Chapter 4.5 — Non-Air Products

1. Purpose

This chapter covers travoBooks' handling of non-air travel products — hotels, tours, transfers, insurance, visa services, car rental, rail, and bundled packages. These products differ from air in their settlement mechanics, refundability profiles, commission structures, and principal-vs-agent classification, and thus require distinct treatment in the accounting and operational model.

2. Why it matters

• Non-air typically delivers higher commission margins than air (often 8-25% vs 0-5% for air).
• Multiple non-air suppliers per partner — each with its own contract structure, settlement cadence, and reconciliation challenges.
• The principal vs agent decision is more nuanced than in air (where it's almost always agent for BSP-settled tickets).
• Refundability rules vary wildly — hotel non-refundable rate vs flexible rate vs partner-negotiated rate all have different treatment.

3. Product taxonomy

4. Principal vs Agent — non-air specifics

The IFRS 15 / ASC 606 test (control of the good/service before transfer) is applied per supplier per product.

4.1 Hotel — typical patterns

Agent (commission-only): - Supplier sets price; partner sells at that price. - Commission paid by hotel post-stay. - Partner does not bear inventory risk. - Revenue = commission only.

Principal (net + markup): - Bedbank gives net rate; partner marks up. - Customer billed marked-up rate. - Bedbank invoices net rate post-confirmation. - Partner bears price-fluctuation risk in markup margin. - Revenue = gross; cost = net.

The platform's supplier_product_commercial_model field per supplier per product type drives this.

4.2 Tour — typically principal

Tour operators usually supply net rates; partner markets up; partner is the customer-facing entity. Revenue grossed up; cost recorded.

4.3 Insurance — agent

Always agent — insurance is a regulated product; the insurer is principal. Partner earns commission.

5. Hotel booking lifecycle

6. Hotel JE patterns

Agent — pay at hotel

Customer pays hotel directly; partner earns commission post-stay.

At booking: no financial JE (no money has flowed).

Post-stay (commission received):

Debit  1013 Bank
Credit 4021 Hotel Commission Revenue

Agent — pay at partner (collect for hotel)

At booking with payment:
  Debit  1013 Bank                           X (full)
  Credit 2021 Funds Held — Hotel Supplier    X − C
  Credit 2032 Deferred Hotel Commission      C

Post-stay (commission earned):
  Debit  2032 Deferred Hotel Commission      C
  Credit 4021 Hotel Commission Revenue       C

Payout to hotel:
  Debit  2021 Funds Held — Hotel Supplier    X − C
  Credit 1013 Bank                           X − C

Principal — net + markup

At booking:
  Debit  1101 AR — Customer                  G (gross to customer)
  Credit 2002 AP — Hotel Supplier            N (net to supplier)
  Credit 2034 Deferred Hotel Markup          M (markup; G − N)
  Credit 4031 Service Fee                    F (if any)

Service date (stay night):
  Debit  2034 Deferred Hotel Markup          M
  Credit 4022 Hotel Markup Revenue           M
  Debit  5012 Hotel Supplier Cost            N
  Credit 1191 Pre-paid to Supplier           N (if pre-paid)

7. Tour JE patterns

Most tours are principal. Pattern parallels hotel principal with a longer recognition curve if multi-day: - Multi-day tour spanning periods → recognise pro-rata per day. - Operator typically requires deposit at booking + balance pre-departure. - Operator commission recall may apply on customer-initiated cancellation per supplier T&Cs.

8. Insurance — agent

Simple:

At booking:
  Debit  1013 Bank                            P (premium full)
  Credit 2003 AP — Insurance Supplier         P − C
  Credit 2033 Deferred Insurance Commission   C

Policy effective (typically immediately):
  Debit  2033 Deferred Insurance Commission   C
  Credit 4023 Insurance Commission            C

Payout to insurer per cycle:
  Debit  2003 AP — Insurance Supplier         P − C
  Credit 1013 Bank                            P − C

9. Bundled packages

A package combines multiple components (flight + hotel + transfer). Two treatments:

9.1 Package as single product (principal)

Partner is the package operator; sells the package at a single price; sources components. - Revenue: package price (gross). - Cost: sum of component net costs. - Recognition: at service-date of first component, or pro-rata across components per accounting policy.

9.2 Package as bundled distinct products

Each component is a distinct performance obligation (IFRS 15); allocate package price across components by stand-alone selling price; recognise component-by-component.

The platform supports both via package.recognition_method setting.

10. Refundability variance

Non-air refundability is more variable than air: - Hotel: 24h-prior-to-check-in flexible vs non-refundable. - Tour: deposit non-refundable; balance refundable until N days prior; full payment at less than N days non-refundable. - Insurance: cooling-off period only. - Activity: typically non-refundable within N hours.

Captured per booking at confirmation in booking_refundability_policy JSON; surfaced in refund quote computation.

11. Inventory & availability

Non-air inventory mechanics differ: - Hotel: real-time availability via supplier API; allotment-based for direct chain. - Tour: scheduled departures with seat counts. - Insurance: rate sheets — no inventory. - Activity: timed slots.

The platform doesn't hold inventory; it queries suppliers in real time and caches offers briefly.

12. Vouchers & confirmations

Non-air products usually deliver as vouchers (PDF + email) — not e-tickets. The platform's voucher generation: - Standard template per supplier + per partner branding. - Embedded barcode/QR for redemption. - Supplier reference + travoBooks reference both shown. - Multi-language.

Stored in S3; surfaced in customer comms and booking detail.

13. Module dependencies

14. Database tables touched

15. Common pitfalls

• ⚠️ Treating principal as agent (or vice versa). Misclassifies revenue. Document the decision per supplier per product.
• ⚠️ Forgetting refund/cancellation policy snapshot. Policy may change post-booking; the booking's policy is the one at confirmation time.
• ⚠️ Pro-rata recognition for multi-day tours. Mid-month tours straddle periods; pro-rata is correct.
• ⚠️ Insurance treatment as principal. Almost always agent; revenue grossed-up is wrong.
• ⚠️ Voucher resend abuse. Throttle resends.
• 🔒 PII in voucher attachments — same protection as e-tickets.