Posted on

Charts Now Integrated with Instant World Booking

Charts Property Management System and Charts Backpacker now interface with Instant World Booking.  IWB is pleased to announce that you can manage your calendar directly on the Charts PMS systems.  This means that your calendar availability will automatically feed from Charts to Instant World Booking.  This service is free to users of Charts software.

Charts PMS and Charts Backpacker offer property management services for hotels, motels, backpackers and B and Bs around the globe.

See more PMS systems that integrate with Instant World Booking


Link to this post!
Posted on

Version 4.2 Update – XML API Guide

We are pleased to announce update v4.2 of our Instant World Booking XML API Guide.  This new release includes some new features for updating allocations and rates.  Specifically:

  1. API Function: setallocation now includes the ability to update rates without altering # units, and vice versa.  This enhancement provides greater flexibility in the calendar management process.  See section 3.3 of the XML API Guide for a description of these new features.
  2. API Function: createrooms now automatically returns the room id assigned to a new room type.  This enhancement allows users to eliminate the extra step of submitting separate XML requests to obtain the room id for a new room type.  See section 3.1.2 for more details.

See our updated XML API Guide at:

http://www.instantworldbooking.com/xml/InstantWorldBookingXMLAPI.doc

To keep abreast of the latest news with Instant World Booking’s XML API, follow our blog or subscribe to the RSS feed at:

http://www.instantworldbooking.com/blog_iw/category/xml-feeds/


Link to this post!
Posted on

Booking Expert now integrated with Instant World Booking

Instant World Booking is pleased to announce that BookingExpert.it now interfaces with IWB.  This means that you can manage your calendar directly on BookingExpert’s channel manager system and feed your calendar availability automatically to Instant World Booking.

BookingExpert.it offers channel maagement services for accommodation properties.

See more PMS systems that integrate with Instant World Booking


Link to this post!
Posted on

New Create Rooms and Change Rooms features in v4.0

We are proud to announce the release of version 4.0 of the Instant World Booking XML API.  This release includes new Create Rooms, Change Rooms, and Change Rates features.

1. Create Room Types (API Function: createrooms)

A new function for creating room types will aid in the synchronization between IWB and integrating systems. Previously, room type creation was only achieved by setting new calendar allocations, which sometimes led to creation of duplicate rooms. The new function ensures better control over room types.

2. Change Room Types (API Function: changerooms)

A new function for modifying room type features has been added, allowing simple updates of room characteristics. Previously, changes could only be achieved through adding a new room type, and replacing the old one. This new function greatly simplifies the administration of room types and related characteristics.

3. Rate Changes

Global rate changes (search and replace) can now also be achieved through a new feature included within the above function (2) Change Room Types.

While the new features provide significant added functionality and convenience, the new version is fully compatible with previous versions. So, existing integrations will continue to work as normal.

For more information about these enhanced features, please see section 3.1 and 3.2 of the new guide:

Instant World Booking API XML Manual

As a reminder, the Instant World Booking XML API also includes a full White Label Affiliate Program API (see section 2.0).  This API enables users to implement a complete white-label online booking solution on their website, suitable for booking hotels, hostels, and B&B inns.


Link to this post!
Posted on

New Get Bookings and Calendar Allocation features in v3.2

We are proud to announce the release of version 3.2 of the Instant World Booking XML API.  This release includes new Get Bookings (Reservations) features and Calendar Allocation features.

Previously, the “getbookings” function allowed limited ability to request reservations for specific dates.  Now, since version 3.1 (released April 3, 2011), new selection criteria have been added to query reservations by 1) booking date, 2) modification date, or 3) guest arrival date.  See section 3.3 of the API Guide.

Additionally, several important new features have been added to the “setallocation” and “getroomtypes” functions.

  1. Promotional discounts for advance booking – a discount to be applied to the base rate if a reservation is booked early (i.e., at least the specified “days” prior to arrival date).
  2. Promotional discounts for lengthy stays – a discount to be applied to the base rate if a reservation is longer than the specified minimum # days.
  3. Enhanced Minimum Stay function – The minimum stay functionality now allows the user to apply specific stay limits for various date ranges.  Because of these enhancements the former <minstay>, <minstay_weekend>, and <maxstay> elements have been deprecated, and will no longer be available after September 30, 2011.  Version 3.2 introduces the new <minstays> element, which replaces the former functionality.

For more information about these enhanced features, please see section 3.1.1 and 3.2.1.c of the new guide.

Instant World Booking API XML Manual

As a reminder, the Instant World Booking XML API also includes a full White Label Affiliate Program API (see section 2.0).  This API enables users to implement a complete white-label online booking solution on their website, suitable for booking hotels, hostels, and B&B inns.



Link to this post!
Posted on

New XML Guide for Affiliate Programs

New for 2011, we are proud to announce the release of version 3.0 of Instant World Booking’s XML API Guide.  This is a major release, now featuring full XML support for white-label affiliate programs.

Instant World Booking’s affiliate programs are suitable for any website where travel and accommodation content is desired, including the ability to host a full-fledged online booking service. For example, members of our affiliate program can access almost unlimited data pertaining to accommodations, their amenities, and availability. Developers can therefore integrate this data into their websites to completely control their users’ experience. In other words, a white-label travel information and booking service can be achieved using the XML API.

See Affiliate XML API Guide

Our XML API continues to support full 2-way automatic update of availability calendars.  This functionality is suitable for individual property managers, accommodation chains, consolidators, channel managers, front desk systems, property management systems (PMS), and even other booking engines. In fact, anyone who is tired of managing their calendar manually, or updating multiple booking systems, can use our XML API to achieve perfect synchronization automatically.


Link to this post!
Posted on

OldTownApartments.com now integrated with Instant World Booking

Instant World Booking is pleased to announce that OldTownApartments.com now interfaces with IWB.  This means that you can manage your calendar directly on OldTownApartments.com’s system and feed your calendar availability automatically to Instant World Booking

OldTownApartments.com offers furnished and unfurnished apartments in downtown and midtown Tallahassee, Florida.  They offer attractive, quiet, comfortable apartments in Tallahassee’s most beautiful historic neighborhoods.

Learn more about http://www.OldTownApartments.com

See more PMS systems that integrate with Instant World Booking


Link to this post!
Posted on

Get Bookings (Reservations) XML Module Added in v2.1

Version 2.1 of the Instant Word Booking XML API has been released today.  A new feature in this release is the ability to retrieve bookings (reservations) in XML format.  This capability now completes Instant World Booking’s upgrade to a full-featured Calendar and Bookings XML interface.  Capabilities of the interface now include the ability to:

  • Get Calendar Availability/Allocations
  • Set Calendar Availability/Allocations
  • Retrieve Bookings

To get started with our XML API, begin by checking out our manual, or send it to your developer:

Instant World Booking API XML Manual

Now, using Instant World Booking is easier than ever since your calendar of availability can be automatically uploaded or downloaded, and bookings can be retrieved in efficient XML feeds.  This means that you can use virtually any front desk software you wish, and interface directly with Instant World Booking’s system (and potentially other services and channel managers that Instant World Booking interfaces with).

This also means that you can you can begin using Instant World Booking’s lowest cost Booking Engine for accommodation websites, with little trouble or worries at all.

If you use third party front-desk software, contact your software provider today, and tell them you want them to integrate with IWB.  Most software providers will be more than happy to accommodate your request, with no cost to you.  And integration with IWB is simple enough to complete in no time at all.

For more information, contact us today at: info@instantworldbooking.com


Link to this post!
Posted on

Why Instant Booking is Better for Hotels and Hostels?

Many hotels or hostels don’t want to manage yet another availability calendar.  But, why is the instant booking calendar really better than the online request method?  Instant World Booking has discussed this at some length, but for many hotels, the choice continues to be request-only.  There are clear advantages to the instant booking method that far outweigh any administrative inconveniences.  In the end, online requests always end up with some degree of frustration for hotel administrators.   Here’s why instant booking using an online calendar is best in almost every situation:

  1. The vast majority of users searching accommodation on the internet want instant gratification. If they have to wait for a response to a request, they disappear quickly. With instant booking, you capture the booking immediately, before they have time to search elsewhere.
  2. Instant booking has a much higher reservation success rate because of (1) above.
    Some users will submit a request simply to find out what rates are, and have no intention to book soon. This forces the hotel to respond to requests that will never turn into reservations.
  3. A percentage of all users never receive the response email because they are using some free email service (e.g., hotmail, yahoo, gmail etc.) that blocks mail from new senders as spam, and they don’t realize that this is happening. This is a simple fact that affects virtually all online services these days. A user that falls into this category will either disappear or complain that they never received a response. Nevertheless, with instant booking, this is never a problem, since the user receives confirmation directly while they’re still online.
  4. Hotel and hostel managers that are concerned with maintaining a calendar online have many options available to them. If they don’t want to use our interface directly, they can use one of several third party interfaces that feed into our system.  You can contact us for recommendations, or get more information at:  XML feed for availability calendars
  5. The risk of an occasional overbooking is more than offset by the higher level of bookings, income, and benefits mentioned above that can be achieved with the instant booking method.

Link to this post!
Posted on

Tired of managing multiple calendars manually?

Are you tired of managing multiple calendars on multiple systems?  Many hostels, hotels, and B&B’s we speak to are maintaining their calendar on at least half a dozen booking sites.  One even recently sent us a timesheet indicating how many hours they spend managing calendars on each website.  Now, you know that you’re spending a lot of time performing a task if you maintain a timesheet.

Instant World Booking offers an easier way.  Upload your calendar directly to our system.  We have an XML interface that allows both receiving and sending your calendar updates via an automatic feed.  So, if you currently use a calendar management or property management software to manage your calendar, contact your service provider today.  Tell them that you want them to interface with Instant World Booking.  Most propert management systems will be happy to accommodate their clients’ requests for integration.

So remember, contact your front desk or propery management provider today, and ask them to integrate with Instant World Booking.  Send them the following link to help them get started integrating with us:

http://www.instantworldbooking.com/blog_iw/2010/05/new-xml-api-version-20-released/


Link to this post!