Corporate Travel Glossary

Be in the know. Travel like a pro.

To help you navigate the world of work travel with confidence, we’ve put together a list of industry terms and their meanings — whether you’re booking travel, managing trips, or optimizing spend.

Work travel comes with its own language. From supplier agreements to booking systems, the terminology used across travel programs can vary — and when you're managing trips, tracking spend, or setting policy, knowing your way around it matters. This glossary brings together the key terms used in corporate travel, so your whole team — whether they're booking a flight, approving a trip, or reconciling expenses at month-end — can stay on the same page.

Who this corporate travel glossary is for

This glossary is built for everyone involved in making work travel happen — not just the person on the plane.If you manage a travel program, you'll find terms that cover booking tools, supplier relationships, and policy frameworks. If you're responsible for spend, you'll find language around payment methods, invoicing, and expense processes. If you coordinate travel for your team — handling approvals, tracking itineraries, or keeping things compliant — this is your reference point too.

How to use this glossary

Each term in the glossary links to its own dedicated page with a full explanation. Start with any term you've come across and want to understand better, or browse the full list to build your knowledge from the ground up.If you're new to managing company travel, terms like Preferred Supplier , Travel Policy , and Global Distribution System are good places to start. If you're focused on cost control and spend visibility, Lodge Card , Hotel Rack Rate , and Open Booking are worth a look.

Why corporate travel terminology matters

The language of work travel isn't just industry jargon — it shapes real decisions. Understanding what a Passenger Name Record is, or how Last Room Availability affects your hotel rates, helps you negotiate better, set smarter policies, and avoid the kind of shadow work that slows teams down.When everyone involved in a travel program — from the person booking the trip to the team reconciling the spend — understands the same terms, decisions get faster. Approvals move quicker. Costs stay visible. And the work behind the work gets a lot lighter.