Ultimate Guide to Travel API in 2024: 4 Use Cases 

The travel & tourism industry revenue is expected to reach almost $1 trillion by 2026 with more than an 8% CAGR. To utilize this growth, travel companies must embrace new technologies to fulfill their digital transformation.

RPA in the hospitality industry, for instance, is an automation technology that can be used. API is another technology that can benefit travelers and travel companies.  

This article will explain Travel APIs and their use cases in different parts of the travel industry. 

What is a travel API?

The Travel API allows developers to programmatically access and search millions of data on the world’s hotels, Airlines, and events. 

The servers that host the data, including those of airlines, hotels, destinations, etc., are accessed through travel APIs. The API enables the retrieval of information that the users request. See figure 1 for an example of travel API in the hotel industry. 

Figure1. How hotel API works 

Who can benefit from the travel APIs?

Parties that can benefit from travel API are: 

Customers

API enables service providers to display updated and real-time information for customers. They also make it easier for customers to compare options such as available dates and prices. 

Companies 

Businesses such as :

• Hotels
• Airlines
• Car rental companies 

Can benefit significantly from API because of the following 2 reasons:

1. Customer knowledge 

The abundance of data generated by customers can be collected and used by APIs. This data can provide insight into customers’ behavior which can, in turn result in the following:

• More customized offerings,
• More cross-selling opportunities,
• Higher customer retention. 

However, API must be tested to ensure it fulfills the desired functionality. Adequate API testing can catch bugs and defects in an earlier stage of development, saving a considerable amount of money. 

Sponsored

PULSE is an automated AI-based automation tool created by Testifi. PULSE provides a platform where API tests can be conducted, monitored, and analyzed. It can reduce the cost of testing by half. Industry behemoths such as Amazon and BMW use their services. 

2. Higher exposure 

Travel companies can provide their offering across different digital channels using APIs such as:

• Google ads,
• Reservation networks websites,
• Global distribution systems (GDS). 

From this part forward, we will look at the top 4 use cases of API in the travel industry

1- Hotels

Hotel API enables connectivity and integration between mobile and web applications with hotel databases. 

Hotel APIs can be used to  :

• Check room availability,
• Check room price,
• Book rooms,
• Check cancelation fee 

An example of hotel API is :

Google hotel API

Features of this API are:

• Provides updated price and availability of rooms,
• Can integrate with travel portals and various payment gateways,
• Enables mobile app integration,
• Companies can either directly integrate with the API or through a preferred partner. 

2- Car rental

Car rental APIs can be used to:

• Find rental cars available,
• Find car rates, 
• Book a car,
• Find information such as the model of the car.

Car rental companies can integrate with car rental API providers in order to offer their cars to API users. Travel companies can also integrate with API providers to enhance their offerings. 

An example of Car rental API is:

Trawex car rental API

This API enables:

• Retrieval of car category and type,
• Checking the pick-up and drop-off location,
• Analyzing sales trends,
• Access from 3rd parties such as travel agencies and tour operator systems.

3- Airlines 

Airlines API can be used for booking flights and checking:

• Available flights and seats,
• Price,
• Route,
• Rating. 

Amadeus flight API

This API provides access to more than 500 airlines. In order to understand more, watch the following youtube video.

4- Tour agencies 

Tour agencies can utilize different APIs in order to enhance their offering and operations. Events such as concerts can be tracked and booked using APIs. for example:

TrekkSoft API

This API can be used by tour agencies to:

• Track events,

• Retrieve details of events,
• Book event.

Ticketmaster APIs

Ticketmaster has the highest market share in the ticketing industry. Tickets, through their partner API, can be:

• Reserved,
• Purchase,
• Retrieve. 

If you are looking to integrate or develop  travel APIs, you can reach us: