Confused over Travel Lingo? Look no further
Business Travel Abbreviations & Lingo
Does your mid- and back office solution connect seamlessly to your OBT and GDS, integrating NDC content to ensure smooth booking of all fares?
The travel industry is full of acronyms and specialized terms. For those managing business travel behind the scenes, navigating this language can feel like a challenge. To help, we’ve compiled the A, B, and Cs of travel terminology – a handy guide to better understand the industry and communicate with confidence.
- ADM – Agency Debit Memo Airline charge-back to agency.
- ARC – Airlines Reporting Corporation North American equivalent of BSP.
- Auto-Ticketing Automatic issuance of tickets without manual agent intervention.
- AVS – Automated Void System Automated ticket voiding.
- Bill Back Post-trip charge correction added after the original invoice.
- BSP – Billing and Settlement Plan IATA system for airline ticket settlement.
- CO₂ Reporting Travel emissions tracking and sustainability reporting.
- DMC – Destination Management Company On-ground service provider.
- Duty of Care Employer’s legal responsibility for traveler safety.
- E-ticket – Electronic Ticket Digital airline ticket.
- GL – General Ledger Accounting backbone.
- GDS – Global Distribution System Booking platforms like Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport.
- IATA – International Air Transport Association Airline industry governing body.
- IRROPS – Irregular Operations Delays, cancellations, strikes, etc.
- LODGE Card Central company travel card account.
- MID/BO – Mid Office / Back Office Automation, accounting, invoicing & reconciliation.
- MIDT – Marketing Information Data Transfer Market-level airline sales data.
- NDC – New Distribution Capability Airline direct content via API.
- OBT – Online Booking Tool Eg. Cytric, Concur, Atriis, Spotnana.
- OSI – Other Service Information Informational airline notes.
- PCI DSS – Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Mandatory security standard for card payments.
- Peppol European e-invoicing network.
- Policy Compliance Whether bookings follow company travel rules.
- Profile Sync Automatic synchronization of traveler data across systems.
- RFP – Request for Proposal Corporate bid process for travel suppliers.
- Reconciliation Matching bookings, payments and invoices.
- SLA – Service Level Agreement Performance agreement with clients or suppliers.
- Self-Booking Rate (SBR) % of trips booked online vs agent-assisted.
- Shadow Booking Bookings made outside approved channels.
- Split Billing Separating traveler-paid vs company-paid costs.
- SSR – Special Service Request Meal preference, wheelchair, etc.
- TMC – Travel Management Company Corporate travel agency.
- VAT / IVA / MwSt Value added tax (regional naming).
- VCC – Virtual Credit Card Single-use corporate payment card.
What do our customers say...
“The constant evolution of the travel industry demands efficient tools that can handle tasks ranging from importing booking data from global distribution systems and other supplier reservation systems for booking confirmations, invoices, and reporting. Using Procon´s mid and back-office system throughout our offices has simplified our team’s collaboration across borders and enhanced our efficiency. ProTas is a game-changing solution for the travel industry.”
Kaj JensenHead of IT at JTB Europe Outbound 
“We all know the Mid-Backoffice system is the heart of any TMC tech stack, having a Supplier such as Procon allows our Partners access to not only a great product but a fantastic support team to go with it. Their eagerness to work with other Focus suppliers ensures we can offer our partners a seamless experience. The rise in popularity of the Pro-Tas solution is not only testament to the solutions offered, but to the Procon team as a whole.”
Dani IvesCommercial Manager at Focus Travel Partnership 
“The transition to move into the Cloud with ProTAS was a logical step for us, and Kenneth and Jacob from Procon were great at keeping us informed and up to date during each step of the migration process, resulting in a very seamless move into ProTAS Cloud.
Since the move, we’ve been able to work more productively and faster – the system is flexible and fast, and I am very satisfied with my overall experience.”
Gabriella BorfigaMid-Office Support Team Manager at Flightcentre Business Travel UK 
“When we started Sensen Travel, it was crucial to us that we had a solid system to handle our invoice workflow. Protas it a good and reliable system, and it fits perfectly with our needs and the customer service is excellent. I would recommend Protas to other travel agencies.”
Bergur ThomsenOwner Sensen Travel 
My knowledge of Procon and their mid- and back-office solution ProTAS, goes back to when I was a franchise member at VIA Travel Sweden. When we joined Arrive Agencies, I was confident that Procon remained the right mid- and back-office partner for Resehuset, and with their strong product offerings, we entered into a direct agreement with Procon.
Our goal was clear: to continue streamlining and simplifying our internal system processes, and I am very pleased to see that ProTAS is helping us achieve these goals.
The Procon team made the entire process smooth and easy, and we have strengthened our partnership with Procon, which will ensure future needs for our business.
Stefan FalkResehuset Affärsresor The Procon team made the entire process smooth and easy, and we have strengthened our partnership with Procon, which will ensure future needs for our business.
We did a competitive tender to identify a new Mid/Back Office system that could cope with our every expanding business. As a Focus member ProTAS were brought to our attention due to the many client they have within the UK TMC space.
The main reasons for change was to ensure automation was improved and to ensure that all bookings made, regardless of POS could be seamlessly fed into the back office system, regardless of booking type. This had been an issue for us for several years which was affecting the efficiency of our agents and holding the business back in terms of Automation and future processes.
It was also vital we had a cloud-based solution to ensure the changing landscape of the business. Since the implementation of ProTAS we have improved the touch points of the invoice parts of our agents job giving them more time to focus on the bookings for clients.
ProTAS has been a breath of fresh air and one I would recommend to any TMC looking to improve their mid/back office processes.
Gary Davies Head of Technology and Implementation ArrangeMY It was also vital we had a cloud-based solution to ensure the changing landscape of the business. Since the implementation of ProTAS we have improved the touch points of the invoice parts of our agents job giving them more time to focus on the bookings for clients.
ProTAS has been a breath of fresh air and one I would recommend to any TMC looking to improve their mid/back office processes.
