Travel Trade Glossary: 50 Group Travel Terms

A travel trade glossary explains the terms that agents, tour operators, hotels and DMCs use when they plan and book trips. Knowing them makes quotes, rooming lists and contracts easier to read, and helps you avoid mistakes that cost money.

A

Allotment: A block of hotel rooms or seats that a supplier holds for a tour operator or DMC at agreed rates. Rooms not used by the release date go back to the hotel.

B

B2B: Business to business. A B2B DMC sells only to travel businesses, such as agents and tour operators, and never directly to the public.
Our B2B ground services
Bed and breakfast (BB): A hotel rate that includes the room and breakfast only. Compare half board and full board.

C

Cancellation charges: Fees payable when a confirmed booking is cancelled. They usually rise as the travel date gets closer, and the exact scale is set out in the booking terms for each booking.
City tax: A tourist tax charged per person per night by many European cities, including Rome, Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona. It is usually paid at the hotel, so clients should be told about it before they travel.
Coach: A large touring vehicle with luggage space underneath, used to move groups between cities and sights. In Europe, coach days are planned around the driver hours rules.
Group tours by coach
Commission: A percentage of the selling price paid to the agent who made the sale. Trade suppliers often quote net rates instead, so the agent adds their own mark-up.

D

Deposit: A part payment made to confirm a booking. The balance is paid later, by the date given in the booking terms.
DMC (Destination Management Company): A company with local expertise that plans and runs ground services in a destination for travel agents, tour operators and corporate clients: hotels, transport, guides, activities, meals and events.
About HCG, your Europe DMC
Driver hours (EU): EU rules that limit how long a coach driver may drive: normally up to 9 hours a day (10 hours on up to two days a week), with a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving. These rules decide how far a group can travel in one day.
Coach driver hours guide

E

Early check-in: Using a hotel room before the standard check-in time, which is usually in the afternoon. It depends on availability and often costs extra, so arrival days after long flights are planned around it.
EES (Entry/Exit System): The EU's digital border system, fully operational since 10 April 2026. It records the fingerprints and a facial photo of non-EU travellers on short stays each time they enter or leave the Schengen area. It replaces passport stamps. The first registration can take longer, so groups should allow extra time at the border.
ETIAS: The European Travel Information and Authorisation System: an online travel authorisation for visitors who do not need a visa for the Schengen area. It is expected to start in late 2026. Travellers who need a Schengen visa, such as Indian passport holders, apply for a visa instead, so ETIAS does not apply to them. Check the official EU website for the latest date.
Excursion: A day trip or half-day trip from a base city, such as Lucerne to Mount Titlis or Paris to Versailles.

F

Fam trip: A familiarisation trip: a short trip for travel agents to experience a destination, its hotels and its services before selling it to clients.
FIT (free independent traveller): Individuals, couples, families or small parties travelling on their own tailor-made itinerary rather than as part of a group.
FIT and tailor-made trips
FOC (free of charge): In group travel, a free place given by a supplier for a set number of paying travellers, often used for the tour leader. The ratio is different for each supplier and is agreed in the quote.
Full board: A hotel or programme rate that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.

G

Gala dinner: A formal evening event for a group, often in a private venue with entertainment and a set menu. It is often the highlight of an incentive trip or conference.
MICE and gala events
GIT (group inclusive tour): A package for a group travelling together on one itinerary, usually with a coach, hotels, meals and sightseeing included.
Group tours and series
Ground handling: All the services a group or traveller needs on the ground in a destination: transfers, coaches, guides, hotels, tickets and meals. It is the core work of a DMC.
Group fare: A discounted ticket for a group travelling together. In Switzerland, for example, groups of 10 or more travellers can travel on a group ticket with a discount on the normal fare.
European rail tours

H

Half board: A hotel rate that includes breakfast and dinner.

I

Incentive travel: A trip that a company gives to reward staff, dealers or partners for reaching their targets. Incentive programmes usually include private dinners, special visits and other experiences that travellers could not easily arrange themselves.
Incentive travel in Europe
Invitation letter: A letter from a host, supplier or tour organiser that supports a visa application by confirming the travel arrangements in the destination.
Itinerary: The day-by-day plan of a trip: where the travellers go, how they travel, where they stay and what they see.

L

Licensed guide: A local guide with an official qualification to guide in a city, region or site. Some sites and cities only allow licensed guides to lead groups.

M

Mark-up: The amount an agent adds to a net rate to make their selling price.
Meet and greet: A representative or driver meets travellers on arrival at the airport, station or port, usually with a name board, and takes them to their transfer.
MICE: Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions: business travel and events for companies and associations.
MICE in Europe

N

Net rate: A trade price with no commission included. The agent adds their own mark-up and sets the price for their client.

O

Option date: The date until which a provisional booking is held. By then it must be confirmed, usually with a deposit, or it is released.
OTA: Online travel agency: a business that sells travel through a website or app.

P

Panoramic train: A scenic train with very large windows, such as the Glacier Express. Most need a seat reservation on top of the ticket or pass.
Scenic train journeys
Porterage: Luggage handling at hotels, stations or ports, usually charged per bag.

R

Release date: The date by which unused rooms in an allotment must be returned to the hotel without charge.
RFP: Request for proposal: a brief from a client asking suppliers for a programme and a price. Common for MICE and large groups. A good RFP gives dates, numbers, budget and the purpose of the trip.
Send us a MICE brief
Rooming list: The list of travellers sent to a hotel before arrival, showing each person's name, room type and who shares with whom.

S

Schengen area: 29 European countries with no passport checks between them: 25 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. One Schengen visa covers short stays of up to 90 days in any 180 days across all of them. The United Kingdom and Ireland are not part of it and need their own visas.
All 24 destinations
Seat reservation: A booked seat on a train. On some trains, such as the Glacier Express, it is compulsory, and it is often charged on top of the ticket or rail pass.
Swiss Travel Pass guide
Series: A tour that runs many times through a season on the same itinerary, with fixed departure dates.
Group tours and series
Single supplement: The extra charge for one person staying alone in a room that is priced for two.
Site inspection: A visit to hotels or venues before a programme is confirmed, so the client or agent can check them in person. Common for MICE and incentive trips.

T

Timed entry: A ticket for a fixed time slot, needed at popular sights such as Leonardo's Last Supper in Milan, the Nasrid Palaces at the Alhambra and the Vatican Museums. The best slots sell out weeks ahead.
Tour leader: The person who travels with a group from its home country and looks after it for the whole trip. This is different from a local guide, who guides in only one city or at one site.
Transfer: Transport between an airport, station or port and the hotel, or between two hotels. It can be private or shared.
Triple room: A room for three people. In many European hotels it is a double or twin room with an extra bed, so it is often smaller than travellers expect.
Twin and double room: A twin room has two separate beds. A double room has one bed for two people. Rooming lists should always say which is needed.

V

Voucher: A document showing that a service has been booked and paid for, which the traveller or driver gives to the hotel, guide or supplier.

W

White label: Services and documents issued under the agent's own brand, so the traveller only sees the agent's name, not the DMC behind it.
How our white-label service works

Travel Trade Glossary

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