This tree is part of the rate parity exception review guide, which covers what to inventory before a channel contract renewal. Here the job is narrower: find the person who can say yes, and the branches that add a signature.
Start here: the person who runs the parity reviews
The revenue operations head is the right first conversation because they ran the reviews. They know whether the shopping tool keeps past shops, whether rate plan edits were versioned, how many flagged gaps a month went to review and where the reason for each closure was written down. They can describe the history accurately at the level a partner needs: record classes, years, tools and rough volumes.
They are rarely the person who decides. A parity exception file touches commercial terms with online travel agencies, pricing strategy and, at many groups, hotels the company manages for someone else. Each of those pulls the decision upward or sideways. Treat the revenue operations head as the guide through the tree, not its end.
The decision tree, node by node
Ask these in order. Each answer either moves the introduction forward or opens a branch that needs another signature.
- Does the company keep its own review records? Snapshots exported from the shopping tool, rate plan definitions, correction logs and review notes usually belong to the operator. If the only copies sit inside a vendor's account, note the vendor agreement as a branch.
- Who owns the hotels? An owner-operated group decides for itself. A management company running hotels for owners may need owner or asset manager consent, depending on what the management agreement says about records. A franchisee's records may be shaped by the brand's franchise terms.
- Which channel agreements are in play? Distribution agreements often carry confidentiality clauses on rates and terms. Counsel decides what could be shared and what must be removed or summarized.
- Who signs agreements about company data? The CEO; at a smaller owner-operated group, usually the owner. This person is the introduction.
- Is anything moving authority right now? A sale of hotels, a change of management company or a brand conversion can shift who controls the records. Identify who holds them on the day of the introduction.
Who holds the records versus who controls them
The evidence asset for this page: each role, what it can confirm, and whether it can open a licensing discussion.
| Role | Can confirm | Can authorize a licensing discussion? | Part in the introduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue operations head | Record classes, years, tools, monthly exception volume | No | Sponsor and source of the facts |
| Distribution or e-commerce manager | Channel mappings, extranet changes, booking engine setup | No | Confirms mapping history and tool dates |
| Revenue management firm, if outsourced | Working files it holds for the group | No | Flags a vendor agreement for counsel |
| Director of finance or CFO | Contract dates, vendor terms, retention policy | No; prepares the case | Supports the introduction |
| CEO (often the owner) | Company decisions on data | Yes; authorizes and signs | The person introduced |
| Counsel | Confidentiality terms in channel agreements | Advises | Reviews limits before anything is licensed |
| Hotel owner or asset manager | Consent under a management agreement | Required at managed hotels where the agreement says so | Added on the managed branch |
A partner fills this in from one conversation with the revenue operations head. Nobody opens a snapshot or a contract to do it.
Branches that add a signature: owners, brands and channels
Managed hotels. A management company may run the revenue function for dozens of owners. Whether the parity files from those hotels are the operator's records, the owner's, or shared depends on the management agreement. Counsel answers that; the partner only notes that managed hotels are in scope.
Franchised hotels. A franchisee usually runs its own revenue desk but works inside brand standards and brand systems. Records held in a brand-provided tool may sit under franchise terms.
Channel terms that changed. The European Commission's Digital Markets Act factsheet records that Booking.com must let hotels offer different prices and conditions on other channels, and that Booking.com removed parity requirements from its EEA terms in July 2024. Older files therefore reflect terms that no longer apply in the EEA, and counsel may treat those agreements differently from current ones.
Metasearch accounts. Google's price accuracy policy requires the booking page total to match the total Google shows, with taxes and fees disclosed. Mismatch reports live inside the hotel's own account, under Google's terms, which counsel can add to the review list.
Why data rights matter explains in plain terms why these branches come before any discussion of value. This is general information, not legal advice.
Three hotel groups, three paths (Illustrative)
Three fictional companies written for this page; none is a real group or a completed deal.
| Question | 260-person owner-operated resort group | 900-person management company | 140-person franchisee group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns the hotels? | The group | Third-party owners | The franchisee |
| Where the review records sit | Shopping tool and shared revenue sheet | Central revenue desk, per owner | Brand-provided tools and local sheets |
| Person introduced | CEO | CEO, with the revenue operations head as sponsor | Owner-CEO |
| Extra signatures | Counsel on channel agreements | Counsel, plus owner consent where agreements require it | Counsel on franchise and channel terms |
The resort group's path is short. The management company's path runs through owners, and the introduction may lead to a narrower first scope, such as hotels where consent is straightforward. If a long-standing client worries about how the request lands, see whether referring clients hurts the relationship.
What stays open until SourceX's rights review
The partner names the executive and records the branches. SourceX's rights review decides which records the company can license, what must be removed or de-identified, and whether owner, brand or channel consent is needed. Buyer interest, which records are selected and any offer also stay unknown until then; how data licensing prices are set explains why no one can quote a figure early. SourceX licenses approved business data directly from companies for AI training and evaluation, and manages the agreement, rights review, data preparation, delivery and payout.
The introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license the records, and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application. To put the named executive into a written note, use the rate parity referral brief template; to see how the records join up, read the system map. More hotel workflows are on the hospitality page.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
When the tree ends at a named executive and the owner, brand and channel branches are noted, register as a partner, check the group against who qualifies and read the program terms before the revenue operations head makes the introduction.