B2B travel technology
B2B booking engine that shows every margin
A B2B booking engine lets travel agents log in, search your contracted and supplier inventory, and book at the price your rules set. PHPTRAVELS keeps the supplier net rate, your markup and the agent's markup apart on every booking, and checks the agent's credit before it confirms.
- Supplier net rates
- Two levels of markup
- Agent credit limits
- Vouchers and invoices
Price waterfall
Follow one room rate from supplier to traveller
Every B2B sale has at least three prices. Change the numbers to see who earns what on a single booking.
Price waterfall calculator
Where each price is set
- The supplier net rate comes from your contract or the supplier's API response.
- Your markup comes from your rules: global, per agent, per supplier, with overrides by product or market.
- The agent's markup is set by the agent in their own account, on top of the price you give them.
- 81.2% of the customer price–
Supplier net rate
Paid to the hotel, bed bank or airline - 9.7% of the customer price+ –
Your markup
Your margin as the wholesaler - 9.1% of the customer price+ –
Agent markup
The agent's margin on this client - 100.0% of the customer price–
Customer price
What the traveller pays the agent
- Agent pays you
- –
- Your margin
- –
- 10.7% of what you sell at
- Agent's margin
- –
- 9.1% of the customer price
Markup and margin are different numbers. A 12% markup on cost is a 10.7% margin on the selling price. The engine stores markups; your reports show the money each party keeps.
Sample figures. Real rates come from your suppliers and your pricing rules.
Agent view
Net and sell, side by side on the booking screen
Agents work from two columns: the net amount they owe you and the sell price they quote. A credit bar shows what is left before a booking is held.
Skyline Travels· Agent account
Istanbul · 10 to 13 Mar · 2 rooms, 4 adults
Agent markup
Credit line
| Product | Net (agent pays) | Markup | Sell (client pays) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bosphorus View HotelDeluxe double · Breakfast · Your contract | – | + – | – |
| Old City Boutique HotelStandard twin · Room only · Supplier API | – | + – | – |
| Airport transfer IST to SultanahmetPrivate van · Up to 7 passengers | – | + – | – |
| Basket total | – | + – | – |
Credit available– / –
Within credit limit: ready to confirmAbove credit limit: held for approval
Net is what the agent owes you
It is the supplier rate plus your markup. This is the amount charged to the agent's credit line or deposit.
Sell is the agent's quote
The agent's own markup sits on top of the net. You can see it in reports, and the agent decides what to charge each client.
Credit is checked before confirmation
When the net total is above the credit available, the booking is blocked or held for approval, depending on your settings.
Credit and deposits:B2B agent wallet
Definition
What a B2B booking engine does
A B2B booking engine is the trade side of a travel booking system. Your users are not travellers but travel agents, sub-agents and corporate bookers. They log in, search live inventory, see prices built from your rules and book without calling your reservations desk.
In PHPTRAVELS the engine runs in the same installation as your public website. Hotels, flights, tours and transfers share one booking record, so the voucher, the invoice, the agent's balance and your supplier cost all come from the same place.
It suits wholesalers with agent networks, consolidators who resell GDS and bed bank content, and travel management companies that book for company accounts.
Read next:B2B travel portalWhite-label B2B travel portalHotel booking engine
- Who logs in
- Agents, sub-agents and corporate bookers, each with the permissions you set
- What they see
- Live availability at their net price, with their own markup on top
- Pricing rules
- Fixed and percentage markups, commissions and service fees
- Before booking
- Availability, the final price and the agent's credit or deposit
- After booking
- Confirmation, voucher, invoice and an entry in the agent ledger
- Hosting
- Self-hosted on your server, full source code included
- In PHPTRAVELS
- Part of the Enterprise licence, or added to a tailored package
Inventory
Where the rates in the engine come from
The engine does not hold inventory of its own. It brings together the agreements you sign and puts your pricing on top.
| Source | Who signs | How rates arrive | What the engine adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contracted hotels, tours and transfers | You, with each property or operator | Loaded in the admin with allotments, stop-sell dates and policies | Markups, agent pricing, vouchers |
| Bed banks and XML suppliers | You, with each supplier | Live over XML or REST, using the credentials the supplier issues to you | One result list, markups, credit check |
| GDS flights | You, with Amadeus, Sabre or Travelport | Live fares, fare rules and ticketing under your own agreement | Service fees, agent markup, booking record |
| Offline bookings | No agreement needed | Entered by your staff for sales made outside the engine | Same ledger, same reports |
Supplier guides:Travel XML API suppliers listAmadeus API integrationSabre API integrationFlight booking software
Booking flow
One B2B booking, step by step
The same steps apply to a hotel room, a flight or a transfer. Each step is logged with who did what.
- 1
Agent signs in
An agent or sub-agent account opens with the permissions you assigned.
Permissions - 2
Searches inventory
Contracted and supplier results appear in one list, already at the agent's net price.
Your markup - 3
Sets the sell price
The agent keeps the default margin or sets one for this client.
Agent markup - 4
Credit check
The net total is compared with the agent's credit line or deposit balance.
Credit limit - 5
Confirms
The booking is confirmed with the supplier, or held when a rule asks for approval.
Approval - 6
Documents issued
Confirmation, voucher and invoice are created from the booking record.
Voucher - 7
Changes and cancellations
The supplier's policy applies and the agent's balance is updated.
Policy - 8
Settlement
Agent payments, supplier cost and your margin reconcile in the reports.
Ledger
Before and after
An email quoting desk vs a self-service engine
Many wholesalers still quote agents by email and phone. This is what changes when agents book for themselves.
Manual agent desk
B2B booking engine
Quoting
Manual agent desk: Each request is priced by a reservations agent, often hours later
B2B booking engine: Agents see live prices and book while the client is on the phone
Markups
Manual agent desk: Worked out by hand and retyped into every quote
B2B booking engine: Your rules apply the same way to every search
Agent credit
Manual agent desk: Balances kept in a spreadsheet and checked after the fact
B2B booking engine: Credit checked before each confirmation
Documents
Manual agent desk: Vouchers and invoices typed one by one
B2B booking engine: Generated from the booking record
Growth
Manual agent desk: More agents means more reservations staff
B2B booking engine: More agents means more logins
Reporting
Manual agent desk: Rebuilt each month from email threads
B2B booking engine: Live reports by agent, supplier and product
Getting started
Checklist before your first agent logs in
Most of the work is commercial, not technical. With these ready, setup is quick.
Supplier agreements
Signed with each bed bank, GDS or operator, with API credentials received.
Markup policy
Your default markup, plus the exceptions per agent, supplier and product.
Credit terms
For each agent: a credit limit, a deposit or prepaid only.
Agent list
Company, contact, currency and the branch that services each account.
Document templates
Voucher and invoice layouts with your logo and terms.
Payment methods
How agents top up deposits and settle their statements.
Test bookings
Run in each supplier's test environment before you go live.
FAQ
B2B booking engine questions
What wholesalers, consolidators and agencies ask before moving their agents onto a booking engine.
Talk to salesIt is software where travel agents log in, search live hotel, flight, tour and transfer inventory, see the price your rules allow and book within their credit limit. The voucher, invoice and settlement come from the same booking record.
Not quite. The engine is the search, pricing and booking core. A portal adds agent management, credit, payments, white-label sites and reporting around it. PHPTRAVELS ships both in one installation.
Yes. You set fixed or percentage markups globally, per agent or per supplier, with overrides by product or market. The agent then adds their own margin on top for their clients, and both amounts are kept on the booking.
Each agent books against a credit line or a deposit balance. Before confirmation the engine compares the net total with what is available. Bookings above it are blocked or held for your approval.
Your own contracted inventory, XML and REST suppliers such as bed banks, and GDS connections such as Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. You sign with each supplier and use the credentials they issue to you.
B2B is part of the Enterprise licence, a one-time payment with source code and lifetime updates. If you are on a smaller plan, you can add B2B to a tailored package. There is no fee per agent or per booking.
Yes. You can run B2B2B and B2B2C portals for resellers, affiliates or regional partners, with their branding and your pricing rules underneath.
Yes. You host the engine yourself and receive the full source code under a commercial licence, so your developers can add pricing, approval or reporting rules of your own.
Keep exploring
More from the platform
- B2B travel portalAgent tiers, markup layers, credit limits and settlement
- White-label B2B travel portalAn agent portal on your domain, with your logo, emails, vouchers and invoices
- B2B agent walletAgent deposits, credit limits and a ledger per agent
- B2B travel booking softwareSell through agents with credit, markups and APIs
- Travel agenciesMove bookings online
- Pricing