example early-bird or last-minute pricing.
F
- FIT
- Fully independent traveller: someone travelling on their own arrangements rather than in a group package.
G
- Gift voucher
- A prepaid credit a traveller can redeem against a future booking.
I
- Instalment plan
- Paying for a booking in several scheduled payments.
M
- Manifest
- The list of travellers on a departure, used by guides on the day.
- Meeting point
- Where travellers meet the guide at the start of a tour.
N
- Net rate
- The price a reseller pays the operator, before adding its own margin.
- No-show
- A traveller who doesn't arrive and didn't cancel.
O
- OCTO
- Open Connectivity for Tours, Activities and Attractions: an open API specification for connecting booking systems and resellers.
- OTA
- Online travel agency: a website that sells travel products from many suppliers.
R
- Rack rate
- The full public price of a tour, before any discounts.
- Reseller
- A partner who sells your tours, such as a hotel, agent or online marketplace.
S
- Start time
- One of the times a tour begins on a given day; each can have its own capacity.
T
- Traveller type
- A category of traveller with its own price, such as adult, child or senior.
U
- Upsell
- An extra offered during booking, such as equipment, photos or transfers.
W
- Waitlist
- A list of travellers waiting for a seat on a full departure.
- Waiver
- A document travellers sign to accept the risks of an activity.
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