Connection Types

First Things First: What is a Connector?

A connector functions as a "translator" between the systems of Buyers and Sellers. It allows different formats or programming languages to be compatible, ensuring that information from a hotel provider is accessible on an online travel agency’s portal—even if their databases are structured differently.

Which Connectivity Model Should I Use?

• Use Pull when the Seller remains the real-time source of availability, pricing, and booking data. Travelgate requests the information from the Seller when the Buyer needs it.
• Use Push Standard when Travelgate should manage the Seller Inventory locally (setup, availability and pricing). Buyers use data that has already been loaded into Inventory.
• Use Push Hybrid when setup and search data are stored in Travelgate Inventory, but the final price, cancellation policies, or booking details must be validated in real time with the Seller.

Pull Connection

What is a Pull Connection?

Pull Connections operate as a two-way communication system between two parties:

1. A Seller
2. A Buyer

In this setup, Buyers—such as OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) and Tour Operators—send availability requests to Travelgate. Travelgate then queries the Seller and returns the response instantly.

Handling Static Content

Static content information (e.g., portfolio, destination list, room list) is retrieved from the Seller’s API. The quantity and quality of this data depend entirely on the information provided by the Seller through the integration. Travelgate functions as a bypass in this process.

Advantages of Pull Connectivity

• Real-time availability updates between Buyers and Sellers.
• Technically easier to develop and implement.

Disadvantages of Pull Connectivity

• Requires handling a higher volume of traffic, demanding a greater system investment compared to Push integrations.

Push Integration

What is a Push Integration?

A Push integration involves Channel Managers "pushing" their product data directly to Travelgate's database/system.

Once a Push connection is established, the Buyer configures their setup in our Inventory Extranet according to pre-agreed conditions with the hotels. The hotel setup includes:

• Hotel
• Rates
• Rooms (including offers and derived rates, if applicable)

After completing the hotel setup, the Buyer notifies the Channel Manager to "push" their product (availability, rates). This data is then processed and made available to the Buyer.

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Buyers, Hotels, and Channel Managers should maintain ongoing communication to stay informed about updates, such as modifications, new rates, and room changes.

Push Integrations: Static Content

In Push integrations, static content is generated and stored within Travelgate's system. Hotel and room codes will follow Travelgate’s format instead of the Seller’s, ensuring consistency across all connected Channel Managers and Push suppliers. However, content such as images, descriptions, and amenities is not provided.

Push Integrations: Booking Flow

1. Push Standard

In the Push Standard model, availability, rates, and the entire booking flow are managed directly within Travelgate’s Inventory platform. Buyers access pre-loaded data, meaning no real-time API calls to the Seller's system are required during the booking flow process.

Advantages of Push Standard Connectivity

• Reduced Traffic Load: Minimizes server requests for Sellers, drastically reducing the need for expensive infrastructure and system investments.
• Lightning-Fast Responses: Buyers experience near-instant response times since data is queried locally from the Inventory.
• Total Portfolio Control: Empowers Buyers and Hoteliers to directly load, update, and manage their portfolio (hotels, rates, rooms, and availability) within the platform.

2. Hybrid

The Push Hybrid model blends a Push-style setup with a Pull-style booking flow. While the initial setup, pricing, and availability are loaded and maintained in the Inventory (Push), the other steps (Quote, Book, Read, and Cancel) behave like a Pull integration where Travelgate executes real-time supplier calls to validate updated cancellation policies and exact pricing right before confirmation.

Booking step	Source of data or action
Search	Travelgate Inventory returns the stored availability and pricing.
Quote	Travelgate calls the Seller in real time to validate availability, price, and cancellation policies.
Book	Travelgate sends the booking request to the Seller using the validated quote.
Read	Travelgate retrieves the current booking details from the Seller.
Cancel	Travelgate sends the cancellation request to the Seller and returns the result.

Push Hybrid Booking Example

For example, a Buyer can display an Inventory price during Search, request a real-time Quote before confirmation, and then continue to Book only if the Seller confirms the same price and cancellation conditions. If the Seller returns different conditions, the Buyer should show the updated result and request confirmation again (if they agree to the new conditions). For implementation details, see the Inventory booking flow approach and HotelX One Step Quote.

Advantages of Push Hybrid Connectivity

• Optimized Look-to-Book (L2B) Ratio: Drastically reduces the volume of massive availability requests sent to the Seller's servers that do not convert into bookings.
• Real-Time Accuracy: Helps ensure that pricing, final availability, and cancellation policies are validated at the exact moment of booking for maximum accuracy.
• Best of Both Worlds: Combines the high-speed search performance of the Push model (for availability) with the transactional reliability and up-to-date conditions of the Pull model (for booking).

Push Integrations: Setup

Booking-flow models and setup automation are separate dimensions. A Push Standard or Push Hybrid integration may support Manual Setup, Partial AutoSetup, or Full AutoSetup, depending on the Supplier's compatibility. Buyers can choose between three levels of Setup automation:

1. Manual Setup: The Buyer manually inputs all Hotel, Room, and Rate data into the Travelgate Inventory Extranet. This offers maximum control but requires the most operational time.

2. Partial AutoSetup: The system automatically synchronizes "Static" content (Hotels and Rooms) from the Supplier. Ideal for partially complete provider data, this reduces manual effort while allowing client-specified flexibility.

3. Full AutoSetup: The entire process—including Hotels, Rooms, and Rates—is automated. This eliminates manual entry entirely, significantly reducing time to production and eliminating manual data entry errors.

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Setup automation availability depends on the specific Supplier's integration. Check out the full list of compatible Suppliers for Partial and Full AutoSetup here.