APIs – The Plumbing of the B2B Travel Industry The travel industry has evolved with the advancement in technology. Today’s consumer is more than aware of the choicest destinations in and around the world, their preferences and their needs. The online travel has allowed them to choose any destination globally, and book it while sitting in the comfort of their home. What started out as a price comparison or probably a search engine for travel has now evolved into a travel planning outfit. From planning your travel to completing your bookings to making sure you have the entire itinerary in hand, travel online has made it pretty comfortable for the online consumer. You also know which place is best known for what with the help of number of review sites that have come a long way. A lot of travel companies are offering travel packages that can help them work their travel to their choice destination in a tight budget. Hotel bookings are also easy and convenient given the way travel has evolved. You can book your choice of hotel within the budget you have decided, and get a confirmation immediately. The internet consumer does not like waiting for long, and you will be able to please this customer with the right options. What goes on in the frontend has a lot to do with how the backend works. You will find that backend streamlines supports and speeds up the processes so that things are easy for the users.
Exploring the Backend What makes the travel industry so accessible is a complex web of distribution networks and channels. The different distribution medium makes data available in real-time that channelizes the efforts of the frontend in offering enriched customer experience to the end users. Let’s try to delve deeper into the backend to understand how the travel industry works. The hotel and airline
companies are interconnected to the various aggregators and distribution networks namely wholesalers, metasearch and GDS, which helps maximize the reach and gain as many conversions as possible. Some of the suppliers are also becoming distributors such as cars, parking, events, places of interest etc. The chance of this list increasing and improving is high, which will result in many different channels along the backend. Currently the entire travel industry is composed of a complex layer of networks and APIs, which calls for proper links within the B2B travel industry. For example the API that connects the GDS to the actual site should be channelized using proper communication links and API connectors making the data transfer and transition easy and reliable. The communication links and API connectors along the merchandizing platforms, GDS, transaction hubs & gateways and CRS should be proper so that the data flow is immediate and controlled. What is the main aim of connecting the backend properly? The speed of data flow is important in the travel industry along with the demand-supply connection. If your supply meets the demand with accurate data flow, you will be able to achieve the said results. With proper connectors, you would burden the data systems, thus ensuring accuracy and performance along with efficient systems and satisfied customers. The servers and networks should send/receive data bytes 24/7 to make requests and send responses. It is because of the APIs that this transaction is possible. APIs are basically set of programming instructions and standards that allow the companies to access web based applications/tools. This governs how two applications can communicate with each other. The information requests are sent to this API, which is then processed and responded to. It is a software-to-software interface. Two applications can connect and communicate with each other over the network, without the user’s knowledge using the API and it is necessary to streamline backend activities.
Future of Travel Industry At this moment in time, when travel is becoming important for the users, and there are more and more travelers joining the landscape, the future of travel industry becomes an important discussion. A lot of people are supplementing the data available for travel so as to make it easier and transparent for both the users and the companies. Young people are creating backend applications and APIs that can ease the future of travel and make it more technology friendly. Omnichannel travel is the new landscape that most companies are looking at.