IAN XML Technology Affiliate Training Series V : Reviewing Your Website Using the Checklist for Approval for Hotel Products Requirements
2 Understanding the IAN XML Program All IAN Affiliate Program and Account information is managed by the Account Management team at affiliate@ian.com All IAN XML and Data Interface Programs, XML technical assistance, and information is managed by the XML team at xml@ian.com For the most expeditious assistance, be sure to contact the appropriate source with all information necessary to assist you, including your CID. 2
3 Access the Online Checklist for Approval To begin reviewing your site for all mandatory requirements, access the online Checklist for each product you plan to develop. XML Documentation Center Main Page http://www.ian.com/xmldocs/main.jsp 3
4 Review Required Items for Each Product Best Practices: Print the checklist before you begin your development so you will be able to refer to the requirements as you work. 4
5 Checkpoints for each XML Product Developed General Requirements include items that should be included regardless of the XML product you re using Merchant Hotels Requirements include the items, content and check points required for Expedia contract hotels or suppliertype=h Agency Hotels Requirements include the items, content and check points required for GDS hotels or suppliertype=s or W Car Rental Requirements include the items, content and check points required for all Car Rental applications Best Practices: Compare your site side by side with the same search on Travelnow.com to insure you are displaying the proper pricing and text, legally required items, and other details from the checklist that will assist you in obtaining satisfied users for all products you are developing. Flight Requirements include the items, content and check points required for all Flight applications 5
6 Checkpoints General Requirements for All Products 6
7 General Requirements All Products Seller of Travel General Requirements: https://www.ian.com/xmldocs/checklist/checklistall.shtml California Seller of Travel details as seen on the Terms page of Travelnow.com must be present in your own terms pages if you do not link to this page. http://www.travelnow.com/popups/hotels/useragreement.jsp?cid=xxx 7 This is legally required text by the State of California for all affiliates selling Travelnow.com reservation products in that state or to California residents. It must be present somewhere in all IAN affiliate sites including all XML products.
8 General Requirements Photo Disclaimer Note: It is the responsibility of the hotel chain and/or the individual property to ensure the accuracy of the photos displayed. Yourwebsite.com is not responsible for any inaccuracies in the photos. The above disclaimer is required when displaying property photos. The best place to include this is on the page that shows all property photos and hotel information. 8
9 General Requirements Validating Check Boxes Use validating check boxes with the same wording for the user s agreement all to terms and policies that currently appear on the booking forms for each product on Travelnow.com. Your customer must be aware of and intentionally agree to all cancellation policies, terms and conditions of the sale. This makes the user responsible for his reservation submission and any charges incurred if cancelled. 9
10 General Requirements SSL Encryption SSL ENCRYPTION of User Sensitive Data You are REQUIRED to use SSL encryption on all booking forms, booking confirmation pages, itinerary forms, itinerary response pages, cancel forms and cancel pages. If you do not collect and submit data for these pages using https, your requests will fail. All booking forms, confirmation pages, itinerary forms and response pages, and cancellation forms and pages must be on an encrypted URL (HTTPS) Sent From: HTTPS://www.MySite.com/BookingForm.jsp Each of these requests must be submitted to Travelnow.com with HTTPS in the request URL. Sent to: HTTPS ://axml.travelnow.com/external/xmlinterface.jsp Note that Web Service Requests take special handling of your source file to submit a request with a secure protocol. Refer to the Web Services section for examples. 10
11 General Requirements Prevent Duplicate Bookings ALL XML affiliates must also insure they include appropriate logic or mechanisms in their applications that prevent users from submitting duplicate booking requests when a duplicate booking is NOT DESIRED. 11 Javascript to disable the submit button once a booking request has been submitted Built in logic as suggested in the reservation request outlines of each product Best Practices: Note that users are impatient and may need special handling on your part to insure their credit card is not charged multiple times if they continue to press the submit button more than once. Placing the reservation and interacting with the payment processing systems may take slightly longer than other responses.
12 Check Your Work At the end of each list of product checkpoints, you can check your work. Use this list to insure you have included all general requirements for that product. Do not request a site review until all checkpoints have been fulfilled properly. This will save you time and frustration in reworking your site. 12
13 Checkpoints for Expedia Inventory Requirements for Merchant Hotels { suppliertype = H } * Merchant is the term for all inventory responses from the Expedia negotiated hotel rates database. 13
14 Merchant Hotels Room Type Descriptions The roomtypedescription gives the user information on the selection they are making for the reservation. It also describes the bedding type of that room in many cases on Merchant properties. <roomtypedescription>standard Room with King Bed</roomTypeDescription> 14
15 Merchant Hotels Room Rate Disclaimer Room Rate Disclaimer You MUST show the room rate disclaimer with room availabilities. Here is the example text from Travelnow.com : "The room rates listed are for double occupancy per room unless otherwise stated and exclude tax recovery charges and service fees. See FAQs for more details." 15
16 Merchant Hotels Tax Recovery Fees Include the Tax Recovery Charges and Service Fees breakdown and the total price of the net rate reservation in : booking page confirmation page Any additional confirmation emails sent to client Use the exact stated text regarding taxes and fees on Merchant inventory : Tax Recovery Charges and Service Fees 1. Subtotal of all nights or the breakdown of all nights 2. Tax Recovery Charges and Service Fees 3. Total Charge <chargeableroomratetaxesandfees> holds the total of all Tax Recovery Charges and Service Fees in a single value <nativeroomrate> holds the chargeable total of all rooms, nights, and taxes You may show the individual nightly rates or you may show a total of all nightly rates. 16
17 Merchant Hotels Total Price nativeroomrate and displayroomrate is the total price of the Merchant reservation for the rooms selected It includes all Tax Recovery Charges and Service Fees. <displayroomrate>214.86</displayroomrate> (the converted amount in other currencies) <nativeroomrate>214.86</nativeroomrate> (the chargeable amount in the billing currency) The native price is charged in full at the time of booking as a prepaid discounted reservation. You are required to display the total chargeable amount on these pages: You are required to display the correct total chargeable amount on these pages: room availability list booking form confirmation page. NOTE: nativeroomrate is always the amount charged even when a non-supported currency for payment is requested displayroomrate is only the converted amount in the currency requested 17
18 Merchant Hotels Cancellation Policies Cancellation policies are required from the room availability response on the room availability list booking form confirmation page. Best Practices: DO NOT hardcode cancel policy data as this will be different for each property and each supplier Include the cancellation policy for each room on room availability results since they may be different on each selection. This is the cancellation policy which will be applicable to the dates and room selected Inaccurate AND inadequate policy information results in customer disputes and chargebacks to your account 18
19 Merchant Hotels Prepaid Charges MUST display that the credit card WILL BE charged immediately for the full amount of the reservation on the booking form and the confirmation page Only Merchant Hotels (suppliertype=h) are charged at the time of booking. 19
20 Merchant Hotels Check In Instructions Display the check in instructions IF they have been returned in the room availability and/or reservation results. This is returned on some rare properties where the user needs to know special information BEFORE THEY ARRIVE regarding how to get checked into the property if 24 hour check in is not available. In cases where the user does not receive this info and are unable to check into the property customer disputes and chargebacks will result on the affiliate account. 20
21 Merchant Hotels Mandatory Credit Card Policies Follow all mandatory credit card requirements as described in the policies page: https://www.ian.com/xmldocs/modules/cc/ccmandates.shtml There are strict and specific guidelines mandated by the credit card companies regarding how credit cards are used and payment selections will be made on the internet. Follow the outline to insure that no specific preference is given regarding the choice of credit card or payment method. Follow all guidelines for how credit card images must be displayed to prevent showing any preference to payment methods. Display only the last four digits of the card number or do not show at all if confirming any payment methods prior to or after booking. Do not store any CSV values from customer credit cards. 21
22 Check Your Work https://www.ian.com/xmldocs/checklist/checklistmerchanthotels.shtml 22
23 Checkpoints for GDS Inventory Requirements for Agency Hotels { suppliertype = S or W } * Agency is the term for all inventory responses from Global Distribution Sources or GDS 23
24 Agency Hotels Room Type and Rate Descriptions On GDS you MUST show the BOTH the room type description along with the rate descriptions (which include AARP, COR, RAC, AAA identifiers) as returned in your xml response <ratecode>cor</ratecode> <roomtypedescription> 1 King/NO SMOKING/REMOTE CONTROL TV - /HBO/TABLE AND CHAIRS</roomTypeDescription> <ratedescription> Corporate/Business RATE</rateDescription> <ratecode>aaa</ratecode> <roomtypedescription> 2 DOUBLE BEDS/REMOTE CONTROL TV/HBO - /TABLE AND CHAIRS</roomTypeDescription> <ratedescription> AAA/CAA RATE, MEMBERSHIP REQD</rateDescription> 24
25 Agency Hotels Room Rate Disclaimer Rate is per room, per night, for the selected room rates for the stated occupancy. Conditions that drive rate on GDS inventory: ID may be required to qualify for a special rate like AARP, etc. There may be an extra person charge if the room type they booked does not accommodate the amount of people requested, or they may be required to cancel and rebook to a bigger room upon arrival at a different rate than previously booked. Provide the actual extra person, children, rollaway bed charges when available. Otherwise, include this information in a standard disclaimer as seen on our terms and faq pages. You MUST show the room rate disclaimer with room availabilities on Agency listings. Here is the example from Travelnow.com "You are booking a non-discounted property. All rates displayed are nightly, and based on double occupancy per room unless otherwise specified. Carefully review the room descriptions and rate rules to ensure the room you select can accommodate your entire party. Some rates may require special identification. Our booking fee, taxes, and other surcharges imposed by the hotel are not included. Any extra adults or children above the room's listed occupancy may be subject to additional charges at the property's discretion." Also include this information on your booking page to remind the user of occupancy charges. "Requests for more than 2 people, or for more occupants than your selected rate indicates, will be sent to the hotel but are not guaranteed. If accepted, they will be subject to additional charges at the property's discretion." 25
26 Agency Hotels Rate Per Night ONLY A total is not known since the value returned in the display and nativeroomrate is a single nightly rate NOT a total rate It is MANDATORY that the rate is understood as a single night rate during the dates selected without taxes or fees If ratechange is true, then you will want to state that the rate changes since the rate returned is the highest of all nightly rates. If ratechange is true, then the other nightly charges will be LESS than the highest night rate displayed 26 The only rate information returned on an Agency listing is the single highest night rate without taxes and fees and is populated in the displayroomrate element for requested currencies and the nativeroomrate element for the hotel s native chargeable currency.
27 Agency Hotels Breakdown of Charges Must include the rate information on: booking page confirmation page additional confirmation emails sent to client Follow the example booking page breakdown from Travelnow.com. Do NOT state a total amount Refer to taxes as simply "taxes and fees" Tax Recovery Charges and Service Fees is specific text to be used with MERCHANT prepaid bookings only. Do not use this text on Agency price breakdowns. 27 Your final breakdown should include a clear itemization of charges: Room Type: 1 Queen Bed Rate per Room per Night: Seniors Rate * 55yrs Or AARP I Double Occupancy $59.40(USD) (excludes taxes and other surcharges imposed by the hotel).
28 Agency Hotels Guarantee Only An agency listing will be a guarantee only (unless depositrequired=true) and is paid by the customer at the property at checkin/checkout. The final price of the reservation is determined at this time. If depositrequired is true then the property will directly charge the deposit upon processing the reservation. This is usually the first night rate plus taxes and fees. GDS deposits are not processed by IAN payment or charging systems but directly by the hotel when they receive the reservation. On the booking page state the example guarantee text above in order for your visitor to understand when and how he will be charged. This will reduce the volume of customer service issues and questions regarding what has been paid at booking time or at check in with the property. 28
29 Agency Hotels Cancellation Policies Cancellation policies are required to be stated from the response data on the room availability page for EACH ROOM, the booking form and the final confirmation page This is the cancellation policy which will be applicable to the dates and room selected DO NOT hardcode cancel data as this will be different for each property, each room, and each supplier. It will also indicate if a deposit is required for that individual room or is nonrefundable Inaccurate and inadequate policy information results in customer disputes and chargebacks to your account Follow the same rules for policy display as for merchant properties 29
30 Agency Hotels Supplier Logos WorldSpan logos are required on GDS room availability pages ONLY if the rates are provided by that supplier. This logo is not necessary on the hotel availability list unless ALL properties on the page are returned from Worldspan. DO NOT display these logos on hotels.com Merchant properties or pages that include Merchant availabilities. Best Practices: DO NOT display GDS supplier logos on expedia/hotels.com Merchant availabilities. You may use or show powered by text with a hotels.com, travelnow.com, expedia.com, or ian.com logo if desired. <suppliertype> W indicates the Worldspan Logo should be displayed for that room availability. Sabre is the default supplier for all GDS inventory, however, in some rare occasions Worldspan can be returned for certain choice hotels. In some other cases, we may default to Worldspan to receive and continue accessing GDS inventory if the Sabre system experiences and unexpected outage. Expect most all GDS Agency inventory to return as suppliertype=s from Sabre 30 Be prepared to also recognize suppliertype=w for Worldspan in the event of results with this inventory.
31 Check Your Work https://www.ian.com/xmldocs/checklist/checklistgdshotels.shtml Best Practices: DO NOT request a site review until you have fulfilled all items on the checklist for each product you are developing. 31
32 Review Print the checklist for each product you are developing. Use this checklist while you are developing your application. Use the checkpoints to verify you have completed each required item on the list. Once your site matches all text as outlined and compared to Travelnow.com, all chargeable rates are correct when comparing to Travelnow.com and all functionality works as expected, then you may request a site review. https://www.ian.com/xmldocs/requestreview.shtml We will compare the same search on your site to Travelnow.com for each checkpoint on the list and for each product you specify in your review request. If any item(s) on the list are unable to be verified, we ll send back your request with the info we are unable to verify. You ll be required to follow through on corrected your site before we can continue with a review or grant approval to go live. Receiving approval to go live, does not verify that all functionality on your back end or in your code is accurate since we are unable to verify your backend code from the browser. We can however, verify your results compared to Travelnow.com, that all required text, policies, and other items are present on the site. Any errors in your back end code that cause customer service issues are your responsibility. If you thoroughly follow the documentation, use the checklist, properly display rates, currencies, and policies, and, carefully implement the proper error handling, your site should function with few customer issues. 32
33. Questions All information is online in the documentation center allowing you to fully and independently develop your application http://www.ian.com/xmldocs/main.jsp If further questions arise or you have special needs beyond the scope of the documentation and available resources, you may write to xml@ian.com xml@ian.com 469-335-1106 Affiliate Relations EAN :: Expedia Affiliate Network 333 108th Ave NE Bellevue, WA :: 98004 ian.com :: hotels.com 10440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 400 Dallas, TX :: 75231 33
Here s a summary list of resource links for Managing Your XML : 1. Documentation: http://www.ian.com/xmldocs/main.jsp 2. Apply for Access: http://12.14.173.100/xmldocs/xmlaccessform.asp 3. Mandatory Requirements Checklist: http://www.ian.com/xmldocs/checklist/checklisthome.shtml 4. Apply for Approval to Go Live: http://www.ian.com/xmldocs/requestreview.shtml 5. When you need to update your IP address: http://www.ian.com/xmldocs/updateip.shtml 6. When you need to update your XML distribution email addresses: http://www.ian.com/xmldocs/updateemail.shtml 7. Sign up for Trip Advisor guest reviews: https://www.ian.com/xmldocs/guestreviews/guestreviews.shtml 34
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