Optimization tips

Encourage your teams to log into our portal regularly to review the personalized Inventory Opportunities dashboard and map relevant properties.

Our data scientists have developed a machine-learning model that lists properties that are relevant to your business based on your travelers’ booking behavior. The average number of relevant properties that Rapid partners do not have mapped is 8,500 and, for some of our partners, it's as high as 100,000. Since these properties aren’t mapped, they can’t be booked by your travelers. This represents an average opportunity of $800k per partner/per year.

An average of 300 new properties are added to Rapid API every day so mapping needs to be a regular practice if you want to benefit from all of Expedia’s supply. To help you maximize the value you get from our supply, we’ve introduced the Inventory Opportunities dashboard in your partner portal account.

With this dashboard, we surface your highest-value unmapped inventory. The dashboard runs off Expedia’s relevancy model, meaning the property suggestions are totally personalized to your business. Using the dashboard, you can filter by property type, star rating, location, and more to download a curated list of additional properties to then map.

Want to know more? Find out everything you need to know here.

Rapid’s Guest Reviews API unlocks access to over 57 million written traveler reviews.

On average 93% of consumers say reviews impact their shopping decisions. The Guest Reviews API helps establish accurate expectations for travelers and drives confidence to book, which has very real impacts on conversion. In fact, Rapid partners who recently adopted the Guest Reviews API saw an average 18% increase in conversion.

In the past few months, we have relaxed launch requirements. You can now cache or store the reviews locally for 48 hours and you can pull up to 100 reviews for each property.

Want to know more? Find out everything you need to know here.

Build your brand reputation by meeting growing sustainability demand.

Travelers increasingly want to make more sustainable choices while traveling. In fact, according to Expedia Group’s 2022 Sustainable Travel Study, consumers are willing to pay 38% more to make their travels more sustainable. So, this is an important trend to consider when you’re leveraging Rapid API to build out the optimal traveler shopping experience.

We’ve added sustainability attributes to Rapid’s Content API so you’re able to indicate to travelers which properties have achieved sustainability certifications. We’re actively adding even more sustainability attributes like LED lights, sustainable toilets, and more.

To see which sustainability attributes are available in Rapid’s Content API see the Content Reference Lists.

Reduce call volumes and enable travelers and agents to self serve by making changes to bookings.

Second only to price, flexibility is the most important factor for travelers. To better support this need, we have released a new Hard Change API on Rapid. This feature is currently in beta and will be generally available later this year.

After making a booking, travelers often need to adjust key details of their reservation as their travel plans shift and such changes can impact the cost, these are called hard changes. Rapid's Hard Change API enables travelers to make these changes even if it impacts the final cost of their booking.

Want to know more? Find out everything you need to know here. For more information on soft changes see here. If you're interested in joining our beta group for Hard Change, reach out to your Expedia Group representative.

Grow your business with competitive rates.

We all know having the right rates is what makes or breaks a traveler's selection which is why we have over 3000 market managers around the globe sourcing a diverse set of competitive rates to fit every traveler need, whether they are booking a standalone hotel, a package, or are part of a closed-user group. This diverse set of rates helps improve your conversion.

Rapid API delivers higher-margin optimized distribution rates for 20,000 properties. In the past two years, Expedia Group has tripled the number of participating chains with 36 chains now fully participating in, or trialing, the program. We’re partnering with well-known brands like Marriott, IHG and Best Western, as well as many others. We are investing heavily in our optimized distribution capabilities and now give chains the ability to load distribution rates specific to the standalone and package paths, which means even more selection for your travelers.

These special distribution rates bring you more revenue, as they have nearly a 10 percentage points higher margin than their comparable standalone rate on average and higher-margin B2B distribution rates translates to real growth opportunities for your business under our gross-profit sharing model.

Rates and rate types are growing thanks to Expedia’s deepening relationships with hotels and other lodging suppliers.

Partners who shop for more rates on average have a +22% higher gross booking value per transaction. They also see a +10% higher margin as well as a +20% higher average daily rate.

Essentially, partners that allow themselves to see a more diverse set of rates realize higher value bookings. If your shopping rate count is too restrictive, you may be missing out on our most competitive rate plans that could be bringing you higher value or more profitable conversions.

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