How supplier API integrations are done in travel booking platforms

No matter how you prefer to deal with supplier API integrations directly or prefer a third-party vendor to manage your integrations for you, it is critical that you have a fair amount of understanding about supplier API and how it works.

Before deciding on supplier API Integration and which supplier to integrate make sure on the following:

Analyse API Documentation exhaustively: We start by using the full perspective after recognising the functions & set of instructions required to carry out the API. We then create an Appropriate API documentation that helps both parties to find out about the usage restrictions, data input and output and other performance details.

Use APIs That Are Well Tested: engaging APIs is the important best practice for an attempt because it helps you to save costs. APIs have a successful chance of downtime owing to dependency on 3rd party addressing to an inadequate user experience. With well-tested APIs from dependable sources, you can run and address your mission-critical applications and provide the robust user experience.

Assure Security: With the hike in data theft and hacking, you must pay careful attention to the security features of an API. Some APIs from established sources tender better data protection and encrypted connection. Whereas other APIs are badly protected and can acquaint your business to protection vulnerabilities. So, implement APIs which abide by substantial security policies, protecting your organisation and user data.

Concentrate on Scalable APIs: Every business demands shift over time. A scalable API can develop with your business. This intends that you will not have to reconstruct your present third-party integrations when you choose flexible alternatives.

While integrating systems has always been a complex and costly task is now built on common Web standards and open APIs which is designed with system integration (SI) in mind. The integration between your booking platform and Channel Managers/OTA Channels/Suppliers can be carried out in a safe and reliable way through API integrations by automatically importing/exporting the availability, prices as well as the reservations.

How does data flow happen during a supplier API integration?

Different integration specialists have their own way of data integrations. Here we are speaking about how Nibodha handles data during a supplier API integration. Suppliers will be exposing their API/File. We access the supplier platform and receive data from them through our (Nibodha) integration hub. The data we receive through integration hub will be stored in the source DB (Mongo DB) without any sort of transformation on it. We transform the data received to our required format (Nibodha) using CAMEL and Spring batch. Spring batch helps in executing Batch Jobs in the best way. Following which we save that into the integration DB. Channels/Distributors can fetch the data through our exposed APIs in a matter of time making integrations super fast.