Charges API overview
With Charges API you can create and update charges that apply at the property level and room level, specify their configuration details, and set up different configurations for different dates.
What can you do with the Charges API?
You can set taxes and fees:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Based on guests | For example: Based on the guest's travel origin or travel purpose |
| For a property vs. room amenities | For example: Setting a default cleaning fee at the property level and another for a specific room. |
| Across multiple time periods | For example: One set of charges for August and another for September. |
| As a percentage of room rate or other charges | For example: Tax as a percentage of room price. |
| To be applied using different modes | For example: Cleaning fee charged per night, per stay or per person per night. |
Using Charges API and Content API together
The Content API's default overlay behavior treats missing data in updates as intentional omissions. This can accidentally remove data you've set through the Charges API if you don't include the same data in subsequent HDCN requests.
To prevent your Charges data from being accidentally deleted when it's not included in HDCN updates, Booking.com has introduced the domain_update_lock_charges feature.
Enabling the feature: domain_update_lock_charges:
- Sets Charges data using the Charges API, and,
- Omits any charges data updates provided in the HDCN call excluding the elements located in
FeePolicies.
For more information on testing the feature on a per-request basis before enabling it for all properties, see Testing the domain_update_lock_charges feature. Charges API covers the functionality provided within the TaxPolicy and FeePolicy objects using the OTA_HotelDescriptiveContentNotif (HDCN) endpoint with two exceptions outlined in the following sections.
Reduced validations in Charges API
The following validations were applied in HDCN which are no longer applied in Charges API:
- Restrictions on modifying taxes when the property is open bookable. In the Charges API, any charge type can be modified while open bookable.
- Limiting the number of charges per property. In Charges API, there is no limit on the number of charges a property can have (this includes no limit on room level charges).
- Restricting the usage of VAT and TAX on the same property. In Charges API, there is no restriction preventing VAT and TAX being used on a property.
Parking and Internet charges
In HDCN, the parking and internet charge types were special cases that overloaded the FeePolicy object with details about the parking or internet facilities. These details now belong in the Facilities API.
Information managed in the Charges API is solely used to determine charges applied at checkout when a guest books a property. It applies to all bookings and does not provide any information about the parking setup or internet offerings. Within Facilities API the focus is on displaying information to the guest when viewing the property. It allows you to describe parking options or internet details. Any charge related information included within the Facilities API does not get applied to the price on Booking.com.
Conditions
HDCN supported conditions that would allow a charge to only be applied based on conditionals when the guest arrived or left the property. These are no longer supported within the new Charges API.
Going live
Before you go live with your API integration, you'll need to meet certain requirements. For more information, see Going Live.