Glossary
This Glossary is provided to help guests understand more about the rental of inns, resorts and vacation rentals. It is not comprehensive but serves as a primer for terms guests may encounter in renting specialty lodging. Not all terms apply to all properties or managers.
Tip Envelope
Housekeepers leave in rooms indicating their name and date cleaned. Usually includes subtle reminder that tips are not required but gratefully appreciated.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Tour Operator
Develops, markets and operates group travel programs that provide a complete travel experience for one price and includes transportation (airline, rail, motor coach, and/or ship), accommodations, sightseeing, selected meals and an escort. Tour operators market directly to the consumer, through travel agents and are beginning to be listed on computerized reservation systems.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Tour Wholesaler
An individual or company that sells tour packages and tour product to travel agents. Tour wholesalers usually receive a 20% discount from accommodations, transportation companies and attractions and pass on a 10 to 15% discount to the retail agent.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Tourism
Where consumers undertake leisure travel. As opposed to travel for business purposes
See also: Traveler, Tourist, Visitor Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Tourist
Traveler how moves from place to place to enjoy and experience different locations. Differs from business travel who comes for business purposes.
See also: Traveler Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Transient
A Guest who arrives without an advance reservation or pre payment. Contrary to representations to those opposed to Lodging, guests with reservations are NOT transients.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Travel
Leisure and other travel including travel for business, medical care, education, etc. All tourism is travel, but not all travel is tourism.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Travel Agent
An individual who arranges travel for individuals or groups. Travel agents may be generalist or specialists (cruises, adventure travel, conventions, and meetings.) The agent receives a commission form accommodations, transportation companies and attractions for coordinating the booking of travel. They typically coordinate travel for their customers at the same of lower cost than if the customer booked the travel on his/her own.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Travel Insurance
Purchased from a carrier who agrees to reimburse guests for some expense if they are forced to cancel their plans due to certain reasons. Usually these include death in the family, personal injury or flight delays. Highly recommended.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Travel Product
Refers to any product or service that is bought by or sold to consumers of trade including accommodations, attractions, events, restaurants, transportation, etc.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Travel Seasons
Travel industry business cycles including:
Peak - Primary travel season
Low - Period when business is slowest
Shoulder - period between peak and low periods when business is stronger, but has room from growth.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Travel Trade
The collective term for tour operators, wholesalers, and travel agents.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Traveler
Any person who travels either for leisure or business purposes more than 100 miles (round-trip) in a day or who stays overnight away from his other primary domicile.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Trip Cancellation
Provides reimbursement for certain unused, non-refundable expenses due to cancellation of your trip caused by a covered reason.
Origin: CSA Travel Protection
Unilateral Termination
When one party terminations a contract prior to the term of the contract, the other party may delcare it a unilateral action and access termination fee.
See also: Termination, Termination for Breach, ,Mutual Termination Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Unit
May refer to a room, suite or living area (such as a condo, cabin or home) which is offered to Guests for lodging use and rent. The unit includes all amenities described and associated with the unit including the grounds upon which it rests.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Unwelcomes
When a guest or tenant misuses a property, misbehaves, fails to pay as agreed or violates other conditions of the owner or manager's terms they are referred to as unwelcome and not allowed to rent the property again.
See also: Industry Origin: Vacation Rental Association Link: Unwelcomes.org
Use Fee
A proper term for the cost of renting a lodging property. May include rent, housekeeping and other charges.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Usual and customary charge
Those charges for necessary treatment and services that are reasonable for the treatment of cases of comparable severity and nature. This will be derived from the mean charge based on the experience in a related area of the service delivered and the MDR (Medical Data Research) schedule of fees valued at the 100th percentile and the Anesthesia Relative Value Guide.
Origin: Vacation Rental Association
Vacation Rental
A house, condo or other living unit used for short-term rental, usually in a resort or recreational area and having sleeping quarters, bath and kitchen. Also known as a Holiday let., Holiday Home, Holiday Cottage, Holiday Villa, Guest house or (in France) a Gite.
See also: Holiday Let, Holiday Home, Holiday Cottage, Holiday Village, Guest House, Gite Origin: Vacation Rental