A recovery point objective, or RPO, specifies the point in time to which data must be recovered after an outage. NIST distinguishes this data recovery objective from the time needed to restore service. Source: NIST: recovery point objective

Turn the objective into a business question

Ask which booking updates the team could reconstruct if the latest records were unavailable. Use a fictional day’s enquiries, payments and amendments to make the discussion specific. This helps you choose an objective based on the work that would need repeating.

For illustration, a recovery copy from before the day’s amendments would leave those amendments to reconcile. That example is not a recommended backup interval or a claim about any provider’s service.

Verify the available evidence

Ask your provider which records its recovery process covers, how the recovery point is established and what test evidence it can share. Compare the answer with your business requirement, because a written objective alone does not demonstrate that it can be met.

Keep the data recovery target beside the recovery time target. This makes both requirements visible when reviewing your outage plan.

Written and updated by Travelgenix. Sources checked on 16 October 2026. Worked examples and checklists are editorial illustrations and recommendations, not customer results.