Notitur July 11, 2026
Travel Industry Intelligence

Travel industry glossary

Your reference guide to hotel technology, distribution and marketing terms. For professionals who use them every day and for students still learning them. Each term comes with a clear definition and a concrete example. This is nobody's official glossary, it is how we at Notitur explain the concepts that show up in our analysis.

16 terms · Distribution · See all terms

Distribution

Allotment

An allotment is a block of rooms the hotel holds for an intermediary or group under agreed terms. Tour operators and agencies...

Distribution

Booking engine

A booking engine is the tool that lets guests book directly on the hotel's own website. It shows availability, prices and takes...

Distribution

Channel manager

A channel manager syncs a hotel's rates and availability across all its sales channels at once. When a room sells, it removes it...

Distribution

Comisión

Commission is the percentage a channel keeps for each booking it brings the hotel. It is the cost of selling through an OTA and...

Distribution

Direct booking

A direct booking is one the guest makes through the hotel's own channels, with no middleman. It saves the OTA commission and...

Distribution

Disparity

Disparity happens when the same hotel shows different prices across channels for the same dates. It usually comes from OTA...

Distribution

Efecto cartelera

The billboard effect is the phenomenon where showing up on an OTA also lifts the hotel's direct bookings. Many people discover...

Distribution

GDS

A global distribution system is a network that connects travel agents with hotels, airlines and car rentals. Amadeus, Sabre and...

Distribution

Google Hotel Ads

Google Hotel Ads is the space where Google shows a hotel's prices across several channels inside its search and maps. It works...

Distribution

Mayorista

A wholesaler or bedbank buys rooms at a net rate and resells them to agencies, tour operators and other OTAs worldwide. It gives...

Distribution

Metasearch

A metasearch engine compares prices for the same hotel across several channels at once and sends the user to the one they pick....

Distribution

Modelo agencia

In the agency model, the guest pays at the hotel and the hotel later settles the commission with the OTA. The hotel keeps the...

Distribution

Modelo merchant

In the merchant model, the OTA charges the guest upfront and then pays the hotel its net rate, keeping the difference. The hotel...

Distribution

NDC

New Distribution Capability is an IATA standard that lets airlines sell through third parties with the same richness as on their...

Distribution

OTA

An online travel agency is a channel that sells accommodation and travel online in exchange for a commission. Booking.com and...

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