With the use of Channel Manager, simply when a guest makes a reservation on an online channel, it will automatically update the corresponding availability through other online booking channels that the hotel is distributing. When you update room availability and rates on Channel Manager, it syncs with all the hotel distribution channels you're selling.  Benefits of using Channel Manager - Help you sell the most rooms through many distribution channels without worrying about overbooking - Reduce the time of managing room availability and rates on many different channels by using only a single management point

Why use TravelClick channel manager?

Hi, Francisco! 
Thank you for your question and feedback
First of all, let me draw your attention to the fact, that from API point of view your request is not correct. {flight-orderId} you can see in&nbsp;<a href="https://developers.amadeus.com/self-service/category/air/api-doc/flight-order-management/api-reference">Amadeus API reference</a>&nbsp;for bookings management is not a PNR. This is an order ID, you can find this order ID in /booking/flight-orders response when you create a booking using POST verb. This is Amadeus internal identificator that is required to get PNR information using self-service or enterprise REST API of Amadeus.
However your assumption about access issue is also correct. You can not retrieve any PNR from GDS without appropriate permissions and not always PNR that passengers see on their tickets are the same PNRs that can be retrieved from Amadeus. If several systems are involved in the booking process, (say, an OTA booked a flight via Sabre, but an airline operating the flight hosts its CRS in the Amadeus system), each of them generates its own booking reference to the file with flight details.&nbsp; 
So, to work with a certain flight order in Amadeus, you have to enter the record locator (6-character code) returned particularly by Amadeus&nbsp; &mdash; not the PNR number you see on the e-ticket or in the booking confirmation e-mail.
Please contact us in case you have more questions, we will be happy to help you with GDS integration for your business

Answer for Which GDS offers all Info based on Booking Reference (PNR)?

Solution Architect

Hi Ivan! 
Thanks a lot for your answer. I really appreciate your time and disposition ???????? 
I need some guidance and support here, since I am trying to solve a project my company is facing right now.&nbsp; 
I explain, in case you can help me out in any way. 
The issue... 
&nbsp; 
I am building an app for an airline X that shall get the booking reference of a flight booked by the client, and based on that information, the app shall get specific information:&nbsp; 
- Flight Information 
- Personal Information of the passenger(s) 
- Bag allowance ==&gt; How many bags can be checked in 
We can assume that the permissions from the airline are granted. 
&nbsp; 
I thought this check could be done with a GDS like Amadeus. Or since I would be working directly with the airline company, I don't need a GDS in between? 
&nbsp; 
I really appreciate your support and look forward to getting your feedback from this message! 
Take care Ivan and have a nice day! 
&nbsp; 
Cheers, 
Francisco

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The GDS that offers all Info based on Booking Reference (PNR) are as follows - 
<ul>
<li>Amadeus GDS</li>
<li>Galileo GDS</li>
</ul>
These are the 2 GDS that I would suggest .
To know more information about the <a href="https://www.teamindiawebdesign.com/">GDS </a>. Go through this link.
&nbsp;

Hello,
I am new using GDSs and I am trying to get response to the FlightOrder Management API from Amadues
https://test.api.amadeus.com/v1/booking/flight-orders/RE88ST
I get a NOT FOUND response.
My question is: It is because such information requires extra permissions from the airline?
I am investigating wich GDS would suit better. Your article (https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travelport-vs-amadeus-vs-sabre-gds/) is great!!!
Best Regards,
Francisco Mir 
CTO by Trälli

Which GDS offers all Info based on Booking Reference (PNR)?

Hello! 
&nbsp; 
Concerning the first part of a question: 
&nbsp; 
It&rsquo;s a rule of thumb that in travel no data can be accessed for free. In most cases, you&rsquo;ll need to contact either a booking platform, or a metasearch to access travel data API, if there is one.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Which is currently a big question: few platforms offer such APIs.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
For example, <a href="https://www.partners.skyscanner.net/affiliates/travel-apis">Scyscanner</a> has an API for sourcing pricing data dynamically. Scyscanner states that the API includes flight, hotel, and car rental data. So you may request the access by contacting them.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
There is also an <a href="https://rapidapi.com/apidojo/api/hotels4">unofficial API</a> on KAYAK that also offers hotel information.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
So, to wrap it up, the best way is probably reaching out to other meta searches/hotel websites, to gain access to their APIs, source rates, and probably get the deeplinks. 
&nbsp; 
A less recommended way is web scraping. You can monitor web pages to receive pricing and other information on booking using crawler programs. However, this isn&rsquo;t reliable, as prices won&rsquo;t be updated dynamically. Moreover, the use of a crawler may cause legal issues, as travel content providers forbid the use of such programs.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
As for the second part of the question. The secret prices, or &ldquo;Private Rates&rdquo; are usually visible for authorized partners of a given hotel. These rates are shipped via a paid subscription or membership in the private rate group.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
So for entering such a group, there is no other way then contacting the provider directly.&nbsp; 
 But, pay attention that private rates are not allowed to be publicly exposed. So for the metasearch business model, it&rsquo;s probably not possible to use them. They are primarily intended for <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/bed-banks-hotelbeds-travco-bonotel-hotelspro/">bed banks</a> and other types of distributors.

Answer for What is the best way to get data for a metasearch hotel site?

Copywriter 

Hi, I've learned so much reading your articles, thank you!
I want to make a metasearch site for hotels, like Tripadvisor or Trivago. What is the best way to get that data? 
All of the API's I'm finding are intended for Hotels to send data, not for people to request data. Are there API's for each OTA and also for each direct booking site?
Is there anyone who aggregates all of that data and provides it via API? That would certainly make things much easier...
Another question:
Is it possible to get 'logged in' rates for places like hotels.com? They have 'Secret Prices' that you have to be logged in to see. I'd like to have this data if possible but I can't find a way to get it via API.
Thanks!

What is the best way to get data for a metasearch hotel site?

Hi Muhammed, 
We don&rsquo;t have a confirmation that any GDS provides bus booking capabilities. But you can look into software providers such as <a href="https://www.travelopro.com/bus-api.php">Travelopro</a> or <a href="https://www.etravos.com/BusAPI.html">Etravos</a> to integrate bus APIs. Alternatively, you can contact Sabre, Amadeus, or Travelport for more information.

Answer for How to Get GDS for Bus Booking System

Copywriter/Editor

I am looking for a Bus booking system using GDS and Which one is providing sandbox access for testing.

How to Get GDS for Bus Booking System

Hello,
To store multiple travelers' information during booking using a loop, you can use a data structure like a list in Python. Here's a basic example using a loop to collect information for multiple travelers:
<blockquote>
# Initialize an empty list to store traveler information travelers = []
# Define the number of travelers num_travelers = int(input("Enter the number of travelers: "))
# Loop through each traveler for i in range(1, num_travelers + 1):     print(f"Enter information for traveler {i}:")     name = input("Name: ")     age = int(input("Age: "))     passport_number = input("Passport Number: ")          # Store the traveler information as a dictionary     traveler_info = {         "Name": name,         "Age": age,         "Passport Number": passport_number     }          # Append the traveler information to the list     travelers.append(traveler_info)
# Print the collected traveler information print("\nTraveler Information:") for traveler in travelers:     print(traveler)
</blockquote>

Software Developer

I want to store multiple travelers information during booking using loop , i am using Amadeus Nodejs sdk please guide me.

how can I store multiple travelers information during booking using loop?

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Creating a single ticket or PNR (Passenger Name Record) for connecting flights on different airlines, especially without codeshare agreements, can be challenging. Airlines typically issue tickets for their own flights and may not have an integrated system for combining multiple carriers into a single PNR. However, there are a few strategies you can try:
<ol>
<li>
Book through an Airline Alliance: If the airlines involved are part of the same airline alliance (e.g., Star Alliance, Oneworld, SkyTeam), you may have a better chance of having your flights on a single ticket. Some alliances offer better cooperation between member airlines.
</li>
<li>
Contact Airlines Directly: Reach out to the airlines involved and inquire about the possibility of creating a through-ticket. Explain your situation, including the layover and the desire for seamless baggage transfer. Some airlines may be willing to work together to accommodate your request.
</li>
<li>
Use a Travel Agent: Travel agents often have more flexibility in combining flights from different airlines. They may have access to reservation systems that allow for more complex itineraries. Explain your requirements to the travel agent, and they can explore options for you.
</li>
<li>
Consider a Third-Party Booking Platform: Some online travel agencies specialize in complex itineraries and may have the ability to create a single booking for flights on different carriers. Keep in mind that this might not guarantee the same level of coordination as booking directly with the airlines.
</li>
<li>
Extended Layover: If a single ticket is not possible, you may consider a longer layover at the connecting airport and book separate tickets for each segment. This gives you more time between flights to collect and recheck your baggage. However, it comes with the downside of a longer travel time.
</li>
</ol>
Remember that creating a single PNR doesn't necessarily mean the airlines will handle missed connections more effectively. Each airline typically manages its own flights, and missed connection policies may vary. Always check with the airlines involved regarding their specific procedures for missed connections and baggage handling.
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Say I have two flight segments A to B and B to C with three hour overlay. A to B is by (say) United and B to C is by another Airline where United may or not may not have a codeshare.
Now I want to build a single ticket from A to C in an single PNR so that baggage is automatically transferred and missed connections will be handled.
How can I do it?

How to join two flights into a single PNR or ticket [i.e. baggage would be automatically transferred and missed connections will be handled]

Hi there, &nbsp; SeatGuru doesn&rsquo;t seem to provide an open seat map API. Still, you can contact them directly and discuss a possible solution.&nbsp; &nbsp; Data scraping won&rsquo;t work as there are dozens of airplane types that vary from airline to airline. &nbsp; Meanwhile, we can advise the following APIs from <a href="../../blog/travelport-vs-amadeus-vs-sabre-gds/">Global Distribution Systems</a>: &nbsp; <a href="https://developers.amadeus.com/self-service/category/air/api-doc/seatmap-display">SeatMap Display API</a>. A part of the Amadeus Self-service APIs suite, the API retrieves the necessary information pre-booking from the Flight Offer including the flight number and displays an airplane cabin plan for a traveler to choose a seat during the flight booking flow. In addition, the API can display an airplane cabin plan post-booking from an existing Flight Order. <a href="https://developer.sabre.com/docs/rest_apis/air/getseats">Get Seats API</a>. It&rsquo;s an API from Sabre. Get Seats retrieves flight seat location within the aircraft, availability, and pricing in <a href="../../blog/travel/new-distribution-capability-ndc-in-air-travel-airlines-gdss-and-the-impact-on-the-industry/">New Distribution Capability</a> (NDC) standard format. On the other side, the API is connected to the external seat map providers which are airlines including <a href="../../blog/travel/low-cost-airline-distribution-channels-direct-distribution-ndc-gdss-and-low-cost-airline-consolidators/">low-cost carriers</a>, and Airline Tariff Publishing Company database. The obtained data follows the Passenger and Airport Data Interchange Standards.

Answer for What is the best way to simply get access to all airline seating information by the date and the number of the flight?

Copywriter

So I will recommend the best flight api from which you can book flights and Simply get the seating information and details about number of flights .
The best flight api I would suggest are -
<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.flightapis.com/">flightapis.com</a></li>
<li>Amadeus</li>
<li>Sabre</li>
<li>Mystifly</li>
<li>TravelPort</li>
<li>TravelFusion</li>
</ol>
These are the top 6 Flight API I would suggest.
Hope this information will help you. To know more details about <a href="https://www.teamindiawebdesign.com/">API integration</a> go through this link .

does someone know if there is option to access the open API of the seats map of the site of seat guru? 
if not : 
is there another way to get the seats map by the flight number.

What is the best way to simply get access to all airline seating information by the date and the number of the flight?

Thank you so much for your answer, that was really interesting. 
I have had a look at the APIs you mentioned and it seems like they usually offer price searches for a specific hotel or all hotels in a certain city (or around some coordinates). 
I am not sure if that would allow me to build a simply hotel name search? 
For example, when you go to Trivago or Skyscanner, you can just start typing the name of a hotel, like "11 Mir" and it will suggest "11 Mirrors Hotel, Kyiv". 
That's the kind of search that I want - and then I want to have additional information like address, chain affiliation etc. 
It's very easy to do when you have all that data in a local database, but I wouldn't know how to do it when the API only lets you search for all hotels in a city or you must know the specific ID of the hotel already. 
Do you have a suggestion for an API for my requirements? Did I miss something?

Answer for Hotel information API?

Hello Everyone , 
The Hotel Search Api I would recommend are -
<ol>
<li>Amadeus</li>
<li>Sabre</li>
<li>HotelBeds</li>
<li>Bedsonline</li>
<li>Travellanda</li>
<li>Travel Boutique Online</li>
</ol>
These are some of the hotel Search API I would suggest. If anybody wants to know more about<a href="https://www.teamindiawebdesign.com"> HotelApi </a>go through this link&nbsp; .

Hi there, 
&nbsp; 
As for Kayak, its API is available to platforms that generate over 100,000 monthly visitors. 
&nbsp; 
To begin with, we recommend having a look at our article where we describe a wide choice of <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/engineering/most-popular-hotel-apis-by-bed-banks-channel-managers-gdss-otas-and-connectivity-businesses/">hotel APIs</a>. Here, we&rsquo;ll describe the main providers of hotel information APIs without booking capabilities.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
If you&rsquo;re not looking for rich visual content but only the key information, have a look at Global Distribution Systems. Although they cover a large inventory of hotels, they provide quite limited services.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Amadeus <a href="https://developers.amadeus.com/self-service/category/hotel/api-doc/hotel-search">self-service Hotel Search API</a>. The Amadeus hotel database includes over 650k properties. The API returns hotel rates, name, address, room type, amenities list, and other hotel information. Results can be filtered by hotel category, hotel chain name, facilities or budget. 
&nbsp; 
Sabre <a href="https://developer.sabre.com/sabre_hospitality/hotel/availability">Hotel Availability API</a> comprises 175k properties and returns their status, pricing, booking policy rules, restrictions, inventory, images, descriptions, and policies. 
&nbsp; 
Another option would be bed banks as they&rsquo;re buying hotel rooms in bulk and reselling them for a fixed price.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
<a href="https://developer.hotelbeds.com/contentapi">Hotel Content API</a> by Hotelbeds. This wholesaler covers 180k hotels in almost every country in the world. Its Content API provides rich content with descriptions, room facilities, bed types, etc. in static and dynamic formats. 
&nbsp; 
<a href="http://technologies.hotelspro.com/#cosmos">Cosmos API</a> by HotelsPro. The rich content of about 600k hotels which comes automatically mapped.&nbsp;

You can use the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.makcorps.com/">Hotel Search API</a>&nbsp;to get: 
1) Hotels in any city. 
2) Prices from multiple OTAs like Booking.com, Agoda, Expedia, etc. 
3) Search according to radius or budget. 
4) Earn competitive advantage straightaway by tracking top OTAs. 
&nbsp;

I'm looking for an API that will give me access to hotel information. 
I need the hotel's name, address (ideally GPS coordinates as well) and chain affiliation (IHG, Hilton, independent etc.). 
I think Kayak has that information available, but I don't want to support booking. I only want to visualize some information about the hotels. 
Can you recommend an API?

Hotel information API?

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Hello Massimo,
Thank you for your interest.
First, let’s unravel the payment processing flow.
You described the business model where a travel agency is accepting direct payments from customers and functions as a merchant of record. Adding a commission to the net-price, an OTA charges the client. Usually, an agency integrates a payment gateway to process payments.
In more detail, <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/online-payment-processing/">payment processing</a> works like this:
<a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/media/2020/05/word-image-18.png"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12086" src="https://www.altexsoft.com/media/2020/05/word-image-18.png" alt="word-image-18" width="1269" height="709" /></a>
When the money is on the agency’s account, it pays the supplier its share. In the case of flights, OTAs must be IATA-accredited to pay airlines directly. Small OTAs aren’t usually certified, so they leverage a consolidator as a payment mediator between them and an airline.
But if an OTA doesn’t function as a merchant, usually, it redirects to a supplier (in case of a direct distribution) or a larger OTA like Expedia or Booking.com for a transaction. According to this business model, OTAs get paid their percentage of the total price at the end of the month. Payment processing isn’t on their shoulders so they don’t owe commissions to payment gateways.
Expedia, for instance, provides <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travel/expedia-taap-rapid-api-partner-solutions/">EPS Checkout</a> - a white-label solution that collects credit card data and then transmits it to EPS servers where the data is validated and stored. 
<a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/media/2020/05/word-image-11.png"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12085" src="https://www.altexsoft.com/media/2020/05/word-image-11.png" alt="word-image-11" width="1279" height="552" /></a>
Distributing hotels, some agencies list the rooms and allow customers only to book but pay already at the property. So that the hotel will pay back the OTA the contracted commission after the check-out.
Your second inquiry was about cost-efficient payment processors.
Setting up a payment gateway is lucrative in case your OTA has a large payment volume: 
The more transactions a gateway processes, the less percent it charges per card. Hence, an OTA with about 5000 transactions per month will pay a higher commission per transaction than an OTA with 50000 transactions.
There’s a great number of payment gateways but they offer a similar set of services for a fairly similar price. So, we wouldn’t say that looking for a cheaper payment gateway can save you a lot of money. What really can be a game-changer is negotiating competitive rates and deals with end-product suppliers. Besides leveraging GDS generic deals, it’s necessary to extend your own pool of providers ready to work with you on exclusive conditions. You can read more <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travel-agency-marketing/">marketing tips for travel agencies</a> in our article.
All in all, defining a payment processing strategy is a complex task. So, you may want to <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/contact-us/">get in touch with our sales team</a> for further discussion.

Answer for OTA Payment Processing Models and setups

Hi!
I have a question in regards to the Payment Processing models or actual setups that are used by OTAs. I am not talking about Booking.com or Expedia, it's mostly a question of how new and smaller OTAs set up their payment procedures. 
For example, when a customer books a trip on the "Random Travel" website, the customer's credit card gets charged by the travel agency and then the payment goes to the actual property or an airline, right? 
What are the other options? 
And what payment processors can be used by the OTA to charge their customers?
For example, Stripe charges 2.9%+ 0.30c for every transaction, and +1% for every international transaction. This is a lot of money for small OTAs, since the commission is also shared with the Host agency. So if we take an example of a $100 hotel booking, the commission is 10%, in most cases, which is $10. Will say Host agency takes 30% of the commission, that's $3. Stripe takes 2.9% of the entire amount paid, which is another $3. 
In the end of the day, the agency is left with $3-4 commission. 
So my question is: what are the ways to set up an efficient payment process and what could be the options?
Sorry for the long question. It's really something I am trying to understand.

OTA Payment Processing Models and setups

Hi there, 
&nbsp; 
Good question and you&rsquo;re right, there&rsquo;s a lot to learn and do when starting an OTA. First, let us recommend a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEJZyr6k_ykIB6O_wjd6ERggbRpFs2Lb4">video series</a> we&rsquo;ve been doing where our Travel Technology Competence Leader Andrey Chebotarov talks about OTAs basics, booking engines, commission engines, and so on. It should be helpful. 
&nbsp; 
Now, there are four main things you should focus on for a new OTA. 
&nbsp; 
First is the inventory and access to it. Contact your suppliers for exclusive prices and conditions that will make you stand out among other booking websites. 
&nbsp; 
Second is IATA, ARC, or CLIA compliance. Here&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/iata-accreditation/">our detailed article on IATA accreditation</a> that will guide you step by step and explain your options.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Third is a smart marketing strategy. This covers your SEO and communication strategies, and even integration with metasearch sites. Again, <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travel-agency-marketing/">here&rsquo;s an article</a> that should clear a lot of things out.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
And fourth is the technology. That&rsquo;s your search, booking, and commission engines that should all work effectively together to bring your and your customers the most value.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Let us know if you have any specific questions here or in person at <a href="mailto:solutions@altexsoft.com">solutions@altexsoft.com</a>.&nbsp;

Answer for OTA generally

Starting an OTA (Online Travel Agency) can be a complex process, but it is definitely achievable with careful planning and execution. Here are some steps that you can take to get started:
Research and Define your Niche: Before starting an OTA, you should define your niche and identify the type of travelers you want to target. Some examples of niches include adventure travel, luxury travel, budget travel, etc.
Identify your Suppliers: After defining your niche, you need to identify your suppliers. These include airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and other travel-related services. You will need to negotiate contracts with them to get access to their inventory.
Build a Website: You will need to build a website for your OTA that is user-friendly and easy to navigate. You can hire a web development company to create a custom website or use a pre-built platform such as WordPress or Shopify.

Hey 
i read a lot of articles from altexsoft and Its really amazing. 
i want to start with an OTA of my own and I'm not sure how I'm going to do that because there is a lot of things i need to put attention. 
do you can help me what is the best way to do that?

OTA generally

Hello Mark, 
&nbsp; 
Thank you for the follow-up question. Let&rsquo;s figure this out. 
&nbsp; 
1) Flight Create Orders create a booking request, essentially a reference number 
&nbsp; 
First, the filling of the customer details happens simultaneously with the booking request. 
&nbsp; 
2) Then the search engine is responsible for filling in the customer details 
&nbsp; 
After the itinerary has been found and the price confirmed, the search engine collects customer details and sends it together with the chosen itinerary via the Flight Create Orders API making a booking request. In return, it receives a reference number aka PNR which serves as a guarantee of the booking.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Now that you&rsquo;ve charged your customer and got a PNR, it&rsquo;s time to pay for the booking.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
3) pass the booking request along with customer information to air consolidator, pay them and air consolidator will print the invoice for you.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Usually, consolidators provide an API for you to send a PNR and the needed details to complete the payment. But as each consolidator is different, we advise choosing one among the <a href="https://developers.amadeus.com/support/contact-us-self-service">Amadeus partners</a> and contact them directly to learn the details of their interaction between airlines and ticket distributors.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
From our side, we&rsquo;d be happy to help you with <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/case-studies/travel/altexsoft-creates-a-customizable-travel-search-and-booking-platform/">building integrations</a> to connect your booking engine to Amadeus and a consolidator. Our platform of customizable flight search and booking modules with pre-integrated supplier APIs helps our clients reduce integration costs and time to market. 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Answer for How to integrate Amadeus&#039;s Flight Create Orders API?

Hi Mark, 
&nbsp; 
Thank you for your interest. 
&nbsp; 
Being a part of the Amadeus&rsquo;s Self-Service API suite, <a href="https://developers.amadeus.com/self-service/category/air/api-doc/flight-create-orders">Flight Create Orders API</a> finalizes the booking.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
First, the <a href="https://developers.amadeus.com/self-service/category/air/api-doc/flight-offers-search">Flight Offers Search API</a> completes the search returning airline name and fare.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Then, the <a href="https://developers.amadeus.com/self-service/category/air/api-doc/flight-offers-price">Flight Offers Price API</a> sends a request to Amadeus to confirm availability and fares for a selected offer.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Next, the flow proceeds with the booking process:
<ol>
<li>the Flight Create Orders API makes a booking request to the airline on behalf of the booking engine.</li>
<li>the airline Passenger Service System generates a Passenger Name Record (PNR) with passenger information and itinerary details. PNR must be paid within 24 hours to confirm the booking.</li>
<li>the Flight Create Orders API returns a passenger flight order ID along with the reservation details to the booking engine.</li>
<li>After receiving the payment from the customer and paying the airline its share, an IATA-accredited agency is able to issue the ticket. But since IATA certification it&rsquo;s out of budget for many agencies, they leverage airline consolidators to pay the airline and issue tickets on their behalf.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
Feel free to let us know if you have any further inquiries.

Good evening all 
Please how do i create a flight booking, after getting data from flight offers, will i use the array i got from flight offers into "flight-orders"? 
I have done all the process of flight search and my challenges now is the process of booking, please help

I read their doc and all it says is that Flight Create Orders API creates a PNR on the airline’s reservation system. You’ll receive payment from the customer and then pay the airline.Finally, a ticket is issued once payment is received and the reservation has been logged. 
I have contacted with one of consolidator, but the overall flow is still unclear staring after Flight Create Orders API returns successfully. Could anyone elaborate on the process (a step by step break down on what we should do till final booking is made)? 
Thank you.

How to integrate Amadeus&#039;s Flight Create Orders API?

Hi there, 
&nbsp; 
Thank you for this insightful question. 
&nbsp; 
Every <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/engineering/airline-flight-booking-apis-gdss-specialized-data-providers-otas-and-metasearch-engines/">flight search API</a> has access to airline schedules that include connecting airports. But not always this API is capable of processing stopover requests. 
&nbsp; 
Pulling flight data from <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travelport-vs-amadeus-vs-sabre-gds/">Global Distribution Systems</a>, you can set a stopover airport as an additional search parameter. So the API will return you only the flights with the leg in the selected airport. 
&nbsp; 
Also, you can do it from your side: Once the itineraries are retrieved via the API, сreate a business rule for this data that will execute filtering by the stopover airport.

Answer for Flight API query with stopover airport

I want to query flights form A to B with 1 stop. Now I want to specify the airport where I would change flights. Which API is the best for that? Thanks in advance.

Flight API query with stopover airport

Hi there, 
&nbsp; 
Thank you for the question.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Airlines used to pay commissions to travel agencies for reselling their tickets but they rarely do it today. Commission cuts started in the 2000s and these days they&rsquo;ve been brought down almost to zero. Though, airlines still give agencies a productivity-linked incentive of two percent on average.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
If not commissions than what? 
&nbsp; 
These days, OTAs rather make money by topping the flight price with markups. <a href="https://youtu.be/VbrOPs9q_-I?list=PLEJZyr6k_ykIB6O_wjd6ERggbRpFs2Lb4&amp;t=215">OTA&rsquo;s commission engine</a> adjusts markup sizes depending on a number of factors like current demand, competition, season, etc.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Agencies have other income streams like service fees, consultation or planning fees, insurance costs. In addition, OTAs provide other services like hotels or car rentals where the commission situation is more favorable. 
&nbsp; 
Besides that, OTAs have agreements with some airlines that allow them to negotiate more favorable terms for selling their tickets. Usually, it means aligning with a host agency or consortium.

Answer for OTA Commission on Airline Tickets

Editor

What is the typical commission fee that OTAs get from airlines?

OTA Commission on Airline Tickets

Hi Rob, 
Yes, generally it&rsquo;s better to become a travel agent, more expensive, but if you get returns they will be way higher than those of an affiliate. As an agent you&rsquo;ll must be able to do all customer service (e.g. cancellation management), which isn&rsquo;t the case for an affiliate.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
You can start off with contacting wholesalers (or bed banks) if you plan on working with hotels. Check Hotelbeds, WebBeds, and there are a whole lot of <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/bed-banks-hotelbeds-travco-bonotel-hotelspro/">other niche wholesalers</a>. They provide access to content, availability, pricing, and booking capability. And it&rsquo;s easier for newcomers to work with hotels rather than flights as usually you get higher commissions and can test your hypothesis and <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travel-agency-marketing/">marketing strategy</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Then you can try flights using either the affiliate model or by working with flight consolidators. In fact, there are very few ways you can start selling flights and ticketing them without the IATA agent certification.

Answer for Travel agent Vs affiliate

Hi folks, Great site - there's so much quality info up here. I am hoping someone could explain how to begin partnering with OTAs as a new entrant to the traveltech space. I note a general unwillingness of large OTAs to offer affiliate accounts (or access to their APIs) to newcomers without an existing user base. I might understand this in the case of bloggers. However, when building an app that relies on access to availability and pricing data, how can one get started in this area? Is it generally better to become a travel agent instead of an affiliate? Thanks for sharing any insights.

Travel agent Vs affiliate

Hi there, 
&nbsp; 
We totally understand your desire to tap into the cruise line industry, as it&rsquo;s a rapidly growing sector within the global tourism market. However, it&rsquo;s not that simple. You must have noticed that there are significantly fewer APIs for cruises than for flights, hotels, and car rentals as it&rsquo;s a quite reserved space. Still, we&rsquo;re not agitating for web scraping as it&rsquo;s a quite unreliable way to aggregate data.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Out of all <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travelport-vs-amadeus-vs-sabre-gds/">global distribution systems</a>, only Amadeus provides APIs to access 53 connected lines. Have a look at their SOAP <a href="https://developers.amadeus.com/enterprise/category/cruise/api/search-and-shopping">Enterprise Cruise APIs</a>. Their Fare Availability API can respond with available prices from a particular cruise provider on a certain date. You can <a href="https://developers.amadeus.com/support/contact-us-enterprise">ask Amadeus for access</a> to try it out. 
&nbsp; 
Also, there are technology partners in the distribution of cruises. They offer cruise aggregation platforms you can connect to and have access to the integrated suppliers (e.g. <a href="https://www.travelopro.com/cruise-api.php">Travelopro</a>, <a href="https://www.traveltek.com/providers/cruise-api-partners/">Traveltek</a>, <a href="https://www.trawex.com/cruise-api.php">Trawex</a>, <a href="https://ist-cruisetech.com/en/api-integrations/">IST</a>). But of course, none of them are free. 
 You can also go your own way of partnering and making XML connections with each cruise supplier separately. For example, <a href="https://otaportal.msccruises.com/I_Authentication/HomeSite.aspx">MSC Cruises</a> offers its partners an API Technology allowing for prices, availability, and bookings. Alternatively, they have a catalog with their routes and rates suitable for a "search tool" and a "quick request function", as they claim. It&rsquo;s called Flat File and you&rsquo;ll need to download it daily from their database. But not many cruise lines are as integration-friendly as MSC. If you're interested in any specific integrations, contact our sales team and we can advise you on the best approach.

Answer for Cruise prices API (no booking)

Thanks for the reply.  I can't find any links to Cruise Direct API or Expedia Cruise Ship Centers API.  Would you have these links available?  Also, what is the cost of these APIs and are there any limitations to their use?

There are several APIs available that provide pricing information for major cruise lines offering Cruise Price API like Cruise Direct API, Expedia Cruise Ship Centers API which offers real-time data on cruise pricing and availability from multiple cruise lines, including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line, among others. The API provides access to up-to-date pricing information, making it easy to compare prices from different cruise lines and find the best deals. Additionally, the <a href="https://www.etraviax.com/cruise-booking-engine/">Cruise Booking Engine</a> offers a simple and easy-to-use interface, allowing you to quickly retrieve pricing information for your desired cruise itinerary.

Is there an API out there that would provide cruise prices for the major cruise lines? Or is web scraping my only alternative?

Cruise prices API (no booking)

Hi there, 
&nbsp; 
Unfortunately, as of January 23rd, SAP Concur terminated this travel metasearch turning down its co-founders&rsquo; buyback offer. While there might be some efforts taken to revive the brand, in the meantime, we suggest looking at some other alternatives.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
The first substitutes that come to mind are <a href="https://www.partners.skyscanner.net/affiliates/travel-apis">Skyscanner</a> and <a href="https://www.kayak.com/affiliates">Kayak</a>. Both offer flights, hotels, and car rental APIs while Kayak also distributes trains and package tours data.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
But getting access to these APIs might be hard for small businesses. Kayak doesn&rsquo;t permit integration unless your platform has more than 100,000 monthly visitors. In case of no response, we advise considering APIs of <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travelport-vs-amadeus-vs-sabre-gds/">Global Distribution Systems</a> like Amadeus. Their <a href="https://developers.amadeus.com/self-service">self-service air and hotel APIs</a> are free for test environments, while fees apply when you exceed the number of free calls. 
 You may find more providers to consider in our extensive article on <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/engineering/travel-and-booking-apis-for-online-travel-and-tourism-service-providers/">travel APIs</a>.

Answer for How to integrate the Hipmunk API with my travel website?

How to integrate the Hipmunk API with my travel website?

You can use <a href="https://www.flightapi.io/">Flight Price Comparison API</a>, which will help you to get prices from more than 70 vendors&nbsp; &amp; airlines. You can search for any route or for any cabin class(Economy, Business, First , etc) and for any type of journey(One-Way or Return). It also offers a FREE pack with 100 requests. Definitely check it out.

Answer for What&#039;s the best flight fares API for getting started quickly and cheaply?

As per my outlook The best flight API are :-
<ol>
<li>Amadeus</li>
<li><a href="https://www.flightapis.com/">&nbsp;Flightapi</a></li>
<li>Sabre</li>
<li>Mystifly</li>
<li>TravelPort</li>
<li>Travelfusion</li>
</ol>
These are the api that I would suggest . Hope this information will help you . To know more about<a href="https://www.flightapis.com/"> flight api</a> go through this following link .

Hello Todd,
We can tell you’ve done quite a research on this topic. And we feel you.
The functionality of Amadeus’ self-service API has a number of limitations. But the reality is that it’s the only self-service API available among the global distribution systems. Other GDS solutions are truly legacy cumbersome systems. And that’s one of the key hindrances to smooth airline distribution.
As for Skyscanner, you’re right. On a case by case basis they accept only those businesses <a href="https://www.partners.skyscanner.net/affiliates/affiliate-products">capable of generating traffic and attracting users</a>. So if you’re only setting your foot in the travel industry, chances are you might not hear from them soon, if at all. In addition, Skyscanner API won’t allow for facilitating bookings as it’s a metasearch.
Now, regarding ATPCO, the main fares provider. In terms of the traditional flight distribution, ATPCO is an intermediary that transmits tariffs from an airline to a GDS.
<a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/media/2019/12/answer-flight-distribution.png"><img class="wp-image-11241 size-large aligncenter" src="https://www.altexsoft.com/media/2019/12/answer-flight-distribution-1024x504.png" alt="answer-flight-distribution" width="1024" height="504" /></a>
ATPCO’s JSON <a href="https://resources.routehappy.com/hc/en-us/categories/201339878-For-developers">Routehappy API</a> has direct connections with GDSs and some airlines. Akin to Skyscanner, they won’t enable booking capabilities. The API access involves monthly payments starting from $2,500, which may not fit into the budget.
If your distribution market isn’t too big, you may try connecting to each airline directly avoiding GDS. If you decide to follow this path, you’ll need to adopt the <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travel/new-distribution-capability-ndc-in-air-travel-airlines-gdss-and-the-impact-on-the-industry/">New Distribution Capability</a> XML standard.
As you can see, many scenarios are possible in your case. As we have extensive <a href="https://www.altexsoft.com/case-studies/travel/altexsoft-enhances-front-back-office-and-builds-a-marketing-website-for-an-ota/">experience in building OTAs</a>, we surely can give you good advice, to say the least. But for this purpose, we’ll need to dive deeper into your situation. So why don’t we keep our communication in DMs? Contact our sales team and they’ll sync you with our best experts.

Answer for What's the best flight fares API for getting started quickly and cheaply?

I'm just getting started building a prototype for a OTA startup and I want to incorporate real-time flight fare data. I've read the overview article on travel APIs and have gotten started using the Amadeus self-service API. However the Amadeus API seems limited in how the flight offers are bundled—it appears that flight offers are a bundle of departing a returning flights instead of allowing the user to select which flights they want for each segment.
I've briefly looked at the other GDSs to what their APIs offer but it appears that neither of them offer self-service. Does anyone have experience getting access to their APIs for prototyping purposes? Additionally, their APIs seem to be a bit dated in terms of the tech (SOAP vs REST, XML vs JSON).
I've also considered "downstream" flight fare APIs like Skyscanner. I applied for a Skyscanner account but have not received any response after a week. I'm curious whether they have revenue requirements that need to be met in order to get access. Are their other non-GDSs APIs worth considering?
Another thought was to look at ATPCO for flight fare data. I'm not exactly sure where ATPCO fits into this picture in terms of the data they have.
Any advice or direction is welcome. I'm just getting started in the flight API space. I have significant tech experience but the travel tech space is completely new to me. Also, it might be worth mentioning that I'm US-based and would be looking to start with domestic flight data to begin.
Thanks!

What&#039;s the best flight fares API for getting started quickly and cheaply?

Well, you can use <a href="https://www.makcorps.com/">Hotel Price Comparison API</a> for that purpose. It compares more than 200 Hotel OTAs like Booking.xom, Exoedia, Agoda, Priceline, Orbitz, TripAdvisor, ZenHotels, Hotels.com, MMT, HRS, etc. It provides JSON response with all the hotels in a city with top 6 cheapest vendors. You can either search for a city or a particular Hotel. This API will help you get what you are looking for.

Answer for Price Comparison Widget - Booking.com Expedia

Hi there,
Unfortunately, there’s no shortcut for building a price comparison tool.
You may think of web scraping - extracting prices using crawlers. But be aware that it will entail a lot of headache such as inventory consistency and even lawsuits.
A legal way of doing so is to get OTAs’ permission to source their prices. By <a href="https://expediapartnersolutions.com/become-a-partner">partnering with Expedia</a>, you’ll get access to its <a href="https://developer.expediapartnersolutions.com/documentation/rapid-shopping-docs-3/">EPS Rapid Shopping</a> API that returns available rooms with live rates and other details like promos, rate refundability, cancellation penalties, etc.
As for Booking.com, they offer <a href="https://developers.booking.com/api/commercial/index.html?version=2.5&amp;page_url=usage-information">Demand API</a> that allows for retrieving live rates and availability. However, they prohibit the affiliates to <a href="https://developers.booking.com/api/commercial/index.html?page_url=permitted-use">use their property content for price comparison</a>. But maybe you’ll manage to find a way around that through the direct communication with the OTA.
After you’ve affiliated with these hospitality giants, next comes inventory mapping. And here <a href="../../blog/cloud/hotel-mapping-tools-how-giata-gimmonix-databindr-and-other-solutions-work/">hotel mapping providers</a> may be of help to you. They’ll take care that the prices are correct and all the hotel-related data is aligned eliminating any duplicates.
Once you connect to a hotel’s <a href="../../blog/engineering/hotel-channel-managers-key-providers-and-how-to-choose-a-channel-manager/">channel manager</a> and the OTAs via their APIs from one side, and to a hotel mapping provider’s API from the other side, you’re all set to build your price comparison widget. Alternatively, you can turn to a tech company like AltexSoft, so that we can do it for you.

What is the best way to build or source a price comparison widget/plugin for WordPress that shows booking.com and Expedia price alongside a hotel direct price in real time?

Price Comparison Widget - Booking.com Expedia

Booking.com-owned OTA, Priceline has <a href="https://pricelinepartnernetwork.com/world-class-api">Partner Network’s API</a> set for retrieving dynamic rates and availability as well as booking hotels, cars for rent, flights, and bundle packaging. You don’t have to integrate everything but can opt for a certain product. Besides the HTTPS-based API, Priceline partners can also get an adaptable <a href="https://pricelinepartnernetwork.com/privatelabel">private label</a> solution. Note that they only consider partners who produce no less than five bookings per day. You’ll also have to tell about your company, its target customers, and make predictions as to your bookings growth. So if you meet the entry requirements and would like to make use of the Priceline API, fill out their <a href="https://pricelinepartnernetwork.com/contact?type=affiliate">contact form</a>.

Answer for How to integrate Priceline API?

How to integrate Priceline API?

Thanks Alex Soft team for providing a comprehensive response.
Furthermore, all three Flight APIs you've highlighted appear to hold great potential as alternatives to the Google Flight API for both developers and travel businesses. I recently came across this <a href="https://www.flightapi.io/blog/google-flight-api-history-and-alternative/">in-depth article on Google Flight API</a> that not only elucidates the entire journey from the inception to the discontinuation of the Google Flight API but also presents an alternative solution. I believe this alternative could prove highly valuable to businesses seeking reliable flight-related data.

Hi there, 
&nbsp; 
That&rsquo;s actually the question small partners of QPX Express asked themselves in 2018 when the API was ceased. Modeling on Google Flights API, what we seek in substitutes are: 
&nbsp; 
1. search for multiple airlines, including <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travel/low-cost-airline-distribution-channels-direct-distribution-ndc-gdss-and-low-cost-airline-consolidators/">low-cost carriers</a> 
2. diverse filtering options 
3. easy-to-use interface 
&nbsp; 
Booking processing isn&rsquo;t first on our list, as it&rsquo;s not what a metasearch engine like Google Flights is aimed at. Now, to the candidates. 
&nbsp; 
Skyscanner. Another metasearch engine, Skyscanner offers a suite of subscription-free <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://partners.skyscanner.net/affiliates/travel-apis/">flight search APIs</a>. It pays commissions according to your conversion and traffic quality. The APIs aggregate over 250 airlines and compare them using powerful search algorithms to retrieve the cheapest prices, routes, and dates. This also includes Inspirational search features. Use <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://skyscanner.github.io/slate/?_ga=1.104705984.172843296.1446781555#flights-browse-prices">Flights Browse Prices API</a> for cached content and <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://skyscanner.github.io/slate/?_ga=1.104705984.172843296.1446781555#flights-live-prices">Flights Live Prices API</a> for real-time queries. Besides flights, Skyscanner also provides APIs to connect <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://skyscanner.github.io/slate/?_ga=1.104705984.172843296.1446781555#car-hire-live-prices">car hire</a> and <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://skyscanner.github.io/slate/?_ga=1.104705984.172843296.1446781555#hotels-live-prices">hotel</a> fare data. You can request the API access <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://partners.skyscanner.net/contact/affiliates">here</a>.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Travelfusion. Over 150 low-cost carriers are in your pocket if you connect to the <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://xmldocs.travelfusion.com/">Travelfusion Direct Connect XML API</a>. This API also supports fully automated booking processes. So you can either book from your side or redirect to the supplier's website. If you aim at packaged tours, consider Travelfusion <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://fastdocs.travelfusion.com/">Fast API.</a> Prior to using the XML APIs, you&rsquo;ll have to <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.travelfusion.com/corporate/register">register</a> and sign the license agreement with set fees. 
&nbsp; 
Kiwi.com. The coverage of <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://docs.kiwi.com/#top">Kiwi&rsquo;s API set</a> is about the same size as the Travelfusion&rsquo;s. It includes both legacy and low-cost carriers. The booking is processed on the OTA&rsquo;s side. Besides the general flight API capabilities, there&rsquo;s an API that offers travel tips to customers helping them save time and money. To use the Kiwi API, <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://tequila.kiwi.com/portal/login/register">register for their partner portal Tequila</a>. You&rsquo;ll get a 3 percent commission on every processed booking. 
&nbsp; 
Kayak. If your traffic exceeds 100,000 visitors a month, you&rsquo;re able to integrate Kayak searches and results into your platform. You can do so by enrolling in their <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.kayak.com/affiliates">affiliate program</a>. You select the data you need among flights, cars, hotels, trains, packages.&nbsp; 
For more options, check out our article on <a style="text-decoration-line: none;" href="https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/engineering/airline-flight-booking-apis-gdss-specialized-data-providers-otas-and-metasearch-engines/">flight booking API providers</a>.

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