Question 1

Can the hotel booking API show hotel photos, room details and facilities during the search?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the hotel booking API can usually provide photos and useful property information alongside the available rooms and rates. This can help customers understand what a hotel offers before they choose where to stay, without leaving your booking website to search elsewhere. The details may include the hotel description, location, room name, bedding information, facilities, meal options, check in information and important booking conditions. Photos may be available for the property and sometimes for individual room types. The exact content depends on what the hotel supplier sends through the API, so some listings may have fuller descriptions or more images than others. Hotel information can also vary between suppliers, even when they are showing the same property. A facility or room feature should not be treated as guaranteed unless it is clearly included in the selected rate and confirmed in the booking details. Special needs, such as accessible rooms, specific bed types or parking, may still need to be checked directly before the customer travels. Ask glideFares which hotel content is available with your chosen supplier connection, then check how photos, room details and facilities will appear on your booking pages.

Question 2

Can I let customers ask for help with a trip instead of completing the booking online?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a white label travel portal can usually give customers the choice to book online or send a travel request to your team. This is useful when a customer has a complicated journey, needs advice, is travelling with a group, or cannot find a suitable option in the search results. The request can collect the basic trip details your staff need to continue the conversation. A travel request is not the same as a confirmed reservation. Prices and availability may change while your team checks the options, and nothing should be presented as booked until the supplier confirms it. The details that can be collected, and where the request appears for your staff, depend on the portal setup and the features included in your plan. You can also decide where the request option is shown, such as beside the booking search or on a separate enquiry page. Some travel products may support online booking while others are handled only by your team, depending on the available supplier connection. Check which journeys you want customers to book themselves and which ones should be sent to your staff for personal help.

Question 3

Can the flight booking API show different fare options for the same flight?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the flight booking API can show different fare options for the same flight when the airline or flight supplier provides them. This can help your customer compare choices such as a basic fare with fewer benefits, a standard fare with baggage, or a flexible fare with easier changes. The names and benefits shown can vary between airlines. Each option may include different baggage allowances, seat choices, change conditions, cancellation conditions and other services. Some suppliers return these details in a clear comparison, while others provide only limited information. Availability also depends on the route, airline and booking source, so every flight may not have several options. The fare should be checked again before payment because availability and conditions can change during the booking process. Your portal should show the latest details returned by the supplier and make it clear which benefits are included before the customer confirms. Ask glideFares which fare options are available through your connected flight suppliers, and check how the differences will appear on your booking page.

Question 4

Can I choose which payment methods customers can use on my white label travel portal?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can usually choose which available payment methods appear on your white label travel portal. This can help you offer a familiar checkout experience while keeping payment choices suitable for the way your travel business operates. The options may include card payments, bank transfers or other local payment methods. What can be offered depends on your payment service, the countries and currencies you serve, and the features included in your glideFares plan. Some methods may work for certain travel products or markets but not for others. You may also be able to decide whether a payment method is available to every customer or only for selected bookings. For example, a bank transfer may be suitable when your team needs to review a request before confirming it. However, bookings that require immediate payment may need a method that can be approved at once. Final confirmation still depends on the travel supplier accepting the booking and the payment being completed successfully. Before opening the portal to customers, check which payment methods are supported for your market, which currencies they accept, and whether they can confirm payment quickly enough for the products you sell.

Question 5

Can the hotel booking API check the room rate again before my customer pays?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the hotel booking API can usually check the selected room again before your customer completes payment. This helps confirm that the room is still available and that the rate, taxes, meal plan and cancellation conditions have not changed since the search results were first shown. Hotel availability can change quickly because the same rooms may be offered through several sales channels. The final check may return the same details, a revised rate, different conditions, or a message that the room is no longer available. What is returned depends on the hotel supplier and the information supported by its API. Your booking process can show the updated details to the customer and ask them to accept any change before continuing. However, a successful check does not always reserve the room. Availability may still change until the supplier accepts the booking, so the portal should only describe the stay as confirmed after a successful booking response is received. Ask glideFares which suppliers support a final rate and availability check, then confirm how your portal will present any change before payment and booking.

Question 6

Can my travel agency software track the commission earned by each salesperson?

Accepted Answer

Yes, travel agency software can track the commission linked to bookings handled by each salesperson. This can help you understand what each team member has sold and what commission may be due, without relying on separate notes or manual calculations. The exact result depends on how your business calculates commission and which features are included in your plan. Some agencies use the same commission rule for every booking, while others vary it by travel product, booking source, salesperson or profit earned. These rules need to be set up correctly before the reports can be relied on. Changes after booking can also affect the amount shown. A cancellation, refund, supplier charge or booking amendment may reduce the profit and therefore change the commission. In some cases, the software may update this automatically, while other cases may need to be reviewed by a manager before the commission is approved. Before using the report for payments, check which booking value the commission is based on, when it becomes payable, and how cancellations and refunds are treated in your setup.

Question 7

Can I choose which destinations and travel products appear on my white label travel portal?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a white label travel portal can usually be set up to show the destinations and travel products that suit your business. This can help you focus the website on the holidays, regions or types of travel your customers are most likely to book, instead of presenting every available option. The level of control depends on the portal plan and on what each connected supplier allows. You may be able to choose which types of travel are available, limit particular destinations, hide products you do not want to promote or give selected offers more visibility. Some content may still come directly from the supplier, so individual hotels, flights or other services might not always be controlled separately. It is also important to remember that hiding a destination or product does not change the supplier's availability. Search results, booking conditions and travel options can change when the supplier updates them. If you want to sell a carefully selected range, the portal settings and the connected supplier content need to support the same approach. Before setting up the portal, decide which destinations and types of travel you want customers to see, then check which display and product controls are included in your plan and supported by your suppliers.

Question 8

Can I record bookings made by phone or in person in the same travel agency software as online bookings?

Accepted Answer

Yes, travel agency software can usually let you record bookings that were arranged by phone, in person or through another sales channel. This gives your staff one place to check the customer, travel dates, booking status and important documents, even when the customer did not book through your website. The exact process depends on the travel product, the supplier connection and the features included in your plan. Some bookings may be imported or linked using a supplier reference, while others may need to be entered as manual records. A manual record can help with administration, but it does not always give you live updates, automatic cancellations or document changes from the supplier. Keeping these bookings together can make it easier to serve returning customers and avoid searching through separate files or messages. Staff permissions may also affect who can create, edit or view a manual booking, and customer details should only be stored when they are needed for the trip and handled according to your privacy responsibilities. Check which offline booking types you need to record, what information your staff must capture, and whether your glideFares plan supports importing or manually adding those records.

Question 9

Can the hotel booking API tell me straight away if a hotel reservation is confirmed?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the hotel booking API can usually return a booking status after you submit the reservation. If the hotel supplier confirms it immediately, your team can see that the booking is confirmed and use the reservation details to prepare the customer documents. Some suppliers may return a pending status instead of an immediate confirmation. This can happen when the hotel needs to check the room, when the supplier is waiting for a reply, or when the booking request needs another review. A pending response should not be treated as a confirmed stay, and the customer should not be told that the room is secured until the status changes. The information available with a confirmed booking depends on the supplier and the connection included in your plan. It may include a supplier reference, guest details, room information, meal details, cancellation terms and instructions for check in. The exact confirmation time and the amount of detail returned can vary between hotels and suppliers. Before taking a booking live, check which statuses your chosen hotel suppliers return, how pending reservations are updated, and when your staff should issue the hotel voucher to the customer.

Question 10

Can I use the flight booking API to arrange flights for a large group travelling together?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in some cases, but the way a group booking is handled depends on the airline, the flight supplier and the API connection. A standard flight booking API can usually search and book for several passengers together, provided the request stays within the passenger limit set by the supplier. Larger groups may need a special group request instead of a normal online booking. Airlines can apply different conditions to group travel, such as separate payment deadlines, later submission of passenger names, or a different cancellation policy. These group arrangements may not be available through every API, so your team might need to request them through another agreed booking process. Dividing a large group into separate bookings can also create problems. The same fare may not remain available for every booking, and passengers could receive different booking conditions. Separate bookings may also make later changes harder to manage because the airline does not always treat them as one travelling party. Before offering group flights online, check the passenger limit, group fare support, payment terms and name requirements available through your selected flight suppliers.