B2B vs B2C White Label Travel Portal: Which Fits You?
A white label travel portal is a ready booking platform that runs under your brand: your domain, your logo, your prices. The provider supplies the software, the airline content and often the ticketing. A B2B (business-to-business) white label is an agent portal for your own sub-agents; a B2C (business-to-consumer) white label is a booking website for travellers. Choose B2B if you already supply tickets to other agencies, and B2C if you have a brand and a plan to bring travellers to your site.
Key points
- B2B and B2C can run on the same engine but differ in users, payments, support and marketing.
- You control the brand and the markup; the provider controls the inventory, the engine and, if it issues tickets, the ticketing.
- If the provider tickets under its own IATA accreditation, you need no IATA code of your own. Confirm your own registration needs with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
- B2B money risk sits in credit to sub-agents; B2C money risk sits in failed payments, card disputes and refunds.
- The software fee is only part of the cost. Wallet capital, gateway fees, staff and marketing are ongoing.
What is a white label travel portal?
It is a booking platform built and run by one company and sold under another company's brand. Your customers see your name; the provider's system works behind it.
The provider usually supplies the booking engine, the hosting and updates, and the content: fares from a GDS (Global Distribution System such as Sabre, Travelport or Amadeus), airline NDC (New Distribution Capability, the airlines' direct-connect standard) and direct airline connections. Some providers also issue the tickets under their own IATA (International Air Transport Association) accreditation. You bring the brand, the domain, the markup and the customers.
Two kinds of company sell "white label", and buyers often mix them up:
- Software-only vendors sell or rent the platform. You bring the content: your own GDS contract or a consolidator's credentials, plus someone who can issue tickets.
- Content-and-ticketing providers (consolidators and B2B platforms) give you the platform with their fares and ticketing already connected.
Ask which kind you are talking to; it changes the cost, the licences and the risk.
B2B vs B2C white label: what's the difference?
A B2B white label is a branded portal where your sub-agents (smaller agencies that buy tickets from you) log in, search, book and issue. A B2C white label is a public website where travellers search, pay and get their tickets by themselves.
| B2B white label | B2C white label | |
|---|---|---|
| Who uses it | Your sub-agents and their staff | Travellers |
| What you need first | A network of agencies that already buy from you | A brand people trust, and a marketing budget |
| Pricing | Your markup on the provider's price; sub-agents add their own | The final price the traveller sees |
| How users pay you | Prepaid deposits, or credit you choose to give | Cards, bKash and other mobile wallets, bank transfer at checkout |
| Support load | Fewer users, urgent ticketing and after-sales questions | More users, more basic questions, refunds to individuals |
| Main money risk | Credit given to sub-agents | Failed payments, card disputes and refunds |
| How you grow | Sales visits, account managers, agent groups | Search, social media, ads, corporate accounts |
| Rules to watch | Agency-to-agency sales | Rules for online agencies |
Some companies run both. Start with the one that matches the customers you already have.
B2B suits consolidators and IATA agencies that already supply district agencies by phone or WhatsApp. A portal lets those agencies book and issue themselves, which cuts manual work and keying errors. Check each sub-agent's trade licence and government registration before you open its account.
B2C suits agencies and start-ups that want to sell online to travellers. A B2C site earns nothing until travellers find it, so plan marketing from day one, and a support team that answers before the trip, at the airport and after travel. Our guide on how to start an online travel agency covers B2C payments, marketing and trust.
What did the lapsed 2026 ordinance say about both models?
A January 2026 ordinance would have banned agencies from buying or selling tickets from one another (the B2B sub-agent model) and required a Tk 1 crore bank guarantee from online agencies. The official Laws of Bangladesh website notes that the ordinance has ceased to have effect, and a later bill may bring parts of it back. Our guide on how to start a travel agency in Bangladesh tracks the details. Confirm your own registration needs with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism (MoCAT) before you invest in either model. This is not legal advice.
Do you need IATA accreditation for a white label portal?
Not if the provider issues tickets under its own IATA accreditation and airline appointments. You sell the ticket under your brand. What you still need:
- Your own registration. Running a travel agency generally needs a trade licence and a travel agency registration, IATA or not. Confirm what applies to you with MoCAT.
- A contract that names the issuing company and its IATA code. Check the code with IATA's CheckACode service.
Because the ticket is the provider's, airline debit memos (ADMs, airline charges for booking or fare errors) go to the provider first, which may pass them on to you under your agreement. If you later want your own code, our IATA vs non-IATA guide explains the costs and BSP, IATA's settlement system.
How do payments work on a white label portal?
You pay the provider. Most content-and-ticketing providers use a prepaid wallet: you fund it, and each ticket is paid from it at issue.
Your customers pay you. There are two common set-ups:
- Your own gateway or bank. You collect from travellers or sub-agents through your own merchant account and keep the wallet topped up. You control the money and settlement, and you handle refunds and card disputes.
- Gateways the provider connects. The provider connects payment gateways such as bKash, cards and bank payment on your portal. Ask whose merchant account receives the money, how fast it reaches you and who refunds travellers.
Whichever you choose, use a bank, a licensed mobile financial service, or a gateway on Bangladesh Bank's list of authorised PSOs and PSPs (payment system operators and payment service providers). Let the gateway's own page take card details, so card data never touches your server. For B2B, put any sub-agent credit limits and due dates in writing.
How much does a white label travel portal cost?
There is no standard price, because providers include very different things. Compare quotes factor by factor:
| Cost factor | What to ask | B2B or B2C? |
|---|---|---|
| Setup and branding | One-off fee? Which design changes are included? | Both |
| Platform fee | Monthly, per booking, a margin on fares, or a mix? | Both |
| Content and ticketing | Included, or do you bring your own GDS or consolidator account? | Both |
| Working capital | How much must sit in the wallet? Any credit for sub-agents? | Mostly B2B |
| Gateway fees | Cost per payment method, and settlement time | Mostly B2C |
| Domain and hosting | Included? In whose name? | Both |
| Extras | Hotels, eSIM, insurance, other currencies | Both |
| Staff | Ticketing, after-sales and support hours | Both |
| Marketing | Search, ads, a sales team | Mostly B2C |
Budget for the whole business, not just the software: wallet capital, staff and marketing cost money every month.
How do you launch a white label portal?
A provider-led launch usually has three stages: consult, integrate, go live. Your own preparation comes first.
- Prepare. Confirm your registration, choose B2B or B2C, register the domain, set a markup policy, choose how you take payments, and name your support staff.
- Consult and plan. Agree the brand, domain, goals and products, and get the quote and terms in writing.
- Integrate. The provider deploys the portal, connects the content and applies your brand. Test with real low-value bookings: hold, issue, void and refund, and look up the e-tickets on the airline's website.
- Go live. Start with a few trusted sub-agents or a small campaign, and check bookings, payments and support daily for the first weeks.
What should you check before you sign?
The main risks are money held by someone else, dependence on one provider, and your brand taking the blame for problems you cannot control. When Flight Expert collapsed in 2025, Bangladesh Monitor reported that sub-agents who had prepaid were among those hit.
Our B2B portal checklist covers the licence, wallet, after-sales and security checks. For a white label, add these:
- Domain: registered in your company's name.
- Data and exit: who owns customer and booking data, whether you can export it, and what happens if you leave.
- Sub-agent and traveller support: who answers them, and when.
- Contract: term, notice period, every fee, and how ADMs are passed on.
Still choosing between a white label, your own site on a flight API, or a custom build? See build vs buy a travel booking website.
How does Ticket Lagbe's white label work?
Ticket Lagbe offers its white-label travel portal in both models: a B2B white label (a branded agency portal for your own sub-agents) and a B2C white label (a branded booking website for travellers).
- Your brand: your domain, logo and colours, with your markup.
- Products and content: flights, hotels, travel SIM/eSIM and travel insurance, the same products and content as the Ticket Lagbe portal, including 1050+ airlines through Sabre, Travelport (Galileo), Amadeus, airline NDC and direct airline connections.
- Ticketing: tickets are issued under Ticket Lagbe's IATA accreditation (42343755), so you need no IATA code of your own.
- Payments, your choice: pay from your Ticket Lagbe wallet and collect from customers or sub-agents through your own gateway or bank, or have Ticket Lagbe connect gateways such as bKash, cards and bank payment on your portal.
- Launch: consult and plan (brand, domain, goals), then technical integration (Ticket Lagbe deploys the portal, connects the Flights API and applies your brand), then go live.
- Price: quoted per partner. Contact the team for a quote.
Ticket Lagbe holds trade licence TRAD/DSCC/034340/2023, with its office at Meem Tower, 104 Sukrabad Rd, Dhaka 1207.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a B2B and a B2C white label portal?
A B2B white label is a branded agent portal where your sub-agents log in, book and issue tickets. A B2C white label is a public booking website where travellers search and pay by themselves.
Should I choose a B2B or a B2C white label?
Choose B2B if other agencies already buy tickets from you. Choose B2C if you have a brand and a marketing plan to bring travellers to your site. Some companies run both, but start with the customers you already have.
Do I need IATA accreditation to run a white label travel portal?
Not if the provider issues tickets under its own IATA accreditation. Running a travel agency in Bangladesh generally needs a trade licence and a travel agency registration, so confirm your own registration needs with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
How much does a B2B or B2C white label cost?
There is no standard price. Quotes depend on setup and branding, the fee model, whether content and ticketing are included, and the products you add. Wallet capital, gateway fees, staff and marketing come on top, and B2C usually needs the bigger marketing budget.
How do customers pay on a white label portal?
Either you collect through your own payment gateway or bank and pay the provider from a prepaid wallet, or the provider connects payment gateways on your portal. Ask whose merchant account receives the money and who refunds travellers.
Can I use my own domain for a white label portal?
Usually yes. Register the domain in your own company's name, not the provider's, so you keep it if you ever change provider.