Opportunities API

Handbook 2021

Disclaimer: all numbers and percentages shown in this presentation can vary by market.
Please bear in mind that these numbers are based on the current business situation, and can change over time, from market to market.
Opportunities
Advice to help partners grow and manage their
business on Booking.com
 What are Opportunities and why did we develop them?

Almost 80% of properties on Booking.com told us that How Opportunities work

they would like us to give them advice on how to grow
their revenue by telling them what guests are looking ● We pinpoint areas where partners can perform better
for and where they’re lagging behind competitors. compared to similar local properties and suggest
particular actions they can take to improve – we call
these suggestions “Opportunities”

● An algorithm helps prioritise Opportunities by importance

for each partner so they can focus on where they lag
behind their set of competitors, based on what travellers
search for most often

● Partners can see all eligible Opportunities in a dedicated

Opportunity Centre and take suggested actions on
relevant pages in the extranet
Do they really work?
Yes, they do. We see significant performance improvements when partners are prompted
to take suggested actions:

- Visibility in search by providing the right supply at the right time

Partners who updated their future rates & availability during the initial COVID-19
recovery period last year saw an ~25% increase in visibility in guest searches

- Better conversion rates by capturing demand from different guest segments

~11% of searches on our platform are for groups of 2+ adults. Partners who set a
different price per occupancy see an increase in bookings of up to 4% per year

- Long-term revenue growth by opting in to partner performance programmes

On average, partners who join Genius and make their rooms and rates available
increase their bookings by 18% and their revenues by 17%

Overall, 85% of them are very satisfied with the quality of advice they receive and the
way we’ve provided it to them.
 Designed for favourable outcomes

When Opportunities are designed to be… They lead to….

● Actionable – ready-to-implement advice for your ● Higher performance – maximises your properties’
properties to improve their ranking, conversions and ability to capture rising, global guest demand
rate of cancellation ● Greater efficiency – helps ease their operational
● Relevant and intelligent – powered by what guests burden and saves them valuable time
are searching for the most and always prioritised by ● Increased knowledge – particularly useful for
potential impact driving performance of those who don’t visit the
● Personalised – based on each property’s extranet frequently or new partners who onboard
performance over the past 30 days directly with you
Make sure they never miss an Opportunity
Connected partners generally manage their day-to-day tasks on your platform, which
means that your customers could be missing out:
● Missing the latest alerts and suggestions for their property
● Losing out on time-bound Opportunities to capture demand for specific dates
● Unable to effectively action the advice in our system (eg, adding availability)
● Less familiar with our extranet and Opportunities overall

We know your platform can definitely reinforce the adoption of Opportunities by your
customers.
 Driving adoption of Opportunities

Automatically fetch and display relevant and personalised advice for each customer:
● Bring advice directly into your platform
Filter related Opportunities and display on the most relevant page in your system
Scalably ●
● Enable end-to-end workflows for time-sensitive, inventory-related advice
Use the Opportunities API to
embed our advice directly within
your CM/PMS system Combine with your own tools to further drive adoption among eligible properties:
● Get a complete overview of each Opportunity, along with its benefits
● Get a list of all your eligible properties for each Opportunity
● Use this information to drive targeted adoption campaigns in your own channels

Proactively ● Get a list of all eligible properties for select Opportunities via the Provider Portal
Use the Provider Portal to ● Use these to promote relevant opportunities using your own tools and channels
Identify eligible partners for
select Opportunities
Opportunities API
A tool to deliver Opportunities – in context and at scale – to your
customers directly within your platform
 Benefits of using the Opportunities API Impact on adoption by your customers

● Add data-driven advice to your platform We know that properties implement ~2.5 times
Actionable and timely business intelligence for all your more Opportunities when reached directly via their
customers, delivered at scale Connectivity provider’s interface.

● Making it contextual and relevant For certain actions, like adding inventory or relaxing
Use specific workflows in your system that your restrictions, enabling an end-to-end implementation
customers use for certain types of actions (either via the journey via an appropriate API can drive up to 4
extranet or through other Booking.com APIs), and times more implementations per partner.
display relevant advice in context of these actions

● Customer happiness
Foster your relationship as a trusted advisor who offers a
customer-centric experience

Bonus! Extra points can accelerate your progress in the

Connectivity Partner Programme.
 What can you do with the API?

Feature Action and usage

GET Opportunities Retrieve a list of all currently available opportunities, including only basic metadata
Usage – Get an overview, and identify the ‘opportunity_id’ of various Opportunities

GET Opportunities by Retrieve pre-ordered list of eligible Opportunities for the specified property_id
property_id Usage – Display a personalised list of Opportunities in a dedicated page in your system

GET (eligible) properties by Retrieve list of property_ids for a specified opportunity_id, along with basic metadata
opportunity_id Usage – Drive adoption for specific Opportunities with eligible properties in your portfolio

Enable date-level inventory Provider-level feature that, once enabled, allows date-level Opportunities to be returned in in the response for all
opportunities GET requests. These Opportunities have different implementation data.
(high-demand dates) Usage – Allow properties to see date-level inventory advice and make changes on your platform

DISMISS opportunities POST request used to allow properties to (permanently) dismiss Opportunities directly via the API
 What does an Opportunity look like in the API?

Every Opportunity in the API

response contains...

Information to show properties:

● Title
● Description
● Call to action
● URL to corresponding
extranet page for the action

Information for your system:

For properties
● ‘opportunity_id’
Name of the Opportunity
● ‘implementation’
How it should be handled
● destination_api
For you
API used to action advice
 Exception – date-level inventory Opportunities

Unlike property-level advice, these

Opportunities relate to inventory Display to
optimisations (like adding rooms or properties ‘as is’
lowering restrictions) for specific
date(s) and room(s).

Key differences vs other Opportunities:

● Available as an optional feature

You can enable this feature from your Provider
Portal Dashboard. Here’s how

● ‘implementation’ – provider
Indicating that the final action needs to be
taken on your platform only

● No ‘cta’ or ‘redirect’ fields

You need to create an end-to-end workflow

● implementation_data This data needs to be treated/parsed to

An array of all eligible room and date
combinations for properties to act on make it understandable for properties
 How properties should action Opportunities

Actions required by the property Nature of advice Where should it be Which API* should be
(examples) actioned? used to action?

➔ Add future rates and availability - Time-sensitive, tactical CM /PMS Availability API
Supply ➔ Optimise inventory/restrictions for - Frequently recurring
optimisations specific dates

➔ Setting up optimum rate plans - More forward looking CM or extranet Promotions API
Demand-driven ➔ Deals and promotions - Less frequently occuring Room & Rate Plan
suggestions ➔ Targeted, segment-specific rates - Demand-driven Management API

➔ Related to profile content - Static, not recurring extranet or PMS Content API +
management - Highly operational (if using Content Room & Rate Plan;
Operational
➔ Related to payments and policies - One-time settings and API) or extranet
advice
➔ Related to guest reservations configurations

Performance ➔ Evergreen programmes - Strategic, long-term extranet only N/A

programmes ➔ Seasonal incentives and deals - Performance dependent

* This information is contained in the ‘Destination API’ field – extranet is indicated by “Unassigned”
 Examples

Supply optimisations

These alerts are designed to notify properties

when they may be missing out on guest
searches for future book windows (0 - 90
days), as well as for specific dates.

How they work

These are generated based on the property’s

current availability in our system.

Key highlights

● Time-sensitive alerts that auto-expire

● Recurring partner eligibility
● Actionable only via your CM or PMS
● Destination API – Availability API
 Examples

Demand-driven suggestions

These alerts help properties set up specific

rates, deals or promotions to attract different
guest segments (eg, families, business
travellers, groups, solo travellers).

How they work

These are triggered based on what guests are

searching for more on our platform, and how
well a property is set up to capture this
demand compared to peers and competitors.

Key highlights

● Alerts based on guest search trends

● More stable partner eligibility
● Actionable via extranet or your CM
● Destination API(s) – Promotions API
OR Room & Rate Plan Management
API
 Examples

Operational advice

Recommendations on specific configurations

and settings to ease properties’ daily workload
around managing payments, policies,
reservations and content.

How they work

These are based on insights from travellers, as

well as how other (similar) properties use
these settings to optimise their operations on
our platform.

Key highlights

● One-time configurations/settings
● Stable eligibility over time
● Actionable via our extranet or your
PMS
● Destination API(s) – Content API or
Room and Rate Plan Management API
 Examples

Performance Programmes

These invitations to join strategic partner

programs like Genius and Preferred Partner
Programme can help properties improve their
long-term success.

How they work

These invites are triggered when a property

becomes eligible for these programmes, based
on past performance on our platform.

Key highlights

● Alerts based on property performance

● Stable eligibility over time
● Actionable via our extranet only
● Destination API – N/A (‘Unassigned’)
The Opportunities API

Getting started
 Recommended steps to get you started

Get familiar with the Opportunities API solution

1 ● Go through the technical documentation available on our Connectivity Partner Portal
● Read through our Opportunities API solution page to learn more about how the API works
● Read more about the date-level inventory opportunities feature, and refer your product and design teams to our
date-level implementation guidelines for the most effective results

Initiate the integration process with the right testing

2 ● Let us know when you’re starting the integration process via email: [email protected]
● Our support team will help set up your test property and provide all the necessary information to get you started
(we don’t recommend using real properties for testing)
● Learn how to request test data for high-demand dates and blocked by minimum length of stay Opportunities

Once integration is complete, inform and educate your properties

● After you completed the product integration, make sure all the existing properties of your portfolio are enabled by
3
requesting a roll out to the support team
● We can provide templates to help you educate your properties and market this new service to them
 Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Do I need to get a certification before being able to use this API?

A. There is no specific certification required to use the Opportunities API, though we do recommend familiarising yourself
with the technical documentation before you get started.

Q. Is there a limit on the number of properties I can request Opportunities for when using this API?
A. You can request all eligible opportunities for all of your active properties. We currently do not support requests for
Opportunities for test properties, except for date-level inventory Opportunities.

Q. Can properties implement Opportunities directly via this API?

A. The Opportunities API can only be used to fetch information from our system, and cannot be used directly to
implement any Opportunities. In general, properties are redirected to a page on our extranet to implement an
Opportunity. However, you can redirect them to a page or interface within your platform from which the required
action can be taken via an appropriate API (identified by the ‘Destination API’ field in the response).

Q. If properties can’t implement via this API, how can I influence the adoption of Opportunities?
A. The key benefit of using this API is that it allows your properties to be notified whenever they’re missing out on
potential improvements within the context of their day-to-day tasks on your platform. Based on the experiences of
other providers, we know that highlighting these alerts alongside the specific actions they need to take can have a big
impact on how frequently properties adopt these Opportunities.