Rates & Availability API Overview
Use the Rates & Availability API to set inventory, pricing, and restrictions for a property's rooms on Booking.com.
Understanding inventory vs. availability
Inventory is the number of rooms a property sells via a channel (Booking.com), and includes all the information regarding applicable room types, rate plans, restrictions, and prices.
Availability is what is available to buy at a given time depending on the guest’s set of search criteria.
For example, a property might have an inventory of 5 double rooms that can hold a maximum occupancy of three adult guests including children in each room and open to book from 01 Jan to 15 Jan. If, for example, a guest searches to book a room for four guests or from Jan 14 - Jan 16, Booking.com cannot show available accommodation with the property for the guest.
What is a pricing type?
Pricing types or models are predefined pricing strategies that you can choose to set the inventory prices. Booking.com supports four pricing types, namely:
- Standard
- Derived pricing or Rate-Level Occupancy (RLO)
- Occupancy-Based Pricing (OBP)
- Length Of Stay (LOS)
Except for Standard pricing type, all the other three pricing types support the pricing per guest use case. Based on the property's inventory and their business needs, you can select an appropriate pricing type.
All pricing types need certification prior to implementing them. In addition, the Occupancy-Based Pricing (OBP) and Length Of Stay pricing (LOS) have certain technical requirements that you must meet before you can use them. For more information on how to get certified before proceeding to use these pricing types, contact the Connectivity Support team.
Pricing definitions
This section contains definitions of commonly used terms in Rates and Availability API.
Standard price: Standard price is the price you set for a specific room type with a set maximum occupancy size along with date and other restrictions. This is also known as the maximum occupancy price, because the price applies to bookings with guest size equal to or less than the maximum occupancy of the room.
Base price or Base occupancy price: Base price is the price set for a specific number of occupants for a given room type along with date and other restrictions. Although the room type can accommodate fewer or more guests, the base price specifies the price for a specific guest size. This is used in derived pricing or Rate-Level Occupancy (RLO) pricing.
What is pricing per guest?
Pricing per guest is a pricing use case where properties can specify prices depending on the number of guests planning to stay in a room. For example, an accommodation that can host 5 guests (maximum occupancy) can have a pricing strategy such that guests fewer than 5 can book the unit for a reduced price. This can help in maximising the inventory bookings.
Booking offers three pricing types that support pricing per guests pricing use case, namely:
- Derived pricing or rate-level occupancy (RLO)
- Occupancy-based pricing (OBP)
- Length of stay (LOS)
Difference between pricing types
The following table shows the pricing calculation supported by each pricing type depending on the occupancy level and length of stay.
| Standard pricing (default pricing) | Derived pricing | Occupancy-based pricing (OBP) | Length of stay pricing (LOS) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supports | - Pricing for maximum occupancy - Pricing for minimum occupancy (single guest) | - Pricing for base occupancy - Pricing offset as a percentage of base price or an absolute value depending on the number of occupants | - Pricing per occupancy | - Pricing per occupancy per length of stay |
| Example | ||||
| Stay duration: 05 days (price calculated per night with a maximum occupancy of 4 adults) | -- $140 for 4 adults -- $80 for 1 adult | -- $100 for 2 adults -- (-15%) off $100 for 1 adult -- (15) plus $100 for 3 adults -- (25%) plus $100 for 4 adults | -- $80 for 1 adult -- $100 for 2 adults -- $120 for 3 adults -- $140 for 4 adults | -- $80 per night for 1 adult for 01 - 05 days -- $100 per night for 2 adults for 01 - 05 days -- $120 per night for 3 adults for 01 - 05 days -- $140 per night for 4 adults for 01 - 05 days |
| Stay duration: 10 days (price calculated per night with a maximum occupancy of 4 adults) | Same price per night | Same price per night | Same price per night | -- $70 per night for 1 adult for 06 - 10 days -- $90 per night for 2 adults for 06 - 10 days -- $110 per night for 3 adults for 06 - 10 days -- $130 per night for 4 adults for 06 - 10 days |
| Stay duration: 15 days (price calculated per nightunde with a maximum occupancy of 4 adults) | Same price per night | Same price per night | Same price per night | -- $60 per night for 1 adult for 11 - 15 days -- $80 per night for 2 adults for 11 - 15 days -- $90 per night for 3 adults for 11 - 15 days -- $120 per night for 4 adults for 11 - 15 days |
For more information on each of the pricing types, see:
Pricing type supported features
The following table lists all the benefits of choosing a pricing type and how they compare with each other.
| Benefits | Standard pricing | Derived pricing | Occupancy-based pricing (OBP) | Length of stay pricing (LOS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supports single occupancy pricing | Yes, fixed price | Yes, pricing offsets per occupancy level | Yes, fixed price per occupancy level | Yes, fixed price per occupancy level per length of stay |
| Supports base or maximum occupancy pricing | Yes, fixed price | Yes, fixed price | Yes, fixed price per occupancy level | Yes, fixed price per occupancy level per length of stay |
| Supports pricing per guests | No | Yes, pricing offsets per occupancy level | Yes, fixed price per occupancy level | Yes, fixed price per occupancy level per length of stay |
| Supports pricing per guest per length of stay | No | No | No | Yes |
| Needs Booking.com certification | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Going live
Before you go live with your API integration, you'll need to meet certain requirements. For more information, see Going Live.