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Words we use
Page summary: Translate EMS language without learning it the hard way.
Use this when: Use this as a lookup page when a screen, code path, or teammate uses a term differently.
- Experience = product in code.
- Partner = reseller in much of the code.
- Several familiar words such as confirmed, paid, and cancelled refer to different status models.
One meaning per word. Where the screens and the code use different words for the same thing, both are given — that mismatch is real and causes confusion daily.
Confirmed in code and in dev, 5 August 2026.
The important ones
| Word | What it means | Also called |
|---|---|---|
| Experience | A thing a guest can book — a tour, a class, an activity. | Product, everywhere in the code and in the web addresses (/products) |
| Vendor | The company running the experience. The main EMS customer. | Operator, supplier |
| Guest | The person who books and turns up. | Customer |
| Rate | What an experience costs, and under what conditions. | Price, pricing |
| Add-on | An extra bought alongside the experience. | Extra |
| Availability | When an experience can be booked, and how many places there are. | Schedule, slots, capacity |
| Booking | One guest's reservation. Can contain several lines. | Reservation, order |
| Item | One line inside a booking. Each is approved or refused separately. | Booking item, line |
| Booking engine | The vendor's own public page where guests book. | Direct booking, booking page |
| Partner | A hotel or agency selling a vendor's experiences. | Reseller, throughout the code |
| Host | A hotel, on the partner side. | |
| PIC | Person in charge. The staff member assigned to run a booking. | Assignee |
| Guest form | Details collected from the guest — names, dietary needs, emergency contacts. Configurable per vendor. | |
| Invoice | The bill. Has its own status, separate from whether money arrived. | |
| Payment schedule | When each part of the money is due. A booking can have several. | Instalments |
| Promotion | A discount or coupon. | |
| Channel | Where a booking came from. | Booking source |
Words that mean different things depending on who is speaking
Confirmed. On a booking, it means the trip is going ahead. It says nothing about payment. "Confirmed" and unpaid is completely normal, and it is the most common misunderstanding in support.
Paid. There are two of them. Payment status says whether money arrived. Invoice status says where the bill got to. They can hold different values at the same time. The booking list shows the invoice one.
Cancelled. A cancellation is a separate record with its own status, and it exists from the moment someone asks. A cancellation being requested is not the same as the booking being cancelled. A cancellation can also cover only part of a booking, leaving the booking confirmed.
Partner and reseller. The same thing. Screens say partner, code says reseller.
Experience and product. The same thing. Screens say experience, code and web addresses say product.
Where a booking can come from
Six kinds, in the code's own words:
| Kind | Means |
|---|---|
| Guest | Booked directly on the vendor's own page |
| Vendor | Entered by the vendor, including walk-ins |
| Host | Sold by a hotel partner |
| Host, not listed | Sold by a hotel for something not in the catalogue |
| OTA | Sold through an outside marketplace, such as Get Your Guide |
| Concierge | Booked on a guest's behalf by hotel staff |
Confirmed in code. ems-apis/constants/booking_type.go:5-12
Concierge is left out of the code's own list of valid kinds. See known faults.
Two ways a partner can sell
| Model | Means |
|---|---|
| White label | The partner sells under their own branding. |
| Authorised agent | The partner sells openly on the vendor's behalf. |
Confirmed in code. ems-apis/constants/reseller_sales_model.go
Two ways commission is worked out
From gross — taken off the full amount, before anything else. From net — taken off what remains after other deductions.
Which one applies is set per partnership. The details belong in Prices and fees.
Confirmed in code. ems-apis/constants/commission_type.go
What state an experience can be in
Draft · Incomplete · Published · Unlisted · Inactive.
Only published experiences can be bought. What separates incomplete from draft, and unlisted from inactive, is not yet established.
Confirmed in code. ems-apis/constants/product_status.go:5-11
Names that are historical and mean nothing
VMS. Stands for Vendor Management System, an older name for EMS. It survives in the repository name VMS-Frontend, in the hosting project names, and in scattered code. There is no separate VMS product.
Cardinal. The in-house toolkit the service is built on. Not a product, not something a customer ever sees.
Delta PMS. A genuinely different product, for properties and rooms. Shares the partner boundary with EMS and nothing else.