We know that travel can often be confusing and complicated. We want you to know that we are here to help make your travel simplified. Check out our travel glossary.

Adoption Rate: the percentage of tickets issued throu an online booking system compared to the traditional booking channel of agent-assisted reservations

Advance Purchase Fare: airfare that requires the traveler to purchase the ticket a minimum number of days prior to departure.

Apollo / Galileo: one of the four major Global Distribution Systems (GDS) or Computerized Reservation Systems (CRS).

ARC - Airline Reporting Corporation: the agency that regulates ticket sales and reports to the airlines for travel agencies.

BAR – Business Account Record: a tool that is loaded into the Galileo GDS and governs a company’s agent-assisted and online booking reservations. It contains a company’s preferences, travel policy, preferred vendors, company negotiated contracts, and contact details.

Bulkhead Seats: the first row of seats in or after the partition between economy, business, and/or first class cabins.

City Pair: the departure and destination points of an air or rail journey.

Class of Service: the inventory in which a passenger is booked according to the fare purchased. (e.g. a full fare coach class cabin is usually Y class of service)

Collision Damage Waiver (CDW): optional insurance provided by car rental companies that eliminates all responsibility of the driver in case of an accident.

Commission: Money paid to a travel agency or ARC number by suppliers for generating bookings.

Concierge Level: special service level normally offered at higher grade hotels that provide the guest additional amenities and information, typically at a higher rate.

Connecting Flight: a flight that makes a stop at an intermediate point where travelers must change planes in order to connect to another flight to reach their destination. (i.e. San Francisco to Chicago and Chicago to New York)

Consolidator: A wholesaler who purchases airline tickets in bulk and re-sells them to individuals and travel agencies at a discounted rate. These fares tend to have complex restrictions, but can be cheaper than buying direct from the airline. Consolidator fares are found to have the most savings on international flights.

Corporate Rate: a hotel rate that is designed to appeal to the needs of the business traveler. It is not necessarily a discounted rate or the minimum rate offered by the hotel. Corporate rates normally guarantee the best available room at a fixed cost for a specific period of time, typically outlined in a contract between the hotel and company.

Direct Flight: a flight that goes from a traveler's origin to their final destination with one or more intermediate stops. No change in aircraft occurs. (i.e. San Francisco to New York with a stop in Chicago)

Excursion Fare: special airline fares with restrictions such as minimum and maximum stays, limited dates of travel and routing requirements. Fares and restrictions differ by carrier.

Fare Basis: the letters and numbers assigned to a specific fare like an indentification number.

GDS – Global Distribution System: the computer reservation system that allows our travel specialists to purchase tickets for multiple airline carriers and hotels. The most commonly used systems in the United States are Amadeus, Apollo / Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan.

Group: several persons, usually 10 or more, traveling together. Group travel is often available at discounted rates.

Hub: an airport designated by an airline as a centralized base of operations, allowing efficient "hub and spoke" connections.

International Rate Desk: Utilizes all available resources to ensure the lowest fare for your selected itinerary, including splitting tickets, consolidator fares, and available discounts.

Negotiated Rate: A discounted rate offered to a company (either you or Casto) based on the volume of business you agree to provide the selected vendor.

Non Stop Flight: Do not land in between your departure and arrival destinations. (i.e. San Francisco to New York)

Preferred Vendor: The vendor(s) a company specifies as their first choice for travelers.

Pod: Casto’s term for a group of dedicated agents assigned to one company. A pod consists of 3 - 5 agents.

Segment: One leg or portion of a trip. The segment begins when you board the plane and ends when you de-board the plane. (i.e. A connecting flight from San Francisco to New York through Chicago equals 2 segments)

Split Ticket: Issuing multiple tickets for one round-trip journey. This is done to reduce the total cost of the entire reservation.

T&E: Travel and Entertainment expenses.

Travel Policy: A fluid internal document, pertinent to the company’s culture that outlines the guidelines for business travel and expenses within a company.

VAS – Value Added Service: The difference between a standard fare and any savings associated with negotiated rates. Casto provides a monthly report to all corporate clients that outline their VAS savings.