The standard way Avis delivers reservations to their licensees is described in a separate chapter in this manual. But because Avis also owns the Budget RAC brand, delivery of reservations in the Budget IMF format is also available to Avis licensees. This chapter gives instructions for using the CARS + interface to receive reservations from Avis using the IMF record layout that was originally designed for Budget Rent-A-Car.

Simply stated, reservations sent over the internet by the Reservation Center to the rental location are accepted by the computer and placed in a file. This data is then merged into the CARS + Reservation file along with all other reservations. A report of the data received and its disposition is automatically generated so that a complete audit trail is maintained.


I. SETUP

The following setup steps should be performed prior to activating the reservation interface.
1. Security Menu Access
Using the "Edit User Access File" program, create a new record as follows:
  • Employee:             RESINT
  • Password:             RZMRGC
    • Menu Type:            ALL
    Create Bill-to:       N
    Work File Path:
    RW Initials:          RW
    Company ID:           00   (or appropriate number)
    RW Password:
    Fleet access page 2   N
    Allow bad cust        N
    Allow rate edit       N
    2. Edit Terminal Records.
    Use the Edit Terminal Records program (EDITTERM), to create two terminal records similar to the following:
     1  Terminal Name         XXXXXX-RES    (See note below)
     2  Terminal Type         FIXEDFMT


     1  Terminal Name         RESINT    
     2  Terminal Type         VDT     
     3  RA Printer            XXXXXX-RES    (See note below)
     4  CARS+ Report Printer  XXXXXX-RES    (See note below)
     5  Acctg Report Printer  XXXXXX-RES    (See note below)
     6  Acctg Forms Printer   XXXXXX-RES    (See note below)
     7  Remote RA Type                
     8  Remote Report Type            
     9  Remote Acct Rpt Type          
    10  Remote Acct Frm Type          
    11  Default Location      TUSTIN        (Any valid location code from location file)
    12  Default Drawer        1             (Cash Drawer belonging to location above)
    13  Shared Usage?         N
    Note: These printer entries will be used only when the pickup location specified in the reservation cannot be validated in the CARS+ Location File. The "XXXXXX" should be replaced by your Thermeon-assigned client code. The Thermeon Customer Support department will set up a file in the operating system that corresponds to this entry. When a reservation with an invalid pickup location is received, this file will email the rejection report to the email address you provide to the support department.
    3. Edit Locations

    Page 3, field 21, "Res Email": Enter into this field the email address that should receive the reservation merge reports for reservations picking up at this location.

    4. Edit Miscellaneous Control Fields.
    Field 24, "Print res int rejects only", controls under what conditions a merge report will be sent. The possible choices are:
    N = The full text of all reservations received will print on the Reservation Merge Report.

    Y = The full text of reservations that are accepted by CARS+ will not print on the Reservation Merge Report. The items that will print are:
    a. Reservations that are rejected by CARS+.
    b. Reservations that are accepted and whose pickup date is the same
 as the current system date.
    c. Summary data for each reservation received.
    O = A Reservation Merge Report is generated only when there are rejected reservations. If all reservation were successfully merged, even if there were same-day reservations, no report is generated.
    5. Class, Location, FOP and Rate Codes
    The following codes in your data files MUST MATCH the codes used by the Avis Reservation Center:
    a. Class Codes.
    Class Codes must be the one character code used by Avis or an appropriate record must be set up in Res Conversion Records to convert the Avis code to the local CARS+ Vehicle Class Codes.
    b. Location Codes.
    All location codes, both owned and foreign, must match the three character codes used by the Avis Reservation Center or an appropriate record must be set up in Res Conversion Records to convert the Avis code to the local CARS+ Location Code..
    c. Rate Codes
    The validation sequence proceeds as follows:
    (1) The program first looks for a record in your Rate File with a Rate Code that
 matches the Rate Code (rat) sent, such as 01, LN, etc. If a matching Rate
 Code is found,
    i. Your Rules record is referenced in the reservation.
    ii. Your local prices are loaded.
    iii. Then, any rates (daily, weekly, etc.) sent from the Res Center are overlaid over your rates.
    For example, a 4 day reservation for an E Class using the LN rate would load as follows:

    i. Your LN rules that will be effective as of the pickup date are used.
    ii. Your rates for an E are loaded into the reservation. This includes the hourly, daily, weekly, extra day, etc. prices.
    iii. The daily rate sent from the reservation center (on a 4 day reservation, only a daily rate is sent) is overlaid and replaces your local daily rate.

    Note: Overlaying will not change in the reservation Rate Code to the word "EDIT". But if you manually edit the rates, you will be required to change the Rate Code to "EDIT".
    (2) If the Rate Code (field RAT) does not correspond to any active Rate Code on 
file in the receiving system, the merge program will use the rate template "SD" record. So a rules record for this code MUST be set up without any rule restrictions (min days, day of the week, etc.).

    Although, all of the Rate Types described in the chapter Edit Rental Rules and Rates are supported by the CARS+ Reservation, RA Open and RA Close programs, they are NOT all supported by Avis' International Reservation Center or the Avis Reservation delivery system. The following chart indicates the rate types that are NOT supported by the Avis res logic. Therefore none of the rez templates nor any Rate Code sent by Avis should be defined as one of the unsupported types.

    RATE TYPE

    SUPPORTED

    STANDARD
    		 Y
    WEEKEND
    		 Y
    TIERED
    		 Y
    FIXED TIERED
    		 Y
    STEP-TIERED
    		 Y
    HOURLY
    		 N
    CHAUFFEUR HOURLY
    		 N
    PERIOD
    		N
    CALENDAR DAY
    		 N
    HOTEL CALCULATED
    		 N
    INCLUSIVE
    		 Y
    SEASONAL
    		 N
    RETURN SPECIFIC
    		N
    PACKAGE
    		 N
    DAILY AVERAGED
    		 N


    II. OPERATIONS

    The Data

    The transmission sent by the Avis Reservation Center is formatted into fields with a three
 character field name and divided from each other with the characters "\/" (a backslash followed by a forward slash) . A sample reservation as printed by the Reservation Merge program looks like this:

    /ACTCR\/CNF01633525US5\/NAMDAVIES,ADELE\/PULANC\/PUD12MAR12/1000\/DOLANC\/DOD20MAR12/1000\/CARC\/RATZI\/INS1000\
    /CIDCX5121000000000000\/CEX02/09\/MOPCV\/CMPAVIS EUROPE\/AD15927 PREDOMINATE STREET\/AD3BERKSHIRE SL6 6LW,GB\
    /DLCGBXXRHBWK406649HF7CR\/AD2MAIDENHEAD\/AWDW1527020\/AIDE153702\/WIZH6J89Z\/CURUSD\/PRQ162.00\/APT261.14\/SP200100000\
    /DOB06MAR78\/RDT08MAR12/0654\/LOR008\/DLY27.00\/WKY135.00\/HRY20.26\/MIL0.25\/DFM200\/WFM1400\/HFM100\
    /EIDSUPPORT@THERMEON.COM

    The correspondence between Avis and CARS+ data fields is outlined below. Fields preceded with an asterisk "*" are either required or validated against data in your files. If Avis sends a reservation without valid data in one or more of these data fields, the merge program may reject the reservation.

    Data from a reservation is written into the following CARS+ files:
    Reservation and Res Charge Files - Fields receiving data are shown on the Correspondence Chart by
    the name you see on the Reservation display screen.

    Vendor File - new travel agencies are set up automatically in the Vendor File as Vendor Type "COM".

    Notes File - This file is used for information that does not correspond to
    CARS+ data fields in the Reservation file. Data of this sort is indicated on
    the Correspondence Chart by the phrase "Notes File".

    AVIS TO CARS+ CORRESPONDENCE CHART


    Avis Data Field            CARS+ Data Field       Comment                     

    act   Action code            RES STATUS           Avis Status codes are
                                                         CR = create new res
                                                         MR = modification
                                                         XL = cancellation
    cnf   Confirmation#          CONF#

    rdt   Res create date        ---

    ced   Res mod date           ---

    nam   Name                   LAST/FIRST NAME

    pul   Pick-up location       P-U LOC

pud   Pick-up Date & Time    P-U DATE/TIME 

dol   Drop off location      RET LOC  

    dod   Drop off date & time   RET DATE/TIME

    car   Car Group              VEH/RATE CLASS

    rti   Rate Indicator         ---

    rat   Rate Code              RATE CODE            If the first two characters are "X-" they are truncated

    flt   Flight info            AIRLINE/FLIGHT#

    cid   Credit Card info       FOP #

    cex   CC Expire Date         FOP EXP

    mop   Method of Payment      ---

    cmp   Company Name           ---

    ad1   Company Street Address ---

    ad3   Company City State Zip ---

    dlc   Drivers State/License  ---

    dle   DL Expire Date         ---

    sor   Source Code            VENDOR #             Only the first 8 characters after "T/" are used

    con   Local Contact          LOCAL CONTACT

    ad2   Company address        ---

    awd   Corp Acct #            CORP ID

    aid   Alternate CDPID        ignored

    wiz   Wizard Number          ignored as it is not renter unique

    ftn   Frequent Trav #        ---

    prq   Rate value             ---

    apt   Total amount quoted    ---

    sp1   Coverages              Option Pop-up        This field is made up of the following 8 fields:
                                                  First position = renter wants CDW
                                                         If 1, an L type coverage is added to the res
                                                      Second position = renter wants PAI
                                                         If 1, CVG2 is added to the res
                                                      Third position = renter wants PEP
                                                         If 1, CVG3 is added to the res
                                                      Fourth position = renter does not want CDW
                                                      Fifth position = renter does not want PAI
                                                      Sixth position = renter does not want PEP
                                                      Seventh position = renter not asked CDW
                                                      Eighth position = renter not asked PAI

    sp2   Coverages              Option Pop-up        This field is made up of the following 8 fields:
    
                                                  First position = renter not asked PEP
                                                      Second position = renter wants Super PAI
                                                      Third position = CDW is taxable
                                                      Fourth position = PAI is taxable
                                                      Fifth position = PEP is taxable
                                                      Sixth position = renter wants ALI
                                                         If 1, CVG4 is added to the res
                                                      Seventh position = renter was asked ALI   
                                                      Eighth position = ALI is taxable

    dob   Date of Birth        ---

    ftn   Frequent traveler #  ---

    lor   Length of Rental     ---

    dly   Daily Rate           DAILY RATE

    wky   Weekly Rate          WEEKLY RATE

    mth   Monthly Rate         MONTHLY RATE

    add   Add'l day rate       XDAY RATE

    hry   Hourly Rate          HOURLY RATE

    mil   Rate per mile        RATE PER MILE

    dfm   Daily Free Miles     DAILY FREE MILES       The value "999" means unlimited

    wfm   Weekly Free Miles    WEEKLY FREE MILES      The value "999" means unlimited

    mfm   Monthly Free Miles   MONTHLY FREE MILES     The value "999" means unlimited

    hfm   Hourly Free Miles    HOURLY FREE MILES      The value "999" means unlimited

    afm   Add'l day free miles XDAY FREE MILES        The value "999" means unlimited

    dpc   Discount Percent     DISCOUNT

    owy   One Way Fee          DROP CHARGE

    eid   Email address        RES-EMAIL-ADDRESS

    rmk   Remarks              RES-NOTES

    eqp   Special Equipment    DESIRED OPTIONS

    exe   Executive Action       NOTES                If the field contains a "Y",
                                                      an "E" is placed at the
                                                      beginning of the reservation
                                                      notes field before the "|",
                                                      pipe symbol.

    exp   Express Idicator       NOTES                If the field contains a "Y",
                                                      an "X" is placed at the
                                                      beginning of the reservation
                                                      notes field before the "|",
                                                      pipe symbol.

    mra   Master Renter          NOTES                If the field contains a "Y",
                                                      an "M" is placed at the
                                                      beginning of the reservation
                                                      notes field before the "|",
                                                      pipe symbol.

    gua   Guaranteed Res         NOTES                If the field contains a "Y",
                                                      a "G" is placed at the
                                                      beginning of the reservation
                                                      notes field before the "|",
                                                      pipe symbol.

    cpn   Coupon Code            NOTES                These codes also appear
                                                      in the Notes field after
                                                      the pipe symbol.
    _________________________________________________________________________________

    Merge Program and Report

    The merge program adds, modifies, or cancels reservations and vendors as requested, and prints a report of all activity. The program executes as if it were a CARS + employee. As a result, the reservation Create Employee (as seen in Subwindow D) will be "RESINT".

    The printed report shows data as received along with notes to explain what kind of updates were made to the database and to indicate invalid or modified data fields. At the end of the report is a summary of the number of reservations in the batch, the number rejected, added, modified, and cancelled as well as the number of vendors (new travel agencies) added.
    For each rejected reservation, the report gives 2 types of information.
    1. Actual data received.

    2. Error messages and comments concerning individual data fields, including the previous value of modified data.

    Reservation Error Messages

    There are two kinds of errors that result in the rejection of a reservation. The first is missing or invalid data. Error messages of this type appear on a line after the res data.

    As an example:

    /ACTCR\/CNF01633525US5\/NAMDAVIES,ADELE\/PULANC\/PUD12MAR12/1000\/DOLANX\/DOD20MAR12/1000\/CARC\/RATZI\/INS1000\
    /CIDCX5121000000000000\/CEX02/09\/MOPCV\/CMPAVIS EUROPE\/AD15927 PREDOMINATE STREET\/AD3BERKSHIRE SL6 6LW,GB\
    /DLCGBXXRHBWK406649HF7CR\/AD2MAIDENHEAD\/AWDW1527020\/AIDE153702\/WIZH6J89Z\/CURUSD\/PRQ162.00\/APT261.14\/SP200100000\
    /DOB06MAR78\/RDT08MAR12/0654\/LOR008\/DLY27.00\/WKY135.00\/HRY20.26\/MIL0.25\/DFM200\/WFM1400\/HFM100\
    /EIDSUPPORT@THERMEON.COM
    INVALID PICKUP LOC ORXAP
    ***RESERVATION REJECTED***

    This reservation was rejected because the return location code in the data pair "PUL" could not be validated against the location codes in the Location or Customer File. In this case, the required location code should be created and the reservation manually entered into the Reservation File.

    The second type of error involves reservations previously received. These error messages also appear on the report after the reservation data. Possible error messages are:
    1) ** DUPLICATE RES ** This new reservation has the same confirmation number as an existing reservation.

    2) ** RES NOT OPEN ** A modify or cancel is received but the matching reservation's status is not open.

    3) ** RES NOT ON FILE ** A modify or cancel is received but no matching reservation is found.

    The following is an example of a rejection due to a duplication;

    /ACTCR\/CNF01633525US5\/NAMDAVIES,ADELE\/PULANC\/PUD12MAR12/1000\/DOLANC\/DOD20MAR12/1000\/CARC\/RATZI\/INS1000\
    /CIDCX5121000000000000\/CEX02/09\/MOPCV\/CMPAVIS EUROPE\/AD15927 PREDOMINATE STREET\/AD3BERKSHIRE SL6 6LW,GB\
    /DLCGBXXRHBWK406649HF7CR\/AD2MAIDENHEAD\/AWDW1527020\/AIDE153702\/WIZH6J89Z\/CURUSD\/PRQ162.00\/APT261.14\/SP200100000\
    /DOB06MAR78\/RDT08MAR12/0654\/LOR008\/DLY27.00\/WKY135.00\/HRY20.26\/MIL0.25\/DFM200\/WFM1400\/HFM100\
    /EIDSUPPORT@THERMEON.COM
    **DUPLICATE RES**
    *PRESERVATION REJECTED***


    The last line of each reservation will contain one of the following messages:
    1) **PRESERVATION REJECTED** occurs when there is an error as mentioned above.

    2) **NO CHANGES FOUND** occurs when a modification is received but no changes are detected between the data received and the data already on file. However, the CARS+ modification date is updated.

    For modify and new-but-already-on-file reservations, each field in the transmitted data is compared against the previous value in the CARS+ database. When a difference is detected, the message CHANGED (or similar words) is printed along with the previous value. Note that new-but-already-on-file reservations are still rejected even though the changed field comparisons are printed. Changed field comparisons are not printed for cancellations.

    If the vehicle return time is not provided by Avis, CARS + assumes return time is the same as pickup time. If a modify is received with a changed pickup time, the return time will be changed to the pickup time if and only if the pickup and return times in CARS -I- are the same before the change is made. This allows for manual edits to be made to the return time without risk of being undone automatically by subsequent modification requests.

    At the end of the report is a summary of the batch. This summary will print even if you have set your system to print rejects only. The following is a sample summary.

    TOTAL RECEIVED:     6
    REJECTED:           1
    ADDED:              3
    MODIFIED:           1
    CANCELLED:          1
    NEW VENDORS:        2
                     -- End of report --

    From this, the following is known:

    1. This batch contained 6 records of which 1 was rejected, 3 new reservations were saved, 1 existing reservation was modified and 1 was cancelled. If your system was set to print only rejects, then just the one rejection would have printed in detail in the body of the report.

    2. In the process of merging these reservations, the system created two new Travel Agent Records in the Vendor file.

    Manually Reprocessing Rejected Reservations

    If at all possible, rejected reservations should be re-merged after fixing the reason for rejection using the Reservation Interface program (RESINT-A) found on the Avis Programs Menu. Enter into field 1 of this program the Batch Name as shown on the Reservation Merge Report. Enter the name exactly as shown on the report, as the file name is case sensitive.

    If a rejected reservation must be processed manually, enter the information from the Merge Report into the CARS+ Reservations program. Be sure to enter the Avis Confirmation number into the CARS+ "Conf #" field, dropping the hyphens and the second letter of the country code. This is important in case the Res Center sends updates and also for the purpose of paying Travel Agent commissions.

    When a number of reservations are rejected, after the reason(s) for rejection have been corrected (vehicle class file, location file, etc.), you may contact the Thermeon Customer Support Dept and request that a range of reservations spanning a specified date range be re-merged. There is no harm in re-merging reservations already accepted because CARS+ will automatically reject them as duplicates.