Can I cancel or change a hotel booking through the API myself, or do I have to contact the supplier?

Yes, in most cases you can cancel a hotel booking directly through the API without emailing anyone, but changing a booking is a different matter and often has to be handled as a cancellation followed by a fresh booking.

When you send a cancellation through the API, the request goes to the supplier holding the booking and comes back with a result you can see on screen, including a cancellation reference and any charge that applies. If you are still inside the free cancellation window, the booking should close with nothing to pay. If the deadline has passed, or the rate was non refundable from the start, the supplier applies its own charge and the API simply reports it. Some suppliers cancel instantly while others return a pending status and confirm shortly after, so refresh the booking before you tell your customer it is done.

Changes are more limited. Very few hotel suppliers let you alter dates, room type or the number of guests on a booking that is already confirmed, because the rate you originally held may no longer be on sale. Guest name corrections are sometimes accepted and sometimes not. What you can do depends on the supplier behind that particular rate and on the connections included in your plan, so the honest answer is that it varies from one booking to the next rather than being the same across the whole system.

Before you promise anything to a customer, read the cancellation terms shown at the time of booking and check with us which of your connected suppliers accept amendments, so your staff know when to cancel and rebook instead of trying to change.