article thumbnail

Bed Banks: Comparing Accommodation, Travel Ancillaries, Connectivity of Hotelbeds, Travco, Bonotel, HotelsPro, and WebBeds

AltexSoft Travel

One of the ways to get a diverse inventory portfolio is to partner with a bed bank. What is a bed bank? A bed bank (also called a wholesaler ) is a B2B company that purchases rooms from accommodation providers in a bulk at a discounted, static price for specific dates and sells them to OTAs, travel agents, airlines, or tour operators.

Banking 25
article thumbnail

Airline Reporting Corporation and IATA Billing and Settlement Plan: How they Work

AltexSoft Travel

Things are quite confusing here and nascent travel agents can easily get overwhelmed with understanding what’s IATA, how IATAN is different, why ARC number is the same as IATAN number… And a whole lot of other questions. Sounds complicated, but in plain English, BSP is a payment mediator between airlines and travel agents.

Airlines 126
MICE professionals

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

How to Get IATA Accreditation for Travel Business: Options and Steps to Take

AltexSoft Travel

IATA-certified agents must commit to an industry ethical codes and meet the general industry procedure standards. Working as an IATA agent also means including the IATA logo and branding on travel agents’ premises and websites. The full accreditation also means that the agent follows standard ethics and behavioral codes.

article thumbnail

31st Travel Tour Expo set Feb 2 – 4 at SMX

Travel Daily Media

“But travel agencies offer people-to-people connection, a more personalized service who’s always ready to assist in case of misconnections, missing luggage, insurance, etc. We’re not just travel agents–we’re expert travel advisors who can share with you the best advices to give more value for your travel money,” says Patria T.

Travel 110
article thumbnail

Hotelbeds API Integration: Hands-on Experience with a Leading Bed Bank

AltexSoft Travel

What is Hotelbeds: Key things to know Hotelbeds is the largest bed bank in the hospitality sector that provides an extensive listing of accommodations and other travel offerings worldwide. These aggregators consolidate multiple APIs, ranging from bed banks like Hotelbeds to other service providers like Booking.com or airlines.

Banking 52
article thumbnail

What is PNR: Passenger Name Record Explained in Details

AltexSoft Travel

A carrier’s operator or authorized travel agent logs into the CRS/GDS to build a PNR file with five mandatory elements (to be discussed later in the section about PNR data). The code also gives travelers access to their flight details, but not to PNR files with personal information. Source: Bank Info Security.

article thumbnail

Understanding Online Travel Agency Business: Partners, Building Blocks, How to Grow

AltexSoft Travel

Bed banks or wholesalers. These industry players buy hotel rooms in bulk and sell them to OTAs, travel agents, or even airlines. Here’s more info on the largest bed banks and how OTAs can work with them. Online Travel Agency building blocks and technology. Global Distribution Systems (GDS).

Online 72