A different document for every kind of booking
Depending on what you sell and how, bookings can come with protection paperwork: ATOL certificates for certain flight-inclusive packages, confirmation of the financial protection that applies under your trade body or host arrangements, booking conditions, and the information your arrangements require you to give clients at particular points. A package from a tour operator, a dynamic package you put together, and a hotel-only booking may each need something different.
In practice, you rely on memory and the supplier's system. For some bookings the supplier issues the certificate and you forward it; for others your host generates it; for others it is your own document. When an auditor, your host or a client asks for the paperwork on a booking, you search your sent items and hope it was attached.
Why paperwork gets missed
- Requirements differ by booking type, and the type is not always clear-cut.
- Documents are issued by suppliers, host agencies or you, at different moments.
- Sending the document to the client is a separate step that is easy to skip.
- Amendments may mean a document needs reissuing.
- There is no record per booking of what was issued and sent.
What each booking needs is for you to establish with your trade body, host agency or adviser. The recurring failure is operational: knowing and doing it every single time.
What missing paperwork costs
The obvious risk is not meeting your own obligations, which could have consequences under your arrangements, and a client who needs the document and cannot find it. The less obvious cost is time: every audit or host check becomes a search through emails. And a missed reissue after an amendment can leave a client with an out-of-date document.
A paperwork checklist per booking
- You define booking types and, for each, the documents required and when, following guidance from your trade body, host agency or adviser. We implement those rules; we do not write them.
- When a booking is made, its type is recorded and the checklist is generated. Borderline bookings prompt you to confirm the type.
- Each document on the checklist shows who issues it, whether it has been received or generated, and whether it has been sent to the client.
- Documents are attached to the booking, and sending to the client is recorded with date and email address.
- Amendments that change the booking prompt a check of whether any document needs reissuing.
- A dashboard lists bookings with outstanding paperwork, and an export per booking or date range supports audits and host checks.
| Checklist item | Issued by | Record kept |
|---|---|---|
| Protection certificate, where applicable | Supplier, host or you | Document and date sent |
| Booking conditions | You or supplier | Version and date sent |
| Required pre-contract information | You | Date and method provided |
| Supplier confirmation | Supplier | Document attached |
| Reissue after amendment | As original | New version and date |
Audits without searching sent items
Every booking shows its paperwork status at a glance. When your host or trade body asks for evidence on a sample of bookings, you export it. When a client loses a document, you resend it from the booking in seconds. Borderline cases get flagged for a decision rather than slipping through.
A worked example: you put together a flight and hotel from separate suppliers for a client. Because this is a combination your rules treat as needing specific paperwork, the checklist includes it, and it stays red until the document is generated and sent. Later, the client changes their return flight. The amendment prompts a check, you reissue the document, and both versions are kept with their dates.
Does this describe your paperwork?
- You rely on memory to know which documents each booking needs.
- Protection documents are forwarded from supplier emails by hand.
- Audits or host checks mean searching your sent items.
- Documents are not always reissued after amendments.
- You could not quickly list bookings with missing paperwork.