Expedia Group / Hotels.com is a OTA headquartered in United States. Vervotech connects to its Expedia Rapid API and maps every property to canonical IDs, so you call Expedia Group / Hotels.com alongside 78+ other suppliers through one REST endpoint.
Hand-rolling the Expedia Rapid API integration takes weeks: XML schema mapping, content normalization, ID reconciliation against every other supplier you already ship. Vervotech does that work once, and keeps it fresh.
The Expedia Rapid API, formally known as EPS Rapid, is Expedia Group's modern REST interface for hotel distribution. One integration reaches 700,000+ properties across 250,000+ destinations, including the same inventory that powers Hotels.com and Vrbo. Rapid replaces the older Expedia Partner Solutions XML endpoints for new integrators.
Vervotech consumes Rapid on the same footing as 400+ other hotel suppliers. You call one Vervotech REST endpoint. We handle the EAN authentication, the Rapid schema, the tokenized booking links, and the daily property refresh. Your rooms and rates come back with canonical Vervotech hotel IDs, so an Expedia property is instantly comparable to the same hotel from Hotelbeds, TBO, Priceline, or any other supplier in your stack.
Expedia Group / Hotels.com at a glance
- Type
- OTA
- Headquartered
- United States
- Founded
- 1996
- Inventory
- 700000+ properties
- API
- Expedia Rapid API
- Regions
- Global
Global OTA powerhouse with Hotels.com and Vrbo offering one unified Rapid API for hotel content, availability and bookings
Expedia Rapid API endpoints, mapped through Vervotech
The Rapid Lodging API exposes shopping, booking, and content endpoints. Vervotech reads every one of them and returns the merged result through a single REST call, so you never touch Rapid's tokenized link chain directly.
| Endpoint | What it does |
|---|---|
Property Catalog | Static content, property IDs, name, address, star rating. Rapid requires daily refresh; Vervotech absorbs that job. |
Geography API | Region hierarchy and property lookup by geo. Vervotech unifies this with 3M+ properties from every other supplier. |
Shopping API | Live availability, rates, fees, and cancellation policies. Vervotech returns Rapid rates side by side with every other supplier's rates on the same canonical hotel ID. |
Price Check link | Rate verification before booking. Vervotech calls Rapid's price_check link on your behalf and returns MATCHED or the new rate. |
Booking API | Submits the booking with guest info and payment. Vervotech's booking endpoint proxies to Rapid using the tokenized link chain. |
Retrieve link | Full itinerary retrieval. Vervotech surfaces confirmation numbers, room details, and status via one canonical booking-retrieval call. |
Cancel booking link | Booking cancellation. Vervotech maps Expedia cancellation policies to our canonical rate-rule schema so your UI stays consistent across suppliers. |
Property Message Center | Two-way messaging with the property. Available via passthrough on the Vervotech booking record. |
How Vervotech maps Expedia Group / Hotels.com
- Ingest. We pull static and dynamic content directly from Expedia Rapid API on a daily refresh cycle.
- Normalize. Schema, currency, and language are unified to Vervotech's canonical model.
- Map. Properties are resolved to canonical hotel IDs across every supplier you connect, at 99.998% accuracy on 3M+ properties.
- Deduplicate rooms. Identical room types across suppliers collapse to one canonical room.
- Expose. One REST endpoint returns the merged, deduplicated inventory ready for booking.
How you connect Expedia Rapid through Vervotech in 5 steps
- Step 1. Sign up for Vervotech. Create a Vervotech account and grab your REST API key. 7-day free trial, no credit card.
- Step 2. Enable Expedia Rapid in your dashboard. Toggle Expedia Rapid on. If you already have Rapid credentials, plug them into the dashboard. If not, Vervotech can broker the Rapid partnership through our Expedia Group technology-partner relationship.
- Step 3. Sync property IDs. Vervotech maps every Rapid property_id to a canonical Vervotech hotel_id. You get a CSV or an API endpoint to reconcile your existing IDs with ours.
- Step 4. Call the unified shopping endpoint. One HTTPS GET returns rates from Expedia Rapid, Hotelbeds, Amadeus, and every other supplier you have enabled. Compare margins per room across suppliers in a single JSON response.
- Step 5. Book via the Vervotech booking API. Pass the room token. Vervotech follows the Expedia price_check and booking link chain on your behalf and returns the itinerary_id with cancellation and modification links.
Expedia Group / Hotels.com XML API, translated to REST
Most legacy hotel supplier APIs, including Expedia Group / Hotels.com, expose XML over SOAP or plain HTTPS POST. Every field is nested inside supplier-specific elements, dates are in supplier-specific formats, and rate rules are buried inside repeating groups you have to unwind before you can even read them.
Vervotech reads the Expedia Group / Hotels.com XML directly, parses the schema, normalizes fields to a canonical JSON model, and exposes the result as a single REST endpoint. You never touch the XML. If the Expedia Group / Hotels.com schema changes, we absorb the change on our side without breaking your integration.
- No SOAP envelopes, no XML namespaces, no XSD parsing on your side
- Canonical hotel and room IDs across every supplier you connect
- Currency, language, and date fields already unified
- Rate rules, cancellation policies, and inclusions flattened into readable JSON
Who can access the Expedia Rapid API
Expedia Group approves Rapid access for established travel businesses. You typically need a live product, a defined use case (OTA, corporate booking tool, meta, TMC), and a signed agreement. Individual developers and hobby projects are usually declined.
Vervotech customers who already have Rapid credentials can plug them in and start distributing immediately. Customers who don't can go through Vervotech's Expedia Group technology-partner channel, which shortens the approval timeline.
Expedia Rapid direct vs. through Vervotech
| Concern | Direct integration | Through Vervotech |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first booking | 6 to 12 weeks (approval + build) | Days once Rapid credentials are approved |
| Hotel ID reconciliation | Manual, per supplier | Canonical hotel IDs across 400+ suppliers |
| Rate comparison with other suppliers | Custom rate-shopping engine on your side | Native in the Vervotech response |
| Handling Rapid schema updates | Your team ships schema patches | Vervotech absorbs the change |
| Rebooking on price drops | Build it yourself | Vervotech Profit Maximizer, ships out of the box |
| Total suppliers reached | 1 (Rapid) | 400+ suppliers, one endpoint |
Common use cases
- OTAs consolidating wholesale + direct + bedbank inventory into a single searchable index
- Travel agencies looking for best-rate retrieval across multiple suppliers in <500ms
- Corporate booking tools standardizing on a single hotel ID schema across vendors
- Hotel rate intelligence platforms tracking competitor pricing across distribution channels
- Tour operators packaging hotel + flight + activity with deduplicated property catalogs
Frequently asked questions
What is the Expedia Group / Hotels.com hotel API?
- The Expedia Rapid API is Expedia Group / Hotels.com's programmatic interface for searching, pricing, and booking hotel inventory. It returns static content, live rates, and availability for 700000+ properties of properties.
How does Vervotech integrate with Expedia Group / Hotels.com?
- Vervotech ingests Expedia Group / Hotels.com on a daily refresh, normalizes the schema, and maps every property to canonical hotel IDs that match all your other suppliers. You hit one REST endpoint instead of integrating Expedia Group / Hotels.com directly.
How long does a Expedia Group / Hotels.com integration take through Vervotech?
- Most customers are live in days, not weeks. There is no XML mapping work and no per-supplier ID reconciliation, because Vervotech already maintains the canonical schema across 400+ suppliers.
Does the Expedia Group / Hotels.com XML API expose all inventory that the REST API returns?
- Vervotech reads directly from Expedia Group / Hotels.com's primary API feed, so you get the same static content, live rates, availability, and booking capabilities you would get integrating the Expedia Group / Hotels.com XML natively. The difference is you consume it as REST JSON, and the same request pattern works across every other supplier in your stack.
What happens if the Expedia Group / Hotels.com XML schema changes?
- Vervotech absorbs the schema change on our side. Your integration keeps working. Our team maintains the schema-to-canonical mapping continuously, which is the single largest hidden cost in every in-house XML API integration.
Can I rate-shop Expedia Group / Hotels.com against other suppliers?
- Yes. Because Expedia Group / Hotels.com properties share canonical IDs with every other supplier in Vervotech, you can compare rates, route bookings to the best margin, and rebook automatically when prices drop with Profit Maximizer.
How much does it cost?
- Hotel Mapping starts at $499 a month with a 7-day free trial. Package discounts run up to 50% off when you bundle multiple suppliers.
Does Expedia Rapid include Hotels.com and Vrbo inventory?
- Yes. Rapid is the underlying distribution API for Expedia Group properties. That includes Expedia, Hotels.com, and select Vrbo properties. Through Vervotech, all of that inventory returns with canonical hotel IDs so a Hotels.com property is deduplicated against the same hotel on Hotelbeds, Priceline, or any other supplier.
Is Expedia Rapid XML or REST?
- Rapid is a REST API that returns JSON. The older Expedia Partner Solutions XML endpoints are still available for legacy integrations, but Rapid is the modern path and the one Vervotech uses. Your team never touches SOAP or XML for Expedia when you go through Vervotech.
How does the Rapid tokenized link chain work?
- Every Rapid response embeds tokenized links for the next step in the flow. The shopping response gives you a price_check link for each rate. The price_check response gives you a book link. The booking response gives you retrieve, cancel, and resume links. Vervotech follows this chain on your behalf and returns the same operations as normal REST calls with clean canonical IDs.
What is EPS Rapid?
- EPS Rapid and Expedia Rapid refer to the same API. EPS stands for Expedia Partner Solutions, the Expedia Group division that publishes the API. Vervotech supports it under either name.
Can I use Rapid without becoming an Expedia partner?
- No. Rapid always requires a signed Expedia Group agreement. Vervotech can accelerate the introduction through our Expedia Group technology-partner relationship, but the commercial contract sits directly between you and Expedia Group.
Official Expedia Rapid documentation
Start integrating in minutes, not weeks
7-day free trial. No credit card required. Hotel Mapping starts at $499 a month, with package discounts up to 50% off when you bundle suppliers.
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