Car rental tutorial

Follow this end-to-end tutorial to build a complete Search, look & book integration for car rentals using Demand API Beta version.

Before following this tutorial, complete the Getting started prerequisites.

Make sure you have:

✓ A valid API key token.
✓ Your X-Affiliate-Id
✓ Access to the try out console.

Throughout this tutorial we'll follow a single booking journey.

A traveller wants to rent a car at Barcelona Airport (BCN)
Pickup and Drop-off: Barcelona Airport (BCN) Duration: 3 days, 2 adults, unlimited mileage preferred.

We'll progressively build the booking flow using the data returned at each step.

The Search, Look & Book flow consists of seven steps.

You'll use several identifiers throughout the integration.

→ Call the cars/search to discover available rental cars.

{
    "booker": {
      "country": "es"
    },
    "language": "en-gb",
    "currency": "EUR",
    "driver": {
      "age": 30
    },
    "route": {
      "pickup": {
        "datetime": "2026-11-10T11:05:00",
        "location": {
          "airport": "BCN"
        }
      },
      "dropoff": {
        "datetime": "2026-11-15T11:05:00",
        "location": {
          "airport": "BCN"
        }
      }
    }
  }

At this stage you should display enough information for travellers to compare available vehicles and choose the option that best suits their needs.

The search response intentionally contains only summary information.

Use the static car reference endpoints to retrieve additional reference data that can be cached and reused.

• /cars/details
• /cars/suppliers
• /cars/depots

→ Call /cars/details using your regular synchronisation process.

{
    "last_modified": "2026-08-22T10:00:00+00:00",
    "maximum_results": 100
}

→ Try it yourself

Combine the dynamic search results with the static vehicle information to display a richer product page.

Recommended information includes:

• Vehicle photo.
• Transmission.
• Fuel type.
• Passenger capacity.
• Luggage capacity.
• Supplier branding.
• Depot information.

Once a traveller selects an offer, call /cars/availability using the following values returned by /cars/search:

• offer
• search_token
• currency

{
  "offer": 664812451,
  "search_token": "your_search_token",
  "currency": "EUR"
}

→ Try it yourself

Some car rental offers include additional insurance products that travellers can select before completing their booking.

→ Check the insurance information returned in the cars/availability endpoint.

Example availability response when optional insurance is available:

{
  "insurance": {
    "quote_reference": "ABC123",
    "name": "Full Protection",
    "id": "999",
    "price": {
      "display": {
        "value": 144.70,
        "currency": "GBP"
      },
      "pay": {
        "value": 144.70,
        "currency": "EUR",
        "timing": "pay_online_now"
      }
    },
    "coverage_amount": {
      "value": 2000,
      "currency": "GBP"
    },
    "ipid_document_url": "https://...",
    "policy_document_url": "https://..."
  }
}

The insurance object represents a bookable insurance quote, including:

• Final price breakdown.
• Coverage details.
• Insurance documentation, such as the Insurance Product Information Document (IPID) and Policy document.
• A quote_reference required when previewing and booking a car with insurance.

When displaying optional insurance to the traveller:

When a traveller selects insurance, store the returned quote_reference.

Include this value in the order preview request to validate the selected insurance before booking.

→ Use the cars/terms-and-conditions endpoint.

{
  "offer": "664812451", 
  "search_token": "12456895645246585",
  "currency": "EUR",
  "language": "es"
}

• Damage excess and deposit amounts.
• Accepted credit/debit cards.
• Driver & licence requirements.
• Mileage rules.
• Included insurance and waivers.

→ Try it yourself

→ Use /orders/preview to confirm:

• What will be booked.
• Price & currency.
• Payment timing.
• Cancellation & policies.

{
  "currency": "EUR",
  "car": {
    "offer": 664812451, 
    "search_token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.cB9yzO8jwfWa-FGnChdUjvyMP_lzSrU9HnVjhsQnfSw"
  }
}

You can now present the traveller with the final booking summary, including:

• What they are booking.
• What they will have to pay.
• When and how they can pay it.
• And the cancellation terms that will apply.

→ Select the data from your /orders/preview response to provide the appropriate information on your preview page.

After checking the details of the order, the traveller supplies their payment information and any other needed information, and proceeds with the booking.

→ Call /orders/create to create and confirm the booking using the order_token returned by /orders/preview. Include the traveller details and the selected payment option.

{
  "order_token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.car-preview-token",
  "car": {
    "driver": {
      "title": "mr",
      "first_name": "John",
      "last_name": "Doe",
      "telephone": "+44 20 1234 5678",
      "address": {
        "address_line1": "221B Baker Street",
        "address_line2": "",
        "city": "London",
        "country": "gb",
        "postcode": "NW1 6XE"
      }
    },
    "label": "summer_campaign_2025"
  },
  "booker": {
    "address": {
      "address_line": "221B Baker Street",
      "city": "London",
      "country": "gb",
      "post_code": "NW1 6XE"
    },
    "company": "ACME Travel",
    "email": "john.doe@example.com",
    "language": "en-gb",
    "name": {
      "first_name": "John",
      "last_name": "Doe"
    },
    "telephone": "+44 20 1234 5678"
  },
  "payment": {
    "timing": "pay_online_now",
    "method": "card",
    "card": {
      "cardholder": "John Doe",
      "number": "4111111111111111",
      "expiry_date": "12/28",
      "cvc": "123",
      "authentication": {
        "3d_secure": {
          "authentication_value": "AAABBJg0VhI0VniQEjRGAAAAAAA=",
          "eci": "05",
          "transaction": "3ds-trans-123456"
        }
      }
    },
    "include_receipt": true
  }
}

After receiving the response, call /orders/details/cars/live to retrieve the latest booking status and determine whether the booking has been confirmed.

You should now support:

After creating the order, retrieve the latest booking status and reservation details using /orders/details/cars/live.

This endpoint lets you:

• Check whether the booking has been confirmed.
• Retrieve the supplier confirmation number.
• Display pickup instructions.
• Retrieve insurance documents (if purchased).
• Display the latest booking details to the traveller.

Continue with the Post-booking section to learn how to manage confirmed bookings.