Changelog

Below is a list of all the changes that took place in Rapid API, grouped by the release date.

|

April 2023

VRBO Host Free Text Description - Content | Feature | V3

Added free_text to vacation_rental_details section of Property Content response.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

{
  "12345": {
    "property_id": "12345",
    "name": "Test Property Name",
    "phone": "1-417-862-0153",
    "vacation_rental_details": {
      "free_text": "Free form description and explanation of property provided by the host.Can possibly contain html break tags.",
      "listing_id": "1237874"
    }
  }
}

Note: Not all properties of content response represented in example

Benefit

Partners will be able to present more information about a Vacation Rental property that is provided by the Host.

Please refer to the VRBO on Rapid Integration Guide


Regions Search enhancements - Geography | Feature | V3

Added several new search parameters:

  • area Define an area using a radius and either a coordinate (latitude / longitude pair) or a region id
  • limit Restrict the number of results returned
  • country_subdivision_code Return results that match the ISO 3166-2 country subdivision code

Added country_subdivision_code to the Regions and Region responses

Benefit

Partners will be able to select Regions that intersect with specified areas.

Airport search within 50km of a lat/long:

type=airport&limit=3&area=50,37.227924,93.310036

OpenAPI Specification improvements - Update | V3

Multiple different improvements to the OpenAPI Specification:

  • Dates are quoted so that they will be represented correctly in API Explorer
  • BoundingPolygon tweaked again to improve compatibility with the Java client generated code
  • Improved consistency when referencing ISO standards (eg. ISO 639-1 alpha-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-2)

This change does not impact API functionality, just improves the OpenAPI Specification.

Benefit

Enhanced functionality in the API Explorer and improved compatibility for Partners using the downloaded OpenAPI Specification yaml file.

January 2023

Exclude Refundable Damage Deposit Rates - Shop | Feature | V3

Added exclusion parameter to availability requests

Rapid 3 Request Example:

New parameter for Shop request:

exclusion=refundable_damage_deposit

Benefit:

Partners will be able to designate that the response should not include rates with refundable damage deposits.


Clarified Geography Polygons and examples - Geography | Update | V3

The specification had inaccurate details for the formats of Polygons in coordinate requests and responses. The examples have been updated to be usable in API Explorer for the Geography endpoints.

This change does not impact API functionality, just fixes the OpenAPI Specification.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

This is a trimmed example from a regions response:

"coordinates": {
      "center_longitude": -93.29277,
      "center_latitude": 37.207935,
      "bounding_polygon": {
        "type": "Polygon",
        "coordinates": [
          [
            [
              -93.298931,
              37.205162
            ],
            [
              -93.28672,
              37.205299
            ],
            [
              -93.286549,
              37.21005
            ],
            [
              -93.286763,
              37.210221
            ],
            [
              -93.298931,
              37.205162
            ]
          ]
        ]
      }
    },

Benefit:

The specification now accurately reflects that regions can return both Polygon and MultiPolygon objects in the response. It also provides an accurate schema and example for a polygon search.

December 2022

Vrbo Availability Calendar - Shop | Feature | V3

Added the Vrbo Availability Calendar endpoint, "/calendars/availability".

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

[
    {
        "property_id": "1234",
        "days": [
            {
                "date": "Tue Dec 13 2022 09:20:31 GMT-0800 (PST)",
                "available": true,
                "checkin": "CHECKIN_VALID",
                "checkout": "CHECKOUT_VALID",
                "stay_constraints": {
                    "min_stay": 1,
                    "max_stay": 14
                }
            },
            {
                "date": "Tue Dec 13 2022 09:20:31 GMT-0800 (PST)",
                "available": true,
                "checkin": "CHECKIN_VALID",
                "checkout": "CHECKOUT_VALID",
                "stay_constraints": {
                    "min_stay": 1,
                    "max_stay": 14
                }
            }
        ]
    }
]

Benefit:

The Rapid Availability Calendar API provides a snapshot of daily availability for a given property over a period of time, which can be used to assist a guest viewing the property details page.

More details can be found here.


Enhanced House Rules - Content | Feature | V3

Enhanced House Rules, a replacement for House Rules, has been added to the Rapid Content API for Vrbo properties.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"enhanced_house_rules": {
        "CheckIn": {
            "rule": "Check in after 3:00 PM",
            "additional_information": []
        },
        "CheckOut": {
            "rule": "Check out before 11:00 AM",
            "additional_information": []
        },
        "Occupancy": {
            "rule": "Maximum overnight guests: 5 (sleeps up to 5 adults)",
            "additional_information": []
        },
        "MinBookingAge": {
            "rule": "Minimum age to rent: 18",
            "additional_information": []
        },
        "Children": {
            "rule": "Children allowed: ages 0-17",
            "additional_information": []
        },
        "Pets": {
            "rule": "Pets allowed: 1 pet less than 10kgs",
            "additional_information": [
                "Pets allowed under aproval/Se requiere aprobacion"
            ]
        },
        "Events": {
            "rule": "No Events allowed",
            "additional_information": []
        },
        "Smoking": {
            "rule": "Smoking allowed: outside",
            "additional_information": [
                "Silence is required after 10pm/Silencio 10pm",
                "At the balcony, Thank you! En el balcon, Gracias!"
            ]
        }
    }

Benefit:

Enhanced House Rules enables clearer display of property policies, including free text notes from the host, to describe limits/exceptions to each policy or other information relevant to the guest’s stay.


Geography enhancements - Geography | Feature | V3

The Geography calls now have the following enhancements:

  • Added supply_source filtering to Region, Regions, and Properties within Polygon requests.
  • Added Pagination-Total-Results header to Region, Regions, and Properties within Polygon responses.
  • Added type and country_code filtering to Regions request.

Benefit:

These enhancements to the various Geography calls give partners more fine-tuned control over what results they receive back.

November 2022

Nonrefundable Date Range added - Shop | Manage Booking Feature | V3

Added the nonrefundable date range object to availability and itinerary responses.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"nonrefundable_date_ranges": [
    {
    "start": "2022-09-05",
    "end": "2022-09-11"
    }
   ],

Benefit:

Partners will be able to display refund exceptions set by the supplier based on holidays or other factors, so travelers are better informed of when they will receive a refund on cancellation.


Categories list and Tags list added to the Region responses - Geography | Feature | V3

Added the categories list and tags list to all Region responses.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"categories": [
    "tourism:region"
],
"tags": [
    "geoAdmin:city"
]

Benefit:

Partners will be able to make use of the categories and tags to get metadata information about the returned region.


Rapid Version 2.3 and 2.4 Retired - Remove | V2.4 | Breaking Change

The 2.3 and 2.4 versions of the Rapid API have now been retired.

October 2022

Unit Configurations for Vrbo added to Content - Content | Feature | V3

Added the unit configuration object to Content responses.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

[
    {
        "property_id": "1234",
        "days": [
            {
                "date": "Tue Dec 13 2022 09:20:31 GMT-0800 (PST)",
                "available": true,
                "checkin": "CHECKIN_VALID",
                "checkout": "CHECKOUT_VALID",
                "stay_constraints": {
                    "min_stay": 1,
                    "max_stay": 14
                }
            },
            {
                "date": "Tue Dec 13 2022 09:20:31 GMT-0800 (PST)",
                "available": true,
                "checkin": "CHECKIN_VALID",
                "checkout": "CHECKOUT_VALID",
                "stay_constraints": {
                    "min_stay": 1,
                    "max_stay": 14
                }
            }
        ]
    }
]

Benefit:

Unit configurations describes the bed type(s) in a room and how many of each bed type are in the room.

July 2022

Chinese (Hong Kong) language added - Content | Shopping | Feature | V3

The Chinese (Hong Kong) language option has been added. "zh-HK" language code can now be used in requests where the language parameter is supported.

A list of all supported languages can be found here.


Vrbo Essential Stay Information - Manage Booking | Feature | V3

Added Vrbo essential stay information to the itinerary responses.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"essential_information": {
  "contact": {
    "name": "John test",
    "phone": {
      "country_code": "1",
      "area_code": "367",
      "phone_number": "6876876"
    },
    "email": "dv@devmail.wvrgroup.internal",
    "address": {
      "line_1": "3rd St",
      "line_2": "421 W",
      "city": "Austin",
      "state_province_code": "TX",
      "postal_code": "86868",
      "country_code": "US"
    }
  },
  "essentials": [
    {
      "name": "directions",
      "instructions": "30.3079827,-97.8934852\n\nTurn right into the alley at the end of the road.",
      "images": [
        {
          "url": "https://odis-stage.vrbo.com/odis/hospitality/a94d96e2-499b-4155-8872-6d0a4dd9a9db.large.jpg",
          "width": 1024,
          "height": 768
        },
        {
          "url": "https://odis-stage.vrbo.com/odis/hospitality/e1713ff4-ad67-4498-93a1-befbdf5275a0.large.jpg",
          "width": 1024,
          "height": 768
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "wifi",
      "instructions": "Secure, hi speed wifi is available throughout the property.",
      "images": [
        {
          "url": "https://odis-stage.vrbo.com/odis/hospitality/caa47f61-3e7f-459b-bd74-e3cfe76a0edc.large.jpg",
          "width": 1024,
          "height": 768
        }
      ],
      "additional_info": {
        "network_name": "HomeNetwork",
        "network_password": "HomeNetwork1234567890"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "thermostat",
      "instructions": "Thermostat\n\nDo not adjust thermostat below 59F/15C."
    }
  ],
  "updates_available_datetime": "2022-08-14T09:00:00-05:00"
}

Benefit:

Vrbo Essential Stay Content provides important pre-arrival instructions to travelers including the property address and the property manager’s contact information. It can also include certain other key details that the traveler might need upon arrival, during their stay, or at departure.

May 2022

New Deal For Consumers (ND4C) regulatory change for all versions - Shopping | Booking | Manage Booking | Feature | V3 | Breaking Change

Changes made to Rapid to address the impact of "New Deal for Consumers" (ND4C) regulation on your business. This law will impact European Union and United Kingdom points of sale.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"trader_information": {
  "traders":[
    {
       "name": "Expedia",
       "address": {
         "line_1": "555 1st St",
         "line_2": "10th Floor",
         "line_3": "Unit 12",
         "city": "Seattle",
         "state_province_code": "WA",
         "postal_code": "98121",
         "country_code": "US"
       },
      "email": "travel@support.expedia.com",
      "phone": "0330-123-1235",
      "contact_message": "This property is managed by a professional host. The provision of housing is linked to trade, business or profession."
     }
   ],
   "terms_and_conditions": "https://www.expedia.com/terms_and_conditions"
}

Benefit:

Gives partners trader information in order to comply with ND4C regulatory requirements.


Croatian and Lithuanian Languages Retired - Content | Shopping | Remove | V3

Croatian and Lithuanian languages have been retired. Attempting to pass these languages into a request that accepts the language parameter will result in an error.

April 2022

Rapid Version 2.3 and 2.4 Deprecated - Deprecated | V2.4 | Breaking Change

The 2.3 and 2.4 versions of the Rapid API have now been deprecated. Both versions will be retired in October 2022.


Rapid Version 2.2 Retired - Remove | V2.2 | Breaking Change

The 2.2 version of the Rapid API has now been retired.

September 2021

Added request body to Notifications Test API - Notifications | Change | V3 | Breaking Change

A request body is now required.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

{
    "event_type": "itinerary.agent.create"
}

Benefit:

Ensuring consistency across the Rapid API.


Added undeliverable parameter to Notifications Undeliverable API - Notifications | Change | V3 | Breaking Change

A new query parameter undeliverable is now required.

Benefit:

Ensuring consistency across the Rapid API.


Moved Refundable Damage Deposit and Card On File Limit fields for consistency with Shop - Manage Booking | Change | V3 | Breaking Change

The Refundable Damage Deposit and Card On File limit fields were moved for consistency with Shop.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"card_on_file_limit": {
  "value": "string",
  "currency": "string"
},
"refundable_damage_deposit": {
  "value": "string",
  "currency": "string"
},

Benefit:

This simplifies the schema for the partner.


Notifications API endpoints change - Notifications | Change | V3 | Breaking Change

The endpoints of Notifications Test API and Notifications Undeliverable API have been changed (the trailing /{event_type} and /undeliverable were removed). The endpoint of Notifications Test API is changed from GET to POST.

Benefit:

Ensuring consistency across the Rapid API.


Renamed Deposit Policy to Deposits for consistency with Shop - Manage Booking | Change | V3 | Breaking Change

The Deposit Policy object was renamed to Deposits for consistency with Shop.

Rapid 2.4 Schema Example:

"deposit_policies": [
  {
    "amount": "220.75",
    "due": "2018-12-12T01:01:01.000-08:00"
  }
],

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"deposits": [
  {
    "amount": "220.75",
    "due": "2018-12-12T01:01:01.000-08:00"
  }
],

Benefit:

This simplifies the schema for the partner.


TripAdvisor Content API endpoint deprecated - Content | Deprecate | V3 | Breaking Change

Expedia Group no longer maintains a relationship with TripAdvisor, so in Rapid 3 the TripAdvisor Content API endpoint will be deprecated.

Benefit:

Partners will not be able to call redundant endpoint.


Added Loyalty ID - Booking | Manage Booking | Feature | V3 | Breaking Change

A new feature to enable partners to provide hotel loyalty Id

  • Identifier for a hotel loyalty program associated with this room guest.
  • Exists under the rooms object

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"rooms": [
  {
    "given_name": "John",
    "family_name": "Smith",
    "smoking": false,
    "special_request": "Top floor or away from street please",
    "loyalty_id": "ABC123"
  }
],

Notes The new field will be located in multiple places

  • Create booking request
  • Itinerary Retrieve
  • Itinerary Change

Benefit:

Enable partners to include hotel loyalty id and pass on this information onto the hotel.

*For informational purposes, it does not guarantee hotel will offer extra points, benefits


Adding deposit data to the Rapid availability response - Shopping | Feature | V3

Rapid 3 will remove the need for our partners to make a separate call for deposit (payment schedule) information. Instead we will be surfacing this data as a child of the Rate object.

Along with removing the need to make an additional call for deposit (payment schedule) data, we will be making the data available in the priceCheck response for higher visibility.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"deposits": [
  {
    "value": "70.00",
    "due": "2021-08-21",
    "currency": "CAD"
  }
]

Rapid 3 will no longer need to return a deposits link for the retrieval of the deposit data. This will be fetched and displayed in the response instead.

Rapid 2.4 Schema Example:

"links": {
  "payment_options": {
    "method": "GET",
    "href": "/2.4/properties/19248/payment-options?token=MY5S3j36cOcL"
  },
  "deposit_policies": {
    "method": "GET",
    "href": "/2.4/properties/19248/deposit-policies?token=MY5S3j36cOcL"
  }
}

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"links": {
  "payment_options": {
    "method": "GET",
    "href": "/2.4/properties/19248/payment-options?token=MY5S3j36cOcL"
  }
}

Rapid 3 will no longer return a deposit_required field, as it would be redundant with the new array of deposits.

Rapid 2.4 Schema Example:

"sale_scenario": {
  "package": false,
  "member": true,
  "corporate": false,
  "distribution": false
},
"deposit_required": true,
"merchant_of_record": "expedia",

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"sale_scenario": {
  "package": false,
  "member": true,
  "corporate": false,
  "distribution": false
},
"merchant_of_record": "expedia",

Benefit:

Partners will no longer need to make an additional call for the data. It will be embedded within the response.


Adding support for vacation rental card_on_file_limit and refundable_damage_deposit in the priceCheck response - Shopping | Feature | V3

Added additional data relevant to vacation rentals. The card_on_file_limit is the maximum that can be charged to a card for damages at the property and the refundable_damage_deposit is the deposit amount required for the property. Only one value will be available in the response, we will never be returning both simultaneously to a partner for a given rate.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"card_on_file_limit": {
  "value": "25.00",
  "currency": "CAD"
},
"refundable_damage_deposit": {
  "value": "75.00",
  "currency": "CAD"
}

Benefit:

Partners will have full visibility of the deposits and expectations for vacation rental properties.


Mandatory supply_source field added to Property Content API/File and Property Catalog File - Content | Feature | V3 | Breaking Change

A new mandatory supply_source field has been added to the Property Content API/File and the Property Catalog File, to enable partners to specify which type of inventory they want returned.

Passing a value of 'expedia' will return only inventory from Expedia.

Passing a value of 'vrbo' will return only inventory from Vrbo.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"supply_source": "vrbo"

Notes supply_source is now a mandatory field. To achieve the same behaviour as previous versions of the API, partners will need to pass "supply_source": "expedia".

Benefit:

Partners will be able to access Vrbo inventory via the same endpoint as Expedia inventory


New section added to the Property Content API/File consolidates Vacation Rental specific property and room information - Content | Feature | V3 | Breaking Change

Added new Vacation Rentals section to Rapid Content/File where partners can find property information which is specific to Vacation Rentals, including attributes which would normally be found within the room description for multi-unit properties.

Display of the rental agreement on the partner's checkout page is now a Rapid launch requirement for Vacation Rental properties.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"vacation_rental_details": {
  "property_registration":{
  },
  "private_host"{
  },
  "property_manager": {
    "name": "Frans Belderbos",
    "links": {
      "image": {
        "method": "GET",
        "href": "https://odis.vrbo.com/odis/story/89cd116a-14fd-4fbc-a0d1-861894171cd0.c1.jpg"
      }
    },
    "rental_agreement": {
      "links": {
        "rental_agreement": {
          "method": "GET",
          "href": "https://www.vrbo.com/td/proxies/ecomQuote/downloadRentalAgreement?unitUrl=/units/0000/1341f175-3550-4c80-b9a1-b6b330b7e032"
        }
      }
    },
    "house_rules": [
        "Children welcome",
        "Pets welcome (restrictions apply)",
        "No smoking",
        "No parties or events"
      ],
    "amenities": {
        "1073743284": {
            "id": "1073743284",
            "name": "Heating"
        },
        "4296": {
            "id": "4296",
            "name": "Furnished balcony or patio"
        }
    }
  }
}

Benefit:

Provides more property details which enable improved property display for single unit vacation rentals, all in a vacation rental specific section of our content response.


Third Party Authentication for PSD2 - Booking | Feature | V3 | Breaking Change

A new product to enable partner to use their preferred payment services provider for PSD2 compliance

Requires the cavv, eci, three_ds_version and ds_transaction_id parameters

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"third_party_authentication": {
  "cavv": "jELUbgG+Tgj0AREBDMLeCad+oIs=",
  "eci": "05",
  "three_ds_version": "2.2.0",
  "ds_transaction_id": "ac01cc2b-c1a1-4981-8c6f-400d4eec88de",
  "pa_res_status": "Y",
  "ve_res_status": "C",
  "xid": "47133847-13be-4ae3-9be9-e4053b9c83c0",
  "cavv_algorithm": "3",
  "ucaf_indicator": "0"
}

Benefit:

Enable partners to use their preferred payment services provider for PSD2 compliance


Added special character encoding to fix security bug - Booking | Bug Fix | V3 | Breaking Change

Special characters in several fields will be re-encoded to prevent a security vulnerability.

Benefit:

This removes a potential security vulnerability.


Fixed Price Check test header bug - Shopping | Bug Fix | V3

An invalid test header for the Price Check call was renamed to match a valid value.

Rapid 2.4 Schema Example:

--header "Test: matched"

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

--header "Test: available"

Benefit:

Allows the partner to test their integration with Price Check more thoroughly.


Fixed typo in Customer_account_Details enum - Booking | Bug Fix | V3 | Breaking Change

Fixed typo in customer_account_details enum, changing "fido_authenticaton" to "fido_authentication".

Rapid 2.4 Schema Example:

"customer_account_details": {
  "authentication_method": "fido_authenticaton",
  "authentication_timestamp": "2018-02-12T11:59:00.000Z",
  "create_date": "2018-09-15",
  "change_date": "2018-09-17",
  "password_change_date": "2018-09-17",
  "add_card_attempts": 1,
  "account_purchases": 1
},

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"customer_account_details": {
  "authentication_method": "fido_authentication",
  "authentication_timestamp": "2018-02-12T11:59:00.000Z",
  "create_date": "2018-09-15",
  "change_date": "2018-09-17",
  "password_change_date": "2018-09-17",
  "add_card_attempts": 1,
  "account_purchases": 1
},

Benefit:

This eliminates a speling mistake which may confuse partners.


Cross Sell and Alternative Property Recommendations removed - Recommendations | Remove | V3 | Breaking Change

reference_property_id, destination_iata_airport_code, origin_iata_airport_code, and iata_airline_code parameters have been removed. Recommendations link will no longer appear on the response.

Rapid 2.4 Schema Example:

"recommendations": {
  "method": "GET",
  "href": "/2.4/properties/availability?token=abcdef"
}

Benefit:

Partners will not be able to call using redundant request parameters


Removed deprecated fields in Fees object - Shopping | Booking | Manage Booking | Remove | V3 | Breaking Change

The Fees object was simplified by removing fields that were informational and caused confusion in displaying fee totals.

Rapid 2.4 Schema Example:

"fees": {
  "mandatory_fee": {
    "billable_currency": {
      "value": "5.00",
      "currency": "CAD"
    },
    "request_currency": {
      "value": "3.00",
      "currency": "USD"
    },
    "scope": "per_person",
    "frequency": "per_day"
  }
}

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

"fees": {
  "mandatory_fee": {
    "billable_currency": {
      "value": "5.00",
      "currency": "CAD"
    },
    "request_currency": {
      "value": "3.00",
      "currency": "USD"
    }
  }
}

Benefit:

Scope and frequency have been removed to help clarify the fees charged. This removes unnecessary fields and simplifies the schema for the partner.


Removed /properties/{property_id}/deposit-policies path - Shopping | Remove | V3

The deposit-policies endpoint will be removed since it's now part of the availability call directly.

Benefit:

Partners won't have to make an additional call to get deposit policy information.


Clarified Postal Code description - Booking | Update | V3

The Postal Code field's description was simplified to be less confusing.

Rapid 2.4 Schema Example:

Customer's postal code. Postal_Code is mandatory if the payment type is a credit card (CC, CCC, VCC) and the country code is US, GB or CA.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

Postal/zip code.

Benefit:

Clarifies when the field is required.


Clarified Rate Plan Count description - Shopping | Update | V3

Clarified Rate Plan Count description The Rate Plan Count field's description was updated to include minimum and maximum limits as well as clarifying what the field is trying to return (the best price available).

Rapid 2.4 Schema Example:

The number of rates to return per property. The rate’s price determines which rates are returned e.g. a rateplancount=4 will return the lowest 4 rates, but the rates are not ordered from lowest to highest or vice versa in the response. The lowest rate has been proven to provide the best conversion rate and so a value of 1 is recommended. The value must be greater than 0.

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

The number of rates to return per property. The rates with the best value will be returned, e.g. a rate_plan_count=4 will return the best 4 rates, but the rates are not ordered from lowest to highest or vice versa in the response. Generally lowest rates will be prioritized. The value must be between 1 and 250.

Benefit:

Clarifies valid values for the field.


Clarified State Province Code description - Booking | Update | V3

The State Province Code field's description was simplified to be less confusing.

Rapid 2.4 Schema Example:

Customer’s state or province code. Mandatory if the country_code = US, AU or CA

Rapid 3 Schema Example:

2-letter or 3-letter state/province code for Australia, Canada and the USA.

Benefit:

Clarifies when the field is required.

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