Searching with Reference Points and Postal Codes

Note: This topic provides a generic description of a commonly used structure or function in terminal data or XML transactions. While this description applies to many transactions, individual transactions may deviate in their use of this structure or function. Always confirm usage by reviewing documentation specific to that transaction.

References points are specific locations within city or metropolitan area. A reference point is a specific location, such an area attraction, business center, hospital, or government office. Reference points are plotted by latitude and longitude.

For example, reference points associated with Calgary, Canada include: Calgary International Airport, the Banff National Park Entrance, the Calgary Zoo, the Convention Centre, Foothills Stadium, the IBM corporate location at Fifth Avenue, Mt. Royal College, the University of Calgary, and Lake Louise.

Retrieving a Reference Point List

Reference points are optional, and can be used in conjunction with car and hotel searches to narrow searches to a specific location. A HotelReferencePoint_5_0 transaction can be used to retrieve a list of reference points for a specified city. In the <City> element, a reference point can be requested using a 3-character city or airport code.

For locations with large numbers of references points, a more token may be used to retrieve additional reference points for that location. See Using More Tokens for an example of a request for a reference point list that uses more tokens.

Index and Availability Requests Using a Reference Point

After the traveler has selected a reference point, this location can be used in several car and hotel search and availability transactions:

In each of these transactions, a <RefPt> element contains the reference point obtained from the HotelReferencePoint_5_0 response. The exact spelling and syntax of the reference point is required.

Index and Availability Requests Using Postal Codes

A postal code can also be used as the <RefPt> value, using the following forrmat: PC-ccppppppppppp, where cc is the 2-character country code, and ppppppppppp is a postal code of up to 10 characters. For example, "PC-US54499" return cars or hotel options located in Wittenberg, Wisconsin, United States and "PC-DK1200" returns car or hotel options located in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Note: Postal codes can be used as reference points for index and availability requests, but cannot be used to request a list of reference points in a HotelReferencePoint_5_0 transaction.