Question 1

Can I set up the flight booking API to automatically rebook my customer on a different flight if their original flight gets cancelled?

Accepted Answer

No, the flight booking API cannot automatically rebook your customer on a different flight. When an airline cancels a flight, you will be notified through the API, but you have to decide what to do next and take action yourself. This might mean contacting your customer, searching for alternative flights, and making a new booking if they want to proceed. The reason for this is that every customer situation is different. Some customers might prefer a refund, others might want to fly on a different day, and some might want to travel on a competing airline instead. Because there is no way for the API to know what your customer actually wants without asking them, automation would not work here. You need to speak to your customer first and find out what suits them best. What you can do is set up alerts or reports through the software so you get notified quickly when a flight is cancelled. This gives you time to reach out to your customer before they find out on their own. Some travel agencies also keep a list of backup flights for their customers so they can offer alternatives straight away. Check with your system settings to see how you receive cancellation notifications and how quickly you will know when a flight is at risk.

Question 2

Can I use travel agency software to automatically issue tickets to my customers after they book, or do I have to do that manually?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can set up your travel agency software to issue tickets automatically when a customer completes a booking, though how this works depends on which suppliers you are connected to and what your software plan includes. Most modern travel agency platforms can integrate with airline and hotel systems so that confirmations and tickets are generated instantly without you having to step in. This saves your team time and gets your customers their documents faster, which is especially important for flights where you need to issue a ticket within a certain window to hold the reservation. The automation works best when you are booking through a travel API that connects directly to suppliers. Some suppliers will send the ticket back to your system right away, while others might take a few hours. For hotels, the confirmation usually comes through immediately but a physical or digital voucher might be generated separately depending on the hotel's system. The key is that your software needs to be set up to receive these confirmations and pass them along to your customer automatically through email or your portal. There are still some cases where you might need to step in manually. If a booking needs special handling, if there is an error, or if a customer has specific requests, you would need to contact the supplier yourself or adjust things in your system. Some older suppliers might not support full automation either, so you would generate and send tickets by hand for those bookings. Check with your software provider what level of automation is included in your plan and which suppliers support instant ticket issuance, since this can vary quite a bit depending on your setup.

Question 3

Can I get a breakdown of the total cost when I search for flights through the API, so I can show my customer the fare, taxes and fees separately?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the flight booking API returns a detailed cost breakdown so you can show your customer exactly what makes up the total price. When you search for flights, you will see the base fare, taxes, fees and any surcharges listed separately. This helps your customers understand what they are paying for and builds trust because they can see it is not just one mystery number. The exact details you get back depend on what the airline includes in their response. Most airlines break down their pricing clearly, but some may combine certain charges together. You can also add your own markup or commission on top of what the API returns, and most travel agency software lets you show that as a separate line item if you want to be transparent with your customers. When you move from search to booking, the price should stay the same as long as you book within the hold time that the supplier allows. Some fares hold for just a few minutes while others hold for longer, and the API will tell you how long you have to commit. After you book, you will get the final invoice from the airline which may include additional fees if your customer adds things like seat selections or extra baggage, but the core fare and taxes should match what you saw in the search. Check with your travel agency software provider about how they display the cost breakdown in your portal, and test a search to see exactly what information appears to your customers before they book.

Question 4

Can I get instant confirmation when a hotel booking goes through the API, or do I have to wait to hear back from the supplier?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the hotel booking API gives you instant confirmation when a reservation is successful, so you know straight away whether the booking has been accepted or if there is a problem. When your customer completes their booking through your portal or when you submit a booking on their behalf, the API sends back a confirmation response right away with details like the booking reference, check in and check out dates, room details, and the total price. This means you can immediately tell your customer that their hotel is booked and send them their confirmation details without any delay. That said, the speed and reliability of the confirmation depend on how the hotel supplier responds. Most major suppliers provide instant confirmations, but occasionally a supplier might take a few seconds longer or experience a temporary connection issue. In rare cases, a booking might appear to be confirmed through the API but then the supplier cancels it later due to a system error or availability issue on their end, though this is uncommon with established suppliers. You should always check the confirmation details carefully before you communicate them to your customer, just as you would with any booking system. You can also set up your travel agency software to automatically send your customer an email or SMS with their booking confirmation as soon as the API confirms it, so they get the news instantly. This removes the step of you having to manually send confirmation details and gives your customers confidence that their booking is real. Make sure you test the confirmation process with your supplier before you start taking live bookings so you understand how quickly confirmations arrive and what information they contain.

Question 5

Can I use travel agency software to manage bookings from different suppliers all in one place, or do I need separate systems for each one?

Accepted Answer

Yes, travel agency software built for this purpose lets you manage bookings from different suppliers in a single system rather than jumping between separate portals. The software acts as a hub where you can search, book and track flights, hotels, and other travel products from multiple sources all within the same interface. This saves you time and makes it easier to keep track of what your customers have booked and when. How well this works depends on which suppliers you want to use and whether they offer API connections to the software. Some suppliers integrate directly, which means their data flows automatically into your system. Others may require you to enter bookings manually or log into their portal separately. The travel agency software you choose should tell you upfront which suppliers are available and how they connect. Even when suppliers are integrated, you will still need to manage some things separately because each airline or hotel chain has its own rules about changes, cancellations and customer service. The software helps you organize everything in one place, but it does not replace the need to understand each supplier's policies. Check with your software provider which suppliers they work with and ask them to walk you through how bookings from different sources appear in your system. This will help you understand whether it meets your needs before you commit.

Question 6

Can I see what room types are available at a hotel through the API before my customer books, so I know what to offer them?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the hotel booking API lets you see the different room types that are available at a property for your customer's dates. When you search for a hotel, the results will show you options like standard rooms, deluxe rooms, suites and other variations that the hotel offers, along with the price for each one. This means you can browse what is on offer and show your customer the choices before they decide to book. The room information you get back from the API depends on what the hotel supplies to us. Some properties give us detailed descriptions, photos and amenities for each room type, while others provide more basic information. You will see what is available for the specific dates your customer wants to travel, so availability can change if they shift their trip by a day or two. This is useful because you can help your customer pick the right room for their needs and budget without having to call the hotel or check another website. Keep in mind that room types, prices and what is actually in stock can all shift as the hotel updates their system, so what you see in the API might change between the moment you search and the moment your customer books. This is normal for hotel booking and happens across the whole industry. To make sure you are giving your customer the most current information, run your search close to when they are ready to commit to a booking.

Question 7

Can I add extra features to my white label portal after I launch it, or do I have to decide everything upfront?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can add features after launch, but what you can add depends on your plan and what the suppliers support. A white label portal is not a fixed thing that stays the same forever. Most travel businesses find they want to adjust things as they learn what their customers ask for and what works for their team. You might start with basic flight and hotel search and later want to add car rental, activities, or insurance options. The good news is that glideFares builds white label portals in a way that lets you grow without starting over. What you can actually add will depend on a few things. Your plan sets the foundation for what features are available to you. The suppliers you work with also matter, because not every supplier offers every product or service through the booking systems we connect to. Some features are straightforward additions, like changing colors or adding a new destination filter. Others, like connecting a new supplier or adding a completely different product type, may need technical setup work. The best approach is to talk with the glideFares team about what you want to build toward over the next year. They can tell you what fits your plan and what the suppliers you want to work with can actually provide. That way you understand what is realistic to add later and what might need planning now. Get in touch with support and describe what you think your customers will want in six months or a year, so you can plan your portal to grow with your business.

Question 8

Can I use the flight booking API to search for flights across multiple airlines at the same time, or do I have to search each airline separately?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the flight booking API searches across multiple airlines in a single search, so you get all the options available at once rather than having to check each carrier individually. This is one of the main benefits of using an API instead of visiting airline websites one by one. When your customer tells you their travel dates and route, you send one search request and the API returns flights from all the airlines we work with, sorted by price, time, or whatever matters most to your customer. The airlines included in your search results depend on which suppliers we have connected to our platform. Not every airline in the world is available through every API, so the options you see are limited to our partner network. You will see all the choices we have available for that route and date, but if a customer specifically wants to fly with an airline we do not yet work with, you would need to book that separately outside the API. When you run a search, you get back the full details you need to help your customer choose, including the price, the departure and arrival times, how long the journey takes, and whether there are any stops. From there, your customer can pick the flight they want, and you move forward to booking. The whole process keeps everything in one place instead of hopping between different airline websites. Try running a test search through the API with a common route to see how many options come back and whether they match what you would expect to find. If you notice that a particular airline your customers often want is missing, let us know so we can look into adding them to our connections.

Question 9

Can I set up my travel agency software to automatically sync bookings with my supplier accounts so I do not have to manage them in two places?

Accepted Answer

This depends on which suppliers you work with and what your software plan includes. Some suppliers offer direct connections that let bookings flow automatically between your travel agency software and their systems, which means you enter the booking once and it updates everywhere. Other suppliers may not have this kind of connection available, or the connection might work only one way, so you would still need to manage some information manually or check both systems to make sure everything matches up. When you set up your travel agency software, the suppliers you connect to will determine what is possible. A supplier with a modern API and integration options will give you more automatic syncing than one with older systems. Your software plan also matters, because some plans include more supplier connections and automations than others. The best approach is to check with your software provider which of your main suppliers can sync automatically and which ones cannot. If automatic syncing is important to your workflow, ask your software provider for a list of suppliers that offer real-time or regular syncing, and whether you can add more supplier connections if you need them. This will help you decide whether the setup matches how you want to work and whether you will spend less time managing duplicate information across different systems.

Question 10

Can I hold a hotel room for a customer for a few days while they decide whether to book it?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the hotel supplier and what they allow through the API. Some hotels do offer hold options that let you reserve a room temporarily without taking payment, but the length of time you can hold it and whether a hold is available at all varies widely. The API will show you what options are possible for each specific hotel, so you can see at search time or during the booking process whether a hold is available and for how long. When you search for hotels or look at a specific property, the API returns information about what the supplier will allow. If a hold is offered, it usually comes with a deadline, after which the room goes back on sale and your customer loses the reservation. Some suppliers may ask for a credit card to secure the hold even though no money is taken straight away. You should always check the cancellation and hold terms that come back from the API before you commit to telling your customer they can hold the room. The key thing to remember is that you cannot hold a room longer than the supplier permits, and different hotels have different policies. If holding is important for your business, check what the API tells you about each property before you offer it to your customer. You may also want to ask your customers to book and pay within a certain timeframe rather than relying on holds, since that gives you certainty the booking is secure.