Requesting a Hotel Description

Business Description

Supplies additional information about a hotel property or chain, based on keyword requests, that can be used to determine a hotel selection.

Property description information includes:

• Check-in and check-out times.

• Directions to the hotel from the east, west, north, and south.

• Hotel amenities, such as health club, swimming pool, or babysitting services.

• Room types and descriptions, including mini-bar or coffee maker.

• Promotional information, such as special event rates or weekend packages.

• Location information, such as whether the hotel is in a historic district, near shopping, or near sports venues.

• Cancellation and guarantee policies.

Request

The Hotel Description XML request provides textual information about a hotel chain or a specific hotel property, such as check-in and check-out times, hotel directions, amenities, and detailed room description. Hotel description requests can be made either separately or concurrently with image requests for a hotel property.

There are three types of Hotel Description requests:

• General (Generic) Information Request
  Provides an abridged version of the hotel description or chain description. When the specific chain code or hotel Property ID is used in the request, more detailed information is returned.

• Keyword Request
  Provides specific information based on a keyword. Up to three keywords can be included in a request.

• Available Keywords Request
  Provides a list of available property keywords, which can be used for a Keyword request.

These request types can be sent individually, or in any combination. Sending a combined General Information and Keyword request typically yields the most detailed property information. The traveler's check-in date, <StartDate>, can optionally be specified for General Information and Keyword requests. If no date is requested, the response defaults to the current date.

Response

If hotel descriptions were requested, the response is text-only, and is included in the <Description> element. General information, keyword descriptions, or a list of available keywords can be combined in the response. If a check-in date, <StartDate>, was included in the request, the response will include a hotel description valid for that date.

If data is not available for a specific keyword in the request, such as meal plans or facilities, no error response is sent from the CRS. The response will simply not include an element for that keyword. In some cases, the response text indicates that no information is available for that keyword.

Recommended Use

This task is optional, but is frequently used when selecting a hotel property. This task is typically performed as a follow-up request for a specific property in a list retrieved through a hotel index, standard hotel availability, or complete hotel availability.

Technical Overview

Associated Transactions

For more information about the functionality of this task, see the associated transaction:

HotelDescription_5_0.

Sample Transaction Flow

Hotel Transaction Flow 2: Step 2