Menu

Release Notes: April 16, 2025 Follow

Please contact our Support team if you have any questions or need assistance updating custom configurations. We appreciate your cooperation as we continue to improve and streamline our platform.

Advance Purchase Approval of Trips Without Holding Inventory

We’re introducing a new trip authorization feature—Advance Purchase Approval of Trips without Holding Inventory—that allows organizations to approve travel before any inventory is held. This option is configurable in the existing Trip Authorization Policy settings and extends flexibility to workflows that require approval before booking.

Key Enhancement: “Before Booking” Approval 

A new value, Before Booking, is now available in the Admin > Trip Authorization > Itinerary > General Settings > Start Approval Process drop-down. When Before Booking is selected:

1. Approval Request First

  • The traveler completed the booking flow as usual, but no inventory has been held yet.
  • An approval request is sent, and the itinerary details are saved.

2. Automatic Purchase Upon Approval

  • Once the trip is approved, the system attempts to purchase the trip automatically.
  • If the automated purchase fails, the traveler receives an email notification with a link to complete the booking manually.

3. Tracking Pending Trips

  • Any trip awaiting approval (and thus unbooked) appears in the traveler’s Pending Trips list until the approval is granted and the booking is finalized.

Other Approval Options (Recap)

  • At Reserve
    • Travelers can reserve a booking (holding inventory) and complete the purchase later. 
  • At Purchase
    • Approval is triggered only when the traveler initiates the final purchase step, after inventory is held.

Technical Details & Updates

1. Notification & Email Enhancements

  • If an automatic booking attempt fails, the traveler is emailed instructions for manually completing the purchase.

2. UI Changes & Pending Trips

  • Unbooked, approval-pending itineraries now appear under “Pending Trips,” ensuring visibility for the traveler and any approvers.
  • Purchase Summary (CTID 110177) has been removed. The left pane will always display as Cost Summary.

3. New CTIDs

  • The following CTIDs were added/updated to support new text labels, notification messages, and screen prompts related to Before Booking approvals:

    • 110945: Trips – Pending Trips – Booking Incomplete – Instructions

    • 110944: Trips – Pending Trips – Booking Incomplete

    • 110943: Shopping Cart – Itinerary Title – Selected, Retry Needed

    • 110942: HTML Pre-Trip Approval Manual Booking Email Subject

    • 110941: HTML Pre-Trip Approval Manual Booking Email Text

    • 110940: Screen Candy – Canceling Itinerary Approval Request

    • 110939: Screen Candy – Itinerary Request Approval

    • 110938: Shopping Cart – Itinerary Title – Submitted, Approval Pending

    • 110937: Prompt on Submitted for Approval

    • 110936: Tertiary Nav Title – Approval Requested Confirmation

    • 110935: Shopping Cart – Itinerary Title – Submitted, Booking In Progress

    • 110934: Shopping Cart – Itinerary Title – Selected, Approval Required

    • 110933: Request Approval Text

    • 110932: Tertiary Nav Title – Requesting Approval

    • 110924: Trips - Pending Trips - Unbooked

Benefits & Impact

  • Flexibility: Organizations can now require pre-trip approval without occupying valuable flight or hotel inventory.
  • Efficiency: Automatic booking streamlines the process once approval is granted, reducing manual steps for travelers.
  • Transparency: Pending trips are visible until the authorization is completed, ensuring no bookings go unnoticed.

Action Required

  • Update Policies: If applicable, adjust the Trip Authorization Policy to Before Booking for the desired users.
  • Communicate to End-Users: Inform travelers and approvers of the new workflow and how pending trips and email notifications will function.

New String Replacement Tag (SRT) for TSA Date of Birth

We’ve introduced a new string replacement tag that displays the TSA Date of Birth (DOB) in reporting conditions (RC).

What Changed

  • New Format: 5O¥DOCS-DB-02/24/2000-1.1

How It Works

  • A new string replacement tag, TSADATEOFBIRTH_SLASH, has been introduced.
  • When applied, the DOB automatically appears as MM/dd/yyyy (e.g., 02/24/2000).

Dynamic Icon Indicator for Traveler Selection

We are pleased to introduce a new visual indicator in the upper-right corner of the application. This indicator helps you quickly see whether you’re logged in directly or have selected another user (including guest travelers). This enhancement aims to minimize confusion and streamline your workflow.

1. What’s New

  • New Icon Variations
    • The user account icon displayed in the top-right menu will now change based on the user context:
      • Direct User: Standard account icon
      • Selected User: Altered icon indicating you are acting on someone else’s behalf
      • Guest Traveler: Distinct icon identifying a guest profile

2. Why This Matters

  • Improved Clarity
    • Eliminates ambiguity about whether you’re acting as yourself or on behalf of another user.
  • Faster Identification
    • Saves time by providing an immediate visual cue regarding the current user status.

3. No Additional Setup Required

  • Automatic Update
    • This feature automatically applies to your account; no additional configuration is necessary.
  • Icon Displays in Upper-Right Menu
    • The new icon will be visible whenever a user is selected.

Icon Images

Icon Placement

TF Pay (TravelFusion)

We are pleased to introduce enhancements to our online booking tool’s Travelfusion integration, specifically adding new TF Pay capabilities for Avianca, Copa, Latam, and CLIC. This release also brings performance and configuration improvements that streamline the booking process and make it easier for Travel Management Companies (TMCs) to manage their TF Pay accounts. Below is an overview of the key changes and setup steps.

1. TF Pay Capabilities for Additional Suppliers

  • What’s new: Travelfusion (TF) now supports TF Pay for Avianca, Copa, Latam, and CLIC.
  • Benefit: TMCs can leverage a secure, prepaid option for booking these airlines, ensuring a smoother payment workflow and consistent booking experience.

2. Single Credential (TF Pay Login)

  • What’s new is a single TF Pay credential to manage in your Provider Settings.

3. Configuration Steps for TMCs

  • Please submit a support ticket to receive the necessary information for Travelfusion and TF Pay setup.

Summary of Benefits

  • New Supplier Integration: Offers broader airline coverage through Avianca, Copa, Latam, and CLIC.
  • Payment Flexibility: TF Pay integration streamlines prepaid bookings.
  • Response times have been improved, resulting in faster performance.
  • Simplified Setup: A single TF Pay credential and clear instructions reduce administrative complexity.

Added Renfe (Spain’s National Railway Operator)

We’re thrilled to announce the addition of Renfel support through our SilverRail integration! This enhancement allows partners to seamlessly search, book, and manage rail journeys across Spain.

Key Enhancements

  • Journey Planning: Real-time routes, train times, and fare options.
  • Ticket Booking & Fulfillment: Issue e-tickets, barcode tickets, or collect them at the station.
  • Real-Time Fares & Pricing: Access up-to-date information—including Railcards, advance fares, and discounts.
  • Unified Booking Flow: Book rail, car, and hotel together if needed.
  • Live Timetables & Disruption Alerts: Stay informed about changes to train schedules.
  • Discount Card Management: Configure and apply Renfe Rail Discount Cards (e.g., Senior, Disabled) through new custom fields in user profiles.
  • On-Account Payment: Enhanced payment options for allowing flexible billing arrangements. (More information below.)

Getting Started with Renfe “On-Account” Payments

If you want to begin offering Renfe bookings to your travelers, contact us via your usual support channels. We’ll guide you through the setup process, which requires an “On-Account” payment arrangement through SilverRail.

What Does “On-Account” Mean?

Rather than paying when booking, the traveler’s rail fare is charged to a company or agency account. The cost is then invoiced or reconciled later, eliminating the need for immediate credit card payment.

Setup Process

  1. Contact Emburse Book Support: Request Renfe Rail enablement.
  2. Referral to SilverRail: We will connect you with SilverRail, who will coordinate directly with you to establish the “On-Account” billing.
  3. Context & Credentials: SilverRail will provide your account details and context information to Emburse Book once set up.
  4. Enable Renfe Rail: With these details in place, we can activate Renfe Rail in your environment.

Example: Rail Search Input

Example: Rail Options

Example: Selected Itinerary

Example: Purchase Prompt

Renfe users can enjoy a smooth, efficient rail booking journey alongside their existing travel options.

Standardize Fare Displays According to Selected Currency

We are pleased to introduce an enhancement that standardizes fare displays based on the user’s selected or regional currency. This update ensures consistency, accuracy, and readability across all cost-related fields in the booking flow.

Key Benefits

  1. Consistent Currency Formatting
    • All cost summaries—covering air, car, hotel, rail, seat upgrades, ancillary fees (e.g., Early Bird check-in), and more—now adhere to unified formatting rules.
    • Large values use region-appropriate separators (e.g., commas for 1,000 and above).
  2. Broader Application
    • These standardized displays affect multiple parts of the user workflow, including:
      • Shopping flow
      • Itinerary pages (booked and unbooked)
      • Transactional emails
      • Receipts
  3. Clearer Display
    • Users benefit from a more intuitive, region-specific cost format, reducing confusion and potential errors caused by different currency representations.
    • Purchase Summary (CTID 110177) has been removed from the tool.  The left pane will always display as Cost Summary.

SRT Changes (String Replacement Tags)

To implement this currency standardization, we removed legacy SRT entries referencing explicit “_CURRENCYCODE” fields and replaced them with new “_NO_CURRENCY” SRT entries. This change helps ensure that currency is managed automatically and consistently across all fare calculations.

Removed SRTs

LOWESTFARE_CURRENCYCODE

CHOSENFARE_CURRENCYCODE

MAXHOTELCOST_CURRENCYCODE

MINHOTELCOST_CURRENCYCODE

HOTELPERDIEM_CURRENCYCODE

MAXCARCOST_CURRENCYCODE

MAXRAILCOST_CURRENCYCODE

MAXTRIPCOST_CURRENCYCODE

MAXAIRCOST_CURRENCYCODE

MAXSEATCOST_CURRENCYCODE

AIRCOSTDIFF_CURRENCYCODE

RAILCOSTDIFF_CURRENCYCODE

New SRTs

HIGHESTFARE_NO_CURRENCY

LOWESTFARE-WEB_NO_CURRENCY

LOWESTFARE_NO_CURRENCY

AIRLOWCHOSENDIFF_NO_CURRENCY

LOWESTFARE_SELECTED_ITIN_AMOUNT_NO_CURRENCY

MAXHOTELCOST_NO_CURRENCY

MINHOTELCOST_NO_CURRENCY

HOTELPERDIEMTOTAL_NO_CURRENCY

HOTELPERDIEM_NO_CURRENCY

HOTELPERDIEMDIFF_NO_CURRENCY

HOTELCOST_NO_CURRENCY

MAXCARCOST_NO_CURRENCY

MAXRAILCOST_NO_CURRENCY

MAXTRIPCOST_NO_CURRENCY

AIRCOSTDIFF_NO_CURRENCY

MAXAIRCOST_NO_CURRENCY

RAILCOSTDIFF_NO_CURRENCY

MAXSEATCOST_NO_CURRENCY

LOWESTRAILFARE_NO_CURRENCY

CHOSENRAILFARE_NO_CURRENCY

RAILLOWCHOSENDIFF_NO_CURRENCY

TRIPTOTALCOST_NO_CURRENCY

AIRTOTALCOST_NO_CURRENCY

RAILTOTALCOST_NO_CURRENCY

CARTOTALCOST_NO_CURRENCY

HOTELTOTALCOST_NO_CURRENCY

SERVICEFEETTL_NO_CURRENCY

TRIPSERVICECOST_NO_CURRENCY

Why This Matters

  • The new *_NO_CURRENCY SRTs automatically reference the appropriate currency based on the user’s setting or regional defaults, ensuring consistent and correct formatting for any selected currency.
  • Retiring the old *_CURRENCYCODE fields eliminates potential mismatches or confusion when switching between currencies.

Impact & Next Steps

  • System-Level Consistency: All displays, from itinerary lines to final receipts, leverage these updated SRT fields for more accurate currency representation.
  • Automatic Updates: If your configuration already uses default SRT entries, you will benefit from these changes automatically.
  • Custom Configuration: If you reference specific SRTs in custom scripts, emails, or reporting, please review your settings to ensure you’re pointing to the new *_NO_CURRENCY fields instead of the retired ones.

Summary

This enhancement unifies how fares are displayed and interpreted across the workflow, simplifying currency management and enhancing clarity. By removing outdated fields and introducing standardized ones, we ensure that every user sees fares precisely as intended in their selected currency.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related articles