Antravia Research and White papers

Tax Architecture in Travel: VAT, Transfer Pricing, and the Exposure of Global Business Models

Tax Architecture in Travel – Antravia White Paper 2025

An in-depth strategic white paper on tax in travel. Insights for OTAs, hotels, DMCs, and finance leaders.
From Antravia, September 2025.

Antravia White Paper | September 2025

This white paper by Antravia examines how VAT, transfer pricing, and permanent establishment risk shape profitability, compliance, and global scalability in the travel industry.

Drawing on structural analysis from OTAs, DMCs, hotel groups, and tax authorities, the paper presents a dual-perspective view:

For globally operating travel sellers: how indirect tax exposure, non-resident registration, and U.S. withholding rules create financial friction in cross-border bookings.

For destination-side suppliers and DMCs: how misclassification, bundling, and incorrect assumptions around VAT, TOMS, or agency status expose businesses to unplanned liabilities and blocked margin recovery.

The paper covers indirect tax risk, tour packaging frameworks, digital platform obligations, intercompany pricing models, permanent establishment thresholds, and jurisdictional tax architecture. It includes anonymised case studies and real-world rulings, written for senior finance, legal, and operational leaders in travel.

Key Themes

• VAT exposure in travel: non-resident registration, reclaim traps, and margin dilution

• TOMS, bundling, and the EU Package Directive — and why structure matters more than form

• Transfer pricing across OTAs, hotel brands, and contracting offices

• Digital platform taxation and OECD Pillar One

• Permanent Establishment risk from contracting, local teams, or dependent agents

• Strategic frameworks for aligning tax architecture with global business models

Who it’s for: Travel executives, legal teams, finance leads, and multi-jurisdictional operators designing scalable tax structures in a cross-border, high-scrutiny environment.

Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.17213181.
ResearchGate

Payment Control in Travel: Merchant Models, Credit Risk, and the architecture of Payment Control

Payment Control in Travel – Antravia White Paper 2025

An in-depth strategic white paper on payment control in travel. Insights for OTAs, hotels, DMCs, and finance leaders.
From Antravia, August 2025.

Antravia White Paper | August 2025

This white paper by Antravia examines how merchant models, reconciliation, credit risk, and new payment rails are reshaping profitability and trust across the global travel ecosystem.

Drawing on insights from OTAs, DMCs, hotel groups, and payment providers, the paper presents a dual-perspective analysis:

For hotels: What Merchant of Record status, chargebacks, and settlement structures mean for liquidity, compliance, and supplier relationships.

For agencies: How to navigate working capital demands, credit exposure, reconciliation complexity, and the opportunities and risks of real-time payments, BNPL, and Open Banking.

The paper covers merchant architecture, reconciliation strategies, chargeback defence, credit governance, emerging payment models, and anonymised case studies, all written for senior decision-makers in travel finance, operations, and distribution.

Key Themes

• Merchant of Record vs non-Merchant of Record: control, liability, and supplier trust

• Credit risk as a structural exposure in B2B travel

• Chargebacks, refunds, and cancellations as financial instruments

• Emerging rails: RTP, BNPL, Open Banking, and crypto in practice

• Strategic frameworks for aligning payment architecture with business model and risk appetite
  
  

Who it’s for: Travel executives, hotel groups, finance leads, and technology providers building resilient payment architectures in a fragmented, low-margin industry.

Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.17164411
ResearchGate

Virtual Credit Cards in Travel: Strategic Impacts for Hotels and Agencies

Virtual Credit Cards in Travel – Antravia White Paper 2025

An in-depth strategic white paper on virtual credit cards in travel. Insights for hotels, OTAs, and fintechs. From Antravia, July 2025.

Antravia White Paper | July 2025

Virtual credit cards (VCCs) are no longer niche. This white paper by Antravia explores how VCCs are reshaping hotel distribution, agency profitability, and payment architecture across the global travel ecosystem.Drawing on real-world insights from OTAs, DMCs, fintech platforms, and hotel operators, the paper offers a dual-perspective view:

• For hotels: What operational, reconciliation, and compliance challenges VCCs create—and how to prepare for them.

• For agencies: How to use VCCs as a strategic tool for margin protection, automation, FX control, and audit integrity.
  
  

The paper covers provider comparisons, FX risk, metadata and PMS integration, regulatory pressures (including PSD3 and BOI), and real case studies—all written for senior decision-makers in travel finance, operations, and distribution.

Key Themes

• Automation, metadata, and reconciliation at scale

• Supplier-agency friction over control, fees, and visibility

• The growing role of fintechs in shaping B2B payment norms

• Future pressures from regulation, cross-border data laws, and embedded finance

Who it’s for: Travel executives, hotel groups, finance leads, and technology providers navigating the shift to VCC infrastructure.
Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.17164402
ResearchGate

Beyond FX Fees: Currency Strategy for Travel Companies That Want to Scale

Beyond FX Fees – Antravia White Paper 2025

An in-depth strategic white paper on currency strategy in travel. Insights for OTAs, hotels, wholesalers, and treasury teams. From Antravia, July 2025.

Antravia White Paper | July 2025

FX strategy is no longer a back-office task. This white paper by Antravia explores how currency exposure is silently shaping margin, pricing, and payment flows across the global travel ecosystem.

Drawing on real-world insights from OTAs, wholesalers, DMCs, and hotel groups, the paper maps where FX risk sits, and how to move beyond passive management to active, structural strategy.

For finance leaders: How booking delays, refund cycles, and payment mismatches distort FX exposure, and how to realign your treasury model.

For operators: Why virtual cards, refund logic, and supplier payout timing can introduce FX breakage, even when your platform says “no conversion fees.”

The paper covers internal matching, hedging options, refund volatility, payment architecture, treasury governance, and real case studies, all written for senior decision-makers across finance, operations, and commercial teams in travel.

Key Themes

• Booking-level FX mapping and treasury visibility

• The margin impact of refund and VCC-related currency swings

• Why “zero FX fees” can still cost you

• FX strategy models for OTAs, DMCs, hotel groups, and wholesalers

• Treasury structure, hedge accounting, and cross-entity compliance
  
  

Who it’s for: CFOs, controllers, revenue leads, treasury teams, and operators navigating cross-border flows in travel.

Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.17164370
ResearchGate

Coming soon - Chargeback and Fraud in Travel payments

Chargeback and Fraud in Travel payments – Antravia White Paper 2025

An in-depth strategic white paper on chargeback and fraud in travel. Insights for OTAs, hotels, DMCs, and finance leaders.
From Antravia, September 2025.

Antravia White Paper | September 2025

This white paper by Antravia examines how VAT, transfer pricing, and permanent establishment risk shape profitability, compliance, and global scalability in the travel industry.

Drawing on structural analysis from OTAs, DMCs, hotel groups, and tax authorities, the paper presents a dual-perspective view:

For globally operating travel sellers: how indirect tax exposure, non-resident registration, and U.S. withholding rules create financial friction in cross-border bookings.

For destination-side suppliers and DMCs: how misclassification, bundling, and incorrect assumptions around VAT, TOMS, or agency status expose businesses to unplanned liabilities and blocked margin recovery.

The paper covers indirect tax risk, tour packaging frameworks, digital platform obligations, intercompany pricing models, permanent establishment thresholds, and jurisdictional tax architecture. It includes anonymised case studies and real-world rulings, written for senior finance, legal, and operational leaders in travel.

Key Themes

• VAT exposure in travel: non-resident registration, reclaim traps, and margin dilution

• TOMS, bundling, and the EU Package Directive — and why structure matters more than form

• Transfer pricing across OTAs, hotel brands, and contracting offices

• Digital platform taxation and OECD Pillar One

• Permanent Establishment risk from contracting, local teams, or dependent agents

• Strategic frameworks for aligning tax architecture with global business models

Who it’s for: Travel executives, legal teams, finance leads, and multi-jurisdictional operators designing scalable tax structures in a cross-border, high-scrutiny environment.