The OpenTravel API, also known as OTA API, allows pushing rates, availability and price information to the system. The API uses SOAP and provides different ways of authentication and distributing rates as well as bookings. Each LODGEA customer, described as a tenant, has its own API endpoint.
No certification and open access
Each tenant environment can configure OpenTravel.org API credentials with its endpoint. There is no certification process required and it is up to the tenant or customer and its suppliers to ensure a functional and tested connection.
▶️ Getting listed in the connectivity section
If you are a channel manager, wish to connect and be listed in the connectivity section of LODGEA, please contact the partner management team through partner@lodgea.com and we are happy to discuss a cooperation.
Steps to update rates and availability
- Retrieve rooms and rates with OTA_HotelRatePlanRQ or OTA_HotelAvailRQ
- Update availability and rates with OTA_HotelAvailNotifRQ and/or OTA_HotelRateAmountNotifRQ
- Retrieve bookings with OTA_ReadRQ or push the bookings with OTA_HotelResNotifRQ
Pushing vs. pulling bookings
There are two ways of receiving reservations. You can use OTA_ReadRQ (Pull) to periodically pull the reservations from the system. This is especially helpful for source systems that are not permanently connected to the Internet backbone. With OTA_HotelResNotifRQ (Push) bookings are pushed immediately to the remote system which can result in a higher load and requires the remote system to be permanently available and connected to the Internet backbone.
⚠️ Ensure to have enough capacity
Although the push of bookings is decoupled from the actual booking process, it is however immediately executed. This means that a high number of bookings will also result in a high number of connections to your channel manager. If you are unsure of whether you can cope with the amount of transactions being pushed, consider using the Pull-method instead.
OpenTravel API Endpoints
LODGEA provides different endpoints per tenant. The format of the endpoint URL is the following based on the tenant identification or code of the customer. Each of LODGEA's customers therefore has its own endpoint that content can be pushed to.
https://[tenant-system-code].opentravel.connect.lodgea.com
✅ Formatting the username and hotel codes
A username my-hotel-user will become tenant-system-code$my-hotel-user and the hotel codes will also be served with the $-prefix. This means that a hotel code my-hotel will become tenant-system-code$my-hotel.
API configuration and mapping
Credentials can be created within the connectivity configuration section of the Management Console. The authorised hotels need to be mapped and the property id of each mapped property will be the hotelCode to be used in the OTA API requests.
Please see the SOAP Authentication section for more information about the other configuration options under "Reservation-Push" as well as the supported request types and SOAP versions.