Hotels API Integration Specialist for a variety of wholesalers as well as online travel agencies such as Hotelbeds, GTA, Tourico, Despegar, and Pricetravel. So, after a long time in the business I realized that certain integration problems are occurring in all travel businesses. Therefore, I will try my best to provide a summary of the top 10 most frequently made and expensive errors when it comes to  API integration.

This article is directed at anyone who wants to take a proactive approach and avoid losing money by increasing your best hotel api provider book conversion. The following list of problems is occurring with all of the major players in the industry: Expedia, Priceline, Hotelbeds, Getaroom, TBO, Restel, and more. Definitely, a must-read list.

While every integration may be different and so are the different companies that are successful in the field of travel there are certain aspects that are required to be consistent across the board or at the very minimum the idea. If you are reading this article and are an untechnical individual who is not a tech-savvy person, then you should ask you IT department or developer to take into account the following aspects:

1. Hotel Mappings Issues

The issue may represent the largest well-known problem that travel professionals face. Yet it is still a major issue for many because it can cause your business to lose substantial amounts of cash.

According to the its definition hotel map refers to the fusion of property IDs from various sources. Imagine for example, mapping the selling of a 5-star hotel api provider with a price of two stars. Does this sound like a crazy idea? This could happen if you are showing the content of "hotel X" but feeding rates from "Hotel Y." In brief, to understand more about mappings, you could read another article I posted before: https://www.travcoding.com/what-is-hotel-mapping-and-which-tool-your-company-should-use-giata-gimmonix-vervotech-or-your-own/.

This process is not something that the major firms oversee or require when completing a certification for them. It is likely because one supplier is only one feed and will not manage the entire inventory. But, as your company integrates inventory and content it is important that you should consider the mappings carefully.

2. Non-Refundable Display

This is an additional crucial aspect that should be examined regularly prior to going live, or even after launching with a particular supplier. Actually this is one of the aspects that are part and parcel of the process to be certified with all providers in this market however occasionally it can become difficult.

Why?

These are the main reasons

Even if the non-refundable charges are clearly listed, the site's accessibility is required to be clear for the user. If the user is unable to see this out and clearly, users can ask for the card to refund and you will be liable for losing funds.

Pro tip: Use bold fonts. Also, make users acknowledge the policy through specific checkboxes or tags that are unique.

Certain suppliers provide the dates in their past. This happens often. Even if you are making sure you've done everything correctly the occurrences may cause your code to become obsolete. Additionally it is typical in the case of chains. they require you to consider the past dates as not refundable.

In the end, if you're having an issue with non-refundable products in the sense that they say you can't cancel them, however there are times when you can find a solution.

3. Important Information / Voucher Remarks

If you are reselling hotel room nights or making use of different suppliers, hotels special notes are crucial information you wish to communicate to the buyer. In most cases the notes are sometimes referred to as Important Information or Voucher Remarks and provide information regarding the charges to be paid at the property. Therefore, if you don't display these notes clearly, the amount displayed could be deceiving from the real price that must be paid at the property.

While this is an issue that causes a lot of problems in the business there are a few exceptions. hotels and suppliers provide this data in the correct format. Most of the time, it is sent in the form of text fields in an API response. API responses. For instance:

In the above example, we can see:

On the left side, you will find the total amount of the reservation will be displayed.

On the right side, on the right, a hotel note of special interest.

Point number 2 lists things like age restrictions, check-in policy and even extra charges regardless of how crucial they are. The fact is that not all providers are able to provide these details. Consider yourself traveling, paying $372 for the hotel but then discovering that you must pay another $357 upon arriving at the hotel.

4. The Wrong Distribution Channel

In essence, distribution channels in regards to lodging API integrations relate to the rates we will receive from the feed based on your company model. For example, if you are entering into an agreement with a business-to-business only business, it is possible that you may get a feed for wholesale. However If you own an open-access website for example, you may receive a feed from a B2C.

While creating distribution channels may be more of a problem with configuration the type of distribution has to be set up when creating the Hotel API Integration from scratch. This way it is possible for it is possible to program the software can be programmed in a specific way to include, for instance:

If you are using a B2C feed You may need to establish an acceptable selling price.

If you're using B2B feeds and you have a B2B feed, you may be required to understand whether it is not commission-based, or if it is so that you can distribute the rates correctly.

The most important thing is to be sure to adhere to the distribution channel that was set by the supplier prior to going live. Absolutely, your business can be liable for financial loss in the event that this is not done, since the supplier may be in trouble.

5. Handling Errors At Checkout

Then, we came to the end of this post, dealing with mistakes at the check-out when using a prepay feed. While this may seem straightforward, if it is not properly handled at the beginning the process can cause your business to lose funds.

Common Wrong-Handled Issues:

  • Make a booking request using the API prior to collecting payment.
  • This is not a good idea when you are making reservations that are non-refundable and unable to charge the customer for travel, but having an established reservation.
  • Timeout Sessions During Checkout.
  • This is not a good thing either. Imagine making a reservation and, while it's processing, your session ends. When the page will be refreshed the user will not be able to identify the booking until they receive an invoice from the card company.
  • Collecting Payments Not Considering the Supplier Response
  • This is not a major issue however it is a hassle for the person with a credit card who will be charged and have to get a refund.

The ideal scenario is to always make a debit on your payment card, make a reservation with the provider and then take the payment card once more.