Connections API (1.0.0)
Connections API allows connectivity providers to manage their connections with properties. It is an alternative to managing connections manually in the Provider Portal or relying on the emails Booking.com sends about new connection requests.
Note: For providers, “managing connections” means deciding what to do with connection requests made by properties (accepting or rejecting them), deactivating connections, and retrieving updates about connections. This helps providers keep their own records up to date and limit errors when using other APIs.
This API differs from most Connectivity APIs. Most Connectivity APIs allow providers to perform actions on behalf of properties, such as managing availability or retrieving reservations. In contrast, Connections API is meant to be used by providers for their own purposes: to manage how they themselves are connected to properties. In other words, most APIs support actions otherwise available to properties in the Extranet, while Connections API supports actions available to providers in the Provider Portal.
In the context of this API:
- A “connection” is an abstraction of all active connection types between a provider and a property within Booking.com Connectivity.
- By that definition, there cannot be multiple connections between one provider and one property.
- A connection is the basis for accessing Connectivity APIs on behalf of the property.
- One connection consists of one or more distinct connection types. The connection types indirectly specify what actions the provider is permitted to perform on the property.
- (Pending) connection requests are distinct from (active) connections. A connection request is not yet a connection, but it can become one if the provider approves it. A connection request is an abstraction of all pending connection types between a provider and a property within Booking.com Connectivity.
- A provider and a property cannot have both an active connection and a pending request at the same time. Therefore, the “connection state” between any given provider and property is either a connection, a request, or neither, but never a mix of them.
The following are examples of what providers can do with this API:
- Listing recent connection requests to review them and approve or reject them.
- Checking whether a specific property’s request is still pending, for example, after taking manual actions in the provider’s interface and just before accepting it.
- Checking whether a specific property (one known to the provider by its Booking.com property ID and willing to connect with them) has already requested a connection, that is, has a pending request.
- Listing recent connection requests to check whether a property known by name, but not by Booking.com property ID, has already requested a connection.
- Retrieving a specific property’s request to verify that it is correct, for example, the requested connection types.
- Listing all pending connection requests to clean up old or missed requests.
- Listing recently disconnected properties to update their status in the provider’s database, or to follow up with properties about unexpected disconnections.
- Listing recent partial disconnections to stop using APIs that are no longer available.
- Listing the properties that are missing a certain connection type or permission, so that the provider can request additional connection types from them.
- Retrieving the details of the connection with an already-connected property to check whether a request for additional connection types succeeded.
From the provider’s perspective, there are three distinct resource types related to connections:
- Pending connection requests
- Active connections
- Disconnections
A provider’s requests and active connections are uniquely identified by the Booking.com property ID.
Disconnection data is grouped into per-property summaries, a convenient way to think about and retrieve it. As a result, disconnection summaries are also uniquely identified by the property ID.
Additionally, a lightweight status resource lets you check the connection status of a property.
You may need more information before accepting a connection request. For example, details of the commission or tax setup can be relevant for proper mapping. To avoid redundancy with other APIs, Connections API does not include this information. For commission details, use the GetCommissionOverride endpoint. Tax data is included in OTA_HotelDescriptiveInfo.