Break ‘booking’ into jobs
| Job | Key question | Evidence in a demo |
|---|---|---|
| Search and quote | Which inventory and rates are actually available? | Live source, terms, markup, and quote expiry |
| Authorization | How does the traveler approve terms and charges? | Consent record, version, signer, and secure handling |
| Reservation | Who issues and services the booking? | Confirmation, ownership, change path, and supplier record |
| Payment and refund | Who receives money and controls reversals? | Processor, schedule, fees, partial refund, and audit trail |
| Back office | How does the booking become commission and reporting data? | Supplier statement, expected amount, payout, and export |
Write a precise booking requirement
List product types, suppliers, markets, currencies, traveler count, groups, packaging, markups, service fees, authorizations, changes, and support hours. Mark which actions must occur inside the system and which can remain in a supplier portal.
This prevents buying a beautiful itinerary builder when the real bottleneck is reconciliation—or a heavy reservation platform when the agency mainly needs consistent client approvals and records.
Test disruption and refund handling
Use a scenario with one date change, one traveler removal, supplier penalty, partial refund, new balance, document revision, and commission adjustment. Observe whether the system preserves the original and the reason for every change.
Ask which party supports the traveler, controls the booking, and owns the merchant relationship after purchase. Those answers matter more than the number of integrations on a logo wall.
Choose the smallest credible control point
If supplier portals remain authoritative, the agency system may only need a reliable booking record, client approval, document delivery, task control, commission expectation, and export. If the agency or operator controls inventory and fulfillment, requirements become much deeper.
Pilot with one product line and reconcile every record to the source, bank, commission statement, and client communication before expanding.
Your action plan
- Define which booking jobs must be in scope.
- Name merchant, booking owner, and service owner.
- Test a change, cancellation, and partial refund.
- Trace the booking into commission and accounting.
- Pilot one product line before expansion.