A travel product, which is often called a tourism product, travel service, or travel inventory, is the sum of any combination of tangible goods, intangible services, and experiential aspects sold to a consumer for the purpose of travel. In the travel technology ecosystem, a travel product represents the most basic unit of commerce that is distributed across various booking channels: it may be a very simple standalone asset (such as a single hotel room or a rental car) or a very complex and dynamic package of activities.
Unlike traditional retail goods (like a smartphone or a pair of shoes), one of the ways that travel products are unique is that they are primarily experiential, they are completely consumed at the destination, and they are highly perishable. A complete travel product is made up of three different layers:
Travel technology platforms manage the distribution of these products in two main ways:
Historically, travel technology systems have merely been static inventory objects stored in databases (e.g., Class Y Fare). With the advent of modern standards of retailing such as NDC (New Distribution Capability) and Attribute Based Selling (ABS), the definition of a travel product has undergone an evolution.
Systems now dynamically create an Offer in real-time. The product is no longer just a flight. It is a very personalized retail bundle: A flight + an extra legroom seat + priority boarding + pre-paid vegan meal. Once the traveler accepts and pays for this Offer it becomes an Order for fulfillment
Unlike physical inventory that can sit in a warehouse, a travel product is bound to time. An unsold hotel room for a Tuesday night or an empty seat on a flight flying at 9:00 AM have an exact time of expiration. After that time, the value of the product decreases permanently to zero. This perishability is what leads to the need for revenue management.
Ancillary products are services or products that are sold in conjunction with the main travel product to generate extra revenue. Some examples are checked baggage fees, travel insurance fees, hotel spa treatments, or late checkout fees.
Yes. From a technological perspective, until the traveler actually boards the plane or checks into the hotel, the travel product exists as a digital record only (like a PNR or an E-Ticket) passing through payment gateways and reservation systems.
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