Before mapping to Expedia
Before you start mapping to Expedia, ensure you:
Connect the channel Expedia in Little Hotelier via Distribution > Channels
Connect “Siteminder RDX” in Expedia’s extranet
Create your room types and rate plans in Expedia’s extranet. Set up settings such as room type details, occupancy settings, and extra person charges. Wait for at least 60 minutes for your platform to retrieve the rates from Expedia, before you start mapping your rates in Little Hotelier.
Identify all the Expedia rate types you need to map: Log in to Expedia Partner Central. Make a list of all your active rate plans, including Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect rate types (common with Expedia Traveler Preference model), and any package rates, linked rates, or derived rates
Check what inventory types are supported for each Expedia channel rate
Map to Expedia
Map your first rate to Expedia
Go to Distribution > Channels > find Expedia
Click on the ellipsis button (three dots button) > select Edit room rates mapping
Find your first platform room rate in the Channel manager column on the left, then in the right column, click the Map to Expedia button.
To start inventory updates to Expedia, click “Yes” to Start updating channel
Select the corresponding channel rate from the Mapped to drop-down menu
Update any additional settings for the channel rate. Some settings such as extra adult rate will need to be updated via Expedia’s extranet directly.
Click Save
⚠️ Important: Always map your Little Hotelie room rate to all package, derived, and linked rates, to ensure reservations are delivered correctly. If you use ETP, whether you also need to map both Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect separately depends on your Use ETP derived rate mapping setting: if it is enabled, map both separately; if it is disabled, map one payment type only, as a single mapping covers both. See Do I need to map both Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect? below.
Do I need to map both Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect?
If you use the Expedia Traveller Preference (ETP) program, one room rate can be sold as both Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect. Whether you map both payment rates separately depends on the Use ETP derived rate mapping setting in your Expedia channel settings:
Setting disabled: Map one payment type only. Reservations for both Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect are delivered through that single mapping. You do not need to map both payment rates separately.
Setting enabled: The Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect rates appear as separate mapping options. Map each one separately to your room rate, using the steps in Map additional rate types below.
Set ETP derived rate mapping preference
The Use ETP derived rate mapping setting controls whether derived rates for different payment options appear as separate mapping options. Set your preference when you switch to the Expedia Traveller Preference (ETP) business model, or at any time if you have ETP rates mapped.
Go to Distribution > Channels > Expedia > Channel settings.
Under Advanced settings, click the Edit button.
Tick or untick Use ETP derived rate mapping to turn the setting on or off.
Setting disabled: Map one payment type only. Reservations for both Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect are delivered through that single mapping. You do not need to map both payment rates separately.
Setting enabled: The Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect rates appear as separate mapping options. Map each one separately to your room rate, using the steps in Map additional rate types below.
⚠️ Note: If you have separate Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect payment rates mapped and you turn the setting off, those payment-rate mappings will fail with an "Unable to locate" error. You can simply disconnect those rates as reservations will still be delivered through the other mapped payment-method rate.
Map additional rate types
Map each additional rate type (such as packages and linked rates) against the same Little Hotelier room rate:
Return to Distribution > Channels > Expedia > Room rates mapping page
Find the same platform (Channel Manager) room rate again in the left column
Click on the Channel Manager room rate in the left column, then select Map to Expedia
Select a different rate type from the dropdown
Use the same settings as your first mapping
Click Save
Repeat for all rate types (all Hotel Collect and Expedia collect rates, plus any derived, linked, or package rates)
⚠️ Note: because you are mapping the one platform rate, the additional rate types on Expedia will not show in the Unmapped filter on the main room rates mapping page. To find the additional rate types to map, click on the Channel Manager room rate in the left column and select Map to Expedia, then choose a different rate type from the dropdown.
Notes:
If you apply a stop sell via Expedia’s extranet, you will have to manually remove it from Expedia’s extranet, as Little Hotelier will not be able to override/remove it when mapping
Expedia Rates supports two rate acquisitions plans, "Sell" and "Net". If you are seeing incorrect prices on Expedia when mapped, check and confirm that the rate type (net or sell) is correct on Expedia
Check inventory data supported/not supported for each Expedia rate
Expedia may not support inventory updates for some rate types, such as package, derived, and linked rates. This is because these rate types inherit pricing and restrictions from the main rate and are managed directly by Expedia.
Rates, availability or restrictions not syncing to Expedia for a certain room rate? Check the inventory data supported/not supported for each Expedia rate.
In the mapping, check the inventory types under Data supported by this channel rate / Data not supported by this channel rate:
Go to Distribution > Channels.
Click on the ellipsis button (three dots button) next to Expedia.
Select Edit room rates mapping.
Click on an existing channel rate > click Configure.
Supported inventory types will show in blue under the heading Data supported by this channel rate.
Inventory types not supported will show in grey under the heading Data not supported by this channel rate. These inventory types are not supported for the rate type and are managed by Expedia directly.
Why do I need to map a rate if it doesn't support inventory updates?
Some Expedia rate types — such as package, derived, and linked rates — do not accept inventory updates from Little Hotelier because they inherit their pricing and restrictions from the main sell rate and are managed by Expedia directly.
Even when a channel rate shows all inventory types as "Data not supported by this channel rate", you still need to map all Expedia room rates to Little Hotelier. The mapping is required for reservation processing. If the rate is not mapped, reservations made on unmapped rate types (such as package, derived, or linked rates) will not be delivered to Little Hotelier and inventory updates will not be sent to the additional rate types. This can lead to missed reservations and overbookings. The additional rate types receive inventory updates from the main rate only when mapped
Note: Set Start updating channel to Yes even for rates that do not support inventory updates.
For ETP properties, whether a derived rate appears as a separate mapping option depends on the Use ETP derived rate mapping setting.
Mapping with the occupancy-based pricing (OBP) model
If using the OBP model on Expedia, you must include additional settings when mapping:
Single rate only | Select Yes if the mapped rate is always just for a single guest. |
Included occupancy | The number of guests included in the rate set on your inventory (this should be one occupant). |
Max occupancy | The maximum number of guests that can be booked for the room rate. |
Extra guest rate | The amount to charge the additional guest(s) not included in the Included occupancy field. |
Single guest discount | The amount to deduct from the room rate’s Inventory price when there is a single-guest booking. |
Extra guest percentage | The percentage to charge the additional guest(s) not included in the Included occupancy field. (This field will only be visible when the Single rate only field is set to ‘No’ .) |
Update your mapping after a business model change
If you change your business model on Expedia, the existing mappings may no longer sync correctly. After any business model change, review all your room rate mapping and confirm the correct rate is selected. Depending on the model you change to, you may need to remap all rates or map additional rates.
Review your mapping:
Go to Distribution > Channels > Expedia > Room rates mapping.
Click on the Expedia channel rate you need to check.
Confirm the correct Expedia rate is selected in the Mapped to drop-down menu.
Ensure Start updating channel is set to to Yes and click Save.
Depending on your new business model, you may need to map to a different rate (for example changing between Hotel Collect and Expedia Collect) or map additional derived rates (for example changing to Expedia Traveller Preference). If you change to ETP and use derived rates, set your Use ETP derived rate mapping preference in Channel settings.
If you need to disconnect and re-map:
Click on the Expedia channel rate you need to disconnect.
Click Disconnect from channel.
Review the warning and click Disconnect.
Click Map to Expedia for each room rate you need to re-map.
Select the correct Expedia rate from the drop-down menu.
Set Start updating channel to Yes.
Click Save.
Important: Even if there are no warning messages, if any changes to your rate setup are made (such as change to business model), you must re-save your mapping to ensure inventory updates are sent correctly to Expedia.
Rate multiplier for Expedia
For Expedia, a rate multiplier can be set either at channel level for all channel rates, or at rate level for specific channel rates. When a rate multiplier is set, all of your associated rates in your platform will be multiplied by a specified value before they are sent to Expedia.
For example, you can enter 0.8 to send 80% of the rate, or 1.2 to send 120% of it.
The amount displayed on the Inventory grid will not include the rate multiplier.