FAQ

COMMON QUESTIONS

FAQ

ANSWERS TO OUR MOST COMMON QUESTIONS

Welcome to the FAQ page. Here, we've compiled answers to common questions about Availability Exchange, organized into clear sections for easy navigation. Whether you're a new user or need specific information, this resource is designed to provide quick and straightforward insights to our most common issues.

OTA Partner FAQ

  • What is the booking process?

    The bookings process includes two items. 1) Call the Quote endpoint to confirm rates and availability. 2) Call the CreateReservation to create the reservation.

  • Can the OTA Partner set the booking rate?

    Yes. We want OTA Partners to be able to specify the rates, offer promotions, or make rate adjustments for different classes of guest (eg. premium members). OTA Partners should only change rates within the bounds of contractual limits they have set with individual properties.

  • Do OTA Partners use units or unit groups?

    OTA Partners decide! If a property has not yet set up their property to receive reservations from Availability Exchange OTA Partners, they likely have not set up their unit groups either. OTA Partners can still connect to the property and start accessing their information by individual units, as that is automatically available. Once the property has unit groups set up, you can switch your API queries to using unit groups instead. Some properties have unique units though, so you'll want to support both versions.

  • Can Availability Exchange tell us when availability and rates change?

    We're working on this. We designed the endpoints to minimize the need for OTA Partner caching, but may expose timestamps to help with cache updates. 


    If OTA Partners are caching data, we recommend querying the next 30-90 days of availability and rates at least once per day as that is the most common lead time for most bookings. Otherwise, we designed the endpoints for partners to make queries on the fly. The quote and create reservation endpoints will always rely on the most up to date information.

  • Can OTA Partners make bookings in the sandbox?

    Absolutely. All the properties in the sandbox are there for partners to test the reservation flow.


    After leaving the sandbox, OTA Partners can continue making queries for sandbox properties, including making reservations. The only change is that the sandbox properties will no longer be listed under the GetBusinesses endpoint (unless a specific property is queried). We recommend saving the ID for at least one sample property so that your integration can continue to test reservation endpoints.

  • What types of reservation modifications can OTA Partners make?

    Shorten or extend a stay, change units, or reschedule a stay. To make these modifications, simply query the ModifyReservation endpoint with the desired state of the reservation.

API FAQ

  • I attempted to use my credentials to access the API but am receiving an error.

    Most often we are returning an error because the IP address the requests are coming from hasn't been added to the approved list.To fix this issue, send an email to info@availabilityexchange.com with the IP addresses you have approved for both sandbox & production.

  • How do I get property level information?

    Currently the API does not provide property level information and was designed to provide Availability, Rates, and Inventory (ARI) information at the unit level. The only property level information shared is the property name, address, and phone number. Partners should be prepared to collect and maintain property level information directly from the property managers if that information is necessary for your site. 

  • What is the difference between a unit and a unit_group?

    A unit_group is a group of one or more units. Each unit in a unit_group has similar amenities and identical rates.


    A unit is an individual room or site at a property and can exist in zero or one unit_group


    If you send an AddReservation request using a unit_group_id it will add a reservation for one of the available units within that unit_group.

    If you Send an AddReservation request using a unit_id it will add a reservation for that specific unit.

    Each request should include only one unit_group_id or one unit_id


    The GetQuote request will provide a quote for a specific itinerary, either for a unit_group or a unit depending on which id was provided.


    All properties will have unit groups configured to share their inventory with your channel. The most common configuration is a one unit to a group configuration.

  • Can I get a ResNexus test account to configure different settings and scenarios myself?

    We currently don't provide an environment for partners to modify property and unit configurations. If you have something you would like to adjust on the test accounts, please reach out and we will adjust it for you.

  • What happens once we're ready to connect with a new ResNexus customer? Will they be added in as another business under GetBusinesses automatically or will we have to do a separate API call?

    When a ResNexus subscriber adds a channel they will automatically appear in the GetBusinesses call as a business. If for any reason they choose to disconnect and remove you as a channel, they will no longer appear in the GetBusinesses call and referencing the business id in other calls will no longer work.

  • If a booking is confirmed on the channel at a lower price than the price pushed from Resnexus, will Resnexus allow that booking to be confirmed on the channel? Will it allow the channel to return the new price and data back to Resnexus?

    The reservation message allows you to set your own price (quote.base_rate). The current room price is only used if the quote is not included, or the quote does not have the base_rate set. 

  • Is it possible to import listings from the channel to Resnexus?

    We do not have a way to import listings into ResNexus. Each listing would need to be created by the hotel before linking it to the channel. In most cases, these listings are already configured, as this is completed with the ResNexus system setup.

  • If a photo or description change is made in ResNexus, will the channel get the updated information?

    Each time you call GetUnitGroups or GetUnits, you will receive the current description and image urls. 

  • How soon does ResNexus certify us? What are the options for testing once we're certified?

    When you feel your development is complete and you have exercised the API, please request a meeting with your development contact to review your implementation and request certification. As long as there are no issues found with your implementation after reviewing reservations that have been made and canceled via the API, and you have provided the required logo and channel info page content, certification itself typically only takes a few days. Following certification, live test properties will be added in order to complete the trial period prior to the connection going live. 

  • How quickly will new businesses appear in the GetBusinesses call after they have added me as a channel?

    The business will appear in the GetBusinesses call immediately after the channel has been added in the back office. 

  • Why is the price I received from the GetQuote endpoint different from the price on the booking engine for the same itinerary?

    There are a number of reasons why the Availability Exchange Gateway API (AE) would return a value other than the price shown in our booking engine. In general, the conflicts arise from AE having a simple occupancy based pricing system as opposed to the booking engine's itinerary based system. The most common specific causes for these differences are:


    1. The property may choose to adjust the rates they are sending to OTA channels and partners.

    2. The property has set up sliding rates.


    Sliding rates adjust the price of an itinerary automatically based on a number of predefined criteria. Sliding rates are a ResNexus specific feature and we currently don't provide the adjustments to OTA channels or AE Partners. About 15% of our properties currently use sliding rates. 

Support FAQ

  • Why is a business not showing up when the user says they have added the channel?

    There are a few troubleshooting steps that may resolve your issue. 

    Verify the subscriber's business name in ResNexus matches the business you are looking for in your inventory 

    Have the subscriber log into ResNexus, navigate to settings>Direct Connect and verify your channel name is in their list of added channels. 

    Verify you are using good credentials and an approved IP address to make the call to the Availability Exchange API. 

    Verify you're using your live connection credentials for access and not using sandbox credentials. 

  • How can I help a user set up missing unit groups, and what are they used for?

    Unit groups are the way users select what inventory is shared with you, the partner. The master unit in the group defines what rates, minimum nights, descriptions, and images are shared for that group, so only similar units should be grouped together. It is common to see groups configured with one unit per group. 


    To set up unit groups, direct the user to: 

    Sign into your ResNexus back office and navigate to the settings page

    Select Direct Connect

    Select on the channel name

    Select Groups in the right hand menu

    Select Create Group - Enter the group name, which will be shared with the OTA and may be used for display on their site.

    Save the unit group. Repeat this process until all desired units are grouped.*


    *Please note that there are many cases where the user will not want to share availability of all their units with your OTA

  • Why did a reservation go through to ResNexus with different rates than the user expected?

    Verify you (the Partner) did not send over a rate override for the reservation.


    Another common culprit for this issue is the user may have incorrectly configured their unit groups. Reservations made for a unit group will use the rate for that group, regardless of which unit is reserved. Have the user review their groups, looking for any units with rates varying from the rates of the master unit in the group. Direct the user to adjust their groups accordingly. 


    If this is not the issue, direct the subscriber to review their channel rate adjustments as well as look for any yield management rules in ResNexus. If these do not explain the discrepancy, we recommend directing them to the ResNexus Support team to review rate and group configurations to find the issue. 

  • Why are some unit groups missing when trying to get availability?

    Unit groups with no availability will not be returned at all when querying for availability. 

  • Why did a reservation fail to go over to ResNexus?

    In most cases, an error was returned to your request to create the reservation, or the request did not go through as expected. Verify you got a response from Availability Exchange, and check for errors returned in that response. If you did not get any response, the request never made it to Availability Exchange. 

  • Why don't the rates/availability match the user's direct booking engine?

    ResNexus users are able to customize the information they share with partners. Among other settings, users can choose what inventory they want to share, what their rates will be on the partner site, and set different availability rules from their booking engine. Please note that the Availability Exchange API is the source of truth for your connection, and information should not be verified against the user's direct booking engine. 

  • Why is a unit showing as available, but when I get a quote is is no longer available and cannot be booked?

    When requesting a unit or unit group's availability, any units that are not booked or blocked will be returned as available. However, when getting a quote or creating a reservation, there are additional factors that will be checked. This includes things such as minimum night requirements. The quote has the most complete and accurate information.

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