Question 1

Can I see real-time availability through the flight booking API so I know which flights are actually left in stock before I offer them to my customer?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the flight booking API shows you what flights are available at the moment you search, but availability can change very quickly because other travel agencies and customers are booking at the same time. When you search for flights to a particular destination on a particular date, the API returns the flights that are in stock right then, with seat counts and fares. This is real-time information that reflects what the airlines are actually selling through the system we connect to. However, the moment you see a flight on your screen, another agent somewhere else might be booking it too. Seat counts can drop or a fare can sell out between the time you show it to your customer and the time they decide to book. This is why some travel agencies ask customers to decide quickly when they find a flight they like. The good news is that when you actually go to book the flight through the API, the system will tell you straight away if that exact flight and fare are still available, so you will not accidentally promise your customer something that is no longer there. Different airlines and different routes can have different levels of stock, and some flights sell out much faster than others. If your customer is flexible on dates or times, you can run multiple searches to compare what is available across a few options and then show them the choices. To understand how quickly inventory moves on the routes your customers usually book, just watch what happens over a few weeks as you use the API and you will get a feel for it.

Question 2

Can my travel agency software automatically send my customer a reminder before their trip starts?

Accepted Answer

Yes, most travel agency software can send automated reminders to your customers before their trip begins, though the exact timing and what gets included depends on which system you choose and how you set it up. These reminders are useful because they prompt customers to check their bookings, arrange transport to the airport, and make sure they have everything they need. The software usually lets you decide when the reminder goes out, whether that is a week before departure, a few days before, or the day before the trip starts. The reminders typically include the booking details your customer needs, like confirmation numbers, hotel addresses, and flight times. Some systems let you add your own message or special instructions to the reminder as well, so you can remind customers about visas, travel insurance, or anything else specific to their trip. You can usually choose whether reminders go by email, SMS, or both, depending on what your customers prefer and what the software supports. Because reminders are automated, they save your team time and reduce the number of last minute calls from worried customers asking if their booking is confirmed. However, the reminders only work if your customers have given you correct email addresses or phone numbers, so it is worth checking that contact details are accurate when you take the booking. Check your software documentation or ask your provider what reminder options are available in your plan and whether you can customize the message your customers receive.

Question 3

Can I set up my white label portal to show different hotel and flight options to different customers based on what I think they should see?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can control what your customers see on your white label portal, but the way this works depends on how you want to filter the results. You can set up rules so that certain customer types only see hotels or flights within a price range you choose, or only see suppliers you have decided to work with. This means a budget-conscious customer might see economy options while a premium customer sees luxury hotels and business class flights. You can also hide entire destinations or airlines if you do not want to offer them to certain groups. The filtering happens at the supplier level and the price level, which are the two main ways to control what appears. If you want to show one customer a four star hotel and another customer only three star hotels, you can do that through your white label settings. The same applies to flights, where you might show some customers all available airlines and others only the carriers you prefer to work with. However, what you cannot do is change the actual content like room descriptions or seat maps that come from the supplier, because those are controlled by the hotel or airline. Keep in mind that some of these filtering options depend on which plan you have with us and what your suppliers allow. A supplier might restrict how you can filter their inventory, so you should check what rules apply to the hotels and airlines you work with. You should review your current plan details and speak with your account manager about which filtering options are available to you right now.

Question 4

Can I see room photos and the hotel layout through the hotel booking API so I know what I am selling to my customers?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the hotel booking API gives you access to room photos, property images, and descriptions so you can show your customers what they are booking. The amount and quality of photos depends on what the hotel has uploaded to their system, so some properties will have many detailed images while others may have just a few. You will also see information about room layouts, bed types, amenities and facilities so you can describe the property accurately to someone who is deciding whether to book. When you search for a hotel through the API, the images and descriptions come back with the search results so you can review them before you show anything to your customer. This means you can be confident about what you are offering and answer questions about the room view, the bathroom setup, or whether there is a kitchenette. If a customer asks about something specific like whether the room overlooks the street or faces a courtyard, you will usually find that information in the property details. Keep in mind that the photos are what the hotel provides, so they may be outdated or not show every angle of the room. Some hotels update their images regularly while others do not, so it is worth checking the booking date to see when the photos were added if that information is shown. If you spot something that looks wrong or out of date, you can contact the hotel directly to ask for updated images. The best way to get started is to search for a few hotels in your API sandbox or test environment and look at what photos and descriptions come back, so you can see exactly what your customers will be able to see when they browse on your booking portal.

Question 5

Can I let my customers book trips themselves on my white label portal, or do I have to enter every booking manually?

Accepted Answer

Yes, your customers can book trips themselves on your white label portal without you having to enter anything manually. When you set up a white label booking site through glideFares, your customers can search for flights and hotels, see prices and availability, and complete their own bookings from start to finish. The system handles all the connections to the suppliers in the background, so the booking goes straight through to the airline or hotel without any extra work from you. This self-service approach saves your team a lot of time, especially when you have many customers booking at once. Your customers get instant confirmation of their bookings, and you can see everything that was booked in your system right away. You can still step in to help a customer if they get stuck or want advice, but most of the routine bookings will flow through without needing your hands-on involvement. You keep full control over what your customers see and what prices they pay. You can set your own markups, choose which suppliers appear in the search results, and customize the whole experience to match your brand. Some travel agencies use the self-service portal for certain customers and handle other bookings manually, so you can work the way that suits your business best. To get started, talk to the glideFares team about setting up your white label portal and which booking flows you want to offer your customers.

Question 6

Can I customize the look and feel of my white label portal so it matches my travel agency brand?

Accepted Answer

Yes, white label portals are built so you can customize them to match your brand. You can add your logo, change the colors, adjust the fonts, and arrange the layout so that when your customers visit, they see your company name and branding throughout the site, not ours. The portal feels like it belongs to your travel agency, which helps build trust with your customers and keeps them focused on your business. How much you can customize depends on your plan and what your team needs. Some travel agencies want just the basics like a logo and color scheme, while others want to change almost everything about how the site looks and works. You can usually customize the homepage, the search results pages, the booking confirmation pages, and the emails that go out to customers. The extent of customization available to you will depend on which plan you choose when you set up with us. You should also know that your web address will be your own domain name, not a subdomain of ours, so your customers never see our company name in the URL. This means the entire experience feels like it belongs to your travel agency from start to finish. To get started, you should discuss your branding needs with our team so they can show you exactly what customization options are available on your chosen plan and walk you through how to set it up.

Question 7

If I book a flight through the API and the airline cancels the flight, will I find out automatically?

Accepted Answer

No, the flight booking API will not automatically notify you if an airline cancels a flight after you have booked it. You need to set up your own process to monitor for cancellations, either by checking with the airline directly or by asking your customers to contact you if they hear about a change. What the API can do is tell you about schedule changes when you ask it to look up a booking. Some travel management systems include tools that watch for changes in the background and alert you, but this depends on the software you are using and how it connects to the airlines. The airline itself will contact your customer about a cancellation, but there may be a delay between when the airline makes the decision and when that information reaches you through the booking system. Because airlines can cancel or reschedule flights at any time, many travel agencies build customer service processes that include checking key bookings regularly in the days before travel, especially for flights that are further out. You should also make sure your customers know how to reach you quickly if they hear about a change, so you can help them rebook or handle refunds right away. Check with your booking system provider about what monitoring tools they offer, and ask whether airlines push cancellation notices to them automatically or whether you need to pull that information yourself.

Question 8

Can I see how much commission I will earn on a booking before my customer pays?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the software shows you your commission and markup on every search result and booking so you know your profit before you commit. When you search for a flight or hotel, the system calculates your earnings based on the supplier price and any markup or commission rate you have set up. You can see this information on the quote you prepare for your customer and again when you process the booking, so there are no surprises about what you will actually make. The exact commission you earn depends on what deal you have with each supplier. Some suppliers pay commission as a percentage of the booking value, others as a fixed amount per booking, and some do not pay commission at all. The software works with whatever arrangement you have negotiated, but it cannot change the terms your suppliers offer you. You need to make sure the commission rates you have set up in the system match what your suppliers have actually agreed to pay. How the software displays your earnings can also depend on your plan and which features you have access to. Some travel businesses want to see commission on every single search result so they can compare profitability between suppliers, while others prefer a simpler view that just shows the final profit when a booking is confirmed. Check what reporting options are available to you in your account settings, or ask your support contact what commission tracking features come with your plan.

Question 9

Does the hotel booking API let me see what the cancellation policy is before my customer commits to a booking?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the hotel booking API shows you the cancellation policy for each room rate before you book, so you can tell your customer upfront whether they can get their money back if they change their mind. Different rates at the same hotel often come with different cancellation terms, so this matters when you are comparing options for your customer or deciding which deal to offer them. The API returns the cancellation rules as part of the room details, usually shown as free cancellation up to a certain number of days before check in, or non refundable rates where the customer loses their money if they cancel at all. Some hotels also offer flexible rates that cost more but let the customer cancel right up to arrival day. You can display these terms on your booking page so your customer understands what they are buying before they pay. Keep in mind that the exact cancellation terms depend on what the hotel offers at the time you search, and hotels can change their policies. Some suppliers may not return all the cancellation detail you need, so you should test the API with the hotels your customers book most often to make sure the information is clear enough for your business. Check your API documentation or speak with your technical team about how cancellation policies appear in the response you get back from the supplier.

Question 10

Can the flight booking API tell me what ancillary services like meals and seat upgrades are available before I book, so I can offer them to my customers?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the flight booking API can show you what add-ons are available for a flight, though what you see depends on what each airline makes available through their system. Most airlines offer extras like seat selections, meal packages, baggage allowances, and lounge access, and the API will display these options so you can present them to your customer during the booking flow. This means your customer can add what they want before you complete the purchase, rather than having to contact the airline separately afterwards. The exact ancillaries on offer change from airline to airline and sometimes from route to route, so you cannot assume the same extras will be available for every flight you search. Some airlines are generous with what they share through the API, while others restrict certain add-ons or handle them differently. The prices for ancillaries also vary by supplier and by how far in advance you book. If you want to sell ancillaries to your customers, you can build them into your booking flow so customers see what is available at the right moment, which usually means higher take-up than asking them to buy extras later. Some travel agencies also choose to add their own markup to ancillary prices, which works the same way as marking up the base fare. Check with your API provider to understand exactly which ancillaries are surfaced in your searches and at what point in the booking journey your system can display and sell them.