Incentive Travel Glossary

Some terms and words used in the incentive travel industry appear below. If you have any terms to add to this list please contact the site editor.

ABTA: Association of British Travel Agents.

Account opener: Premium offered to a buyer to secure his or her business.

Affiliated partner: A business that is part of a reciprocal referral system - membership can provide special advantages to businesses involved and their clients.

After-departure charge: Charges, such as telephone or dining expenses, that don't appear on a guest's bill when checking out.

All-inclusive (all-expense) package: A tour package in which travel elements are purchased for a set price.

Base fare: The fare, for example of an airline ticket, prior to tax being added. Commissions are calculated based on the base fare.

Bucket shop: A retail outlet that sells discounted airline fares.

Carrier: Any company providing transportation services - such as an airline or a cruise company.

Commission: Percentage paid to an intermediary by a travel company for selling a service on their behalf.

Conditional fare: A fare guaranteeing passage on the next available flight if the flight for which the ticket was purchased is full.

Conference centre: A venue designed specifically for hosting meetings, exhibitions, conferences, and/or conventions.

Consolidator: An individual or a company who negotiates bulk contracts with a carrier in order to sell the space to the general public or a travel agency, usually at a discount.

Corporate event: An exhibition, meeting, or conference organised by a business to communicate with staff, customers, clients, financial institutions, etc. Can also be a social event, AGM, product launch, seminar, etc.

Corporate event organisers: An individual or a company that organises corporate events (see above).

Corporate rate: A discounted rate negotiated by a corporation for the benefit of its employees and/or clients. Also a rate offered to customers travelling for the purpose of business.

Departure tax: Government tax levied on travellers when leaving a country.

Destination management company: A professional service company that possesses knowledge, expertise and access to resources of a particular destination, and that specialises in the organising and management of events, activities, tours, transportation and programme logistics.

Direct flight: A flight between two places with a single flight number. Unlike a non-stop flight, a direct flight can make one or more stops between two places.

European plan: A hotel rate that doesn't include the cost of meals.

Event management: An individual or company that specialises in determining the scope, focus and cost of an event, and/or someone employed for their expertise in managing an event on behalf of a client.

Full service agency: An agency providing customers with the facility for both ticketing and reservations.

IATA: International Air Transport Association.

Incentive travel: Travel given to an employee to increase motivation and performance - often a performance-related perk.

Meeting fare: A fare negotiated with a carrier for passengers travelling to a specific exhibition, meeting or event.

Minimum connecting time: The legal minimum amount of time necessary to change planes at a given airport.

Modified American plan: A hotel rate that includes two meals daily, usually breakfast and dinner.

Offline connection: A change of planes also involving a change in airline.

Online connection: A change of planes not involving a change in airline.

Open ticket: An airline ticket with no specified date.

Point to point: Refers to travelling between two specified locations.

Rack rate: The cost of a hotel room before taking into account any discount.

Relationship marketing: The act of building and nurturing long-standing relationships with customers.