Viator API Documentation & Specification – Merchant Partners 1.0.0

Added: 10/06/2021

Updated at: 10/06/2021

<style type='text/css'> code { white-space: nowrap; } a { font-weight: bold; } figure { width: 100%; text-align: center; font-style: italic; font-size: smaller; text-indent: 0; border: thin silver solid; margin: 0.5em; padding: 0.5em; } </style> ## Updates ### Latest update: | Date | Description | |------|-------------| | 3 Feb 2021 | Added [Special offers and on-sale pricing](#section/Key-concepts/Special-offers-and-on-sale-pricing) section | | 28 Oct 2020 | Updated FAQ section re booking questions, traveler names, and pricing | | 16 Sep 2020 | Modified FAQ section re booking currencies, supplier name display and requesting additional reviews | | 20 July 2020 | Added [Booking references](#section/Key-concepts/Booking-references) section | **Previous updates**: See [Update log](#section/Appendices/Update-log) # Overview The Viator Partner API comprises a set of endpoints that can support the operation of a fully-featured tours and experiences booking website or application; or, it can be integrated with your existing travel-booking software. The API exposes a variety of services that allow the retrieval of all product details, such as descriptions, pricing, terms and conditions, photos and reviews. This data can either be ingested periodically and managed on your local system, or calls can be made in real time to retrieve content in response to your users' activity on your systems. The API allows product availability schedules to be retrieved in bulk or queried in real-time, and it can perform pricing calculations according to the number and type of traveler for the wide variety of product option combinations typically available in the tours and activities sales workflow. The API provides booking and post-booking functionality, allowing booking requests, ticket purchase, and booking status updates. Various utility services are available to map between yours and Viator's data taxonomy. **Please note:** The API does not provide services for storing data, such as user accounts. We assume that merchant partners have their own systems for storing this data. ## Who is the API for? The Viator Partner API is designed for use by organizations and individuals partnered with Viator in one of the following capacities: ### Merchant partners A merchant partner is one who operates as the merchant of record; i.e., takes full responsibility for all monetary transactions carried out by their users, as well as providing customer support with regard to providing help, processing cancellations and refunds, and liaising between suppliers and customers when the need to communicate information arises. Merchant partners are invoiced periodically by Viator for all product sales. You will need to demonstrate that you have access to the appropriate infrastructure to effectively support the requisite business operations in order to become a merchant partner. ### Viator Branded Affiliates (VBAs) VBAs have full access to the areas of the API relating to content, but sales of Viator products must be carried out on the Viator site itself; therefore, access to the booking or transactional endpoints necessary to operate as the merchant of record (i.e., merchant partners) is restricted. When a customer wishes to book a product from a VBA partner's site, they are instead redirected to [viator.com](https://viator.com) in order to complete the purchase; whereas, merchant partners are able to process and manage bookings through the Viator API itself, allowing their customers to book products without leaving the partner's site. Viator affiliates instead generate unique URLs that redirect their users to the Viator site, resulting in a cookie being set such that all transactions will accrue a commission for that partner until the cookie expires. Purchases of products originating from the VBAs site are recorded and a commission on these sales is paid periodically. - **Note**: VBA partners should refer to a different document for technical specifications relevant to their partner type. If you are a VBA partner, please navigate to: [https://docs.viator.com/partner-api/affiliate/technical/](https://docs.viator.com/partner-api/affiliate/technical) ### VBAs with booking capability VBAs also have the option of allowing their customers to process bookings directly from their site and via the API – similar to a merchant partner – without being redirected to viator.com to complete their transaction. This partner type sends customer details, product details and credit card payment information via the API, but Viator retains control of and responsibility for processing payments and customer support. ### White label partners White label partners do not operate their own site infrastructure. Instead, Viator provides a white label site with full functionality that can be branded according to the partner’s wishes. ## Uses of the Viator Partner API The Viator Partner API is used to carry out the following tasks: ### Product search and ingestion Partners can use the product search endpoints to retrieve lists of products from Viator’s inventory relevant to their business. The available search criteria include: - The location (destination) in which the product operates - Whether the product is associated with a well-known tourist attraction; e.g., Empire State Building - The type of product (known as its category and/or subcategory) - The time period during which the product operates - Words or phrases that occur in a product's description via a free-text search Partners who prefer to download product details periodically (instead of performing all operations in real time in response to user behavior) do so by using the product search endpoints to compile a list of products that they wish to sell on their site. They then download comprehensive product details for each via the /product endpoint. #### Product search endpoints: | Endpoint | Use | |-|-| | [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) | Allows searching for products according to: destination / location, relationship to a known tourist attraction; category and/or subcategory; date of operation | | [/search/products/codes](#operation/searchProductsCodes) | Retrieves product details for products that match a list of product codes (unique identifiers for the product) | | [/search/freetext](#operation/searchFreetext) | Retrieves product details for products that include the search terms in the product's description and details. | | [/available/products](#operation/availableProducts) | Retrieves products that are identified by specific product codes, operate during a specified day range and accept a certain number of adult travelers | #### Product information endpoints: All information about a product that must be communicated to customers prior to purchase is available via [/product](#operation/product) and its auxiliary endpoints. This content is generally used to construct product display pages and for performing local searches. Important information about a product includes: - Product and supplier names - Geographic location - Product description - Category and subcategory - Photos (from both users and the supplier) - User reviews and ratings - Product options (variants of the tour/activity, such as starting times, passenger mix options, and inclusions/add-ons, including basic pricing information for each) - Which age ranges can participate - Booking details - Cancellation policies - Basic pricing - Logistics + Inclusions (e.g., provided meals) + Exclusions (e.g., entrance fees to visited attractions) + Health restrictions and accessibility + Departure times + Passenger pick-up + Duration + Tour routes ### Availability The availability of a tour is communicated via the API's availability endpoints. The availability aspects of a product include: - On which days and at which times the product is available to be booked - Whether the product option (variant) supports a certain combination of passengers according to age and number - Pricing information Some partners choose to bulk-ingest availability information for their products in order to expedite this part of the customer workflow or to facilitate a local search functionality on their website; but, because this information changes very regularly, a final real-time call is generally recommended to ensure that when the booking request is submitted by the customer it is unlikely to fail on account of a change in availability. #### Availability endpoints | Endpoint | Use | |-|-| | [/booking/availability](#operation/bookingAvailability) | Returns the product option with the lowest price that is available on each day | | [/booking/availability/dates](#operation/bookingAvailabilityDates) | Returns all available dates for a product (but without regard to product option) | | [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) | Returns all product options for a product that are available on the specified day for the specified passenger mix | | [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix) | Returns a detailed matrix of product options, passenger mixes and the pricing applicable to each combination | | [/booking/calculateprice](#operation/bookingCalculateprice) | Provides a reconfirmation of a product's availability with respect to the product option and passenger mix provided and calculates a final price; used as a final availability check immediately prior to making a booking | ### Booking and cancellations Merchant partners and VBAs with booking capabilities can use the Viator Partner API to purchase the product through the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) endpoint. The API also provides services to: - Enquire about the status of an existing booking - Retrieve tickets/vouchers for the product - Cancel a booking #### Booking endpoints | Endpoint | Use | |-|-| | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | Make a booking / purchase a product | | [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus) | Retrieve multiple detailed booking statuses based on a range of specified criteria | | [/booking/status/items](#operation/bookingStatusItems) | Similar to [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus), but provides slightly less detail and can be called more frequently | #### Cancellation endpoints | Endpoint | Use | |-|-| | [/bookings/{booking-reference}/cancel-quote](#operation/bookingQuote) | Returns the expected outcome of a booking cancellation request (taking into consideration the product's cancellation policy) were the cancellation request performed immediately | | [/bookings/{booking-reference}/cancel](#operation/cancelBooking) | Cancels the booking and assigns a refund depending on the product’s cancellation policy | ### Auxiliary services Taxonomical data sets are required to interact meaningfully with the Viator Partner API; for example, mappings from destination (location of operation) to their respective identification codes. This information may occasionally change or be added to. Consequently, the API includes endpoints that return the most up-to-date versions of this information. #### Taxonomy endpoints | Endpoint | Use | |-|-| | [/taxonomy/destinations](#operation/taxonomyDestinations) | Retrieves a list of destination names, types and unique identifiers to be used when interacting with the Viator Partner API | | [/taxonomy/categories](#operation/taxonomyCategories) | Retrieves a list of product categories for a destination that can be used as a means of filtering when searching for products using the [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) endpoint | | [/taxonomy/attractions](#operation/taxonomyAttractions) | Retrieves a list of tourist attractions (e.g., the Eiffel Tower or Empire State Building) and their associated identification codes to be used as a means of searching for available products; for example, in the [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) service | | [/booking/hotels](#operation/bookingHotels) | Retrieves a list of hotels, including names and geographic locations, to be used when making booking requests | --- # Authentication **Note**: - The authentication mechanism for this API has been updated recently. Now, partners can also authenticate using a [new style of API key](#section/Authentication/exp-api-key) that is included in each call as a <u>header parameter</u>. Previously, authentication was accomplished by including an API key as a query parameter. - Partners who are currently authenticating via the [API key query parameter](#section/Authentication/Legacy-API-keys) can continue to authenticate in this way; however, access to the new booking cancellation endpoints ([/bookings/cancel-reasons](#operation/cancellationReasons), [/bookings/cancel-quote](#operation/cancelBookingQuote) and [/bookings/cancel](#operation/cancelBooking)) does require the new-style of API key. All other endpoints remain compatible with both authentication methods. - If you would like to switch to the [new style of key](#section/Authentication/exp-api-key), please speak to your business development account manager. ## API key Access to the API is managed using an **API key** that is included as a **header parameter** to every call made to all API endpoints described in this document. | Header parameter name | Example value | |-----------------------|---------------| | exp-api-key | bcac8986-4c33-4fa0-ad3f-75409487026c | If you do not know the API key for your organization, please contact your business development account manager for these details. Please note that language localization is now controlled on a per-call basis. Previously, language localization was controlled via API-key configuration, with one language available per API key. Under the present scheme, you can access any language enabled for your organization's point of sale via a **single API key**. Language selection is accomplished by specifying the desired language as a header parameter (`Accept-Language`). See [Accept-Language header](#section/Appendices/Accept-Language-header) for available language codes. If you would like access to additional languages, please contact your business development account manager. ## Legacy API key Previously, authenticating to this API was accomplished by passing an API-key **as a query parameter** appended to the URI for each call; e.g.: ```html GET https://viatorapi.sandbox.viator.com/service/taxonomy/destinations?apiKey=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ``` This method of authentication remains available for backwards-compatibility with existing implementations. If you would like to upgrade to the new style of API key, please contact your business development account manager. # Key concepts ## Content ingestion and caching strategy Much of the information you will need to retrieve from the Viator API – such as the taxonomy, product lists and product details – do not change frequently. Therefore, we recommend implementing a caching strategy in order to eliminate unnecessary traffic to Viator’s servers and improve the operation of your site. This section discusses the different strategies for retrieving and caching Viator’s product catalogue. You will need to decide on how you will retrieve and manage content from Viator’s product catalogue. The two main options are as follows: ### 1. API response caching *Partners retrieve content as-needed and cache responses on a service-by-service basis* If you do not need to store product details locally, we recommend performing caching of on a service-by-service basis; i.e., storing the entire response and applying a time-to-live (TTL) of less than 24 hours. #### Benefits of API response caching * All the benefits of caching with minimal overhead * Minimal risk of serving stale or invalid data cached on the partner's side * No need to download data about products that are not selling * A smaller volume of local data improves cache hit performance * Fewer requests made of Viator's systems * Avoids rate limitations * Closer adherence to best practices * Removes need to manage a complex data structure locally #### Service endpoints to cache Caching should only be applied to services that yield infrequently changing data; i.e.: * [/taxonomy/destinations](](#operation/taxonomyDestinations) * [/taxonomy/categories](#operation/taxonomyCategories) * [/taxonomy/attractions](#operation/taxonomyAttractions) * [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) * [/search/products/codes](#operation/searchProductsCodes) * [/search/freetext](#operation/searchFreetext) * [/product](#operation/product) * [/product/reviews](#operation/productReviews) * [/product/photos](#operation/productPhotos) * [/available/products](#operation/availableProducts) **Note**: these services should be considered cacheable even though some are POST and none include a Cache-Control HTTP header in their response. ### 2. Periodic content ingestion *Partners download either the full product catalogue or a subset of the catalogue at regular intervals based on destination, linked attraction, or product category filters.* #### Who should use periodic ingestion This approach may be preferable for partners whose requirements include: * **System agnosticism/data centralization** – i.e., partners who are simultaneously selling products from vendors other than Viator, have existing product databases or are likely to want to maintain a central product catalogue with a unified taxonomy / data structure * **Enhanced search capability** – i.e., the ability to apply different categorization rules, filters, exclusions or search optimizations to the product catalogue; e.g., grouping or filtering products according to criteria other than those supported directly by the Viator API (destination, attraction-link or category) #### Frequency of content ingestion We recommend that you perform an ingestion of the product catalogue once every 24 hours. #### How to retrieve product codes Make a call to one of the product search services: * [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) – to search by `destId` (destination), `catId` (category), `subCatId` (subcategory) or `seoId` (attraction) * [/search/freetext](#operation/searchFreetext) – free-text search across all identifying fields #### How to retrieve all products in the catalogue To retrieve all products from the Viator catalogue: * Retrieve all available destination identifiers (`destId`) from the [/taxonomy/destinations](#operation/taxonomyDestinations) service * Iterate through the complete list of `destId`s you retrieved in the previous step, and call [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) for each `destId` **Note**: As some products operate in multiple destinations, the same product code may be returned for a range of different destinations. Therefore, make sure your list of product codes only contains one copy of each code. You may then iterate through this list of product codes to retrieve any other product details necessary in order to properly populate your local database with the information you require. #### Retrieving a subsection of the product catalogue You may wish to retrieve only some of the products available in the Viator catalogue; for example, if your organization is only interested in selling products that operate locally. Your top level search using [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) is restricted to one of the three main categorization methods for products; i.e., destination, category/subcategory, or attraction-link; however, you may employ your own methods to filter the selection of products based on any attribute in the product data structure. #### Dealing with pagination using `totalCount` and `topX` Due to the large number of results that can be returned by the [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) service, the request might exceed the 30-second time-out limitation on both sandbox and live servers. Therefore, you will need to make multiple requests to this service including pagination information in order to retrieve all products that match your search criteria. This is accomplished by sequentially requesting successive segments of the results using the `topX` request parameter together with the `totalCount` response field; i.e.: * For your first request, specify a `topX` of `"1-100"` - **Note**: this range is *inclusive*; i.e., `"topX": 1-100"` will yield the first 100 records * The first response will indicate the total number of records available through the value of the `totalCount` field in the response object; e.g.: `"totalCount": 13843` * For each subsequent request, specify the next logical 'chunk' of data via the `topX` parameter of the request; e.g.: - "topX": "1-100" - "topX": "101-200" - ... - "topX": "13801-13843" #### Rate limiting Due to the heavy load that pre-caching can place on Viator's servers and the downstream servers we connect to, we apply a rate limit of **150 requests per 10 second time window**. Request rates exceeding this limit will result in a **HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests)** status code being returned. **Note**: The rate is calculated over a rolling 10-second time window * In order to avoid running-up against rate limits: - insert a delay of 2s if you receive a HTTP 429 status code - do not run this as a multi-threaded process ## Categorization of content The products available in Viator’s catalogue are mainly categorized according to: 1. **Destination**: every product in the Viator catalogue is categorized according to the destination/locale in which it operates. There are three kinds of destination: <table> <thead> <th>Destination type</th> <th>Meaning</th> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>“COUNTRY”</td> <td>A country; e.g., “Australia”, “Japan”, “USA”</td> </tr> <tr> <td>"REGION"</td> <td>A geographical region or state; e.g., “South Australia”, “French Riviera”, “Punjab”</td> </tr> <tr> <td>"CITY"</td> <td>A city within a state; e.g., “Townsville”, “Osaka”, “Singapore”</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table> <thead> <tr> <th><code>destinationName</code></th> <th><code>destId</code></th> <th><code>destinationType</code></th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>USA</td> <td>77</td> <td>COUNTRY</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wisconsin</td> <td>22231</td> <td>REGION</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Madison</td> <td>24146</td> <td>CITY</td> </tr> <tr> <td>France</td> <td>51</td> <td>COUNTRY</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Brittany</td> <td>21942</td> <td>REGION</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Rennes</td> <td>21943</td> <td>CITY</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> 1. **Category and subcategory**: the products in the Viator catalogue are grouped according to the kind of activity they entail and may be subcategorized further to provide greater specificity; for example: <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Category</th> <th>Subcategories</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td rowspan=3>Air, Helicopter & Balloon Tours</td> <td>Air Tours</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Helicopter Tours</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Balloon Rides</td> </tr> <tr> <td rowspan=2>Weddings & Honeymoons</td> <td>Wedding Packages</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Honeymoon Packages</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> 1. **Attraction link** (i.e., association to a particular "point of interest"); e.g.: <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Attraction</th> <th>`seoId`</th> <tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Bellagio Fountains</td> <td>1243</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Black Canyon</td> <td>4437</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Epcot Centre</td> <td>1141</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> ## Booking concepts ### Booking types - *on-request* and *freesale* Bookings made with Viator can be either *freesale* (immediate confirmation) or *on-request*, which require us to confirm with our product supplier that the product has not sold out and is still available. This difference must be clearly communicated to the customer during the price check and on the *order summary* post-purchase page. For *freesale* bookings, the voucher becomes available immediately, and the customer's credit card will be charged at the time of booking. For *on-request* bookings, confirmation will be sent to the customer within a timeframe supplied in the [/booking/calculateprice](#operation/bookingCalculateprice) and [/booking](#operation/bookingBook) service responses. The customer's credit card will be charged once their *on-request* booking is confirmed. ### bookingEngineId `bookingEngineId` is a field returned in the responses from several endpoints documented in this manual. It is a **booking type specifier** indicating whether, when the product in question is booked, the booking will be `CONFIRMED` immediately or if it will remain `PENDING` even after the booking has been made, indicating that it is an on-request product. `bookingEngineId` takes *one of* the following values: - `"FreesaleBE"` – the product will be confirmed immediately and the supplier will be sent a notification. - `"UnconditionalBE"` - the product will be confirmed immediately and the supplier will not be notified. - `"DeferredCRMBE"` - the product is an on-request product and the booking will not be confirmed immediately. The booking will remain with a `PENDING` status after it is made, to be confirmed by the supplier within the time specified in the `hoursConfirmed` field available in the booking response and post-booking services. - `"FreesaleOnRequestBE"` - The product is freesale up until a certain number of days before the travel date, after which it becomes on-request. It is then referred to as being within the *on-request period*. If a booking is made within the on-request period, the product can be considered to be an on-request product. Once the booking has been made, the `bookingEngineId` will change to either `"FreesaleOnRequestBE:OnRequest"` or `"FreesaleOnRequestBE:Freesold"` depending on the travel date and the on-request period. ### Tour grades Products can have one or more *tour grades*. Each tour grade might represent a departure time or different tour option, such as additional meals, transport and so forth. If the tour grade code is `"DEFAULT"`, *do not* display this to the customer, simply hide the product's tour grade information. ### Language options Many tours deliver a commentary in multiple languages using multilingual tour guides or with written or prerecorded information. Where available, the customer can preselect their preferred language option. ### Traveler mix (pax) Some tour grades have defined traveler mixes used to price family passes; or, they might have special mixes for limited passenger tours, such as small buggies or weddings. These traveler mixes are provided by the [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) service. You may need to display these to your customers so that they are able to understand why they can or cannot select a particular tour grade if there is a traveler mix mismatch. ### Pick-up location and hotel lists Some products have pick-up and return shuttle bus services. For these tours, you will need the customer to supply a pick-up hotel, or they must select *live locally* or *hotel not yet booked* options. Viator maintains pick-up hotel lists for many popular destinations. These lists are available for customers to select their pick-up location for various tours. For destinations without hotel lists, customers can enter the name of their hotel. If a customer's hotel is not listed, they should be able to enter a hotel name; however, pick-up may not be possible for that hotel. ### Lead traveler Each tour booking requires a lead traveler to be identified. To identify the lead traveler in your request, set the `leadTraveller` flag to `true` in the traveler class. ### Booking questions Some products have a list of one or more [booking questions](#section/Appendices/Booking-questions) that need to be asked. Some are mandatory. The question, a description, etc are provided in the product details object. The answers need to be included with the booking request. ### SSL/HTTPS Calls to the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service *must* use a secure channel (https) as they contain credit card information. ### Promo codes Viator can create promotional (promo) codes for discounts and other purposes. As it's unlikely for you to wish to support this feature, we recommend supplying `null` in the `promoCode` field and not including any customer-entered fields during the checkout process. ### Partner data Partners can also supply additional information for their own internal purposes. These are attached to booking reports and other materials for use in allocating commissions to agents and so forth. ## Availability services Product availability information can be retrieved with the following services: - [/booking/availability](#operation/bookingAvailability): get the tourgrade with the lowest price available on a day - [/booking/availability/dates](#operation/bookingAvailabilityDates): get all available dates for a product excluding days it does not operate and blockouts - [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades): list all available tour grades for a specific day - [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix): returns available days only (ie days which have at least one tour grade available), and the pricing matrix for that tour grade on that day ### Example: multiple departures in a single day Multiple departures in a single day (each represented by a tour grade) and the language options (langServices). This request is for 3 adults on a helicopter tour: - **Note:** No prices are returned if the tour grade is unavailable. **Request object** ([/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades)): ```javascript { "productCode": "2280AAHT", "bookingDate": "2013-05-11", "currencyCode": "EUR", "ageBands": [{ "bandId": 1, "count": 3 }] } ``` **Response object** ([/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades)) : ```javascript { "data": [{ "available": false, "ageBands": null, "langServices": null, "gradeCode": "EARLYM", "unavailableReason": "BOOKING_CUTOFF_EXPIRED", "gradeTitle": "Early Morning Departure", "gradeDepartureTime": "", "gradeDescription": "Flight departs Las Vegas between 7am & 8am", "defaultLanguageCode": "en", "ageBandsRequired": null, "currencyCode": "ERROR", "retailPrice": 0, "bookingDate": "2013-05-11", "retailPriceFormatted": "", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "", "sortOrder": 1 }, { "available": false, "ageBands": null, "langServices": null, "gradeCode": "LATEM", "unavailableReason": "BOOKING_CUTOFF_EXPIRED", "gradeTitle": "Late Morning Departure", "gradeDepartureTime": "", "gradeDescription": "Flight departs Las Vegas between 9:45am & 10:45am", "defaultLanguageCode": "en", "ageBandsRequired": null, "currencyCode": "ERROR", "retailPrice": 0, "bookingDate": "2013-05-11", "retailPriceFormatted": "", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "", "sortOrder": 2 }, { "available": false, "ageBands": null, "langServices": null, "gradeCode": "EARLYA", "unavailableReason": "BOOKING_CUTOFF_EXPIRED", "gradeTitle": "Early Afternoon Departure", "gradeDepartureTime": "2:50 PM", "gradeDescription": "Flight departs Las Vegas between 12:30pm & 1:30pm", "defaultLanguageCode": "en", "ageBandsRequired": null, "currencyCode": "ERROR", "retailPrice": 0, "bookingDate": "2013-05-11", "retailPriceFormatted": "", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "", "sortOrder": 3 }, { "available": false, "ageBands": null, "langServices": null, "gradeCode": "LATEA", "unavailableReason": "BOOKING_CUTOFF_EXPIRED", "gradeTitle": "Late Afternoon Departure", "gradeDepartureTime": "", "gradeDescription": "Flight departs Las Vegas between 3:15pm & 4:15pm; available Ap", "defaultLanguageCode": "en", "ageBandsRequired": null, "currencyCode": "ERROR", "retailPrice": 0, "bookingDate": "2013-05-11", "retailPriceFormatted": "", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "", "sortOrder": 4 }], "vmid": "221001", "errorMessage": null, "errorType": null, "dateStamp": "2013-06-04T17:01:34+0000", "totalCount": 1, "errorReference": null, "errorMessageText": null, "success": true, "errorName": null } ``` ### Example: traveler mix mismatch The request is for five adults, but this product only support up to four adults. **Example request object** ([/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades)): ```javascript { "productCode": "2280ULTWED", "bookingDate": "2013-12-11", "currencyCode": "EUR", "ageBands": [{ "bandId": 1, "count": 5 }] } ``` **Example response object** The response contains `"TRAVELLER_MISMATCH"` and you can see the `ageBandsRequired` values for the adult (1) age band in the available tour grade. ```javascript { "data": [{ "available": false, "ageBands": null, "langServices": null, "gradeCode": "DEFAULT", "unavailableReason": "TRAVELLER_MISMATCH", "gradeTitle": "DEFAULT", "gradeDepartureTime": "12:00 AM", "gradeDescription": "DEFAULT", "defaultLanguageCode": "en", "ageBandsRequired": [ [{ "bandId": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 2, "maximumCountRequired": 2 }], [{ "bandId": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 3, "maximumCountRequired": 3 }], [{ "bandId": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 4, "maximumCountRequired": 4 }]], "currencyCode": "ERROR", "retailPrice": 0, "bookingDate": "2013-12-11", "retailPriceFormatted": "", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "", "sortOrder": 1 }], "vmid": "221001", "errorMessage": null, "errorType": null, "dateStamp": "2013-06-04T17:02:35+0000", "totalCount": 1, "errorReference": null, "errorMessageText": null, "success": true, "errorName": null } ``` ## Understanding the pricingUnit field This section explains the meaning and function of the `pricingUnit` field in the response object received from the [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix) service. ### Request body The [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix) service takes the following parameters as input in its request body: | Parameter | Type | Meaning | |-----------|------|---------| | `productCode` | string | unique alphanumeric identifier of the product to enquire about; e.g., `10040WORLD` | | `month` | string | **month** of the year by which to filter results | | `year` | string | **year** by which to filter results | | `currencyCode` | string | **currency code** for the currency in which to display pricing information | #### Example request body Sending the following request body to the [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix) service will retrieve pricing information for "Skip the Line: World of Discoveries Entrance Ticket in Porto" (product code: 10040WORLD). ```javascript { "productCode": "10040WORLD", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "06", "year": "2019" } ``` ### Response object Within each object item of the `tourGrades` array – each of which gives the pricing details for a specific tour grade – is a `pricingMatrix` array. Each object in this array details the per-age-band pricing for a specific pricing unit (`pricingUnit`) associated with that product. Using this information, you should be able to calculate the total cost of the booking – considering any booking options – with regard to the number of participants. How to identify the fundamental unit prices for a booking, which are then summed in order to calculate a total price, is detailed below. Note that in the response object received from the service, pricing schedules are organized hierarchically as follows: ```c bookingDate --tourGrade ----ageBand ------price ``` ### Types of pricing unit There are two fundamental types of pricing unit – **per-person** and **per-group**. #### Per-person pricing schedule If the pricing is *per-person*, then the total price of the booking will be directly proportional to the number of participants (passengers) of each type that are booking the product; i.e., a direct multiple of the per-person price. The only pricing unit specifier for *per-person* pricing is “per person”, given in the `pricingUnit` field; i.e.: - `"pricingUnit": "per person"` | Pricing unit | Example product | Meaning | |--------------|---------|---------| | `"per person"` | **10040WORLD** | **Per-person pricing** – the unit price refers to the price for an individual participant.<br />Some products have tiered pricing arrangements; i.e., a different per-person price can apply if certain numbers and combinations of participants in a particular age band are booking the product; e.g.:<br /><ul><li>**1-2 adults**: $50 per person</li><li>**3-4 adults**: $45 per person</li></ul><br />Whether a range is available to be booked depends on whether the customer’s desired passenger mix satisfies the `minimumCountRequired` and `maximumCountRequired` fields in each item of the `ageBandPrices` array. | #### Per-group pricing If the pricing is per-group, then the total price of the booking will depend on the number of groups and types of group that ideally accommodate the participant mix. The following pricing schedules follow “per-group” logic: - `"pricingUnit": "per vehicle"` - `"pricingUnit": "per car"` - `"pricingUnit": "per group"` - `"pricingUnit": "per boat"` - `"pricingUnit": "per package"` - `"pricingUnit": "per jetski"` - `"pricingUnit": "per vessel"` - `"pricingUnit": "per helicopter"` - `"pricingUnit": "per room"` - `"pricingUnit": "per bike"` - `"pricingUnit": "per flight"` - `"pricingUnit": "per plane"` - `"pricingUnit": "per couple"` Eligibility for a certain individual pricing schedule; or, for inclusion in a particular group type, depends on the tour grade for the product, the type of participant (e.g., the age-band they fall into) and the date of the booking. #### Group pricing schedules | Pricing unit | Example product | Meaning | |---------------|-----------|---------| | `"per group"` | **10847P42** | **Per-group** pricing – the unit price is calculated according to the number of groups the specified passenger will fit into rather than the exact number of participants. `minimumCountRequired` and `maximumCountRequired` must be considered as these fields relate to the available group sizes. | | `"per room"` | **6279P26** | **Per-room** pricing relates the room price, which depends on the number of participants making the booking. | | `"per package"` | **25941P70** | **Per-package** pricing refers to products that are sold as part of a package; for example a family package stipulating a passenger mix of two adults and two children | | `"per vehicle"` | **6154SHOP** | **Per-vehicle** pricing is calculated according to the number of vehicles required for the specified passenger mix rather than the exact number of participants. `minimumCountRequired` and `maximumCountRequired` must be considered as these fields relate to the occupancy limitations for each vehicle. The minimum price will depend on the rate for a single vehicle. | | `"per car"` | **10175P10** | **Per-car** pricing – identical to "per vehicle", but refers specifically to vehicles that are cars. | | `"per boat"` | **11121P40** | **Per-boat** pricing – identical to "per vehicle", but refers specifically to vehicles that are boats. | | `"per jetski"` | **28965P127** | **Per-jetski** pricing – identical to "per vehicle", but refers specifically to vehicles that are jet-skis. | | `"per vessel"` | **17295P24** | **Per-vessel** pricing – identical to "per vehicle", but refers specifically to maritime vessels that are not strictly boats. | | `"per helicopter"` | **12189P23** | **Per-helicopter** pricing – identical to "per vehicle", but refers specifically to vehicles that are helicopters. | | `"per bike"` | **17448P8** | **Per-bike** pricing – identical to "per vehicle", but refers specifically to vehicles that are bikes. | | `"per flight"` | **28965P134** | **Per-flight** pricing – identical to "per vehicle", but refers specifically to the act of being aboard a flying vehicle. | | `"per plane"` | **14876P5** | **Per-plane** pricing – identical to "per vehicle", but refers specifically to vehicles that are aeroplanes. | ### Interpreting response objects by example In this section, we’ll have a look at snippets from the response objects received from the [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix) service and interpret the results. #### Per-person pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "10040WORLD", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "06", "year": "2019" } ``` #### Response snippet **Note:** `pricingMatrix` is an array of objects that detail the available pricing schedules for the product: ```javascript "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2019-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 13.85, "priceFormatted": "$13.85", "merchantNetPrice": 11.05, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$11.05", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 0, "maximumCountRequired": 15 }, { "bandId": 2, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 6.92, "priceFormatted": "$6.92", "merchantNetPrice": 5.53, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$5.53", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 2, "minimumCountRequired": 0, "maximumCountRequired": 15 }, { "bandId": 3, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 0, "priceFormatted": "$0.00", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 3, "minimumCountRequired": 0, "maximumCountRequired": 15 }, { "bandId": 5, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 10.39, "priceFormatted": "$10.39", "merchantNetPrice": 8.3, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$8.30", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 4, "minimumCountRequired": 0, "maximumCountRequired": 15 } ] } ] ``` In this example, four age bands (1, 2, 3 and 5) have pricing information available. These numerically-identified age bands are the age bands allowed to book the product. Details of the age ranges that the product operator has defined are available from the **/product** service. A call to **/product** regarding `10040WORLD` yields the following information: ```javascript "ageBands": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "ageFrom": 13, "ageTo": 64, "adult": true, "bandId": 1, "pluralDescription": "Adults", "treatAsAdult": true, "count": 0, "description": "Adult" }, { "sortOrder": 2, "ageFrom": 65, "ageTo": 99, "adult": false, "bandId": 5, "pluralDescription": "Seniors", "treatAsAdult": true, "count": 0, "description": "Senior" }, { "sortOrder": 3, "ageFrom": 4, "ageTo": 12, "adult": false, "bandId": 2, "pluralDescription": "Children", "treatAsAdult": false, "count": 0, "description": "Child" }, { "sortOrder": 4, "ageFrom": 0, "ageTo": 3, "adult": false, "bandId": 3, "pluralDescription": "Infants", "treatAsAdult": false, "count": 0, "description": "Infant" } ``` Product operators choose the age bands available for their product from the following five categories and define the age ranges that pertain to each band; i.e.: | `bandId` | `description` | |:----------:|:-----------:| | **1** | Adult | | **2** | Child | | **3** | Infant | | **4** | Youth | | **5** | Senior | For this product, the age bands have been defined as follows: | `bandId` | `description` | `ageFrom` | `ageTo` | |:--------:|:-----------:|:-------:|:-----:| | **1** | Adult | 13 | 64 | | **5** | Senior | 65 | 99 | | **2** | Child | 4 | 12 | | **3** | Infant | 0 | 3 | Therefore, for this product, the following pricing applies: | Passenger type | Number | Price | |----------------|:------:|-------| | **Adult** | 1-15 | $13.85 per person | | **Senior** | 1-15 | $10.39 per person | | **Child** | 1-15 | $6.92 per person | | **Infant** | 1-15 | free ($0) | Per-person pricing might depend on the mix of passengers booking the tour. In the following example (`5010SYDNEY`), a "48 Hour Family Pass Ticket" has a different price for children depending on how many are participating, which we'll see in the following snippet. ##### Response snippet ```javascript "tourGrades": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "gradeCode": "14HFAM", "gradeTitle": "48 Hour Family Pass Ticket", "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2019-08-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 133.47, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$133.47", "merchantNetPrice": 106.62, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$106.62" } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 1 }, { "bandId": 2, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 0, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$0.00", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00" } ], "sortOrder": 2, "minimumCountRequired": 2, "maximumCountRequired": 2 }, { "bandId": 3, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 0, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$0.00", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00" } ], "sortOrder": 3, "minimumCountRequired": 0, "maximumCountRequired": null } ] }, { "sortOrder": 2, "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2019-08-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 133.47, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$133.47", "merchantNetPrice": 106.62, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$106.62" } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 1 }, { "bandId": 2, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 3.71, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$3.71", "merchantNetPrice": 2.96, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$2.96" } ], "sortOrder": 2, "minimumCountRequired": 3, "maximumCountRequired": 4 }, { "bandId": 3, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 0, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$0.00", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00" } ], "sortOrder": 3, "minimumCountRequired": 0, "maximumCountRequired": null } ] } ] }, … ] ``` ##### Interpretation To be eligible for a family pass ticket, the group must consist of an adult and at least two children. | Passenger mix | Adult price | Child price | Infant price | |---------------|:-----------:|:-----------:|:------------:| | 1 Adult +<br />1 Child | N/A | N/A | N/A | | 1 Adult +<br />2 Children +<br />Any infants | $133.47 | FREE | FREE | | 1 Adult +<br />3-4 Children +<br />Any infants | $133.47 | $3.71 | FREE | #### Tiered per-person pricing In this example, we see a per-person pricing schedule with a tiered arrangement, where the per-person price decreases depending on how many people are booking the tour, but the total price is still calculated as the sum of the individual per-person prices rather than an overall 'group' price. ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "17972P102", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "08", "year": "2019" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "tourGrades": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "gradeCode": "TG1", "gradeTitle": "Arrival transfer", "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2019-08-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 52.45, "priceFormatted": "$52.45", "merchantNetPrice": 40.87, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$40.87", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1 } ] }, { "sortOrder": 2, "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2019-08-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 26.22, "priceFormatted": "$26.22", "merchantNetPrice": 20.44, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$20.44", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 2, "minimumCountRequired": 2 } ] }, { "sortOrder": 3, "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2019-08-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 17.91, "priceFormatted": "$17.91", "merchantNetPrice": 13.62, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$13.62", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 3, "minimumCountRequired": 3 } ] }, { "sortOrder": 4, "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2019-08-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 19.19, "priceFormatted": "$19.19", "merchantNetPrice": 14.99, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$14.99", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 4, "minimumCountRequired": 4 } ] }, { "sortOrder": 5, "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2019-08-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 15.35, "priceFormatted": "$15.35", "merchantNetPrice": 12.25, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$12.25", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 5, "minimumCountRequired": 5 } ] }, { "sortOrder": 6, "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2019-08-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 12.66, "priceFormatted": "$12.66", "merchantNetPrice": 10.08, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$10.08", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 6, "minimumCountRequired": 6 } ] }, { "sortOrder": 7, "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2019-08-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 10.94, "priceFormatted": "$10.94", "merchantNetPrice": 8.72, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$8.72", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 7, "minimumCountRequired": 7 } ] } ] } ``` ##### Interpretation | Travelers | Per-person price | Total price | |:----------------:|:----------------:|:-----------:| | 1 | $52.45 | $52.45 | | 2 | $26.22 | $52.44 | | 3 | $17.91 | $53.73 | | 4 | $19.19 | $76.76 | | 5 | $15.35 | $76.75 | | 6 | $12.66 | $75.96 | | 7 | $10.94 | $76.58 | #### Per-group pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "10847P42", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "06", "year": "2019" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per group", "bookingDate": "2019-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 390, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$390.00", "merchantNetPrice": 339.74, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$339.74" }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 390, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2, "priceFormatted": "$390.00", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00" } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 10 } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation - "$390 per group of up to 10 adults" #### Per-room pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "100245P40", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "08", "year": "2019" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per room", "bookingDate": "2019-08-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 110, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$110.00", "merchantNetPrice": 95.85, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$95.85" }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 110, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2, "priceFormatted": "$110.00", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00" } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 10 } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation - "$110 per group of up to 10 adults" #### Per-package pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "25941P70", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "02", "year": "2019" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per package", "bookingDate": "2019-02-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 87.7, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$87.70", "merchantNetPrice": 67.23, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$67.23" }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 87.7, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2, "priceFormatted": "$87.70", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00" } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 10 } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation - "$87.70 per group of up to 10 adults" #### Per-vehicle pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "20190P4", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "06", "year": "2019" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per vehicle", "bookingDate": "2019-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 250, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$250.00", "merchantNetPrice": 186.38, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$186.38" }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 250, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2, "priceFormatted": "$250.00", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00" } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 7 } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation - "$250 per group of up to 7 adults" #### Per-car pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "10175P10", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "06", "year": "2019" } ``` #### Response snippet ```javascript "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per car", "bookingDate": "2019-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 98.08, "priceFormatted": "$98.08", "merchantNetPrice": 78.34, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$78.34", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 98.08, "priceFormatted": "$98.08", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 3 } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation - "$98.08 per group of up to 3 adults" #### Per-boat pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "11121P40", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "08", "year": "2018" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per boat", "bookingDate": "2018-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 266.21, "merchantNetPrice": 226.81, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$226.81", "priceFormatted": "$266.21", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 266.21, "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00", "priceFormatted": "$266.21", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 2 } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation - "$266.21 per group of up to 2 adults" #### Per-jetski pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "28965P127", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "08", "year": "2018" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "tourGrades": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "gradeCode": "TG1", "gradeTitle": "20 minutes for 1 person", "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per jetski", "bookingDate": "2018-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 55.46, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$55.46", "merchantNetPrice": 47.25, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$47.25" } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 1 } ] } ] }, { "sortOrder": 2, "gradeCode": "TG3", "gradeTitle": "20 minutes for 2 persons", "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per jetski", "bookingDate": "2018-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 66.55, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1, "priceFormatted": "$66.55", "merchantNetPrice": 56.7, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$56.70" }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 66.55, "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2, "priceFormatted": "$66.55", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00" } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 2 } ] } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation This example shows how group prices can differ according to the size of the group in question. In this case, two adults can ride together on a two-person jet ski, whereas a single adult requires his or her own jet ski, and therefore the unit price is slightly higher for the single adult. | Travelers | Vehicle type | Price per jet ski | Price per person | |:----------:|--------------|:-----------------:|:----------------:| | 1 | Single-person jet ski | $55.46 | $55.46 | | 2 | Two-person jet ski | $66.55 | $33.275 | #### Per-vessel pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "17295P24", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "06", "year": "2019" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per vessel", "bookingDate": "2019-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 799, "priceFormatted": "$799.00", "merchantNetPrice": 680.75, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$680.75", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 799, "priceFormatted": "$799.00", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 12 } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation - "$799.00 per group of up to 12 adults" #### Per-helicopter pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "12189P23", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "08", "year": "2018" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "tourGrades": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "gradeCode": "TG1", "gradeTitle": "Private Helicopter 1 to 2 Pax", "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per helicopter", "bookingDate": "2018-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 1714.83, "priceFormatted": "$1,714.83", "merchantNetPrice": 1461.03, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$1,461.03", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 1714.83, "priceFormatted": "$1,714.83", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 2 } ] } ] }, { "sortOrder": 2, "gradeCode": "TG2", "gradeTitle": "Private Helicopter 1 to 3 Pax", "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per helicopter", "bookingDate": "2018-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 2047.41, "priceFormatted": "$2,047.41", "merchantNetPrice": 1744.4, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$1,744.40", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 2047.41, "priceFormatted": "$2,047.41", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 3 } ] } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation | Travelers | Vehicle type | Price per helicopter | Price per person | |:----------:|--------------|:--------------------:|:----------------:| | 1 | 1-2-person helicopter | $1,714.83 | $1,714.83 | | 2 | 1-2-person helicopter | $1,714.83 | $857.415 | | 3 | 1-3-person helicopter | $2,047.41 | $682.47 | #### Per-bike pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "17448P8", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "08", "year": "2018" } ``` #### Response snippet ```javascript "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per bike", "bookingDate": "2018-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 208.53, "priceFormatted": "$208.53", "merchantNetPrice": 177.67, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$177.67", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 208.53, "priceFormatted": "$208.53", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 2 } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation - "$208.53 per bike, with up to two adults per bike" #### Per-flight pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "28965P134", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "08", "year": "2018" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "tourGrades": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "gradeCode": "TG1", "gradeTitle": "Individual flight", "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per flight", "bookingDate": "2018-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 61.01, "merchantNetPrice": 51.98, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$51.98", "priceFormatted": "$61.01", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 1 } ] } ] }, { "sortOrder": 2, "gradeCode": "TG2", "gradeTitle": "Double", "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per flight", "bookingDate": "2018-06-01", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 94.28, "merchantNetPrice": 80.33, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$80.33", "priceFormatted": "$94.28", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 94.28, "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00", "priceFormatted": "$94.28", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 2 } ] } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation | Travelers | `gradeTitle` | Price per flight | Price per person | |:----------:|-----------|:----------------:|:----------------:| | 1 | Individual flight | $61.01 | $61.01 | | 2 | Double | $94.28 | $47.14 | #### Per-plane pricing ##### Request object ```javascript { "productCode": "14876P5", "currencyCode": "USD", "month": "06", "year": "2019" } ``` ##### Response snippet ```javascript "pricingMatrix": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "pricingUnit": "per plane", "bookingDate": "2019-01-02", "ageBandPrices": [ { "bandId": 1, "prices": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 433.03, "priceFormatted": "$433.03", "merchantNetPrice": 391.99, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$391.99", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }, { "sortOrder": 2, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 433.03, "priceFormatted": "$433.03", "merchantNetPrice": 0, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$0.00", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 2 } ], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 3 } ] } ] ``` ##### Interpretation - "$433.03 per group of up to three people" ## Working with age bands ### Age bands The available age bands for a product, such as *adult*, *child*, *infant*, etc., are returned by the [/product](#operation/product) service. The customer can select a different number of people from each age band during the price check and checkout process. ### Why have age bands? Tour and experience product operators can set different prices for (and impose different rules on) those wishing to make a booking for their product according to how old they are. For example, suppliers might choose to charge people 18 years and older ('adults') the full ticket price, while 'children' can book at a lower price. Or, the tour operator may only allow children to make a group booking for the tour so long as the group contains 'at least one adult'. Viator provides five categories (age bands) that product operators can use to segregate travelers into age groups (the limits of which they also define) in order to set pricing and traveler-count participation rules for their product according to the age band categories. ### Supported age band categories The age bands supported by the Viator API are as follows: | `bandId` | Description | |:------:|-------| | **1** | Adult | | **2** | Child | | **3** | Infant | | **4** | Youth | | **5** | Senior | The names and corresponding numeric identifiers of these categories are fixed as in the table above (i.e., `1` is always `Adult`); however, the exact age range to which each category pertains must be defined manually by the supplier. The maximum and minimum ages that each age band describes for each product can be retrieved from the [/product](#operation/product) service. ### Example of age band definitions For example, a call to [/product](#operation/product) regarding `10040WORLD` yields the following `ageBands` array within its response object: ```javascript "ageBands": [ { "sortOrder": 1, "ageFrom": 13, "ageTo": 64, "adult": true, "bandId": 1, "pluralDescription": "Adults", "treatAsAdult": true, "count": 0, "description": "Adult" }, { "sortOrder": 2, "ageFrom": 65, "ageTo": 99, "adult": false, "bandId": 5, "pluralDescription": "Seniors", "treatAsAdult": true, "count": 0, "description": "Senior" }, { "sortOrder": 3, "ageFrom": 4, "ageTo": 12, "adult": false, "bandId": 2, "pluralDescription": "Children", "treatAsAdult": false, "count": 0, "description": "Child" }, { "sortOrder": 4, "ageFrom": 0, "ageTo": 3, "adult": false, "bandId": 3, "pluralDescription": "Infants", "treatAsAdult": false, "count": 0, "description": "Infant" } ``` For this product, the age bands have been defined as follows: | `bandId` | `description` | `ageFrom` | `ageTo` | |:--------:|:-----------:|:-------:|:-----:| | **1** | Adult | 13 | 64 | | **5** | Senior | 65 | 99 | | **2** | Child | 4 | 12 | | **3** | Infant | 0 | 3 | Product operators must define at least one age band for their tour, and there are no 'default' age ranges. Therefore, if the product operator has only specified a single 'adult' age band covering ages 18-99, it must be assumed that only people aged 18-99 are eligible to book the tour, essentially excluding children and centenarians in this case. | Field | Type | Definition | |-------|------|------| | `sortOrder` | integer | the sort order for *this* age band | | `adult` | boolean | `true` if this age band is the 'adult' age band | | `treatAsAdult` | boolean | `true` if this age band can book the tour without the need for adult accompaniment | **Note**: `bandId` must be supplied in the request body of the following services: - [/booking/availability](#operation/bookingAvailability) - [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) - [/booking/calculateprice](#operation/bookingCalculateprice) - [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) Age bands are referenced by their `bandId` in the responses from the following services: - [/product](#operation/product) - [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) - [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix) - [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) - [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking) - [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) - [/booking/calculateprice](#operation/bookingCalculateprice) ## How to report a product issue Occasionally, a product schema in the Viator database will contain incorrect or invalid information. Usually, this occurs due to a mistake made by the supplier of the product when creating the product or updating its details. Nonetheless, it's in all our best interests for product information to be accurate and up-to-date; therefore, if you discover a problem with a product, we would greatly appreciate it if you could report the error through our [product issue reporting form](https://www.tfaforms.com/433240). ### How to use the product issue reporting form 1. Navigate to the [product issue reporting page](https://www.tfaforms.com/433240) 2. Fill in the **Reporter**, **Supplier ID**, **Product Code** and **Booking ID** fields: | Field | How to fill it in | Example | |-------|-------------------|---------| | Reporter | Enter your email address for tracking or correspondence | `you@emailserver.com` | | Supplier ID | Enter the value returned in the `supplierCode` field by the [/product](#operation/product) service for the product in question. | `3072` | | Product Code | Enter the value returned in the `code` field by the [/product](#operation/product) service for the product in question. | `3072LASALL` | | Booking ID | Leave this field blank | | 3. In the **Reason** box below, choose **Content** by clicking on its radio selector. A list of categories will appear, with meanings as follows: | Category | Included issues | |----------|---------| | Additional Info | clauses in the `additionalInfo` array in the response from [/product](#operation/product); e.g., departure time or hotel pick-up information | | Availability & Blockouts | N/A | | Booking Details | N/A | | Highlights | `highlights` array items in the response from [/product](#operation/product) | | Inclusions / Exclusions | `inclusions` or `exclusions` array items in the response from [/product](#operation/product) | | Images | `productPhotos` and `userPhotos` returned by [/product](#operation/product) or [/product/photos](#operation/productPhotos) | | Product Title | `title` in the response from [/product](#operation/product), [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts), [/search/products/codes](#operation/searchProductsCodes) and [/search/products/freetext](#operation/searchFreetext) | | Product Descriptions | `description` and `shortDescription` in the response from [/product](#operation/product)| | SAPI | N/A | | Tour Options & Pricing | pricing issues; e.g. when the value of `merchantNetPrice` is `0`; or, if `merchantNetPrice` > `price` | | Taxonomy | <ul><li>destination issues in response from [/taxonomy/destination](#operation/taxonomyDestinations)</li><li>category / subcategory issues in response from [/taxonomy/categories](#operation/taxonomyCategories)</li></ul> | | Translation Incorrect | mistakes in any natural-language field in the response from any service where `translationLevel` is non-zero | | TVRM | N/A | | VUC incorrect | N/A | 4. After selecting the category of issue from the options shown, fill-in the **Description / Action Required** box with a good, clear description of the problem and any specific additional actions you would like us to take 5. Click **Submit** to send the report <figure> <img src="https://docs.viator.com/partner-api/resources/merchant/technical/img/tae-report-a-product-issue.jpg" alt="Tripadvisor experiences report a product form"/> <figcaption>Example Report a Product Issue form</figcaption> </figure> Once your report has been submitted, a member of our Supplier Support Team will contact the supplier of the product in question to resolve any problems with their listing. ## Selling on-request products This section explains what merchant API partners need to do in order to be granted access to (and, ultimately, sell) the many on-request products available in Viator's product catalogue. ### 'Freesale' vs 'on-request' products Among the products in our inventory, a major differentiating feature is whether they are 'freesale' or 'on-request': - **Freesale** products are always available to be booked on their days of operation; therefore, when a freesale product is purchased, the booking is confirmed and the customer is charged immediately. - **On-request** products only operate at the discretion of the supplier, who must confirm (or reject) each booking request, which will remain 'pending' in the interim. The customer is only charged once confirmation is received. #### Access to on-request products By default, you will only have access to the freesale product range; access to the on-request product range is restricted on account of the extra complexities involved with handling this kind of booking. ### Should I elect to sell on-request products? #### Business case for including on-request products in your inventory While the majority of products in our inventory are 'freesale', a significant proportion remain 'on-request'. Upgrading your booking platform to support on-request products can lead to an increase in revenue of between 5% and 13%, depending on the locale(s) in which you operate. | Locale | Revenue increase % | |:------:|:------------------------:| | en | 8% | | es | 8% | | fr | 11% | | de | 10% | | pt | 5% | | nl | 12% | | it | 10% | | ja | 10% | | sv | 8% | | no | 8% | | da | 13% | | tw | 13% | | zh | 6% | Having a wider range of products on offer can be a key differentiator with respect to your competitors. Customers often purchase multiple products in the same session – if the product they're looking for isn't available on your platform, they are likely to seek a competitor with a more complete range of products for sale. #### Logistical considerations to enable on-request products In order to sell on-request products, you will need to: - Modify your back-end systems to support extra logic and API requests - Establish and support an extra, email-based communications channel with your customers - Create some email templates - Modify your platform's front end to accommodate the extra steps required in the booking process - Write copy that ensures customers clearly understand that they are booking a product that will not be confirmed or charged immediately However, as the on-request booking confirmation process is fully automated, you will not need to: - Undertake any additional manual steps compared with booking a freesale product - Personally contact the product supplier or our partner support team Instead, checking the status of bookings (whether confirmed or not) can be accomplished using the [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus) and [/booking/status/items](#operation/bookingStatusItems) services. These services can be polled periodically to determine the confirmation status of your bookings. <u>**Note**</u>: We recommend using the [/booking/status/items](#operation/bookingStatusItems) service to poll for booking statuses, as it is both faster and can be polled more frequently than [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus), which can only be polled once every thirty minutes. ### How to support on-request products #### Product detail page Managing customer expectations is a key factor in supporting on-request products on your booking platform. Make clear mention that this is a product for which confirmation will not be received immediately, but rather within 48 hours of making the booking. This fact, as well as other pertinent tidbits, can be found in the `additionalInfo` array in the response from **/product**. It is mandatory that all clauses in the `additionalInfo` array are clearly displayed on your product detail page. <figure> <img src="https://docs.viator.com/partner-api/resources/merchant/technical/img/additional-info-on-request-clause.jpg" alt="Additional info displayed on a product page on the Viator site"/> <figcaption>Additional info displayed on a product page on the Viator site </figcaption> </figure> #### Check-out As you will only charge the customer's credit card once the on-request booking is confirmed (i.e., after we have received confirmation of the booking from the product supplier) it's best to display a message to this effect at a prominent point of the check-out flow for all on-request products. <figure> <img src="https://docs.viator.com/partner-api/resources/merchant/technical/img/checkout-flow-confirmation-info.jpg" alt="Example checkout-flow instruction on the Viator site"/> <figcaption>Example checkout-flow instruction on the Viator site</figcaption> </figure> In this way, customers can be reassured that they are not being charged for a booking that may never be confirmed, thereby minimizing needless calls to your customer service team. #### Combination purchases If a single booking includes both freesale (instantly confirmed) and on-request products, only the amount for the freesale product should be charged immediately; the portion corresponding to the on-request booking should only be charged once confirmation is received. Until that time, a pre-authorization should be held against the customer’s credit card until confirmation is received. It is important that you clearly differentiate between products that are confirmed and those that are pending confirmation, and communicate the status of each and that the pre-authorization will only finalize once the on-request products are confirmed. #### Confirmation page Changes will need to be made to your confirmation page because it will not be possible for your customer to download a voucher after completing an on-request booking. Vouchers for freesale products, however, must be made available immediately following the completion of the booking process. #### Email communications You will need to create email templates for <u>all</u> the following scenarios: - Confirmation emails for bookings with on-request products should indicate that the item is pending confirmation from the supplier; and, that confirmation for this activity will take up to 48 hours, depending on availability. - If the on-request booking is confirmed by the supplier (this time including the voucher details) - If the on-request booking is rejected - If multiple on-request products have been booked: + If all items have been accepted/confirmed + If all items were rejected + If there is a mixture of acceptance and rejection; i.e., 'pending' + 'rejected' + 'cancelled' + 'amended' and so forth. - If a mixture of freesale and on-request products are booked at the same time; i.e., in the same cart or booking <u>**Note**</u>: When a booking is declined, it is useful to mention that the customer's card was not charged. ##### Example email for an on-request booking pending confirmation: <figure> <img src="https://docs.viator.com/partner-api/resources/merchant/technical/img/on-request-confirmation-email-1.jpg" alt="Viator website showing translation attribution"/> <img src="https://docs.viator.com/partner-api/resources/merchant/technical/img/on-request-confirmation-email-2.jpg" alt="Viator website showing translation attribution"/> <img src="https://docs.viator.com/partner-api/resources/merchant/technical/img/on-request-confirmation-email-3.jpg" alt="Viator website showing translation attribution"/> </figure> ### Confirmation time-outs resulting in rejection As mentioned above, once a booking for an on-request product is made, it remains in a 'pending' state, awaiting confirmation by the supplier. The supplier has the option of 'confirming' or 'rejecting' the booking. Such bookings will not remain 'pending' indefinitely, however. If the supplier has not confirmed the booking within 72 hours – or if they have not confirmed the booking by the time it reaches 24 hours from departure – our systems will automatically reject the booking, and this will be reflected in the response from the [/booking/status/items](#operation/bookingStatusItems) and [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus) services. There will be no indication that the rejection occurred on account of the supplier being unable to perform their duties. Therefore, you should simply inform the customer that, for reasons out of your control, this on-request tour was unavailable. ### Building in the sandbox environment Upgrading your booking platform to support on-request products will require you to build and test this functionality in the sandbox environment. However, as no actual booking requests are made with the supplier when using a sandbox-only API-key, you will need to contact our API tech support team at [apitechsupport@viator.com](mailto:apitechsupport@viator.com) and request that the booking be confirmed or rejected as you require. While necessary, this is a manual process. We'd genuinely appreciate your effort in keeping the number of these requests to a minimum. ### Certification and going live Once you have completed all tasks mentioned here and sent your Viator account manager the email copy for the different scenarios [described above](#email-communications), we will change the status of your product API-key to include on-request products. ## Localization and translation ### Foreign language products The products available through the Viator API have been created in a variety of languages, often by the suppliers of those products themselves. Although the majority of these have been created in English, many have been created in other languages. For example, a tour that operates in Paris might have been created in French. Viator provides translation services to localize product descriptions to the language of the locale in which they are being presented. In this way, products with descriptions – for example, in French – can be displayed in English on English-language websites. Conversely, products with English-language-descriptions can be displayed in French on French-language websites. * **Note**: product descriptions are translated into the language specified in the `Accept-Language` header parameter in the request to each endpoint. ### Human and machine translation Some products have been translated by actual humans – 'human translated' – while others have been automatically translated using Google Translate – 'machine translated'. The type of translation that has been applied to a product (if any) is indicated by its `translationLevel`, a numeric specifer with meanings as follows: | `translationLevel` | Meaning | |-----------------|---------| | `0` | The product was created by the supplier in the language you specifed using the `Accept-Language` header parameter in the request; i.e., the natural-language text in this response has not been translated | | `80` | All product information has been <u>machine translated</u> | | `90` or `100` | All product information has been <u>human translated</u> | Therefore, any product with a non-zero `translationLevel` has been translated either by a human or via an automatic process. The `translationLevel` field is returned in the response objects from the following services: * [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) * [/search/products/codes](#operation/searchProductsCodes) * [/search/freetext](#operation/searchFreetext) * [/product](#operation/product) * [/available/products](#operation/availableProducts) When performing a product search using any of these services, you will receive - by default - products with a `translationLevel` of: * `0` (products that are in the language you specified in `Accept-Language` and are configured for your API-keys), and * `90` or `100` (products that have been <u>fully human translated</u>) ### Accessing machine-translated products If your implementation can support the large number of products available that are machine translated, you can. However, access to the considerable volume of machine-translated products (level `80`), is <u>not granted by default</u>. To access machine-translated products, you will need to: 1. Request access to machine-translated products in sandbox from your Business Development account manager. 2. Test your site with sandbox to ensure that you can download and display all the available content. 3. Have your Business Development account manager review your implementation and grant access in the production environment. ## Merchant pricing Many of the endpoints in the Viator API return pricing information. Due to the necessity of supporting legacy implementations, some pricing fields may not be named in an intuitive way. This section seeks to clarify what each of the pricing fields returned by each endpoint actually refer to and how you need to use this information in your implementation. ### Categories of pricing | Category | Meaning | |----------|---------| | **Suggested retail price** | The recommended retail price for the product and the price that the product is sold at on the Viator site | | **Merchant net rate** | The amount that Viator will invoice the merchant for this sale, **excluding the transaction fee** | | **Merchant total price** | The total amount that Viator will invoice the merchant for this sale, **including the transaction fee** | | Service | Suggested retail price | Merchant net rate | |---------|------------------------|-------------------| | [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) | `price`, `priceFormatted` | `merchantNetPriceFrom`, `merchantNetPriceFromFormatted` | | [/product](#operation/product) | `price`, `priceFormatted`, `priceFrom`, `priceFromFormatted` | `merchantNetPriceFrom`, `merchantNetPriceFromFormatted` | | [/booking/availability](#operation/bookingAvailability) | `retailPrice`, `retailPriceFormatted` | `merchantNetPrice`, `merchantNetPriceFormatted` | | [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) | `retailPrice`, `retailPriceFormatted` | `merchantNetPrice`, `merchantNetPriceFormatted` | | [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix) | `price`, `priceFormatted` | `merchantNetPrice`, `merchantNetPriceFormatted` | | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | N/A | `merchantNetPrice`, `merchantNetPriceFormatted`, `lastRetailPrice`, `lastRetailPriceFormatted` | | [/booking/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingPricingmatrix) | `price`, `priceFormatted` | `merchantNetPrice`, `merchantNetPriceFormatted` | | [/booking/calculateprice](#operation/bookingCalculateprice) | N/A | `merchantNetPrice`, `merchantNetPriceFormatted`, `lastRetailPrice`, `lastRetailPriceFormatted`, `itineraryFromPrice`, `itineraryFromPriceFormatted`, `itineraryNewPrice`, `itineraryNewPriceFormatted` | | [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking) | N/A | `merchantNetPrice`, `merchantNetPriceFormatted`, `lastRetailPrice`, `lastRetailPriceFormatted`, | | [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) | N/A | `merchantNetPrice`, `merchantNetPriceFormatted`, `lastRetailPrice`, `lastRetailPriceFormatted` | The following services return the **merchant total price** (i.e., the merchant net rate + transaction fee) in the fields shown: | Service | Merchant total price fields | |---------|-----------------------------| | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | `price`, `priceFormatted`, `totalPrice`, `totalPriceFormatted`, `priceUSD`, `totalPriceUSD` | | [/booking/calculateprice](#operation/bookingCalculateprice) | `price`, `priceFormatted`, `priceUSD`, `totalPrice`, `totalPriceFormatted`, `totalPriceUSD` | | [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking) | `price`, `priceFormatted`, `totalPrice`, `totalPriceFormatted`, `priceUSD`, `totalPriceUSD`, | | [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) | `price`, `priceFormatted`, `priceUSD`, `totalPrice`, `totalPriceFormatted`, `totalPriceUSD` | ### Using the pricing fields Let's have a look at the various pricing fields for a specific product - the Grand Canyon All-American Helicopter Tour (product code: 2280AAHT). A search for this product (at the time of writing) on the Viator.com site gives the 'from' price of the tour as **$601.11**: <figure> <img src="https://docs.viator.com/partner-api/resources/merchant/technical/img/suggested-retail-price.jpg" alt="'from' price on viator.com product detail page"/> <figcaption>Retail price shown on viator.com</figcaption> </figure> This value comes from the `price` or `priceFormatted` fields in the response from [/product](#operation/product) for this tour; i.e.,: ```javascript { ..., "price": 601.11, "priceFormatted": "$601.11", ... } ``` Essentially, this value is the price that the product is sold at on the viator site, and is therefore the **suggested retail price**; i.e., the price at which we recommend you advertise and sell the product for. It is also the price of the tour grade with the lowest price; in this case, the "Earlybird A-Star" tour grade detailed here: ```javascript { "sortOrder": 5, "currencyCode": "AUD", "langServices": { "en/SERVICE_AUDIO": "English - Audio" }, "gradeCode": "EB_ASTAR_SP", "merchantNetPriceFrom": 555.37, "priceFrom": 601.11, "priceFromFormatted": "$601.11", "merchantNetPriceFromFormatted": "$555.37", "gradeTitle": "Special: Earlybird A-Star", "gradeDepartureTime": "", "gradeDescription": "Special Offer: Receive a discounted seat for the Grand Canyon All American Helicopter Tour departing between 6:45am and 7am on an A-Star helicopter", "defaultLanguageCode": "en" }, ``` As you can see, the "suggested retail price" is given in the `priceFrom` field. #### Low and zero-margin products When setting the retail price at which you sell products on your site, it’s important to remember that the “suggested sell price” is the price at which the product is currently advertised on the Viator site and reflects the current standard industry price for the product. It <u>does not</u> take into consideration the merchant net price (i.e., the price at which you as a merchant partner will be invoiced for the sale) and, in the case of discounting scenarios, may in fact be less than the merchant net price. Therefore, to ensure that you sell the product at a price which guarantees that you receive at least as much as you will be invoiced for, as well as any extra profit margin that you desire to generate, we recommend you include a check in your implementation that these requirements are satisfied by comparing the suggested retail and merchant net prices and adjusting the retail price at which you advertise the product accordingly. For example, if the merchant net price for a product is $100, the suggested sell price is $101, and your requirement for a minimum margin is 5%, you should adjust the price at which you advertise the product to $105. While we recommend that you charge your customers this amount, it is ultimately up to you as to the price you set for the product, bearing in mind that Viator will then invoice you for the **merchant net rate** (`merchantNetPriceFrom`) of $555.37 <u>plus</u> a **transaction fee** calculated as a percentage of the net rate; i.e., the **merchant total price**. **The exact value of this transaction fee is detailed in your contract with Viator.** ## Special offers and on-sale pricing Suppliers have the option of setting special pricing deals for their products. When a product is 'on sale'; i.e., has a temporarily lowered price, it will be reflected in the product content response, as follows: | Field name | Standard pricing | Special offer / on-sale pricing | |------------|----------------|-------------------------| | `specialOfferAvailable` | `false` | `true` | | `specialOffer` | `""` (empty string) | e.g.: `"Book by February 28 to save 10%"` | | `rrp` | `0.0` | pre-discount price | | `rrpFormatted` | `""` (empty string) | currency-formatted pre-discount price | | `price` | standard price | special offer price | | `priceFormatted` | currency-formatted **standard price** | currency-formatted **special-offer price** | | `merchantNetPriceFrom` | standard merchant net rate | special offer merchant net rate | | `merchantNetPriceFromFormatted` | currency formatted standard merchant net rate | currency formatted special offer merchant net rate | | `priceFormatted` | currency-formatted **standard price** | currency-formatted **special-offer price** | | `priceFrom` (in `tourgrades`) | standard price | special offer price | | `priceFromFormatted` (in `tourgrades`) | currency-formatted **standard price** | currency-formatted **special-offer price** | You can use this information to highlight which products are on special and provide details to the user about the special offer. ## Supplier communications ### How can suppliers communicate with end customers? Suppliers occasionally need to reach out to customers for a variety of reasons, such as: * Requesting pick-up locations, flight details or passenger weight information * Providing weather alerts, sold-out notifications or general messaging To allow suppliers to contact customers directly, Viator provides a **Closed Loop Communication (CLC)** system. ### How to enable CLC CLC is enabled per-booking and at the time of booking by supplying the customer’s `email` and either `homePhone` or [`cellphone` + `cellPhoneCountryCode`] – or both – in the `booker` object in the request body sent to the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service when making a booking. This will allow suppliers to send CLC messages directly to the end customer. #### Note: * You will receive a CC of each supplier message to your customer support email address in case further assistance is required, but no action from your support team will be necessary for suppliers to communicate with customers. * Merchants choosing this option should mention to their customers that they are purchasing a product from a third-party supplier, and that they may therefore receive communications regarding the purchase directly from that supplier. #### Example request body snippet to enable direct CLC ```javascript { ... "booker": { "homePhone": "(02)66987564", "firstname": "Homer Test", "surname": "Simpson Test", "title": "Mr", "cellPhoneCountryCode": "61", "cellPhone": "431532778", "email": "hsimpson@customeremail.com" } ... } ``` ### Supplier communications without CLC To have CLCs from the supplier sent <u>only</u> to your (the merchant's) customer support team: * Leave the `cellPhone`, `cellPhoneCountryCode` and `homePhone` fields blank in the request to the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service when making a booking. **Note:** Utilizing this option requires merchants to manage the final loop of communication with the end customer to ensure that their tour/activity can be fulfilled successfully. ## Cancellation policy As well as *making* bookings, merchant partners are also able to *cancel* bookings through the Viator API using the [/bookings/cancel-reasons](#operation/cancellationReasons), [/bookings/{booking-ref}/cancel-quote](#operation/cancelBookingQuote) and [/bookings/{booking-ref}/cancel](#operation/cancelBooking) endpoints. Items cancelled via the [/bookings/{booking-ref}/cancel](#operation/cancelBooking) endpoint will be cancelled in full, and only one booking can be cancelled at a time. For more information about the content of the new `merchantTermsAndConditions` object, see [Cancellation policy](#section/Key-concepts/Cancellation-policy). ### Cancellation policies All products can be cancelled by the merchant; however, the refund granted by the supplier to the customer differs depending on the cancellation policy for the product in question. There are <u>three</u> cancellation policy categories, **standard**, **custom** and **all sales final**, represented by an integer in the `merchantTermsAndConditionsType` field in the `merchantTermsAndConditions` object returned by [/product](#operation/product): `1`, `2` or `3`, respectively. **Note:** *These policies are those provided by Viator to our merchant partners. Merchants can choose whether to extend these terms to their customers unchanged or set their own cancellation terms. For example, the merchant partner can choose to make all products non-refundable; or, they might change the full-refund cancellation window to 72 hours instead of 24 hours, and so forth.* ### `1` – Standard cancellation policy Products in this category are cancellable up to 24 hours before the travel date (local supplier time) for a full refund. However, a <u>100% cancellation penalty</u> applies for cancellations submitted less than 24 hours before the start time. Most products (about 85%) fall into this category. #### Example response snippet - **Source endpoint**: [/product](#operation/product) - **Product**: `5010SYDNEY` ```javascript { "data": { "merchantTermsAndConditions": { "termsAndConditions": "For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.", "merchantTermsAndConditionsType": 1, "amountRefundable": null, "cancellationFromTourDate": [ { "dayRangeMin": 0, "dayRangeMax": 1, "percentageRefundable": 0, "policyStartTimestamp": null, "policyEndTimestamp": null }, { "dayRangeMin": 1, "dayRangeMax": null, "percentageRefundable": 100, "policyStartTimestamp": null, "policyEndTimestamp": null } ] }, "...": "..." } } ``` This product has the *standard* cancellation policy; i.e., when a booking is cancelled: | Policy | **dayRangeMin** | **dayRangeMax** | Logic | **percentageRefundable** | |--------|:-----------:|:-----------:|-------|:--------------------------:| | *less than* <u>one</u> day (24 hours) before the start time | 0 | 1 | (product_start_time - cancellation_time) >= 0 days && (product_start_time - cancellation_time) < 1 days | 0 | | *more than* <u>one</u> day (24 hours) before the start time | 1 | null | (product_start_time - cancellation_time) >= 1 day | 100 | ### `2` – Custom cancellation policy The refund amount for products in this category varies depending on how long before its start time the product is cancelled. Many products on a custom policy are multi-day tours, which require more sophisticated planning on the supplier’s end. Only a small number of products (around 5%) fall into this category. #### Example response snippet - **Source endpoint**: [/product](#operation/product) - **Product**: `2264RJ410` ```javascript "data": { "merchantTermsAndConditions": { "termsAndConditions": "If you cancel at least 30 day(s) in advance of the scheduled departure, there is no cancellation fee.<br>If you cancel between 10 and 29 day(s) in advance of the scheduled departure, there is a 50 percent cancellation fee.<br>If you cancel within 9 day(s) of the scheduled departure, there is a 100 percent cancellation fee.<br>", "merchantTermsAndConditionsType": 2, "amountRefundable": null, "cancellationFromTourDate": [ { "dayRangeMin": 10, "dayRangeMax": 30, "percentageRefundable": 50, "policyStartTimestamp": null, "policyEndTimestamp": null }, { "dayRangeMin": 30, "dayRangeMax": null, "percentageRefundable": 100, "policyStartTimestamp": null, "policyEndTimestamp": null }, { "dayRangeMin": 0, "dayRangeMax": 10, "percentageRefundable": 0, "policyStartTimestamp": null, "policyEndTimestamp": null } ] }, "...": "..." } ``` This product has a complex cancellation policy; where cancellations processed: | Policy | **dayRangeMin** | **dayRangeMax** | Logic | **percentageRefundable** | |--------|:-----------:|:-----------:|-------|:--------------------------:| | <u>30</u> days or more before the start time | 30 | null | (product_start_time - cancellation_time) >= 30 days | 100 | | <u>10</u> days and *less than* <u>30</u> days (10 to 30 days) *before* the start time or more | 10 | 30 | (product_start_time - cancellation_time) >= 10 days && (product_start_time - cancellation_time) < 30 days | 50 | | *less than* <u>10</u> days *before* the start time | 0 | 10 | (product_start_time - cancellation_time) < 10 days | 0 | **Note:** `null` in the `dateRangeMax` field means *negative infinity*; i.e., *infinitely far in the past with respect to* `dateRangeMin`. Additional clauses will be included in the `termsAndConditions` field in natural language. This field is for human consumption and is not classically machine-interpretable. ### `3` – All sales final (100% cancellation penalty / no refund offered) Products in this category cannot be cancelled or amended without incurring a 100% penalty; i.e., the refund amount will be zero. Around 10% of products fall into this category. #### Example response snippet - **Source endpoint**: [/product](#operation/product) - **Product**: `5985P7` ```javascript { "data": { "merchantTermsAndConditions": { "termsAndConditions": "All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties.<br>", "merchantTermsAndConditionsType": 3, "amountRefundable": null, "cancellationFromTourDate": [ { "dayRangeMin": 0, "dayRangeMax": null, "percentageRefundable": 0, "policyStartTimestamp": null, "policyEndTimestamp": null } ] }, "...": "..." } } ``` Products in this category can be cancelled, but no refund will be granted (in most cases...) ### Canceling items with a 'pending' booking status As alluded, there is an exception to this rule. Products with an 'on-request' [booking type](#section/Key-concepts/Booking) can still be cancelled when their booking status is `"pending"` – i.e., before the supplier has confirmed the booking – and a full refund will be granted. It is impossible to predict how long an 'on-request' booking will remain 'pending'. However, it is possible to check by enquiring about the booking using one of the post-booking services; i.e.: * [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus) * [/booking/status/items](#operation/bookingStatusItems) * [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking) * [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) An 'all sales final' product in a 'pending' state that can be cancelled and a refund granted will have the following characteristics: 1. The `bookingStatus` object returned from one of the services above will have a `type` of `"PENDING"`, and `pending` will be `true`. 2. The `amountRefundable` field of the `merchantTermsAndConditions` object will be non-zero and non-null. Rather, it will contain a currency-formatted string showing the amount that would be refunded if the cancellation were performed immediately; e.g., "USD 55.33". ### Policy start and end times Within the `merchantTermsAndConditions` object returned in the response from [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook), [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking) and [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings), the `amountRefundable` field shows the amount of money in the selected currency that will be refunded if the cancellation is processed now, while the `policyStartTimestamp` and `policyEndTimestamp` fields indicate the exact times between which the different cancellation refund rates apply. #### Example response snippet (`merchantTermsAndConditions`) from [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) - **Product**: `5010SYDNEY` - **Note**: observe that `amountRefundable`, `policyStartTimestamp` and `policyEndTimestamp` are populated here. ```javascript "data": { "merchantTermsAndConditions": { "termsAndConditions": "For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.", "amountRefundable": "USD 55.33", "cancellationFromTourDate": [ { "dayRangeMin": 1, "dayRangeMax": null, "percentageRefundable": 100, "policyStartTimestamp": null, "policyEndTimestamp": 1551513600000 }, { "dayRangeMin": 0, "dayRangeMax": 1, "percentageRefundable": 0, "policyStartTimestamp": 1551340800000, "policyEndTimestamp": 1551427200000 } ] }, "...": "..." } ``` ### Post-travel cancellations Occasionally, customers seek a refund for a product **after** completing their travels. The reason for this might be because they were unable to attend the tour due to the supplier having cancelled the tour due to bad weather or some other reason out of the customer's control; or, the customer might have been extremely dissatisfied with the tour itself, felt that it was misrepresented in its advertising, or some other serious complaint. When this occurs, you will need to [send a refund request by email to dpsupport](mailto:dpsupport@viator.com) and include both "CANCEL" and the booking reference number in the subject line. For **all** post-travel cancellation requests, you will need to include a detailed description of the issue. Except in cases of known service interruptions (e.g., due to extreme weather events), we will first verify the issue and seek authorization from the product supplier. Once a decision regarding the refund has been made, we will notify your Customer Services Department with this information. You will then need to advise your customer directly and process the refund if granted. ### Interpreting `policyStartTimestamp` and `policyEndTimestamp` The integers that populate the `policyStartTimestamp` and `policyEndTimestamp` fields represent points in time that mark the boundaries of the policy time period in the [Unix time format](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time); i.e., the number of seconds that have elapsed since 00:00:00 Thursday, 1 January 1970, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), minus leap seconds. Unix timestamps can be easily read and interpreted using the 'time' (or similar) library of your favorite programming language. For human purposes, an [online conversion tool](https://www.epochconverter.com/) can be used. As per the example above, canceling this booking between the following times yields zero refund (because it is within the 24 hour window): | **Field name** | `policyStartTimestamp` | `policyEndTimestamp` | |----------------|------------------------|----------------------| | **Unix time** | 1551340800000 | 1551427200000 | | **Human readable time** | GMT: Thursday, February 28, 2019 8:00:00 AM | GMT: Friday, March 1, 2019 8:00:00 AM | * **Note**: Please use `policyStartTimestamp` and `policyEndTimestamp`, rather than `dayRangeMin` and `dayRangeMax`, to determine which cancellation policy is in effect. ### Partial refunds While we recommend that you, as a merchant partner, support the processing of partial refunds for your customers, it is up to your whether you implement this functionality. If you would prefer to only grant the full (100%) refund that is offered on most products so long as the cancellation is processed more than 24 hours prior to the product's start time, we recommend that you implement logic that checks whether a 100% refund is available for the product at the time the customer wishes to cancel their booking. | **Type 1: Standard policy** (`merchantTermsAndConditionsType` is `1`) | |-------------------------------------------------------------| | The 100% refund is available so long as the cancellation is performed more than 24 hours prior to the product start time | | **Type 2: Custom policy** (`merchantTermsAndConditionsType` is `2`) | |-----------------------------------------------------------| | You will need to check whether any of the object-items in the `cancellationFromTourDate` array have: <ul><li>a `percentageRefundable` value of `100`, and</li><li>`dayRangeMin` and `dayRangeMax` **or** `policyStartTimestamp` and `policyEndTimestamp` values that include the present time</li></ul> | | **Type 3: All sales final** (`merchantTermsAndConditionsType` is `3`) | |-------------------------------------------------------------| | No refunds are available; therefore, granting a refund to your customer for this kind of product will be solely at *your* expense (i.e., you will still be invoiced for the cost of the tour by Viator). Therefore, we recommend that you do not allow refunds for products with this policy. | ## Booking references When a booking is made successfully via the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) endpoint, Viator assigns it a numeric identifier, now known as the **booking reference**. This booking reference is returned in the service's response in the `itemId` field; however, this `itemId` is found in different locations depending on the endpoint used: | Endpoint | itemId element location | |----------|-------------------| | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | `data.itemSummaries[].itemId` | | [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus) | `data.itemSummaries[].itemId` | | [/booking/status/items](#operation/bookingStatusItems) | `data[].itemId` | | [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking) | `data.itemSummaries[].itemId` | | [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) | `data[].itemSummaries[].itemId` | The booking reference can used in the **request** in the following endpoints as the value in the `itemId` field or in the `itemIds` array: - [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus) - [/booking/status/items](#operation/bookingStatusItems) - [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking) - [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) - [/booking/voucher](#operation/bookingVoucher) ### New booking references The new booking cancellation endpoints; i.e.: - [/bookings/{booking-reference}/cancel-quote](#operation/cancelBookingQuote) - [/bookings/{booking-reference}/cancel](#operation/cancelBooking) ...use this booking reference value as an in-URL request parameter, but its format is slightly different. Essentially, it is the booking's numeric identifier (`itemId`), but prepended with `BR-`. For example, if the `itemId` is `580254558`, the `bookingId` value in the cancellation request should be `BR-580254558`. The booking cancellation endpoints confirm the booking reference in the response in the `bookingId` field; e.g.: ```json { "bookingId": "BR-580669678", "refundDetails": { "itemPrice": 412.04, "refundAmount": 412.04, "refundPercentage": 100, "currencyCode": "USD" }, "status": "CANCELLABLE" } ``` # Common workflows and data validation Users of the API usually implement a booking process workflow. The common workflows are: - [add to cart](#section/Common-workflows-and-data-validation/Add-to-cart) - [checkout](#section/Common-workflows-and-data-validation/Checkout) - [view voucher or confirmation status](#section/Common-workflows-and-data-validation/View-voucher-or-confirmation-status) - [make a booking](#section/Common-workflows-and-data-validation/Booking-process-flow) ## Add to cart ### Summary Because the Viator API is both stateless and does not include services for managing a customer's shopping cart, this functionality must be fully managed on the merchant's side. Viator's servers can generate a price quote for one or several items, but this collection will not be saved by the server. We recommend the following process: 1. **View product** - allow the customer to browse products and product details 2. **Select date and passengers** - allow the customer to check available dates and select the type and number of passengers 3. **Select tourgrade** - display the available tour grades 4. **View cart** -> **price quote** - display a total price (including multiple items) ### View product From your *view product details* section, a button should be presented to **check availability** or **book now** or something similar. Use the [/product](#operation/product) service to retrieve product details and schedules. ### Select date and passengers Here, the customer is presented with the dates that remain available for the product. Available dates can be obtained via a request to [/booking/availability/dates](#operation/bookingAvailabilityDates). The list of [age bands](#section/Key-concepts/Working-with-age-bands) (i.e.: 'adult', 'child'; and, each band's maximum and minimum age) is available from the [/product](#operation/product) service. **Validation** – ensure that: 1. The total number of travelers being booked does not exceed the limit returned in the `maxTravellerCount` field of the [/product](#operation/product) service 2. *At least one* adult (or adult equivalent) passenger has been selected 3. The selected dates are available (use [/booking/availability/dates](#operation/bookingAvailabilityDates)) ### Select tour grade Once the date and traveler mix have been selected, the customer may need to select a tour grade. Products that do not have this information recorded in the Viator database are assigned a tour grade of `"DEFAULT"`. For these products, it is unnecessary to select a tour grade. Tour grade options must be displayed to the customer when the product has multiple tour grades, due to: - different departure times - traveler mix price deals, like family passes - different inclusions and prices - e.g., limo pickup, different language delivery options), or... - non-default tour grades – these tour grades *must* be presented to the customer. The tour grades for a product are retrieved with the [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) service. If a tour grade is available (check the `available` flag), an 'add to cart' button can be displayed. For unavailable tour grades (`available` is `false`), a reason (`unavailableReason`) is provided, which will be one of: - `"TRAVELLER_MISMATCH"` - `"BLOCKED_OUT"`, or - `"UNAVAILABLE"` You may choose to hide the blocked-out tour grades (if all tour grades are unavailable on a particular day, a day's tour grades are all `"BLOCKED_OUT"`, or the product is not operating that day, the [/booking/availability/dates](#operation/bookingAvailabilityDates) service will not return that date). You may also find that a product has no bookable tour grades on a day if the traveler mix does not meet that tour grade's traveler mix restrictions. For example, a honeymoon might require two adults as the only possible traveler mix. You can choose to hide the `"BLOCKED_OUT"` tour grades, but you will probably want to display the `"TRAVELLER_MISMATCH"` grades with the traveler mix requirements listed so that the customer can elect to alter their traveler mix to suit (e.g., for family passes, etc.) You cannot allow the passenger to book with an incompatible traveler mix. The return object includes information about tour grade restrictions: `ageBandsRequired`: - `minimumCountRequired`: minimum number of travelers for an [age band](#section/Key-concepts/Working-with-age-bands) - `maximumCountRequired`: maximum number of travelers for an [age band](#section/Key-concepts/Working-with-age-bands). If this field is `null`, any number of travelers may be booked. You will need to present the `ageBandsRequired` information as in the following examples: | In 'Adult' age band | Meaning | |---------------------|---------| | `minimumCountRequired` = 1<br>`maximumCountRequired` = 3 | From 1 to 3 adults | | `minimumCountRequired` = 0<br>`maximumCountRequired` = 3 | up to three adults | | `minimumCountRequired` = 3<br>`MaximumCountRequired` = | 3 or more adults | | `minimumCountRequired` = 2<br>`MaximumCountRequired` = 2 | 2 adults | **Note:** There is a singular and plural version for each age band definition. We recommend automatically generating language that ensures the samples above are grammatically correct using this information. The user can click **back** and change their traveler mix; or, they can try selecting another day. ### View cart / price quote Once the item has been added to the cart, you will need to preserve this information as part of the session data in your back-end, or as a browser cookie. In particular, you will need to store the *product code* and *age band to quantity traveler mix*. #### Sample PHP shopping cart item class **Note:** this is only an example and is implementation dependent. Alternatively, you could use the item class (as used in the API calls), but much of the information it contains does not need to be stored: ```javascript class shoppingCartItem { var $productCode; var $tourGrade; var $date; var $ageBandIdToQty; // assoc array } ``` To obtain a price quote, you must call the [/booking/calculateprice](#operation/bookingCalculateprice) service. This service requires a currency code and an array of items to be specified. Each item contains the date, product code, tour grade code and an associative array of `ageBandIds` -> `quantity`. **Validation** – the data must contain [valid age bands](#section/Key-concepts/Working-with-age-bands), tour codes, dates, etc. acquired in previous requests to the API. **Note:** A product's availability can change in the time between API calls as tour grades or products may be blocked out, or the booking window may close for upcoming dates. ## Checkout ### Summary The checkout process can be accomplished using the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service, but you may need to make requests to other services to calculate prices, display product information (age-band names, etc.) and list available pick-up hotels for user selection. The Viator mobile website breaks the workflow down into three steps. For multiple items, some steps will need to be repeated, such as capturing the traveler names for each tour. In your implementation, you can reorganize/reorder the data collection to better suit your needs. **Example workflow:** 1. **Collect traveler details** - collect the names of the lead traveler and all other travelers 2. **Collect travel details** - ask any additional questions, including those about any special requirements, and select pick-up options. - **Note:** the aforementioned steps will need to be repeated for each item) 3. **Collect booking details** - **Note:** billing and payment details *should not* be sent to Viator. The classes for the booking request are defined here in Booking Data Classes. You will need implement these in your chosen programming language and verify that the correct JSON objects are generated during serialization. ### Traveler details The traveler details are used to populate the `booking->items[]->travellers[]` objects. One passenger must be identified as the "lead traveler". A boolean field in the traveler object represents this flag. The lead traveler must be an adult or have the age band `treatAsAdult` flag set to `true`. All other travelers must be included. **Validation** Ensure that: - `bandId` is a [valid age band ID](#section/Key-concepts/Working-with-age-bands) for the product - `firstname` is less than 16 chars - `surname` is less than 36 chars - `title` is not included unnecessarily (it is optional) - `leadTraveller` is set to `true` for one of the travelers who is in an [age band](#section/Key-concepts/Working-with-age-bands) that has the `treatAsAdult` flag set to `true` ### Other details #### Booking questions The travel details include the [booking questions](#section/Appendices/Booking-questions) that are supplied in the [/product](#operation/product) service. **Sample question** **Note:** There may be more than one. ```javascript bookingQuestions: [{ "message": "For safety reasons you must enter the weight of <b>all</b> passengers", "required": true, "questionId": 23, "title": "Passenger Weights", "subTitle": "(e.g. 127 pounds, 145 kilos, etc)", "sortOrder": 1 }] ``` The questions should be displayed with the title, message, subtitle and whether it is mandatory (required) or not. **Validation** – if the question is mandatory, the user must enter at least one character. #### Special requirements 'Special requirements' should be presented as a text input field so that customers can record whether they require wheelchair assistance, for example. It is not mandatory for the customer to enter any text. #### Pick-up information The last thing that must be collected for each item being booked is the pick-up information. If the product includes pick-up, the `hotelPickup` flag will be set to `true` (in the product object). If pick-up is included, you will need to make a request to [/booking/hotels](#operation/bookingHotels) to determine if a hotel list exists. If it does, the list must be displayed so that the customer can make their selection. If not, a text input field should be displayed for hotel name collection. Please note that the *first three results* in the list are *not* hotels; rather, these three are alternative selections, comprising: - 'Hotel not listed' - 'Live locally or staying with family/friends' - 'Hotel not yet booked' If the customer selects 'hotel not listed', you *must* provide a hotel selection text input field. For the other two options, no hotel name is required. In all cases, the hotel ID must be updated with either a hotel ID or the IDs of the three items listed. If no hotel list is available, you must provide a text input field for collecting the customer's hotel name. Please include instructions to enter 'live locally' or 'hotel not yet booked' if they cannot provide a hotel name. **Validation** – if hotel list is available, the `hotelId` must be supplied. If the `hotelId` is `notListed` the, `pickupPoint` field *must* have at least one character. If a hotel list is not available, then `pickupPoint` must contain a value. #### Language services If the response from the [/product](#operation/product) service contains information in the `languageServices` field, e.g.: ```javascript "langServices": { "en/SERVICE_AUDIO": "English - Audio" } ``` ...you must specify which language option you wish to book for this tour in the `languageOptionCode` field (see request body schema of the [/booking/book service](#operation/bookingBook)). ## View voucher or confirmation status The object returned by the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service contains booking details that can be used to display an order summary to the customer. Confirmed bookings of freesale products will return a `voucherKey` and `voucherURL`. The `voucherURL` is accessible by the customer to view their voucher. Pending bookings of on-request products will return `null` in the `voucherKey`/`voucherURL` fields. These fields will only contain values once the booking is confirmed. A `bookingStatus` object is included in the response that contains the status of the booking. ```javascript "bookingStatus": { "status": 1, "text": "Paid &amp; Confirmed", "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITEM", "failed": false, "confirmed": true, "amended": false, "pending": false, "cancelled": false } ``` The status field corresponds to a number described in [bookingStatus field values and meanings](#section/Appendices/bookingStatus-field-values-and-meanings). Boolean flags that you can inspect to determine the booking status of the item: - `failed` - `cancelled` - `confirmed` - `amended` - `pending` ### Pending bookings A booking is considered *pending* if the booking process is 'in progress'. For example, an on-request booking would be *pending* until it is confirmed/rejected by the supplier. If a customer has made an amendment to an on-request booking that is yet to be accepted by the supplier, the booking would then have a status of *amended* when the supplier or customer service accepts the amendment. **Example response object:** ```javascript { "errorReference": null, "data": { "sortOrder": 0, "rulesApplied": [], "bookingStatus": { "status": 3, "text": "Confirmed", "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITINERARY", "confirmed": true, "pending": false, "amended": false, "cancelled": false, "failed": false }, "itemSummaries": [{ "sortOrder": 0, "rulesApplied": [], "bookingStatus": { "status": 1, "text": "Paid &amp; Confirmed", "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITEM", "pending": false, "failed": false, "confirmed": true, "amended": false, "cancelled": false }, "travellerAgeBands": [{ "sortOrder": 0, "count": 1, "pluralDescription": "Adults", "description": "Adult", "ageBandId": 1 }], "voucherKey": "1005851866:4af44c13ecf3f1a7d3f9ef2fc00c2257e08fa42ae20f877f3039ff9b52aba24e:580669678", "voucherURL": "https://viatorapi.live.rc.viator.com/service/merchant/voucher.jspa?code=1005851866:4af44c13ecf3f1a7d3f9ef2fc00c2257e08fa42ae20f877f3039ff9b52aba24e:580669678&embedResources=false", "voucherRequirements": "You must present a paper voucher for this to", "productPulledDown": false, "merchantCancellable": true, "productWidgetList": null, "savingAmount": 0, "passbooks": null, "termsAndConditions": null, "itineraryId": 1000024753, "tourGradeCode": "1DAYBOAT", "productCode": "2065CPT", "leadTravellerSurname": "Test", "distributorItemRef": "distroItemRefJDP1803151135", "languageServicesLanguageCode": "en", "travelDate": "2016-02-01", "price": 3.72, "bookingEngineId": "UF", "merchantNetPrice": 3.51, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$3.51", "leadTravellerTitle": "Mr", "leadTravellerFirstname": "Homer", "lastRetailPrice": 3.51, "destId": 318, "voucherOption": "VOUCHER_PAPER_ONLY", "productTitle": "Cape Town City Hop-on Hop-off Tour", "itemId": 700025496, "barcodeOption": "perperson", "barcodeType": "code128", "obfsId": 3696, "priceFormatted": "$3.72", "savingAmountFormated": "", "priceUSD": 3.72, "lastRetailPriceFormatted": "$3.51", "departsFrom": "Cape Town, South Africa", "hoursConfirmed": 0, "currencyCode": "USD" }], "voucherKey": "1005851866:4af44c13ecf3f1a7d3f9ef2fc00c2257e08fa42ae20f877f3039ff9b52aba24e:580669678", "voucherURL": "https://viatorapi.live.rc.viator.com/service/merchant/voucher.jspa?code=1005851866:4af44c13ecf3f1a7d3f9ef2fc00c2257e08fa42ae20f877f3039ff9b52aba24e:580669678&embedResources=false", "bookerEmail": "apitest@viator.com", "userId": null, "itineraryId": 1000024753, "exchangeRate": 1, "totalPriceFormatted": "$3.51", "totalPriceUSD": 3.51, "bookingDate": "2015-03-17", "distributorRef": "distroRefJDP1803151135", "totalPrice": 3.51, "hasVoucher": true, "currencyCode": "USD" }, "dateStamp": "2015-03-17T17:36:32+0000", "errorType": null, "errorMessage": null, "errorName": null, "success": true, "totalCount": 1, "vmid": "321003", "errorMessageText": null } ``` ### Checking the status of bookings #### Checking the status of a single booking: - [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) can be used to check the status of a booking after it has been purchased. This is useful for checking the status of a pending booking, particularly if there are multiple items within the booking. It is recommended that you poll the service no more than once per hour. #### Checking the status of multiple bookings: - [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus) will return the status of all bookings, based on the following: - booking date range - travel date range - specific distributor/distributor item references - lead traveler date/first name This is useful for checking the status of recently-made, but still *pending* bookings, or those that will commence soon. **Note:** You can only poll this service (successful calls) once every 30 minutes. ### Confirming the booking via email Upon receiving a successful response from [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook), merchant partners should confirm the booking with the customer via email. This email must be sent by the merchant partner (not Viator). #### Sample confirmation email <pre> Dear Traveller, Thank you for booking with [PARTNER NAME] on [www.domain.com]. Your booking is confirmed. This is your booking notification and receipt. Please retain this email for your records. Please note: We offer three types of vouchers. Be sure to check below for what type of voucher your tour / activity requires. Voucher requirements vary by tour, so if you've booked more than one tour, be sure to check each one. See below for instructions. HOTEL/FLIGHT ITINERARY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [Your standard reply here] TOURS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Name: Whale Watching Cruise e-Voucher or Paper Voucher Accepted You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity. Voucher: [VOUCHERURL] Please click on the above link, follow the directions, and print your voucher to present as per instructions on the voucher under 'Important Information'. 2. Name: Boston City Pass Paper Voucher Required You must present a paper voucher for this tour. Voucher: [VOUCHERURL] Please click on the above link, follow the directions, and print your voucher to present as per instructions on the voucher under 'Important Information'. 3. Name: SuperShuttle Airport Transfer Voucher Not Required You must present a paper voucher for this tour. Voucher: [VOUCHERURL] You can present a paper or electronic voucher for this activity, or you can simply present the Lead Traveller’s Photo ID. Our supplier has your reservation on file and only requires proof of identity on the day of travel. IMPORTANT INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [Your standard reply here] TERMS AND CONDITIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [Your standard reply here] </pre> ## Booking process flow In this section, we show a sample booking process flow using Viator API services. ### Search for a product 1. Determine the `destinationId` for the desired destination using the [/taxonomy/destinations](#operation/taxonomyDestinations) service. 2. Search for products in the destination with the [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) service using the `destinationId`, along with optional parameters like the date range (`startDate` and `endDate`), attraction link (`seoId`), category (`catId`) and subcategory (`subCatId`). #### Example [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) POST request body: ```javascript { "startDate": "2018-12-25", "endDate": "2018-12-28", "topX": "1-15", "destId": 684, "currencyCode": "USD", "sortOrder": "TOP_SELLERS" } ``` **Note**: the `startDate` and `endDate` must be in the future. 3. Get the product details with the [/product](#operation/product) service. #### Example parameters for a [/product](#operation/product) GET request: ```html code=5010SYDNEY&currencyCode=USD ``` ### Determine the product's available dates Use the [/booking/availability/dates](#operation/bookingAvailabilityDates) service to retrieve a list of dates on which the product is operating. This list can be used to populate a calendar display of available dates. #### Example parameters for an availability check using the [/booking/availability/dates](#operation/bookingAvailabilityDates) service: ```html productCode=5010SYDNEY ``` ### Determine the available age bands for the product Because the product option (tour grade) availability check requires the desired passenger mix, the user will first need to select the number of travelers and the age band into which each can be classified. Note: The exact ages to which each age band refers to differs between products. See [Working with age bands](#section/Key-concepts/Working-with-age-bands) for more information. 1. Determine the number of passengers/travelers (and their respective agebands) by having the user input the passenger mix for which they wish to make a booking. 2. Check for available tour grades for the date chosen using the [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) service; or, check for available tour grades by month using the [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix) service #### [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) POST request: ```javascript { "productCode": "5010SYDNEY", "bookingDate": "2018-12-05", "currencyCode": "USD", "ageBands": [ { "bandId": 1, "count": 2 } ] } ``` #### [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) POST request: ```javascript { "productCode": "5010SYDNEY", "month": "12", "year": "2018", "currencyCode": "USD" } ``` 3. Finalize pricing using the [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix) service. - **Note**: we strongly recommend using the [/booking/calculateprice](#operation/bookingCalculateprice) service prior to making the booking, as it reconfirms the product availability for the specified dates and passenger mix. 4. Make the booking - Note that the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service supports multi-item bookings. The response from the [/product](#operation/product) service indicates mandatory information that must be sent when making the booking, such as required [booking questions](#section/Appendices/Booking-questions) and hotel pick-up options. - For hotel pick-up: - Send a hotel ID to the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service if `hotelPickup` is `true` for the product. - [/booking/hotels](#operation/bookingHotels) can be used to return a list of hotels available for the product. - The `hotelId` is the `id` field in the response from the [/booking/hotels](#operation/bookingHotels) service. This can be: - a number (represented as a string) – e.g., `'4119'` - `'local'` – if the customer resides near the location in which the product operates - `'notBooked'` – if the customer's hotel is not yet booked - `'notListed'` – if the customer's hotel is not listed in the response from [/booking/hotels](#operation/bookingHotels). If this is the case, capture the customer’s hotel details in a text box and pass this information in the `pickupPoint` field in the request body of the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service. #### [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) POST request example: ```javascript { "demo": true, "currencyCode": "USD", "partnerDetail": { "distributorRef": "distributorRef1550616101308" }, "booker": { "firstname": "Homer Test", "surname": "Simpson Test", "title": "Mr", "email": "apitest@viator.com", "homePhone": "(02)66987564" }, "items": [ { "partnerItemDetail": { "distributorItemRef": "distributorItemRef1550616101308" }, "hotelId": null, "pickupPoint": null, "travelDate": "2019-03-19", "productCode": "5010SYDNEY", "tourGradeCode": "24HOUR", "languageOptionCode": "en/SERVICE_GUIDE", "bookingQuestionAnswers": [ { "questionId": 100, "answer": "120 kgs" } ], "specialRequirements": "", "travellers": [ { "bandId":1, "firstname": "Homer", "surname": "Simpson Test", "title": "Mr", "leadTraveller": true }, { "bandId": 1, "firstname": "Marge", "surname": "Merchant Viator Test", "title": "Mrs" } ] } ] } ``` #### [/booking/hotels](#operation/bookingHotels) GET example parameters: ```html productCode=5010SYDNEY ``` or ```html destId=684 ``` 5. You will receive different booking statuses depending on the product's booking engine. - For products that are free-sale (`'FreesaleBE'`), unconditional free-sale (`'UnconditionalBE'`) and free-sale / on-request (`'FreesaleOnRequestBE'`) - i.e., during the free-sale period, confirmation should occur instantly. - The `'FreesaleOnRequestBE'` status means that the product will only remain free-sale up until a certain number of days before the travel date, after which it becomes on-request. - Normally, if the product is on-request, its booking status will be `'Pending'`. ### Post-booking #### Displaying vouchers To display the voucher to your customer, direct them to the URL returned in the `voucherURL` field in the response from the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service. **Note**: the voucher will not be available until the booking is confirmed – the value of the `hoursConfirmed` field in the response from the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service can be shown to the customer to indicate the time frame within which they are likely to be notified as to their booking confirmation. #### Viewing bookings - To view a **single** booking, use the [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking) service, which returns one booking at a time. - To retrieve **all** bookings for a customer, use the [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) service. #### Viewing booking statuses To view the booking statuses for multiple items based on various criteria, use the [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus) service. Note that this service can only be polled once every five minutes. Ideally, this service should be used by your software implementation to perform bulk updates of pending itineraries. The maximum number of itinerary results returned is 1,000. #### `merchantNetPrice` and `price` in the [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) service The difference between these fields is as follows: - `merchantNetPrice` is the amount you, as the merchant partner will be invoiced for, excluding any fees. - `price` is the price at which Viator sells the product **Note**: these prices are also returned (per age band) by the following services: - [/booking/availability/tourgrades/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgradesPricingmatrix) - [/booking/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingPricingmatrix) - [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) ### Currency considerations for bookings If the booking shows prices converted to and formatted according to a different currency to that in which it was made, it is because each API partner has a particular 'base currency', and all bookings will be made in that currency. ### Booking and transaction fees The total price may be different to the `merchantNetPrice` due to the fact that a booking fee – i.e., a transaction fee or commission – is added to all bookings. This fee is a fixed percentage with a capped maximum. The exact percentage depends on your merchant partner agreement with Viator and can be found in your contract with Viator. ### Making demo bookings To make a demo booking, simply set the `demo` field to `true` in the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service. While demo bookings are allowed on the live production environment, we recommend not doing so as it is possible that a notification could be sent to the supplier. Performing a cancellation of the demo booking is therefore recommended. To cancel the booking, partners should use the [/bookings/{id}/cancel](#operation/cancelBooking) service. For details on canceling a booking, see: [Cancellation API workflow](#section/Common-workflows-and-data-validation/Cancellation-API-workflow) ## Cancellation UX On the Viator.com website, once the customer has made a booking, they are able to access the details of all their upcoming, past and cancelled bookings by navigating to the **bookings** section of the website. You must communicate to the user the terms and conditions that pertain to canceling their booking; i.e., what to expect in terms of the refund they will receive if they were to cancel their booking now. On the Viator website, this information is communicated in the cancellation button text. In the following example, the user has booked the "San Francisco City Tour with Alcatraz", and is viewing their **bookings** page. In this way, the user is told that they can "cancel for free by Oct 22" – i.e., they will be issued a full refund if they cancel the product prior to October 22:  This text is programmatically generated by inspecting the product's cancellation policy, which is contained within the `merchantTermsAndConditions` object, which is included in the response object from the following endpoints: - [/booking/book](/partner-api/merchant/technical/#operation/bookingBook) - [/booking/pastbooking](/partner-api/merchant/technical/#operation/bookingPastbooking) - [/booking/mybookings](/partner-api/merchant/technical/#operation/bookingMybookings) For details on how to interpret the `merchantTermsAndConditions` object, see: [Cancellation policy](#section/Key-concepts/Cancellation-policy) Once the user clicks the button labelled: **Cancel for free by Oct 22**, they are brought to the cancellation confirmation page, where they are provided a more formal cancellation quote prior to confirming their intention to cancel the product. ### Cancellation refund display As the merchant of record, the amount your customer was charged for the product was your decision; therefore, the amount that you elect to grant the customer as a refund is also up to you, so you will need to retrieve the amount the customer has paid for the product from your own records/databases. The amount that Viator would have invoiced you for the booking – equivalent to the merchant net price at the time of booking plus the transaction fee – can be retrieved using the [/bookings/{booking-ref}/cancel-quote](#operation/cancelBookingQuote) endpoint. For more information see: [Get a cancellation quote](#get-a-cancellation-quote) Here, the customer is shown that they will receive a full refund if they cancel the product now:  ### Displaying and choosing cancellation reasons At this point in the workflow, the user must select a reason for their cancellation. Viator's systems require that a reason for the cancellation be given in order to carry out the cancellation process. As the set of acceptable reasons for canceling a booking are formally specified by the Viator Partner API and are not necessarily immutable (new reasons may be added at any time) you should retrieve the presently available cancellation reasons from the [/bookings/cancel-reasons](#operation/cancellationReasons) endpoint. We require you to present these to the customer for them to select. Use the `cancellationReasonText` fields in the response to populate the list from which the customer can select the most-appropriate match for why they are canceling, as on the Viator website:  For more information about getting cancellation reasons, see: [Getting cancellation reasons](#getting-cancellation-reasons) **Note**: As it is necessary for the user to provide a cancellation reason, it is required that the **Cancel Booking** button remain disabled until a reason has been selected by the customer. ### Completing the cancellation Once the user has selected a reason, the **Cancel Booking** button can be activated:  Clicking the **Cancel Booking** button is the final action required of the customer to complete the cancellation. At this point, you will want to cancel the booking using the [/bookings/{booking-ref}/cancel](#operation/cancelBooking) API endpoint. For more information on using this service, see: [Cancel the booking](#cancel-the-booking) ### Obtaining confirmation for the cancellation On the Viator.com site, the following confirmation message is displayed on the page that loads after the **Cancel Booking** button is clicked:  ### Cancellation confirmation email Once the cancellation is accepted, a short, succinct email informing the customer that their booking has been successfully canceled is sent immediately:  ### Viewing canceled bookings Clicking on the **View reservation details** button in the cancellation confirmation email returns the customer to their bookings page, where the fact of the booking being canceled is communicated clearly:  ## Cancellation API workflow ### Note: - All booking cancellations (except for those requested after the date of travel) must now be performed via the API. Viator no longer offers ordinary cancellation services via our customer support function. - To cancel a booking after the tour or activity has occurred, please contact [Viator Partner Support](mailto:dpsupport@viator.com) - **Legacy API keys:** Bookings made via the [v1 /booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) endpoint using a [v1 legacy API key](#section/Authentication/Legacy-API-keys) can be canceled using the [v2 cancellation endpoint](#operation/cancelBooking) and a [v2 API key](#section/Authentication/API-key) so long as the [legacy (v1) API key](#section/Authentication/Legacy-API-keys) used to make the booking is linked to the partner's [v2 API key](#section/Authentication/API-key). ### Getting cancellation reasons <a id="getting-cancellation-reasons"></a> When canceling a booking, you are required to submit a valid 'reason for the cancellation' to assist with Viator's internal processes. This is accomplished via the inclusion of a valid reason code in the body of the request. The reason codes can be retrieved from the [/bookings/cancel-reasons](#operation/cancellationReasons) endpoint. As the acceptable reasons for cancellation may be extended at any point (existing reasons will not change or be removed), we recommend retrieving an up-to-date list from this endpoint at least weekly. The output from the [/bookings/cancel-reasons](#operation/cancellationReasons) endpoint at the time of writing is as follows: ```javascript { "reasons": [ { "cancellationReasonCode": "Customer_Service.I_canceled_my_entire_trip", "cancellationReasonText": "I canceled my entire trip" }, { "cancellationReasonCode": "Customer_Service.Booked_wrong_tour_date", "cancellationReasonText": "Booked wrong tour/date" }, { "cancellationReasonCode": "Customer_Service.Duplicate_Booking", "cancellationReasonText": "Duplicate Booking" }, { "cancellationReasonCode": "Customer_Service.Chose_a_different_cheaper_tour", "cancellationReasonText": "Chose a different/cheaper tour" }, { "cancellationReasonCode": "Customer_Service.Weather", "cancellationReasonText": "Weather" }, { "cancellationReasonCode": "Customer_Service.Unexpected_medical_circumstances", "cancellationReasonText": "Unexpected/medical circumstances" }, { "cancellationReasonCode": "Customer_Service.Tour operator asked me to cancel", "cancellationReasonText": "Tour operator asked me to cancel" } ] } ``` ### Canceling a booking #### Getting a cancellation quote <a id="get-a-booking-cancellation-quote"></a> Before canceling the booking, call the [/bookings/{booking-reference}/cancel-quote](#operation/cancelBookingQuote) endpoint to get information about whether the booking can be canceled using this endpoint and what the refund will be, for example: ```html GET https://api.viator.com/partner/bookings/BR-580254558/cancel-quote ``` **Note**: For information about the **{booking-reference}** in URL parameter, see [Key concepts: Booking references](#section/Key-concepts/Booking-references) You will receive a cancellation quote object, e.g.: ```javascript { "bookingId": "BR-580254558", "status": "CANCELLABLE", "refundDetails": { "itemPrice": 109.77, "refundAmount": 109.77, "currencyCode": "USD", "refundPercentage": 100.00 } } ``` **Note**: Bookings that have not been confirmed by the supplier and have a status of `"PENDING"` will report an `itemPrice`, `refundAmount` and `refundPercentage` of `0`, as no fees are charged until the booking's status is `"CONFIRMED"`. The data elements in this object have meanings as follows: | Element | Meaning | Example | |---------|---------|---------| | `bookingId` | the booking reference number prepended with `BR-` | `BR-580254556` | | `status` | One of the following: <ul><li>`CANCELLABLE`: the booking is eligible to be cancelled</li><li>`CANCELLED`: the booking has already been cancelled</li><li>`NOT_CANCELLABLE`: the booking is for a product that operated in the past, and therefore cannot be cancelled using this endpoint (you will need to [send an email to dpsupport](mailto:dpsupport@viator.com) including both "CANCEL" and the booking reference number in the subject line in order to request a refund for such a booking)</li></ul> | `CANCELLABLE` | | `refundDetails` | object containing information about the refund | | | `itemPrice` | the **merchant net price** + **transaction fee** for this product at the time of booking in the currency specified by `currencyCode` | `109.77` | | `refundAmount` | the amount that will be deducted from your invoice if the booking is cancelled now | `109.77` | | `currencyCode` | the currency code for the currency in which pricing information is displayed | `USD` | | `refundPercentage` | the refund amount expressed as a percentage of the `itemPrice` | `100.00` | #### Canceling the booking <a id="cancel-the-booking"></a> If the `status` field has a value of `CANCELLABLE` and you are happy with the `refundAmount`, call the [/bookings/{booking-ref}/cancel](#operation/cancelBooking) endpoint to cancel the booking, e.g.: ```html POST https://api.viator.com/partner/bookings/BR-580254558/cancel ``` A reason code corresponding to the reason for cancellation must be included in the request body; e.g.: ```javascript { "reasonCode":"Customer_Service.Chose_a_different_cheaper_tour" } ``` You should receive a response indicating that the cancellation was successful, e.g.: ```javascript { "bookingId": "BR-580254558", "status": "ACCEPTED" } ``` A `status` of `ACCEPTED` indicates that the booking was successfully canceled. ## Calculating prices The [/booking/calculateprice](#operation/bookingCalculateprice) service is used to calculate a total price for one or more products, with the ability to specify the date and passenger mix for each product individually. It also reconfirms the availability and pricing of the products for the requested dates and passenger mixes. We strongly recommended that you call this service prior to [making a booking](#section/Common-workflows-and-data-validation/Making-a-booking) to establish that the booking will succeed once submitted. This endpoint is useful when implementing a shopping cart, as multiple product bookings can be enquired about in a single call to this service. #### Example request body (JSON) ```javascript { "currencyCode": "USD", "items": [{ "travelDate": "2015-03-01", "productCode": "2916ROME", "tourGradeCode":"24HR", "travellers": [ { "bandId": 1 }, { "bandId": 1 } ] }] } ``` The quirky `travellers` array is used to specify the number of travellers in each age band. Each member object of this array corresponds to a single traveller. The example above signifies "two adults from bandId: 1". Another example might be "three travelers from bandId:1 and two travelers from bandId:2". That would be as follows: ```javascript "travellers": [ { "bandId": 1 }, { "bandId": 1 }, { "bandId": 1 }, { "bandId": 2 }, { "bandId": 2 } ] ``` - **Note**: See [Working with age bands](#section/Key-concepts/Working-with-age-bands) for more information. #### Price information The **total price** (i.e., including the transaction fee) that you will be invoiced for the products to be booked is given in the following fields in the response from this service: - `data.itemSummaries[].price` (numeric total price of item) - `data.itemSummaries[].priceFormatted` (currency formatted total price of item) - `data.itinerary.totalPrice` (numeric total price of item) - `data.itinerary.totalPriceFormatted` (currency-formatted total price of item) For more information about pricing fields and their meaning throughout this API, see: [Merchant pricing](#section/Key-concepts/Merchant-pricing). #### Determining whether the product is 'freesale' or 'on request' You can determine whether the booking is *freesale* or *on-request* by examining the response from this endpoint. 'Freesale' bookings are those that are confirmed immediately (with a status of `"CONFIRMED"`) when booked, while *on-request* bookings are instead confirmed by the supplier at a later time. The approximate time window for confirmation is provided in the `hoursConfirmed` (integer) field. This can be presented to the customer. - An `hoursConfirmed` of `0` means that the booking is *freesale*. - An `hoursConfirmed` greater than `0` indicates that the booking is *on-request*. ## Finding hotel pick-up points ### Hotel pickup example: #### Example response body ([/booking/hotels](#operation/bookingHotels)) ```javascript { "vmid":"221002", "errorMessage": null, "errorType": null, "dateStamp": "2012-04-12T13:48:27+0000", "success": true, "errorReference": null, "errorMessageText": null, "totalCount": 1, "errorName": null "data": [ { "address": null, "name": "I live locally / I'm staying with friends, relatives", "id": "local", "phone": null, "productCodes": null, "destinationId": 0, "city": null, "notes": null, "latitude": null, "longitude": null, "postcode": null, "brand": null, "hotelString": "I live locally / I'm staying with friends, relatives", "sortOrder": 1 }, { "address": null, "name": "My hotel is not yet booked", "id": "notBooked", "phone": null, "productCodes": null, "destinationId": 0, "city": null, "notes": null, "latitude": null, "longitude": null, "postcode": null, "brand": null, "hotelString": "My hotel is not yet booked", "sortOrder": 2 }, { "address": null, "name": "My hotel is not listed", "id": "notListed", "phone": null, "productCodes": null, "destinationId": 0, "city": null, "notes": null, "latitude": null, "longitude": null, "postcode": null, "brand": null, "hotelString": "My hotel is not listed", "sortOrder": 3 }, { "address": "375 East Harmon Avenue", "name": "Alexis Park Resort Hotel", "id": "684_2", "phone": "", "productCodes": null, "destinationId": 684, "city": "Las Vegas", "notes": null, "latitude": 36.106258, "longitude": -115.156146, "postcode": "89169", "brand": "", "hotelString": null, "sortOrder": 4 }, { "address": "167 East Tropicana Avenue", "name": "Americas Best Value Inn", "id": "684_3", "phone": "", "productCodes": null, "destinationId": 684, "city": "Las Vegas", "notes": null, "latitude": 36.100778, "longitude": -115.165522, "postcode": "89109", "brand": "", "hotelString": null, "sortOrder": 5 }, { "address": "3131 Las Vegas Boulevard South", "name": "Wynn Resort", "id": "684_126", "phone": "", "productCodes": null, "destinationId": 684, "city": "Las Vegas", "notes": null, "latitude": 36.127563, "longitude": -115.167704, "postcode": "89109", "brand": "", "hotelString": null, "sortOrder": 119 } ] } ``` ## Making a booking To make a booking, use the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service. To make a *real* booking, ensure `demo` is set to `false` in the booking request. Demo bookings will enter our system as a test booking and will not charge the merchant. To enable demo bookings, set `demo` to `true` in the booking request and pass `"test"` as the traveler's first or last name. **Note:** Avoid testing on **Live**, as the booking may be sent to the supplier (depending on the product). Any test bookings on live must be cancelled via the [/bookings/{id}/cancel](#operation/cancelBooking) service; or, contact dpsupport@viator.com if you experience any other issues. ### distrbutorRef and distributorItemRef The `distributorRef` and `distrbutorItemRef` fields are the merchant partner's own reference for the booking. All merchant partners must pass a `distributorRef` and a `distributorItemRef` in all bookings. It can be any alphanumeric string, and in for the `distrbutorRef`, it must be unique to bookings made by the merchant. If an existing `distributorRef` is passed, the booking with the matching `distributorRef` will be returned in the response, and a new booking will not be made. Please see the description for these fields in the table below for more information. **Example request** ```javascript { "demo": true, "currencyCode": "USD", "partnerDetail": { "distributorRef": "distroRef0412141435" }, "booker": { "email": "apitest@viator.com", "firstname": "Homer Test", "surname": "Simpson Test", "title": "Mr" }, "items": [{ "partnerItemDetail": { "distributorItemRef": "distroItemRef0412141435_1" }, "hotelId": null, "pickupPoint": null, "travelDate": "2015-03-31", "productCode": "2916ROME", "tourGradeCode": "24HR", "languageOptionCode": "en/SERVICE_GUIDE", "bookingQuestionAnswers": [{ "questionId": 100, "answer": "120 kgs" }], "specialRequirements": "", "travellers": [{ "bandId": 1, "firstname": "Homer", "surname": "Simpson Test", "title": "Mr", "leadTraveller": true }] }] } ``` **Description of JSON request parameters** | Object name | Element name | Type | Comments | Mandatory | |-------------|--------------|:----:|----------|:---------:| | | `demo` | boolean | If this is set to True, then it is a demo booking only. Full demos do not send any notifications, are automatically confirmed and OnRequest products become freesale products. Default value is true. Production must have `demo` set to `false`. | ❌ | | | `currencyCode` | string | The currency the booking will be submitted in. You will be billed in this currency. | ❌ | | `partnerDetail` | | object | Applicable only for extra partner detail for either partner or merchant partner for sending partner specific information | ❌ | | | `distributorRef` | string | Merchant API partners must pass a `distributorRef` at itinerary level in the `partnerDetails` object. The `distributorRef` passed must be alphanumeric and unique to bookings made by the merchant. Passing an existing `distributorRef`: If an existing distributorRef is passed, the booking with the matching `distributorRef` will be returned in the response and a new booking will not be made. The fields in the response are identical to the response for a new booking.| ✅ | | `partnerItemDetail` | | object | For extra partner detail at an item level, for either partner or merchant partner. | ❌ | | | `distributorItemRef` | string | Merchant API partners must pass a `distributorItemRef` into the `partnerItemDetails` object for each item in the items object. The `distributorItemRef` passed must be alphanumeric and unique to the itinerary. | ✅ | | `booker` | | object | The information of the primary contact. This contact does not have to be a traveler. | ✅ | | | `email` | string | Email address of the primary contact | ❌ | | | `homePhone` | string | Home phone number of the primary contact | ❌ | | | `firstname` | string | First name of the primary contact | ✅ | | | `surname` | string | Surname of the primary contact | ✅ | | | `title` | string | Title of the primary contact | ❌ | | `items` | | | Array of items in itinerary to be booked | ✅ | | | `productCode` | string | product code of the itinerary to be booked | ✅ | | | `tourGradeCode` | string | `tourGradeCode` of the item to be booked. If tour grades are supplied in [/product](#operation/product), you must allow the customer to select a tour grade code. If no tour grades are available for the product, pass `"DEFAULT"`. | ✅ | | | `languageOptionCode` | string | The language service provided for this product that has been chosen for this booking. Usually in the format langcode/Service eg `"en/SERVICE_GUIDE"`. If the product details service [/product](#operation/product) for the product returns a langService, this must be provided. | ✅<br />(if `languageServices` are provided in [/product](#operation/product)) | | | `travelDate` | date | date of travel for the item (format is YYYY-MM-DD; e.g. 2013-12-25) | ✅ | | | `hotelId` | string | If [/product](#operation/product) returns `hotelPickup`: `true` and a list of hotels is available for this product in [/booking/hotels](#operation/bookingHotels), a `hotelId` must be captured. The hotel id as per the hotel service (id field) or use one of these alternative hotel ids:<br />`local`: customer lives locally<br />`notBooked`: Customer has not booked their hotel yet<br />`notListed`: Hotel not listed | ✅<br />(if [/product](#operation/product) returns `hotelPickup`: `true` for `productCode` and hotels available) | | | `pickupPoint` | string | Pickup point information related to hotel pickup. Details of the hotel or pickup point must be provided if the `hotelId` selected by the user is `"notListed"` or if no hotels are returned for the product in [/booking/hotels](#operation/bookingHotels) where `hotelPickup`: `true` | ✅<br />(if `hotelId` = `"notListed"` or no hotels returned) | | | `specialRequirements` | string | Capture any additional requirements for the booking, such as dietary requirements or if a wheelchair is required. Suggested workflow is if there are no `bookingQuestionAnswers` for the product, to collect `specialRequirements`. | ❌ | | `travellers` | | | Array of traveller names with a required lead traveller selected per item. | ✅ | | | `bandId` | integer | [Age band id](#section/Key-concepts/Working-with-age-bands). Available age band details for the product is listed in [/product](#operation/product). | ✅ | | | `firstname` | string | First name of the traveller | ✅ | | | `surname` | string | Surname of the traveller | ✅ | | | `title` | string | Title of the traveller. Suggested options: Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss, Mstr, Dr | ✅ | | | `leadTraveller` | boolean | Each item must have one traveller assigned as the lead traveller for the tour. The lead traveller will have a value of true, all other travellers will have a value of false. The lead traveller can have a mobile phone number added to the booking. | ✅ | | | `cellPhoneCountryCode` | string | Ideally only collect the phone number country code for the lead traveller. Alternatively, collect the phone number of the booker instead. | ❌ | | | `cellPhone` | string | Ideally only collect the phone number country code for the lead traveller. Alternatively, collect the phone number of the booker instead. | ❌ | | `bookingQuestionAnswers` | | object | Answers to [booking questions](#section/Appendices/Booking-questions) for the particular item. If a booking question is available in the `bookingQuestions` array in [/product](#operation/product) for the product, the matching `bookingQuestionAnswers` must be passed. If a product does not have any `bookingQuestion` items, you can omit the `bookingQuestionAnswers` field completely. Any invalid or unnecessary `bookingQuestionAnswers` that are passed to [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) will be ignored (no exceptions will be raised) | ✅<br />(if [/product](#operation/product) returns `bookingQuestions`) | | | `questionId` | integer | `questionId` (provided in [/product](#operation/product)) | ✅ | | | `answer` | string | Answer to the question at the `questionId` listed. Recommended length for the answer is 500 characters. | ✅ | **JSON Response** The prices returned in the booking response represent the net rate, which is the amount merchant API partners will be invoiced for. See [merchant pricing](#section/Key-concepts/Merchant-pricing) for more information. ### Booking errors A number of errors may be returned in the response to the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service. If any errors are reported, NO items will be booked, NO items/data will be returned in the response, and NO billing will occur. There are two error types: - `"VALIDATION"` - occurs if a required field is missing or a field is not formatted properly - `"EXCEPTION"` - occurs when there are issues with the booking date, product / tour grade code or the payment. Example of an error message: ```javascript { "data": null, "vmid": "221001", "errorMessage": [ "Missing distributor reference" ], "errorType": "EXCEPTION", "dateStamp": "2013-04-24T15:50:05+0000", "errorReference": "~3713624959841553334512668", "errorMessageText": ["Missing distributor reference" ], "success": false, "totalCount": 1, "errorName": "Exception" } ``` Please see "Standard JSON fields" in the Appendix for an explanation of the fields. | Scenario | `errorType` | Example error message text | |----------|-----------|----------------------------| | Lead traveller is not specified | `VALIDATION` | A traveler needs to be selected as lead traveler. Lead Traveler's name must match credit card name. | | Traveller names are not provided | `VALIDATION` | First name of traveler 1 is required, Last name of traveler 1 is required | | No travellers provided | `VALIDATION` | A traveler needs to be selected as lead traveler. Lead Traveler's name must match credit card name. | | Product code does not exist | `EXCEPTION` | We're sorry, we cannot find the tour, activity or attraction you are looking for | Product code exists, but tour grade code does not exist | `EXCEPTION` | SICInvalidTourGrade | | Booking date is in the past | `EXCEPTION` | We're sorry, the following tour you are trying to book is sold out and no longer available: Grand Canyon All American Helicopter Tour (2280AAHT) | | `languageOptionCode` is in the wrong format | `EXCEPTION` | languageOptionCode should be LangCode/LangServices | | Missing required answers for item | `EXCEPTION` | Additional questions missing | | Unsupported currency | `EXCEPTION` | Could not lookup SGD:java.lang.RuntimeException: Could not lookup SGDf:au.com.fim.v3.etravel.PiusRecordNotFoundException: No currency found: select * from CurrencyFormat where currencyID = 'SGD' | | `distributorRef` not provided in `partnerDetail` object | `EXCEPTION` | Missing distributor reference | | `distributorItemRef` not provided in `partnerItemDetail` object | `EXCEPTION` | Missing distributor item reference | | `partnerItemDetail` object not provided for the item | `EXCEPTION` | Missing partner item details! | ## Get the booking status for multiple items The [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus) service retrieves the booking status for multiple items based on different criteria. This service can only be polled every 30 minutes. This would ideally be used in software for bulk updates of pending itineraries. The maximum number of results returned is 1,000 itineraries. Narrow your search if you expect results greater than this. **NOTE:** This will return both live and test bookings. **Example request body** ```javascript { "bookingDateFrom": "2013-03-22", "bookingDateTo": "2013-03-25", "itineraryIds": null, "itemIds": null, "distributorRefs": ["Ref20132603_1","Ref20132603_5"], "distributorItemRefs": null, "leadFirstName": null, "leadSurname": null, "test": true } ``` All fields are optional and can be omitted, however at least one needs to be provided. | Field | Meaning | |-------|---------| | `bookingDateFrom` | The booking date is greater than or equal this date | | `bookingDateTo` | The booking date is less than or equal this date | | `itemIds` | Array of item ids (AKA Viator Item Reference) to check for; e.g., `[1234657,2345267,3245154]` | | `distributorRefs` | Array of partner-defined distributor references; e.g., `["ref1","ref2","ref3"]` | | `distributorItemRefs` | Array of partner-defined distributor item references; e.g., `["refItem1","refItem2","refItem3"]` | | `leadFirstName` | The lead traveller's first name | | `leadSurname` | The lead traveller's surname | | `test` | Setting `test` to `true` will bypass the poll limit on the sandbox environment only. The default value for `test` is `false`. | **Example response object** ([/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus)) ```javascript { "data": [ { "itineraryId": 3332064, "bookingStatus": { "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITINERARY", "failed": false, "text": "Confirmed", "cancelled": false, "status": 3, "confirmed": true, "amended": false, "pending": false }, "bookingDate": "2013-03-25", "distributorRef": "Ref20132603_1", "itemSummaries": [{ "itineraryId": 3332064, "itemId": 600088886, "bookingStatus": { "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITEM", "failed": false, "text": "Paid &amp; Confirmed", "cancelled": false, "status": 1, "confirmed": true, "amended": false, "pending": false }, "travelDate": "2013-12-03", "distributorItemRef": "ItemRefA", "sortOrder": 0 }], "sortOrder": 1 }, { "itineraryId": 3332076, "bookingStatus": { "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITINERARY", "failed": false, "text": "Confirmed", "cancelled": false, "status": 3, "confirmed": true, "amended": false, "pending": false }, "bookingDate": "2013-03-26", "distributorRef": "Ref20132603_5", "itemSummaries": [{ "itineraryId": 3332076, "itemId": 600088907, "bookingStatus": { "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITEM", "failed": false, "text": "Paid &amp; Confirmed", "cancelled": false, "status": 1, "confirmed": true, "amended": false, "pending": false }, "travelDate": "2013-12-03", "distributorItemRef": "ItemRefA", "sortOrder": 0 }], "sortOrder": 2 }], "vmid": "221002", "errorMessage": null, "errorType": null, "dateStamp": "2013-03-26T10:25:57+0000", "errorReference": null, "errorMessageText": null, "success": true, "totalCount": 2, "errorName": null } ``` ### Exceeding the poll limit You will receive the following error if you exceed the number of calls allowed to the service within the timeframe: ```javascript { "data": null, "vmid": "221002", "errorMessage": [ "Access allowed every 30 minutes" ], "errorType": "EXCEPTION", "dateStamp": "2013-03-26T10:28:51+0000", "errorReference": "~55315512721712161381352771", "errorMessageText": [ "Access allowed every 30 minutes" ], "success": false, "totalCount": 1, "errorName": "PollingDeniedException" } ``` ## Get the tour grade pricing matrix The [/booking/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingPricingmatrix) service retrieves the pricing matrix for tour grades, product age bands and pax (passenger) mixes. **Example request object** ([/booking/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingPricingmatrix)) ```javascript "productCode": "5261HTLAP", "tourGradeCode": "Zone 1", "bookingDate": "2013-12-01", "currencyCode": "USD", "specialReservation": false ``` `bookingDate`: The date to check for pricing data. This is an optional parameter for a normal product. If the date is not provided then the nearest available date is determined (i.e. not blocked out or unavailable for any reason) **Example response object** ([/booking/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingPricingmatrix)) ```javascript { "data": [{ "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2013-12-01", "sortOrder": 1, "ageBandPrices": [{ "bandId": 1, "prices": [{ "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 81.94, "priceFormatted": "$81.94", "merchantNetPrice": 65.44, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$65.44", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 1, "maximumCountRequired": 1 }] }, { "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2013-12-01", "sortOrder": 2, "ageBandPrices": [{ "bandId": 1, "prices": [{ "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 40.97, "priceFormatted": "$40.97", "merchantNetPrice": 32.73, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$32.73", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 2, "maximumCountRequired": 2 }] }, { "pricingUnit": "per person", "bookingDate": "2013-12-01", "sortOrder": 3, "ageBandPrices": [{ "bandId": 1, "prices": [{ "sortOrder": 1, "currencyCode": "USD", "price": 27.32, "priceFormatted": "$27.32", "merchantNetPrice": 21.81, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$65.44", "minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice": 1 }], "sortOrder": 1, "minimumCountRequired": 3, "maximumCountRequired": 3 }] }], "errorReference": null, "dateStamp": "2017-11-24T21:30:47+0000", "errorType": null, "errorCodes": null, "errorMessage": null, "errorName": null, "success": true, "totalCount": 3, "errorMessageText": null, "vmid": "321050" } ``` **Description of elements in JSON response object** | Object | Element | Type | Comments | To be viewed by customer | Required field | |--------|---------|------|----------|:------------------------:|:--------------:| | `data` | | object | main response object | ❌ | ✅ | | | `sortOrder` | integer | order in which to show the pricing | ✅ | ✅ | | | `bookingDate` | date | booking date criteria | ✅ | ✅ | | | `pricingUnit` | string | unit for pricing: currently, only "per person" is supported | ✅ | ✅ | | `ageBandPrices` | | object | available age bands and their pricing | ❌ | ✅ | | | `sortOrder` | integer | sort order for age band display | ✅ | ✅ | | | `bandId` | integer | **Note**: the numeric `bandId` is associated with an age band description (e.g., `"Adult"`, `"Infant"` etc.) and a corresponding age range (e.g., from 12 to 99) - these details are available from the [/product](#operation/product) service. See [Working with age bands](#section/Key-concepts/Working-with-age-bands) | ❌ | ✅ | | | `minimumCountRequired` | integer | minimum number of pricing units that apply to these prices | | ✅ | | | `maximumCountRequired` | integer | maximum number of pricing units that apply to these prices | | ✅ | | `prices` | | object | pricing available for the age band (based on the min and max count requirements) | ✅ | ✅ | | | `currencyCode` | string | currency of the pricing | ✅ | ✅ | | | `sortOrder` | integer | order the pricing is to be shown within the `bandId` | ✅ | ✅ | | | `price` | number | price in decimal format (for merchant API partners, this is the 'suggested sell price') | ❌ | ✅ | | | `priceFormatted` | string | suggested sell price formatted according to the currency selected (with two decimal places where applicable) | ✅ | ✅ | | | `merchantNetPrice` | number | merchant net price in decimal format | ❌ | ✅ | | | `merchantNetPriceFormatted` | string | merchant net price formatted according to the selected currency | ❌ | ✅ | | | `minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice` | integer | number of units that the pricing applies to (e.g., a `minNoOfTravellersRequiredForPrice` of `3` means that the price is for three people) | ✅ | ✅ | ## Dealing with vouchers The [/booking/voucher](#operation/bookingVoucher) service retrieves details for a complete itinerary or a single itinerary item. The data is returned as HTML that can be wrapped in a header/footer. ### Sample URL parameters `leadLastName=DP&itemId=600033670` or `voucherKey=3299307:93c7f36a56b18ba1068787ba7fb7988da5c8ad08db77604110141ff21498603e:600033670` ### Key concepts #### `voucherKey` - Use either the `voucherKey` or the three separate parameters. - If `voucherKey` is provided as well as other parameters, then the `voucherKey` overrides the other parameters. - The `voucherKey` is obtained from [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) or in the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) response object when a booking is made. #### `fullHTML` This is an optional parameter: - If `true`, the full HTML (including `<!DOCTYPE>`, `<html>` and `<head>` tags) will be returned. - If `false`, an HTML `<div>` element will be returned. - The default for this parameter is `false` #### `mobileVoucher` - Optional parameter. Defaults to `true`. If `true`, the mobile (cut down) voucher HTML is returned; otherwise, the full voucher HTML is returned and `fullHTML` is ignored - This field should only be enabled for products that have a `voucherOption` of `"VOUCHER_E"` (electronic voucher). Do not enable `mobileVouchers` for paper vouchers (`voucherOption` of `"VOUCHER_PAPER_ONLY"`) as no barcode is returned. - The voucher information is available in the responses for: - [/product](#operation/product) - [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) - [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking) - [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) - Voucher information is also displayed under the **Redemption Info** heading in the response from this service. **Example response object** ([/booking/voucher](#operation/bookingVoucher)) ```javascript { "data": "<div style=\'line-height: 1.5;font-family:\'Arial\',\'Helvetica\',\'Verdana\',sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0 10px; border-bottom: 1pxsolid #CAE2EA;\'><h2 style=\'font-size:16px;font-weight:bold;margin:0.5em 0;padding:0;\'>San FranciscoBay Sunset Catamaran Cruise &reg;</h2><h2 style=\'font-size:16px;font-weight:bold;margin:0.5em0;padding:0;\'>SAMPLE ONLY</h2><ul style=\'margin:0 0 1em 1em; padding:0;\'> <li><strong>Date:</strong>Friday April 13, 2012 </li><li><strong>Time:</strong><strong>2011:</strong><br><ul><li><strong>Nov. 6 to Nov. 27</strong>: 4:00pm (Fri., Sat. &amp; Sun)</li></ul><p><strong>2012:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>March 2 to March 10:</strong>&nbsp; 5:00 pm (Fri., Sat. &amp; Sun)</li><li><strong>March 11 to April 15:</strong> 6:00pm Daily</li><li><strong>April 16 to May 20:</strong> 6:30 pm Daily</li><li><strong>May 21 to July 22:</strong> 7:00 pm Daily</li><li><strong>July 23 to Aug 26: </strong>6:30 pm Daily</li><li><strong>Aug 27 to Sept 23:</strong>6:00 pm Daily</li><li><strong>Sept. 24 to Nov. 3:</strong> 5:30 pm Daily</li><li><strong>Nov 4 to Dec 2:</strong> 4:00pm (Friday, Sat., &amp; Sun.)</li></ul><p>Please arrive 30 minutes prior to cruise departure.</li></ul> <ul style=\'margin:0 0 1em 1em; padding:0;\'> <li><strong>Lead Traveler: </strong> jos dp</li><li><strong>Number of Travelers: </strong> 1 Adult</li> <li><strong>Booking Reference: </strong>VIATOR600033672</li><li><strong>Product Code: </strong>2316SUN</li><li><strong>Confirmation Details:</strong>SUN </li> <li><strong>Location </strong><div><p>Pier 39</p></div><div></div><div>When you get to Pier 39, stand on the sidewalk &amp; look towards the water, do NOT go down the center wherethe shops are, but take the left OUTSIDE walkway. Go towards the sea lions &amp; look for a gate with the letter J on it</div></li></ul><h3 style=\'font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;margin:0.5em 0;padding:0;\'> Redemption Info</h3><ul style=\'margin:0 0 1em 1em; padding:0;\'> <li>You can present either a paper or an electronic voucherfor this activity. </li> </ul> <h3 style=\'font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;margin:0.5em 0;padding:0;\'>Important</h3> <ul><li>Your local contact is Adventure Cat Sailing Charters on +1 800 498 4228.</li><li>Please note: You mustreconfirm directly with Adventure Cat Sailing Charters at <ul> <li>Locally on 415 777 1630</li></ul> at least 24 Hour(s)prior to your tour/activity date. If you are not arriving within the specified timeframe, please contact Adventure CatSailing Charters prior to your travels, or immediately upon arrival at your destination.</li></ul><ul><li>Duringthe months of March, April and November, the weather in San Francisco can be unpredictable and sailings are subject tocancellation or rescheduling. Please ensure that you call the operator 1 day prior to sailing to confirm your tour</li></ul><h3 style=\'font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;margin:0.5em 0;padding:0;\'>Inclusions</h3><ul><li>1.5-hour Sunset Cruise</li><li>Light hors d\'oeuvres</li><li>Two complimentary drinks</li></ul><h3 style=\'font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;margin:0.5em 0;padding:0;\'>Terms and Conditions </h3> Read our completeTerms & Conditions for information on cancellations, date changes and other modifications to this confirmed reservation. </div><!-- end of voucher_item --></div>", "vmid": "221001", "errorMessage": null, "errorType": null, "dateStamp": "2012-04-13T10:40:47+0000", "success": true, "errorReference": null, "errorMessageText": null, "totalCount": 1, "errorName": null } ``` ## Reviewing bookings The [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking) service gets the details of a single specific past booking based on the `voucherKey` or `itemId` passed into it. ### Sample query Parameters `"email=john.doe@viator.com&itemId=600033670"` or `"voucherKey=3299307:93c7f36a56b18ba1068787ba7fb7988da5c8ad08db77604110141ff21498603e:600033670"` ### Key concepts #### Email The email address passed must match the email address associated to the itinerary #### Departure Details Departure details, such as the `departurePoint`, `departurePointAddress` and `departurePointDirections`, will be included in the response. These fields may contain HTML escape characters, such as `&amp;` and special characters that are escaped by a backslash. Ensure that these fields are parsed after receiving the response, or it may cause your JSON to be invalid. **Example response object** ([/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking)): ```javascript { "errorReference": null, "data": { "sortOrder": 0, "rulesApplied": null, "bookingStatus": { "status": 3, "text": "Confirmed", "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITINERARY", "confirmed": true, "pending": false, "amended": false, "cancelled": false, "failed": false }, "itemSummaries": [{ "sortOrder": 0, "rulesApplied": null, "bookingStatus": { "status": 1, "text": "Paid &amp; Confirmed", "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITEM", "failed": false, "confirmed": true, "amended": false, "pending": false, "cancelled": false }, "travellerAgeBands": [{ "sortOrder": 0, "count": 2, "pluralDescription": "Adults", "description": "Adult", "ageBandId": 1 }], "voucherKey": "1000308214:899757cf8b419ed11f39045636b0b30af986d19126d04547097f4b9c05fb4b69:700179574", "voucherURL": "https://viatorapi.sandbox.viator.com/service/merchant/voucher.jspa?code=1000308214:899757cf8b419ed11f39045636b0b30af986d19126d04547097f4b9c05fb4b69:700179574&embedResources=false", "voucherRequirements": "You must present a paper voucher for this tour. We will email a link to access and print your voucher at the Lead Travelers email address.", "productPulledDown": false, "merchantCancellable": true, "productWidgetList": null, "savingAmount": 0, "vouchers": null, "passbooks": null, "termsAndConditions": null, "itineraryId": 1000308214, "productCode": "2065CPT", "tourGradeCode": "1DAY", "distributorItemRef": "distroItemRefJDP1006151732", "languageServicesLanguageCode": "en", "travelDate": "2015-09-03", "price": 26.28, "leadTravellerSurname": "Test", "barcodeOption": "tour", "barcodeType": "code128", "destId": 318, "voucherOption": "VOUCHER_PAPER_ONLY", "productTitle": "City Sightseeing Cape Town Hop-On Hop-Off Tour", "itemId": 700179574, "obfsId": 27643, "departurePoint": "Tour starts at V&amp;A Waterfront, outside the Two Oceans Aquarium, however you may board the bus at any one of the stops throughout the city (see the Itinerary section below for a list of stops)", "departurePointAddress": "", "departurePointDirections": "", "leadTravellerTitle": "Mr", "leadTravellerFirstname": "Homer", "lastRetailPrice": 26.28, "bookingEngineId": "UF", "priceFormatted": "$26.28", "savingAmountFormated": "", "merchantNetPrice": 26.28, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$26.28", "currencyCode": "USD", "lastRetailPriceFormatted": "$26.28", "departsFrom": "Cape Town, South Africa", "tourGradeDescription": "1-Day Bus Tour (1DAY)", "hoursConfirmed": 0, "priceUSD": 26.28 }], "voucherURL": "https://viatorapi.sandbox.viator.com/service/merchant/voucher.jspa?code=1000308214:899757cf8b419ed11f39045636b0b30af986d19126d04547097f4b9c05fb4b69&embedResources=false", "voucherKey": "1000308214:899757cf8b419ed11f39045636b0b30af986d19126d04547097f4b9c05fb4b69", "bookerEmail": "jocelyn@viator.com", "itineraryId": 1000308214, "exchangeRate": 1, "distributorRef": "distroRefJDP1006151732", "totalPrice": 26.28, "bookingDate": "2015-06-10", "totalPriceFormatted": "$26.28", "totalPriceUSD": 26.28, "hasVoucher": true, "userId": null, "currencyCode": "USD" } } ``` ## Checking bookings The [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) service gets a user's future bookings; i.e., those with travel dates in the future. This service can also be used to check the status of a booking. ### Key concepts #### Sample URL parameters - `"sessionId=xxx"`, or - `"voucherKey=xxx"`, or - `"email=terry.smith@viator.com&lastCCFourDigits=4242"`, or - `"email=terry.smith@viator.com&itineraryOrItemId=3299307"` Provide *one* of: - a `sessionId` for all bookings related to a user account, or - a `voucherKey`, or - an email address (`email`) and the last four digits of the credit card number (`lastCCFourDigits`) used to make the booking to get all associated bookings, or - an email address (`email`) and `itemId` ...in that order For `"Failed"` items, display a message that communicates the following information to your customers: <pre>"The booking has failed either because this tour or activity was not available or there was a technical issue. Please contact Customer Service if you need more information."</pre> **See also**: [Booking and item status list](#section/Appendix/bookingStatus-field-values-and-meanings) #### Departure details Departure details, such as the `departurePoint`, `departurePointAddress` and `departurePointDirections` will be included in the response. These fields may contain HTML escape characters, such as `&amp;` and special characters that are escaped using a backslash. Ensure that these fields are parsed after receiving the response or it may cause your JSON to be invalid. **Example response object** ([/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings)): ```javascript { "errorReference": null, "data": { "sortOrder": 0, "rulesApplied": null, "bookingStatus": { "status": 3, "text": "Confirmed", "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITINERARY", "confirmed": true, "pending": false, "amended": false, "cancelled": false, "failed": false }, "itemSummaries": [{ "sortOrder": 0, "rulesApplied": null, "bookingStatus": { "status": 1, "text": "Paid &amp; Confirmed", "type": "CONFIRMED", "level": "ITEM", "failed": false, "confirmed": true, "amended": false, "pending": false, "cancelled": false }, "travellerAgeBands": [{ "sortOrder": 0, "count": 2, "pluralDescription": "Adults", "description": "Adult", "ageBandId": 1 }], "voucherKey": "1000308214:899757cf8b419ed11f39045636b0b30af986d19126d04547097f4b9c05fb4b69:700179574", "voucherURL": "https://viatorapi.sandbox.viator.com/service/merchant/voucher.jspa?code=1000308214:899757cf8b419ed11f39045636b0b30af986d19126d04547097f4b9c05fb4b69:700179574&embedResources=false", "voucherRequirements": "You must present a paper voucher for this tour. We will email a link to access and print your voucher at the Lead Travelers email address.", "productPulledDown": false, "merchantCancellable": true, "productWidgetList": null, "savingAmount": 0, "vouchers": null, "passbooks": null, "termsAndConditions": null, "itineraryId": 1000308214, "productCode": "2065CPT", "tourGradeCode": "1DAY", "distributorItemRef": "distroItemRefJDP1006151732", "languageServicesLanguageCode": "en", "travelDate": "2015-09-03", "price": 26.28, "leadTravellerSurname": "Test", "barcodeOption": "tour", "barcodeType": "code128", "destId": 318, "voucherOption": "VOUCHER_PAPER_ONLY", "productTitle": "City Sightseeing Cape Town Hop-On Hop-Off Tour", "itemId": 700179574, "obfsId": 27643, "departurePoint": "Tour starts at V&amp;A Waterfront, outside the Two Oceans Aquarium, however you may board the bus at any one of the stops throughout the city (see the Itinerary section below for a list of stops)", "departurePointAddress": "", "departurePointDirections": "", "leadTravellerTitle": "Mr", "leadTravellerFirstname": "Homer", "lastRetailPrice": 26.28, "bookingEngineId": "UF", "priceFormatted": "$26.28", "savingAmountFormatted": "", "merchantNetPrice": 26.28, "merchantNetPriceFormatted": "$26.28", "currencyCode": "USD", "lastRetailPriceFormatted": "$26.28", "departsFrom": "Cape Town, South Africa", "tourGradeDescription": "1-Day Bus Tour (1DAY)", "hoursConfirmed": 0, "priceUSD": 26.28 }], "voucherURL": "https://viatorapi.sandbox.viator.com/service/merchant/voucher.jspa?code=1000308214:899757cf8b419ed11f39045636b0b30af986d19126d04547097f4b9c05fb4b69&embedResources=false", "voucherKey": "1000308214:899757cf8b419ed11f39045636b0b30af986d19126d04547097f4b9c05fb4b69", "bookerEmail": "jocelyn@viator.com", "itineraryId": 1000308214, "exchangeRate": 1, "distributorRef": "distroRefJDP1006151732", "totalPrice": 26.28, "bookingDate": "2015-06-10", "totalPriceFormatted": "$26.28", "totalPriceUSD": 26.28, "hasVoucher": true, "userId": null, "currencyCode": "USD" }, "dateStamp": "2015-06-10T00:33:24+0000", "errorType": null, "errorMessage": null, "errorName": null, "success": true, "totalCount": 1, "vmid": "321004", "errorMessageText": null } ``` # Testing ## Postman collection for testing To facilitate your testing of the APIs functionality in the sandbox environment, please use the following file, which can be loaded into the [Postman](https://www.getpostman.com/) API development environment via its **import** function: - [Merchant partner API Postman collection](https://docs.viator.com/partner-api/resources/merchant/technical/postman/Viator-API-merchant-Postman.json) ### Setting up API-key authentication in Postman Before you start using the linked Postman collection for testing, you will need to set up the authorization method you wish to use. This can be either the new method (the `exp-api-key` <u>header</u> parameter) or, the legacy method (the `apiKey` <u>query</u> parameter). While both methods remain available, we strongly recommend that you use the new method, as it: 1. Provides access to all languages available for your organization with a single API-key as opposed to one API-key per language 2. Allows access to the new [booking cancellation endpoints](#section/Common-workflows-and-data-validation/Cancellation-API-workflow), as well as all newly-created endpoints in future Please speak to your account manager if you are still using the legacy apiKey and would like to switch to our new authentication mechanism. #### How to set up the new exp-api-key header parameter 1. Select **Edit** from the collection menu:  2. Set the following values: * **Key**: `exp-api-key` * **Value**: Your organization's single exp-api-key, which will have an identical format to that shown in the image below * **Add to**: Header  3. Click **Update** #### How to set up the legacy apiKey query parameter 1. Select **Edit** from the collection menu:  2. Set the following values: * **Key**: `apiKey` * **Value**: One of your organization's legacy apiKeys, which will have an identical format to that shown in the image below * **Add to**: Query Params  3. Click **Update** # FAQs **Is a confirmation email sent to the customer or supplier when a booking is made in the sandbox environment?** * No. **How do I make a demo booking?** * To make a demo booking, make sure you set `demo` to `true` in your request to the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service. **What should I do if I successfully create a test booking in the Live environment?** * Firstly, please don't make test bookings in the Live environment, as doing so may cause a confirmation email to be sent to the product supplier. Nonetheless, if you have made a test booking, cancel it using the [/bookings/{id}/cancel](#operation/cancelBooking) service; or, send an email to dpsupport@viator.com and include both "CANCEL" and the booking reference number in the subject line. **Which currencies can I use when making a booking?** * You can make a booking using the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) endpoint using any of the [supported currencies](#section/Appendices/Supported-currency-codes). * If you attempt to use a non-supported currency, you will receive an error message similar to the following: ```json { "errorReference": "3D45567E:2D4A_0A5D033A:01BB_5F616D10_1FBBC9:7035", "data": null, "dateStamp": "2020-09-15T18:41:00+0000", "errorType": "EXCEPTION", "errorCodes": [ "UNKNOWN_ERROR" ], "errorMessage": [ "Merchant API does not allow the specified currency" ], "errorName": "RuntimeException", "extraInfo": {}, "extraObject": null, "success": false, "totalCount": 1, "errorMessageText": [ "Merchant API does not allow the specified currency" ], "vmid": "331001" } ``` **Why am I having an SSL handshake issue?** * It may be that your SSL certificates have expired. Check this. Also, if you are using Java, make sure that it's [updated to the latest version](https://www.java.com/en/download/). **What is the difference between `merchantNetPrice` and `price` in the response from the [/search/products](#operation/searchProducts) service?** * `merchantNetPrice` is the amount you, as the merchant partner, will be invoiced for, excluding any fees. * `price` is the price at which Viator sells the product **Why is a different price displayed in [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) and [/product](#operation/product)** * [/product](#operation/product) displays the lowest possible price per traveller; whereas, [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) shows the per-traveller price based on the age-band and number of travellers within that age-band. **A destination is missing its latitude, longitude or time zone** * Some destinations in the **sandbox** environment may be missing geolocation or time zone data. However, if you encounter a destination in the **Live** environment with missing information, this can be regarded as an unintended omission – please contact us so that we can update our destination information. **How do I make a test booking?** To make a test booking, make sure you: - set `firstname` and/or `surname` in the `booker` object to `'test'`. - set `demo` to `true` Example: ```javascript { "demo": true, "currencyCode": "USD", "partnerDetail": { "distributorRef": "distroRef0412141435" }, "booker": { "email": "apitest@viator.com", "firstname": "Test", "surname": "Test", "title": "Mr" }, "items": [{ "partnerItemDetail": { "distributorItemRef": "distroItemRef0412141435_1" }, "hotelId": null, "pickupPoint": null, "travelDate": "2015-03-31", "productCode": "2916ROME", "tourGradeCode": "24HR", "languageOptionCode": "en/SERVICE_GUIDE", "bookingQuestionAnswers": [{ "questionId": 100, "answer": "120 kgs" }], "specialRequirements": "", "travellers": [{ "bandId": 1, "firstname": "Homer", "surname": "Simpson Test", "title": "Mr", "leadTraveller": true }] }] } ``` **Is it possible to use a custom value for `distributorRef` and `distributorItemRef`** * Yes! In fact, this is what you're supposed to do. You can pass anything you like in these fields; however, if you use a `distributorRef` that has already been used, the API will return the previous booking made with that `distributorRef` rather than creating a new booking. * **Note**: `distributorRef` must be fewer than 40 characters **What are some common reasons for bookings to fail in the Viator API?** - `homePhone` or any phone field in the booking request contains spaces. The only acceptable non-numeric characters are: “-“, “+” , “(“, and “)” - `distributorRef` has been re-used. When making a booking request, a `distributorRef` and `distributorItemRef` must be provided. This is the partner’s ID for the booking, and it must be unique. If a `distributorRef` has been re-used, a booking will not be made and instead, the existing booking will be returned in the response. - `distributorRef` exceeds 40 characters - No traveller or an incorrect traveller has been set as the lead traveller in the booking request; + `leadTraveller`:`true` must be set for one traveller + the `leadTraveller` must be from an `ageBand` that has `treatAsAdult` set to `true`. The data is available in the `ageBands` object in the product details service. - `languageOptionCode` is invalid + To find the valid language option codes for a particular product, have a look at the `langServices` object in the response from the [/product](#operation/product) service; e.g., ```javascript "langServices": { "en/SERVICE_AUDIO": "English - Audio" } ``` + You must then ensure that the `languageOptionCode` in the request to the [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) service is populated in the same way; i.e., ```javascript "languageOptionCode": "en/SERVICE_AUDIO" ``` **What does it mean if I receive a "Section level access denied" error message?** - This means that your API-key does not have the correct permissions to access the particular service you were attempting to access when you received this error message. If you feel you would like to use this service nonetheless in your implementation, please contact your account manager to discuss having access granted. **What does it mean if I receive a "503 Service Unavailable" response?** - This means that there was a temporary service outage on our end at that time. We recommend that you re-try the operation until you no longer receive this error. **Does API rate limiting apply to all services?** - Yes, it does. Regardless of the service you are making requests to, the fundamental rate limits apply equally. **Can I cancel multiple bookings or items at the same time using the Viator API?** - No, you may only cancel one booking at a time. **How many concurrent requests can be made of the API from the same IP address?** - Three. **Will my API-key expire?** - If any API-key is not used for a period of six months, that key is automatically deactivated as a security measure. If this has happened to you, contact your account manager to have the key reactivated or a new key issued to you. **Why am I getting an empty response when checking booking details?** - If you are attempting to check a booking using the [/booking/status](#operation/bookingStatus) or [/booking/status/items](#operation/bookingStatusItems) endpoints and receive an empty response, it may be that the booking was made with the demo parameter set to `true`, as the booking status endpoints will ignore demo bookings. Please try making the booking again, ensuring the demo parameter is set to `false`. If this also fails, please email dpsupport@viator.com and include a copy of the request and response JSON objects. **Must I always provide details for all travelers when booking a product where `allTravellerNamesRequired`=`true`?** - Approximately 45% of the products in our catalog require all traveller details to be supplied at the time of booking, and this requirement is enforced by the API. While it is technically possible to bypass this requirement – for example, by setting the lead traveler's name, but using dummy values for the the remaining travelers' details ('traveler 2', etc.) – we strongly advise against this, as it can cause problems for suppliers for whom this is a strict requirement. Examples include: Alcatraz tickets, theme park tickets that require a QR code, bookings for flights needing to meet TSA requirements; or, vehicle, Segway or jet-ski rentals. If you are unable to implement the collection of all traveler details on your site, we recommend filtering-out products where this is a strict requirement. You may also request that we filter-out these products for you so that they do not appear in product search results. **Must I always provide answers to the required booking questions when making a booking?** - Yes. You must provide answers to all necessary booking questions when making a booking. Approximately 40% of the products in our catalog have booking questions, some of which may be necessary to fulfil the suplier's legal requirements. In the case that the customer cannot provide specific details at the time of booking – e.g., a departure flight number – they may enter 'unknown' and the supplier will manually send a follow-up message to ask for this information. **Why is there such a big difference in price between that given in the product endpoints and the actual price at the time of booking?** - The price returned in the product endpoints is the 'From Price', which is the <u>lowest possible price</u> for an adult passenger when taking into account all available tour grades, group bookings and so forth. The exact price can only be determined when you check the availability for a specific date and passenger/traveler mix. We recommend using the [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) endpoint for this purpose. **Why doesn't the [/taxonomy/destinations](#operation/taxonomyDestinations) endpoint return continent-level information?** - Products are categorized according to their 'destination', which includes cities, regions and countries. The next logical grouping would be 'by continent'; however, this would be too broad a grouping, resulting in too many search results and lengthy response times if the product catalogue were to be searched by continent. For more information, see: [Categorization of content](#section/Key-concepts/Categorization-of-content) **Will there ever be a discrepancy between the amount charged for a tour and the amount refunded due to currency exchange-rate fluctuations?** - In short: no. Firstly, the cost of the booking and the refund amount are always calculated in the product supplier's native currency – no exchange rate calculations are applied. I.e., if the cost of the booking was USD 100 and the refund percentage is 100% (full refund, as per the response from [/bookings/{booking-reference}/cancel-quote](#operation/cancelBookingQuote)), Viator will simply not invoice you for that USD 100 that we would have if the booking was not canceled. Furthermore, we do not invoice you for the cost of a booking prior to its departure date. # Appendices ## Update log | Date | Description | |------|-------------| | 20 July 2020 | Added [Booking references](#section/Key-concepts/Booking-references) section | | 14 July 2020 | Updated [Calculating prices](#section/Common-workflows-and-data-validation/Calculating-prices) section | | 2 June 2020 | Updated Postman collections and [Testing](#section/Testing) section | | 18 May 2020 | Added note regarding cancel codes to [Legacy merchant cancellation](#section/Appendices/Legacy-merchant-cancellation) section | | 7 May 2020 | Upgraded search feature; enabled 'Try it Out' console | | 10 Mar 2020 | Created new [Overview](#section/Overview) section; removed 'Availability services' section, moving section contents into [Key Concepts](#section/Key-concepts) section | ## Accept-Language header The `Accept-Language` header parameter controls which language the natural language fields in the response from each endpoint will be translated into. Note that you can only specify languages that have been configured for your API-key. Therefore, if you wish to access additional languages, you will need to contact your business development account manager. | Language | Accept-Language parameter value | |----------|-------| | English | `en`, `en-US` | | Danish | `da`, `da-DK` | | Dutch | `nl`, `nl-NL` | | Norwegian | `no`, `no-NO` | | Spanish | `es`, `es-ES` | | Swedish | `sv`, `sv-SE` | | French | `fr`, `fr-FR` | | Italian | `it`, `it-IT` | | German | `de`, `de-DE` | | Portuguese | `pt`, `pt-PT` | | Japanese | `ja`, `ja-JP` | | Chinese (simplified) | `zh-CN` | | Chinese (traditional) | `zh-TW` | | Korean | `ko`, `ko-KR` | ## Standard JSON fields Every service returns a standard set of JSON fields at the end of the JSON response, which indicates if it was processed successfully by the API. In addition to the `success` flag, you will also need to check the `errorMessage` values for the status of the response. An error-free response will have: - `"success"`:`true` - `"errorType"`:`null` - `"errorMessage"`:`null` ### Example JSON - successful: ```javascript { "data": [], "vmid": "321001", "errorMessage": null, "errorType": null, "dateStamp": "2013-03-06T19:45:10+0000", "errorReference": null, "errorMessageText": null, "success": true, "totalCount": 114, "errorName": null } ``` ### Example JSON - unsuccessful: ```javascript { "errorReference": "~5793740141815885188840666", "data": null, "dateStamp": "2013-09-09T11:29:48+0000", "errorType": "EXCEPTION", "errorMessage": ["* Additional questions missing\n"], "errorName": "ValidationException", "success": false, "totalCount": 1, "vmid": "221001", "errorMessageText": ["* Additional questions missing" ] } ``` | Element | Type | Comments | To be viewed by customer | Required | |---------|------|----------|:------------------------:|:--------:| | `vmid` | string | The server id that processed the service | ❌ | ✅ | | `errorMessage` | string | The error message in HTML | ❌ | ✅ | | `errorType` | string | Type of error: EXCEPTION | ❌ | ✅ | | `dateStamp` | string | timestamp of the response | ❌ | ✅ | | `errorReference` | string | The error reference is logged for future reference | ❌ | ✅ | | `errorMessageText` | string | The textual version of the error message | ✅<br /> (if an error has occurred) | ✅ | | `success` | boolean | <ul><li>`true` if the API request was successful with no errors</li><li>`false` if an error was encountered</li></ul> | ❌ | ✅ | | `totalCount` | integer | The number of results returned (minimum = `1`) | ✅<br /> (if displaying the number of results found in a search etc.) | ✅ | | `errorName` | string | The name of the error type | ❌ | ✅ | ## Country codes | Country code | Country | |--------------|---------| | AF | Afghanistan | | AL | Albania | | DZ | Algeria | | AS | American Samoa | | AD | Andorra | | AO | Angola | | AI | Anguilla | | AQ | Antarctica | | AG | Antigua and Barbuda | | AR | Argentina | | AM | Armenia | | AW | Aruba | | AU | Australia | | AT | Austria | | AZ | Azerbaijan | | BS | Bahamas | | BH | Bahrain | | BD | Bangladesh | | BB | Barbados | | BY | Belarus | | BE | Belgium | | BZ | Belize | | BJ | Benin | | BM | Bermuda | | BT | Bhutan | | BO | Bolivia | | BA | Bosnia Herzegovina | | BW | Botswana | | BR | Brazil | | BN | Brunei | | BG | Bulgaria | | BF | Burkina Faso | | BI | Burundi | | KH | Cambodia | | CM | Cameroon | | CA | Canada | | CV | Cape Verde | | KY | Cayman Islands | | CF | Central Africa | | TD | Chad | | CL | Chile | | CN | China | | CX | Christmas Island | | CC | Cocos (Keeling) Islands | | CO | Colombia | | KM | Comoros | | CK | Cook Islands | | CR | Costa Rica | | CI | Cote D'Ivoire | | HR | Croatia | | CY | Cyprus | | CZ | Czech Republic | | DK | Denmark | | DJ | Djibouti | | DM | Dominica | | DO | Dominican Republic | | EC | Ecuador | | EG | Egypt | | SV | El Salvador | | GQ | Equatorial Guinea | | ER | Eritrea | | EE | Estonia | | ET | Ethiopia | | FK | Falkland Island | | FO | Faroe Islands | | FJ | Fiji | | FI | Finland | | FR | France | | GF | French Guiana | | PF | French Polynesia | | GA | Gabon | | GM | Gambia | | GE | Georgia | | DE | Germany | | GH | Ghana | | GI | Gibraltar | | GR | Greece | | GL | Greenland | | GD | Grenada | | GP | Guadeloupe | | GU | Guam | | GT | Guatemala | | GN | Guinea | | GW | Guinea Bissau | | GY | Guyana | | HT | Haiti | | HN | Honduras | | HK | Hong Kong | | HU | Hungary | | IS | Iceland | | IN | India | | ID | Indonesia | | IQ | Iraq | | IE | Ireland | | IL | Israel | | IT | Italy | | JM | Jamaica | | JP | Japan | | JO | Jordan | | KZ | Kazakhstan | | KE | Kenya | | KI | Kiribati | | KW | Kuwait | | KG | Kyrgyzstan | | LA | Lao People's Democratic Republic | | LV | Latvia | | LB | Lebanon | | LS | Lesotho | | LR | Liberia | | LY | Libyan Arab Jamahiriya | | LI | Liechtenstein | | LT | Lithuania | | LU | Luxembourg | | MO | Macau | | MK | Macedonia | | MG | Madagascar | | MW | Malawi | | MY | Malaysia | | MV | Maldives | | ML | Mali | | MT | Malta | | MQ | Martinique | | MR | Mauritania | | MU | Mauritius | | YT | Mayotte | | MX | Mexico | | FM | Micronesia | | MD | Moldova | | MC | Monaco | | MN | Mongolia | | MS | Monserrat | | MA | Morocco | | MZ | Mozambique | | NA | Namibia | | NR | Nauru | | NP | Nepal | | NL | Netherlands | | AN | Netherlands Antilles | | KN | Nevis- St Kitts | | NC | New Caledonia | | NZ | New Zealand | | NI | Nicaragua | | NE | Niger | | NG | Nigeria | | NU | Niue | | NF | Norfolk Island | | KP | North Korea | | MP | Northern Mariana Islands | | NO | Norway | | OM | Oman | | PK | Pakistan | | PW | Palau | | PS | Palestinian Territory, Occupied | | PA | Panama | | PG | Papua New Guinea | | PY | Paraguay | | PE | Peru | | PH | Philippines | | PN | Pitcairn | | PL | Poland | | PT | Portugal | | PR | Puerto Rico | | QA | Qatar | | RE | Reunion | | RO | Romania | | RU | Russian Federation | | RW | Rwanda | | SH | Saint Helena | | LC | Saint Lucia | | SM | San Marino | | ST | Sao Tome and Principe | | SA | Saudi Arabia | | SN | Senegal | | YU | Serbia and Montenegro | | SC | Seychelles | | SL | Sierra Leone | | SG | Singapore | | SK | Slovakia | | SI | Slovenia | | SB | Solomon Islands | | SO | Somalia | | ZA | South Africa | | KR | South Korea | | ES | Spain | | LK | Sri Lanka | | PM | St Pierre Miquelon | | VC | St Vincent and Grenadines | | SR | Suriname | | SZ | Swaziland | | SE | Sweden | | CH | Switzerland | | SY | Syria | | TW | Taiwan | | TJ | Tajikistan | | TZ | Tanzania | | TH | Thailand | | TL | Timor-Leste | | TG | Togo | | TK | Tokelau | | TO | Tonga | | TT | Trinidad and Tobago | | TN | Tunisia | | TR | Turkey | | TM | Turkmenistan | | TC | Turks and Caicos Islands | | TV | Tuvalu | | UG | Uganda | | UA | Ukraine | | AE | United Arab Emirates | | GB | United Kingdom | | UY | Uruguay | | UM | US Minor Outlying Islands | | US | United States of America | | UZ | Uzbekistan | | VU | Vanuatu | | VE | Venezuela | | VN | Vietnam | | VG | Virgin Islands-British | | VI | Virgin Islands-US | | WF | Wallis and Futuna Islands | | WS | Western Samoa | | YE | Yemen Republic | | ZM | Zambia | | ZW | Zimbabwe | ## US state codes | State code | State | |------------|-------| | AL | Alabama | | AK | Alaska | | AZ | Arizona | | AR | Arkansas | | CA | California | | CO | Colorado | | CT | Connecticut | | DE | Delaware | | DC | District of Columbia | | FL | Florida | | GA | Georgia | | HI | Hawaii | | ID | Idaho | | IL | Illinois | | IN | Indiana | | IA | Iowa | | KS | Kansas | | KY | Kentucky | | LA | Louisiana | | ME | Maine | | MD | Maryland | | MA | Massachusetts | | MI | Michigan | | MN | Minnesota | | MS | Mississippi | | MO | Missouri | | MT | Montana | | NE | Nebraska | | NV | Nevada | | NH | New Hampshire | | NJ | New Jersey | | NM | New Mexico | | NY | New York | | NC | North Carolina | | ND | North Dakota | | OH | Ohio | | OK | Oklahoma | | OR | Oregon | | PA | Pennsylvania | | RI | Rhode Island | | SC | South Carolina | | SD | South Dakota | | TN | Tennessee | | TX | Texas | | UT | Utah | | VT | Vermont | | VA | Virginia | | WA | Washington | | WV | West Virginia | | WI | Wisconsin | | WY | Wyoming | ## Canadian provinces | Code | Province | |------|----------| | Alberta | Alberta | | British Columbia | British Columbia | | Manitoba | Manitoba | | New Brunswick | New Brunswick | | Newfoundland and Labrador | Newfoundland | | Northwest Territories | Northwest Territories | | Nova Scotia | Nova Scotia | | Nunavut | Nunavut | | Ontario | Ontario | | Prince Edward Island | Prince Edward Island | | Quebec | Quebec | | Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan | | Yukon | Yukon Territory | ## Australian states | Code | State | |------|-------| | ACT | Australian Capital Territory | | NSW | New South Wales | | NT | Northern Territory | | QLD | Queensland | | SA | South Australia | | TAS | Tasmania | | VIC | Victoria | | WA | Western Australia | ## bookingStatus field values and meanings | Field: `type` | Field: `status` | Meaning | |-------|:-----:|---------| | `"WAITING"` | `0` | This item has not been booked. Part of an unfinished itinerary. | | `"CONFIRMED"` | `1` | This item has been successfully booked | | `"UNAVAILABLE"` | `2` | This item has been had an availability check, that came back false. | | `"PENDING"` | `3` | This item has begun booking, but has paused in a deferred booking engine | | `"FAILED"` | `4` | A merchant partner with a freesale-only API-key has attempted to book an on-request product | | `"CANCELLED"` | `5` | This item has successfully been cancelled. | | `"EXPIRED"` | `6` | This item is now expired. | | `"AMENDED"` | `7` | This item has been amended after booking. | | `"PENDING_AMEND"` | `8` | This item has a pending amendment which can be cancelled. | | `"REJECTED"` | `12` | Viator only | | `"ON_HOLD"` | `13` | Viator only | ## Supported currency codes Supported currency codes for merchant partners: | Currency code | Currency | |---------------|----------| | USD | US dollar | | GBP | British pound | | EUR | Euro | | AUD | Australian dollar | **Note:** Partners will be billed in the currency of the booking. ## Viator API error codes | Error code | Services | Error message | Description | |------------|----------|---------------|-------------| | ADDRESS_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "You have not entered an address. Please enter your address information." | `ccAddress1` was empty | | ADDRESS_SIZE_EXCEEDED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Billing address is restricted to 50 characters long." | `address` field was longer than 51 characters | | ATTRIBUTE_NOT_FOUND | [/product](#operation/product) | | | | AGE_BAND_INVALID | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | a `bandId` has been submitted that does not correspond to any `bandId` available for the tour grade in question | | BOOKING_QUESTIONS_MISSING | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Additional questions missing" | one or more required [booking questions](#section/Appendices/Booking-questions) are missing in the booking request | | CARD_EXPIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | submitted credit card details corresponding to an expired card | | CITY_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "You have not entered a city in the address section. Please enter your city." | address is required in the credit card section | | CITY_SIZE_EXCEEDED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "City is restricted to 40 characters long." | city name submitted was more than 40 characters long | | COUNTRY_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "You have not entered a country. Please enter your country." | no country was submitted in the booking request | | CREDIT_CARD_DECLINED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | credit card used for booking was declined by the payment processor | | CREDIT_CARD_EXPIRY_DATE_INVALID | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "The expiration date for your credit card is not formatted properly. Please verify and re-enter the expiration date." | incorrectly-formatted credit card expiration date was submitted | | CREDIT_CARD_HOLDER_NAME_INVALID | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | credit card holder's name was invalid, perhaps due to the inclusion of invalid characters | | CREDIT_CARD_NUMBER_INVALID | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Please verify and re-enter the credit card details, or use a different credit card" | invalid characters in credit card number | | CREDIT_CARD_NUMBER_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Credit card number is required" | credit card number was omitted | | CREDIT_CARD_SECURITY_NUMBER_INVALID | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "The card security number you entered for your credit card is invalid. It must contain 3 digits (or 4 with American Express cards). Please re-enter the card security number." | incorrect CCV code submitted | | CREDIT_CARD_SECURITY_NUMBER_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Credit card security number is required" | CCV was not provided | | DEMO_BOOKING_WITH_REAL_CARD | [/booking/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingPricingmatrix) | | `demo` is `true`, but credit card details are real | | DISTRIBUTOR_REFERENCE_MISMATCH | [/booking/pastbooking](#operation/bookingPastbooking); [/booking/mybookings](#operation/bookingMybookings) | "The distributor reference associated with this itinerary does not match the one provided." | attempt to retrieve a booking with an `itineraryId` or `itemId` and `distributorRef`, but the reference doesn't match the one saved in the itinerary | | EMAIL_ADDRESS_INVALID | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Your email address format is invalid" | email address is formatted incorrectly | | EMAIL_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Email is required" | email address is missing in the booking request | | FIRST_NAME_INVALID | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "You have entered a name for the credit-card holder that is not valid. Please verify and re-enter the name of the credit card holder." | first name is formatted incorrectly or contains invalid characters in the booking request - string length must be > 1 and must not contain the following characters: <>%;"(),| | FIRST_NAME_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "First name of credit card details is required" | no first name specified | | FIRST_NAME_SIZE_EXCEEDED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "First name of credit card details is restricted to 30 characters long" | first name exceeds 30 characters | | INTERNAL_ERROR | *any* | *any* | the API itself has experienced an unexpected error | | LAST_NAME_INVALID | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "You have entered a name for the credit-card holder that is not valid. Please verify and re-enter the name of the credit card holder." | last name is formatted incorrectly in the booking request - string length must be > 1 and must not contain the following characters: <>%;"(), | | LAST_NAME_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Last name of credit card details is required" | no last name supplied in the `ccname` field of the `ccPayDetail` object | | LAST_NAME_SIZE_EXCEEDED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Last name of credit card details is restricted to 35 characters long" | the surname in the `ccname` field of the `ccPayDetail` object must not exceed 35 characters in length | | LEAD_TRAVELLER_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "A traveler needs to be selected as lead traveler." | one traveller object within the `travellers` array in the booking request needs to have `leadTraveller` set to `true` | | PAYMENT_AMOUNTS_CHANGED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | e.g. "PAYMENT_AMOUNTS_CHANGED: HKD 2213.20 (was HKD 2210.26)" | This error indicates that the exchange rate was updated while the booking was being made. Refresh the product's pricing information and retry the booking. | | PAYMENT_CURRENCY_MISMATCH | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | | | PAYMENT_ENCRYPTION_ERROR | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | Viator-only internal error - retry booking request | | PAYMENT_INTERNAL_ERROR | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | Viator-only internal error - retry booking request | | PAYMENT_LIMIT_REACHED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | Viator-only internal error - retry booking request | | PAYMENT_REJECTED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | triggered when expiry: `"01/2018"` and card number: `"4539791001730106"` were submitted | | POSTCODE_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "You have not entered a zip code / post code. Please enter your zip code / post code.", | `ccaddressZip` was empty | | POSTCODE_SIZE_EXCEEDED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Zip code / post code is restricted to 10 characters long." | `ccaddressZip` was more than 10 characters in length | | PRICING_DATA_MISSING | | | Viator-only internal error - retry booking request | | PRODUCT_TOUR_GRADE_UNKNOWN | [/booking/pricingmatrix](#operation/bookingPricingmatrix) | Unknown tour grade: <TOUR_GRADE> for product | an invalid tour grade code was submitted | | PRODUCT_UNAVAILABLE | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | Viator-only internal error - retry booking request | | REFUND_REJECTED | | | Viator-only internal error - retry booking request | | STATE_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | `ccaddressState` is required for this billing request | | STATE_SIZE_EXCEEDED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | | `ccaddressState` must be fewer than 35 characters long | | TOUR_NOT_AVAILABLE | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "We're sorry, the following tour you are trying to book is sold out and no longer available" | the tour is not available on the requested date | | TOUR_GONE | [/product](#operation/product) | "We're sorry, we cannot find the tour, activity or attraction you are looking for" | no product corresponding to the supplied details was found | | TOUR_NOT_AVAILABLE_BETWEEN_DATES | | | | | TOUR_NOT_FOUND | [/product](#operation/product) | "We're sorry, we cannot find the tour, activity or attraction you are looking for" | no product corresponding to the supplied details was found | | TRAVELLER_COUNT_EXCEEDED_MAX_LIMIT | | | number of travellers in the booking request was greater than the limit for the product being booked | | TRAVELLER_FIRST_NAME_INVALID | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "First name of traveler 1 must only contain alphabetical characters" | non-alphabetical characters were used in the traveller's first name | | TRAVELLER_FIRST_NAME_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "First name of traveler 1 is required" | `firstname` in the `booker` object was omitted | | TRAVELLER_LAST_NAME_INVALID | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Last name of traveler 1 should contain alphabet only" | `surname` in the `booker` object contained non-alphabetical characters | | TRAVELLER_LAST_NAME_REQUIRED | [/booking/book](#operation/bookingBook) | "Last name of traveler 1 is required" | `surname` in the `booker` object was omitted | | TRAVELLER_MISMATCH | [/booking/availability/tourgrades](#operation/bookingAvailabilityTourgrades) | | the `bandId` is not available for the selected tour grade; or, the product does not support the number of travelers requested | | UNKNOWN_ERROR | *any* | *any* | the API reports this error when the exception from the underlying system (e.g. booking server) is not recognized | | UNKNOWN_PAYMENT_METHOD | | | | | UNSUPPORTED_CARD | | | `cctype` is not one of `"Visa"`, `"Mastercard"` or `"Amex"` | ## Booking questions Example product codes were valid at the time of writing. If you find that any of these product codes are invalid or do not include the relevant booking question, please [inform us about it via email](apitechsupport@viator.com). | Id | stringQuestionId | title | subtitle | message | example product | |:----------:|-------------|-------|----------|----------|-----| | 1 | `dateOfBirth_dob` | Date of Birth | (e.g. 20 October 1970) | Enter your date of birth. | 100009P2 | | 2 | `heights_passengerHeights` | Passenger Heights | (eg. 5'2, 158cm etc) | For safety reasons you must enter the height of all passengers. Please indicate inches or centimetres. | 100009P1 | | 3 | `passport_expiry` | Passport Expiry Date | (e.g. 15 September 2015. If multiple passengers, separate each entry e.g. 01 July 2012, 31 May 2014) | Enter passport expiry date for all passengers | 100014P10 | | 4 | `passport_nationality` | Passport Nationality | (e.g. United States of America. If multiple passengers, separate each entry e.g. Australia, China) | Enter country of issue of passport for all passengers | 100014P10 | | 5 | `passport_passportNo` | Passport Number | (e.g. 0123456789. If multiple passengers, separate each entry e.g. 0123456789, 9876543210) | Enter passport number for all passengers | 100014P10 | | 6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | 7 | `transfer_air_arrival_airline` | Arrival Airline | (e.g. United, British Airways, Qantas, etc) | Enter the name of your airline. | 100006P15 | | 8 | `transfer_air_arrival_flightNo` | Arrival Flight No | (e.g. UA 864, BA 923, QA 233, etc) | Enter your flight number. | 100006P15 | | 9 | `transfer_air_departure_airline` | Departure Airline | (e.g. United, British Airways, Qantas, etc) | Enter the name of your airline. | 100006P17 | | 10 | `transfer_air_departure_flightNo` | Departure Flight No | (e.g. UA 864, BA 923, QA 233, etc) | Enter your flight number. | 100006P17 | | 11 | `transfer_arrival_dropOff` | Drop Off Location | (e.g. 1234 Cedar Way, Brooklyn, NY 00123) | Enter the address for drop off. | 100006P15 | | 12 | `transfer_arrival_time` | Arrival Time | (eg. 8pm, 20:30 etc) | Enter your arrival time. Please indicate AM/PM or use the 24-hour clock. | 100006P15 | | 13 | `transfer_departure_date` | Departure date | (e.g. 15 September 2015) | Enter your departure date. | 100006P15 | | 14 | `transfer_departure_pickUp` | Pick up Location | (e.g. 1234 Cedar Way, Brooklyn, NY 00123) | Enter the address for pick up. | 100006P17 | | 15 | `transfer_departure_time` | Departure Time | (eg. 8pm, 20:30 etc) | Enter your departure time. Please indicate AM/PM or use the 24-hour clock. | 100006P17 | | 16 | `transfer_port_arrival_time` | Disembarkation Time | (eg. 8pm, 20:30 etc) | Enter your disembarkation time. Please indicate AM/PM or use the 24-hour clock. | 100014P14 | | 17 | `transfer_port_cruiseShip` | Cruise Ship | (e.g. Brilliance of the Seas, etc) | Enter your cruise ship. | 100014P14 | | 18 | `transfer_port_departure_time` | Boarding Time | (eg. 8pm, 20:30 etc) | Enter your boarding time. Please indicate AM/PM or use the 24-hour clock. | 100014P4 | | 19 | `transfer_rail_arrival_line` | Arrival Rail Line | (e.g. Amtrak, etc) | Enter the name of the rail provider. | 100006P15 | | 20 | `transfer_rail_arrival_station` | Arrival Rail Station | (e.g. Central Station, etc) | Enter name of arrival and/or departure station. | 100006P15 | | 21 | `transfer_rail_departure_line` | Departure Rail Line | (e.g. Amtrak, etc) | Enter the name of the rail provider. | 100014P10 | | 22 | `transfer_rail_departure_station` | Departure Rail Station | (e.g. Central Station, etc) | Enter name of arrival and/or departure station. | 100014P10 | | 23 | `weights_passengerWeights` | Passenger Weights | (e.g. 127 pounds, 145 kilos, etc) | For safety reasons you must enter the weight of <b>all</b> passengers. Please indicate pounds or kilos. | 100111P12 | ## Legacy merchant cancellation **Note:** This functionality has been replaced by the [cancellationReasons](#operation/cancellationReasons), [bookingQuote](#operation/bookingQuote) and [cancelBooking](#operation/cancelBooking) endpoints. ### Requirements for cancellations - To successfully cancel a booking via the [/merchant/cancellation](#operation/merchantCancellation) service, you must include the itinerary item to cancel (`itemId`). - `itineraryItemId` and `itineraryId` need to match the `distributorRef` and `distributorItemRef`, so these four values must also be included in the request body. - You must also include a `cancelCode` - a number corresponding to the reason for cancellation. You can use the <a href="#suggested-cancellation-codes">suggested cancel codes</a> shown in the table below. <mark>**Note**: Post-travel cancellations **will not be processed** unless a cancel code of `62` or `66` is passed in the `cancelCode` parameter.</mark> ### The [/merchant/cancellation](#operation/merchantCancellation) service: #### Description of JSON request parameters for the [/merchant/cancellation](#operation/merchantCancellation) service: | Parameter | Type | Comments | Required | |-----------|------|----------|:--------:| | `itineraryId` | integer | Viator itinerary reference number | ✅ | | `distributorRef` | string | Merchant partner's itinerary reference for booking | ✅ | | `cancelItems` | array | Array of item to cancel in itinerary | ✅ | | `itemId` | integer | Viator `itemId` of item to cancel in itinerary | ✅ | | `distributorItemRef` | string | Merchant partner's itinerary item (booking) reference | ✅ | | `cancelCode` | string | A number indicating the reason for cancelling the booking. A list of <a href="#suggested-cancellation-codes">suggested cancel codes</a> is shown in the table below. | ✅ | | `cancelDescription` | string | Natural-language reason for cancellation. A reason **must** be provided if a `cancelCode` of `'62'` or `'66'` is passed. | ✅ for `cancelCode` `'62'` or `'66'`; otherwise ❌ | #### Example [/merchant/cancellation](#operation/merchantCancellation) request: In this request, we wish to cancel the booking identified by the following: | Parameter | Value | |-----------|-------| | `itneraryId` | `12345655` | | `distributorRef` | `"Jdp122"` | | `itemId` | `330056` | | `distributorItemRef` | `"JdpItin001"` | | `cancelCode` | `"82"` (Honest mistake - incorrect purchase) | This is accomplished as follows: **API Service** ```html POST /merchant/cancellation ``` **Request body** ```javascript { "itineraryId": 1234655, "distributorRef": "Jdp122", "cancelItems": [ { "itemId": 330056, "distributorItemRef": "JdpItin001", "cancelCode": "82" }] } ``` #### Example response ```javascript { "data": { "itineraryId": 1234655, "cancelItems": [ { "cancellationResponseStatusCode": "Confirmed", "cancellationResponseDescription": "No further action required", "itemId": 330056, "distributorItemRef": "JdpItin001" }], "distributorRef": "Jdp122" }, "vmid": "221002", "errorMessage": null, "errorType": null, "dateStamp": "2013-03-21T14:28:08+0000", "errorReference": null, "errorMessageText": null, "success": true, "totalCount": 1, "errorName": null } ``` ### <a name="suggested-cancellation-codes"></a>Suggested cancellation codes: | cancelcode | meaning | |:-:|:-| | `'00'` | Testing (use for test cancellations) | | `'51'` | Flight cancellation affecting customer | | `'52'` | Flight schedule change unacceptable to customer | | `'53'` | Death of the customer or a member of their immediate family | | `'54'` | Jury duty/court summons affecting customer | | `'56'` | Medical emergency/hospitalization involving the customer or their immediate family | | `'57'` | Customer is required for military service | | `'58'` | National disaster (insurrection, terrorism, war) affecting the customer | | `'59'` | Natural disaster (earthquake, fire, flood) affecting the customer | | `'62'` | **Post-travel cancellation**: the product was cancelled by the supplier and the traveller was not given sufficient notice | | `'63'` | Transport strike/labor dispute affecting customer | | `'66'` | **Post-travel cancellation**: the product was not cancelled, but the customer was dissatisfied with the product | | `'71'` | Credit card fraud | | `'72'` | Car segment cancellation affecting customer | | `'73'` | Package segment cancellation affecting customer | | `'74'` | Hotel segment cancellation affecting customer | | `'77'` | Re-book | | `'78'` | Duplicate purchase | | `'82'` | Honest mistake (incorrect purchase) | | `'87'` | Non-refundable cancellation more than 24 hours prior to travel | | `'88'` | Non-refundable cancellation less than 24 hours prior to travel | | `'98'` | Customer service/technical support response outside time limit | | `'99'` | Duplicate processing | ### Cancellation errors If the cancellation was **not** successful, you will receive an error response. #### Example error response ```javascript { "data": { "itineraryId": "3331605", "cancelItems": [{ "cancellationResponseStatusCode": "Error.ItineraryUnknown", "cancellationResponseDescription": "Please double check the details or contact..." "itemId": "600088255", "distributorItemRef": "ItinItemRef012" }], "distributorRef": null }, "vmid": "221002", "errorMessage": null, "errorType": null, "dateStamp": "2013-03-21T14:43:38+0000", "errorReference": null, "errorMessageText": null, "success": true, "totalCount": 1, "errorName": null } ``` ### <a name="cancellation-response-status-codes-and-their-meanings"></a>Cancellation response status codes and their meanings | `cancellationResponseStatusCode` | Meaning | Action | |----------------------------------|----------|--------| | `"Confirmed"` | The request to cancel and refund the item has been accepted and processed | No further action is required. | | `"Pending"` | Confirmation of the request to cancel and refund the item is pending. This only applies when a `cancelCode` is `'62'` or `'66'` was sent and the booking was in a 'pending' state. | No action required. Partner will be contacted when a decision to confirm/reject has been made by the supplier. | | `"Rejected"` | The cancellation request was denied | No action required. The item cannot be cancelled. | | `"Error.ItemUnknown"` | Item not found | Double-check `itemId`. Contact Viator Customer Service for more information if required. | | `"Error.ItineraryUnknown"` | Itinerary not found | Double-check `itineraryId`. Contact Viator Customer Service for more information if required. | | `"Error.MultipleRequests"` | Cancellation request contains multiple requests | Submit **only one** item per cancellation request. | | `"Error.NoCancellationCodeOrDescription"` | Invalid `cancelCode` | `cancelCode` is invalid – ensure it is **two** digits long | | `"Error.Unknown"` | An undefined error has occurred | Double-check the `distributorRef` and `distributorItemRef`. If the error is still occurring, [contact the Viator partner support team](mailto:dpsupport@viator.com). | ### Resubmitting a cancellation request If the same cancellation request is sent more than once, Viator will respond with the last known response.