Travel API: A cost-effective way to get standard travel inventory

One can easily observe the intense competition in the travel sector due to the growing number of travel agencies. OTA(s), TMC(s), and tour operator(s) feel the need to integrate advanced Travel APIs into their booking engine. This enables them to offer better travel deals than their competitors.

Moreover, not all the travel agencies are capable of integrating GDS due to a high set-up and recurring fees that need to be paid on a monthly basis. GDS integration requires other procedural formalities too. These complexities in the GDS integration make travel companies select Travel APIs that gives them access to standard travel content from an integrated set of suppliers. This saves time as well as money. Here, we are going to discuss Travel APIs in detail and focus on the factors that make them essential for travel companies.

What is Travel API?

Travel API is a set of web services to access travel content from various sources like GDS, consolidators, wholesalers, LCCs, and direct connect. Travel APIs allow your customer to search/book flights, hotels, and cars. Travel agencies integrate third party flight and hotel APIs into their booking portals in order to have access to the best travel deals.

Benefits of Travel API

• B2B Travel APIs allows you to add markups for your agents and increase profits.
• B2C Travel APIs lets you receive the payment directly from customers while making the booking.
• Gives access to live-pricing of flight and hotel inventory. A single Travel API, with access to all inventories, can save valuable time as compared to multiple supplier integration.
• Advanced Travel API consolidates inventories from multiple suppliers like GDSs, direct connect, wholesalers, and aggregators. This gives single access to the best available deals; thus, allowing agencies with third-party Travel API a diverse selection of content to market.
• Travel API increases profits for you and your business.
• Increases customer satisfaction due to the personalized and seamless booking experience.

What is Travel API integration?

In order to sell a vast travel inventory, travel companies prefer Travel API integration. This allows companies to bring the best travel content to their portal. In simple words, Travel API integration lets you integrate third-party wholesaler inventory into your travel booking engine. It is a fast and flexible way that directly connects you to the travel inventory so that you can provide the best travel deals to your customers.

Why do travel agencies think Travel API integration is important?

• It takes a lot of time to build a travel booking engine, and there is a need to integrate various travel suppliers to expand the content on travel portal. Different suppliers have unique requirements so it takes a long time to integrate a travel booking engine or a hotel booking engine with so many suppliers. Therefore, travel agencies use third party Travel API integration in order to save time. With the help of Travel API, they can easily search and book fares from multiple integrated suppliers.
• GDSs are not preferred by travel companies that have a limited budget. By integrating third-party Travel API, these companies can bring the latest features to their booking portal such as access to the best deals for flights, hotels, and holiday packages and other great features at a much lower cost compared to a GDS.
• A single Travel API can eliminate the need for multiple API integrations from different suppliers. This will also help improve search response times.
• The improved faster access to both local and international travel deals through the Travel API increases overall bookings.
• If you are a travel start-up and want to expand your business with access to a larger product inventory, you will need to sign direct contracts with various suppliers. This can be both costly and time-consuming; however, with a single Travel API you can gain access to the best travel content from standard suppliers without the headache of signing all those contracts.

What are the advantages of travel booking API?

• The ability to provide a seamless online reservation experience.
• Reduces development costs.
• Advanced Travel APIs allow you to build a custom website for your customers to search and book travel products.
• Flight search APIs are easy to set up and supports flexible integration to increase profitability.
• Flight APIs allow instant booking confirmation and fulfillment for your business needs.

What are the features of Travel API?

• Efficiency
• Easy to integrate
• Real-time prices
• User-friendly interface
• Custom-designed solutions
• Use of the latest technology
• Reduce time to market
• Secure
• Scalable
• Centralized commission management
• Multilingual support
• Multicurrency support

How travel companies implement flight booking API on the website?

There are two methods travel companies apply to implement a flight booking engine on their travel websites; one of those methods is XML API integration for flight search and the other is a white label booking solution. When they implement any of the two given methods, they get access to worldwide airline availability, fares, and pricing information. Both of these implementations can help travel companies get numerous airline reservations done in a more efficient way.