Question 1

Can I see which hotel rooms are already booked through the API so I don't offer them to my customers?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can see real-time room availability through the hotel booking API, which tells you which specific room types are sold out at a property on any given date. When you search for a hotel, the API returns the rooms that are still available for booking, so you only show your customers options that actually exist. This means you won't accidentally try to book a room that is no longer there, which would create problems for you and your customer. The availability information updates constantly as other travel agents and customers book rooms, so what was available an hour ago might be gone now. The API reflects these changes in real time, but you should know that between the moment you show a customer a room and the moment they actually book it, someone else could grab it. Most suppliers give you a short window to complete the booking before the room becomes unavailable again. How quickly the availability updates depends on the hotel supplier and their system, so there can sometimes be a slight delay before the API shows that a room has been booked by someone else. If a customer tries to book a room that has just sold out, the booking will fail and you will need to offer them a different option. Check with your supplier or your account manager about their specific availability update process so you understand how fresh the information is when you are showing it to your customers.

Question 2

Can I use the flight booking API to see how many seats are left on a flight before I book my customer?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can see seat availability through the flight booking API, but what you get depends on what the airline supplier gives us. When you search for a flight, the results include information about how many seats are available in each cabin class. This helps you know whether a flight is nearly full or has plenty of room left. The data updates as bookings are made, so you get a current picture of what is left in stock. Keep in mind that seat counts can change quickly, especially on popular flights. Between the time you check availability and when you actually book, another agent or customer might take some of those seats. The API will tell you if a flight becomes unavailable when you try to complete the booking, so you will know straight away if something sold out. Some suppliers also release or hold back inventory in their own systems, which means the seat count you see might not match exactly what the airline shows on their website. You can use this information to help your customers decide whether to book a flight now or wait, and to know which flights have good availability for their travel dates. Just remember that availability is real-time but can shift moment to moment, so do not promise your customer a specific number of seats if you are not booking right away. Check the current availability in your system just before you complete the booking to make sure the flight is still open.

Question 3

If I set up a white label portal for my customers, can I control which suppliers show up in the search results?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can control which suppliers appear in your white label portal, but the extent depends on how you set it up and what your agreement includes. When you build a portal with glideFares, you choose which airlines, hotel chains, and other travel suppliers to connect to through our APIs and integrations. This means you decide whether to show budget carriers, full-service airlines, luxury hotel brands, or budget accommodations. You can also decide whether to display all available options or filter the results before showing them to your customers. However, what you can filter depends on the supplier data available through the API. Some suppliers give you access to their full inventory while others may have restrictions on what information they share or how you can display it. For example, you might be able to exclude certain airlines from appearing in flight searches, but you cannot always control which specific fare types or cabin classes show up without additional configuration. The filtering options also depend on which features are included in your plan and how your portal is configured. You should think about your business strategy when deciding what to show. Some agencies filter results to highlight partners they work closely with or to promote bookings with better margins. Others show everything available so customers can compare and choose. You can also change your filters over time as your business needs change, though this might require updating your portal settings. Contact your account manager or check your portal settings to see what filtering options are available to you and how to set them up for your business.

Question 4

Can I pull hotel room rates and availability through the API so I can compare prices across different properties before my customer books?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can search for hotel availability and rates through the hotel booking API, and you can run those searches across multiple properties at the same time to compare what is available and what each one costs. This lets you see the full picture of options in a destination or area without your customer having to search each hotel individually. You can then present the best matches to them based on price, location, room type or any other factor that matters to your business. The API will show you current rates and which rooms are in stock on the dates your customer needs. Keep in mind that hotel rates and availability change constantly, so what you see through the API right now might be different an hour from now. The supplier controls what information comes back, so if a hotel does not provide certain details through their connection to our system, you will not see those details either. This feature works best when you search for a specific destination and date range rather than browsing one hotel at a time. You can then filter the results to show only the properties and room types that fit your criteria or your profit margins. The comparison happens on your end, so you stay in control of which options to offer your customers and which ones to hold back. Try running a test search through the API with a few different destinations and date ranges to see how the results look and what details come back for each property. This will help you understand how to present the options to your customers in the clearest way.

Question 5

Can I use the flight booking API to get real-time pricing for a flight so I can see when the price drops and rebooking my customer?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can pull real-time pricing through the flight booking API and see when fares change, but rebooking your customer automatically is not something the API does for you. The API will show you the current price every time you search, so you can track whether a fare has gone down since your customer first looked at it. Many travel agencies check prices this way to spot good deals and reach out to customers who are still thinking about booking. Where this gets tricky is that airlines do not let you hold a price while you wait for your customer to decide. Once you search and see a price, that price is only guaranteed at the moment you actually complete the booking. If you search again an hour later, the price might be different, and the old price is gone. The API shows you what is available right now, not what was available before. If a customer has already booked and the price drops after that, rebooking them is something you would need to do manually. The API can tell you the new price exists, but it cannot automatically cancel the old booking and rebook them on the same flight at the lower rate. You would need to contact the airline or handle that as a separate transaction through your travel agency software. Check with your travel agency software provider to see if they have built in tools to track price changes and alert you when a fare drops for flights your customers are interested in, since that can save you time compared to checking the API manually.

Question 6

Can I use travel agency software to automatically send invoices and payment reminders to my customers so I don't have to do it manually each time?

Accepted Answer

Yes, most travel agency software lets you automate invoicing and payment reminders, though the exact features depend on which system you choose and which plan you are on. When a customer completes a booking, the software can generate an invoice automatically and send it to them right away. You can usually set up reminder emails to go out at times you choose, like a few days after booking or a week before the trip starts, so customers know when payment is due without you having to remember to send each one manually. What you can automate varies by system. Some software lets you customize the invoice template so it matches your branding and includes your payment terms. Others let you set up different payment reminder schedules depending on the booking type or customer. However, some suppliers may have their own invoicing requirements or payment terms that override what your software does, so you will need to check whether the bookings you make through your system flow through to your invoices automatically or if you need to handle some manually. The payment collection itself usually works differently. Your software can send reminders and invoices, but your customers typically pay through methods you set up separately, like bank transfer or credit card processing. Some systems integrate with payment providers to make this smoother, but that depends on the plan and which payment methods you want to offer. To find out what automation is included with your software, check the features list for your current plan or contact your provider to see what invoicing and reminder options are available to you.

Question 7

Can I use a white label portal to show my customers travel content like destination guides or travel tips without building that part myself?

Accepted Answer

Yes, many white label portals let you add content sections to your site, though the extent depends on what your plan includes and what you want to display. You can typically customize pages to show destination information, travel guides, blog posts, or tips that help your customers plan their trips. Some portals make it easy to add this content yourself through a simple editor, while others let you connect your own content from elsewhere on the web. The key is that you control what appears on your site and how it looks, so it all matches your brand. What you can do varies by your plan and the portal you choose. A basic plan might let you add simple text and images to a few pages, while a more advanced plan could include richer content options, the ability to pull in feeds from other sources, or templates designed specifically for travel content. Some portals also offer a library of pre-written content about popular destinations that you can use or customize for your customers. You should check what content features are included in your plan and whether you can add more if you need them later. Keep in mind that while the portal handles displaying the content, creating and updating that content is up to you. You will need to write, photograph, or source the guides and tips yourself, or hire someone to do it. The portal just gives you the tools to organize and present it alongside your booking features. Talk to your provider about which content options are available in your plan and how much flexibility you have to add or change content over time.

Question 8

Can I use the flight booking API to check if a particular flight is operating on a specific date, or do I have to search for all available flights to find out?

Accepted Answer

You can search for flights on a specific date through the API, but you cannot simply check whether one particular flight exists without running a search. The API works by searching for all available flights between two cities on a given date and returning the results that match your criteria. If you want to know whether a specific flight number is available, you would need to run a search for that route and date, then look through the results to see if that flight appears. The search results will show you all the flights the system found for that route and date, including the flight numbers, departure and arrival times, and pricing. You can then filter or sort these results however you like before showing them to your customers. Some travel agencies use this approach to build their own custom lists of preferred flights, while others show customers the full set of results and let them choose. Keep in mind that flight availability changes constantly, and what shows up in a search depends on the suppliers connected to your system and the real-time data they are sending at that moment. A flight might be available one minute and sold out the next, or it might not appear in the search results at all if that particular airline or routing is not included in your setup. You should run a fresh search each time you need current information rather than relying on older results. Try searching for your route and date through the API to see what flights come back, then check whether the specific flight you are looking for appears in those results.

Question 9

Can I use travel agency software to let my customers modify or cancel their bookings themselves instead of having to contact me each time?

Accepted Answer

Yes, most travel agency software lets your customers manage their own bookings to some extent, though what they can change depends on the supplier's rules and your settings. When you use a white label portal or booking API, you can typically give customers access to view their reservation, see the itinerary, and request changes like date modifications or cancellations. However, the actual approval and refund depend on the airline or hotel's policy, not the software itself. Some suppliers allow instant self-service changes while others require manual review, so your customers might still need to contact you for certain requests. The level of self-service control you offer is usually something you can customize in your software settings. You might choose to let customers cancel bookings freely, require them to ask your approval first, or restrict changes entirely depending on your business model and the supplier agreements you have. Some agencies prefer to handle everything manually to maintain control and catch issues before they become problems, while others want to reduce support tickets by letting customers help themselves. You should check what your current software plan includes for customer self-service features and whether the suppliers you work with support instant modifications through the API. If self-service bookings are important to your business, ask your software provider which actions customers can perform independently and which ones still route back to your team for approval.

Question 10

Can I use a white label portal to let my customers book multiple trips at the same time without starting over each time?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a white label portal can let your customers create multiple bookings in one session, though how this works depends on how you set it up. Most white label platforms let you design the booking flow to match your business needs, which means you can decide whether customers enter their details once and then book several trips, or whether they go through the full process each time. Some portals also let you save customer information so they do not have to re-enter their name and passport details every time they want to book another holiday. The exact experience your customers get will depend on the features included in your white label plan and how you choose to configure them. Some agencies prefer to have customers complete one booking at a time to keep things simple, while others want to let customers book flights, hotels and packages all together in one go. You can usually switch between these approaches or customize the flow to match what works best for your business model. The key thing to remember is that your white label portal is built to work the way you want it to, not the other way around. This means you have control over whether customers can add multiple trips to a cart, save their details between bookings, or see a dashboard of all their past and upcoming holidays. Check with your white label provider about which features are available in your plan and how you can configure the booking experience to make it as easy as possible for your customers to come back and book again.