Gain the edge in corporate travel with Rapid API’s new upgrades

In our guide on how you can get ahead in the business travel market, we discussed a $1.4T market opportunity you can take advantage of right now.

But the truth is, corporate travel never stands still.

The industry is expected to grow to $1.8T by 2027.¹ Three out of four travel managers say that their corporate travel budgets have increased in 2025.² And 94% of decision-makers in business are looking for an all-in-one corporate travel booking solution.³

At Expedia Group, we know business travel is dynamic, demanding efficiency, flexibility, and a superior traveler experience. Thanks to our many years of powering some of the biggest names in business travel, we have the deep industry knowledge to prepare our partners for the future.

That’s why we are constantly developing new Rapid Lodging API features tailored to your specific needs, designed to help you streamline operations, increase client and traveler satisfaction, and unlock the full potential of an ever-growing industry.

You can now designate your traveler as a business traveler by including “travel_purpose=business” in your Rapid Lodging Shopping API request. This gets associated with the booking for the property

Additionally, with new optional parameters in the Booking API request, you can signal to the hotel that the guest is a valued business traveler from one of your key clients ¾ and that they booked on your platform or with your service.

These new identification features allow the property to adapt the booking to specific business traveler needs as well as recognize and reward frequent visitors with potential perks. They can even reduce the likelihood of cancellations or modifications.

This transparency builds stronger relationships between you, your clients, and our hotel partners.

We know that payment friction at check-in can cause traveler frustration and lead to unnecessary support calls and inconsistent adherence to client travel policy.

VCCs are an increasingly popular form of payment for pay-at-property business travel bookings. Our new structured VCC instructions enable you to clear payment hurdles for virtual credit card users.

Now you can submit specific parameters in your Booking API request that clearly indicate a VCC will be used for the booking. Furthermore, you can specify which incidentals, if any, should be charged to it, giving your corporate clients greater control over their expenses.

This streamlines the check-in process and ensures a smooth, professional experience for your travelers from the moment they arrive.

With our new tax invoice request function, exclusive to Property Collect and Updated Expedia Collect bookings, you can automatically request a tax invoice from the property for your travelers at the point of booking.

While the property must still deliver the invoice themselves, this simple feature can fast-track expensing details for you and your time-poor corporate travelers.

Your clients no longer need to initially contact the property for receipts, making your service an invaluable tool for efficient travel management.

Business plans change, and this API empowers you to handle those changes effortlessly. It enables you to programmatically make modifications that impact the total cost of the booking — including date changes, room type changes, and occupancy changes.

With some exceptions, hard changes can be made across most bookings on Expedia inventory, including Expedia Collect and Property Collect bookings on standalone, corporate, and package rates. This reduces the need for manual agent intervention and provides the on-demand service modern business travelers expect.

Our new self-service capability on Expedia Partner Central will empower independent hotels and regional chains to load and manage their own business rates directly into our B2B ecosystem.

For our B2B partners, this means a significant and continuous increase in the volume and diversity of properties offering competitive business rates. You’ll be able to cater to every traveler's preference — from major city centers to unique local stays — unlocking more booking opportunities and driving higher satisfaction.

Select Expedia Business Rates also give the traveler the opportunity to earn hotel loyalty points. Rapid Lodging Booking API lets you include the traveler's loyalty program and member ID so that the property can deliver their reward points to them directly.