How it works
How suppliers and sellers talk.
Every car rental booking starts as a question to a supplier: which cars, at what price, on these dates? Here is what happens next, in plain English.
SearchPlace, dates, driver age
Rate requestSent to each connected supplier
Rates backCars, prices, terms
Your priceMargin rules + currency
BookingSent to the supplier, logged in the console
How do brokers connect to car rental suppliers?
The short answerMostly through direct connections to each supplier's reservation system, usually XML messages over the internet, sometimes a JSON API. Larger sellers also book through a GDS or an aggregator. A direct connection gives live rates and bookings without a middle layer.
What is the OpenTravel (OTA) standard?
OpenTravel is a set of shared message formats for travel. For car rental it defines messages for things like availability and rates and for making a reservation, so different systems can understand each other. Many car rental reservation systems use it or something close to it.
What is a GDS, and do I need one?
A GDS (global distribution system) is a large network travel agents have long used to book flights, hotels and cars. You don't need one to sell car rental online; a direct supplier connection can do the job for a web booking site.
What niftiOS does with the answer
- Maps each supplier's cars to clear categories (car codes).
- Shows every car a supplier returns with a rate, so no inventory gets lost.
- Applies your margin rules and the customer's currency.
- Books with the supplier and keeps the full record in the console.