Profiles

In the Universal API product, a profile is a collection of data that identifies the entity and that is associated with the entity. Profiles can be created for agency groups, agencies, branch groups, branches, agents, accounts, traveler groups, or travelers. For example, a traveler profile might include all of the following information:

• Traveler name

• Loyalty numbers

• Preferred information, such as a preferred airline or seating

• Contact information

• Travel documents

• Forms of payment

Some profiles will have other associated data that is not part of the profile. Specifically, agencies, branches, and agents have additional data in the Universal API “provisioning data store” that contains information used to connect to hosts, and to determine which Universal Agent Desktop features are available to an agent.

Similarly, the Universal API security tables have data about agencies, branches, and agents that is used to authorize transactions. The Universal Record and other data like Saved Trips may link to profiles, but those Universal Records and Saved Trips are not part of the profile.

Benefits

Universal API uses profiles to apply pre-existing data to a journey. Profiles can be used to:

• Populate a Universal Record or PNR with pre-existing information, such as agency or traveler contact information.
• Specify permitted data sources or functionality. Profiles:
• Control the provider-supplier combinations for which an entity is provisioned.
• Contain credentials used to connect to a given provider/supplier.

Note: See Profile Provider Credentials for more details.

• Indicate preferences and priorities for air, vehicle, and hotel travel options.

Profile Security

Only users with System-level authorization can manage (i.e., create, modify, retrieve) agency group profiles. However, if an agency group is defined as the parent of an agency, then a user will be able to retrieve summary and inherited data from the agency group when retrieving any profile within an associated agency.

Only users with System-level authorization can create the parent-child association between an agency profile and an agency group.

Each type of profile will have different creation and modification permissions. For example, a user who can create a traveler profile cannot necessarily create an account or agency profile.

Any profile with a status of Deleted cannot be retrieved (or modified or searched) via the web services, regardless of the user’s security authorization.