🌟 Complete Guide for Individual Developers: Recommended Hotel Affiliate APIs 【By Region, Difficulty, and Features】

I recently had the opportunity to use hotel affiliate APIs for an individual project, so I decided to summarize my findings.

For individual developers considering monetization through hotel and travel-related affiliate programs, choosing the right API is a major challenge.

This article organizes:

✅ Recommended APIs by region

✅ API features

✅ Difficulty of approval for individual developers

🌎 Global

✅ Travelpayouts API

Features

• Partnered with 60+ travel brands including Booking.com and Agoda
• Search hotels, flights, and rental cars
• Payment processing handled by partners — no need to build your own system
• Approval difficulty: ★★★★★ (Anyone can register for free)

Recommended for:

• Beginners and individual developers
• Travel blogs, comparison apps, LINE bots
• Link: Travelpayouts API

✅ Booking.com Demand API

Features

• Access to global accommodations on Booking.com
• Payment handled by Booking.com
• Get accommodation details, reviews, and price information
• Approval difficulty: ★★★☆☆ (Moderate; simple English application required)

Recommended for:

• Small-scale developers
• Apps targeting overseas markets
• Link: Booking.com Demand API

✅ Expedia Rapid API

Features

• Access to 700,000+ accommodations worldwide
• Payment handled by Expedia
• Designed for corporate or mid-to-large-scale partners, highly functional API
• Approval difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (Requires corporate entity and business track record)

Recommended for:

• Corporate developers
• Travel agency startups
• Link: Expedia Rapid API

🌏 Latin America

✅ HotelDO API

Features

• 100,000+ hotel inventory focused on Latin America
• Payment handled by HotelDO
• Strong presence in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina
• Approval difficulty: ★★★☆☆ (Moderate; prior consultation recommended)

Recommended for:

• Services specializing in Latin America or local tour integration apps
• Link: HotelDO API

🇮🇳 India

✅ Cleartrip API

Features

• Hotel booking and payment mainly in India
• Payment handled by Cleartrip
• Strong in India and Middle Eastern markets
• Approval difficulty: ★★★★☆ (Relatively easy to get approved)

Recommended for:

• Apps targeting the Indian market
• Comparison sites
• Link: Cleartrip API

🇯🇵 Japan

✅ Rakuten Travel Web Service

Features

• One of Japan’s largest accommodation networks
• Partner through Rakuten Affiliate
• Retrieve vacancy, rates, and plan information
• Approval difficulty: ★★★☆☆ (Requires Rakuten Affiliate application)

Recommended for:

• Japan domestic services
• Regional tourism apps
• Link: Rakuten Travel Web Service

✅ Jalan Web Service

Features

• Operated by Recruit; strong in domestic hotels and hot springs
• Supports affiliate monetization
• Rich search API, retrieve plan information
• Approval difficulty: ★★★★☆ (Relatively easy even for individuals)

Recommended for:

• Domestic travel and tourism apps
• Local guides
• Link: Jalan Web Service

✅ Agoda Affiliate API

Features

• Global support including Asia and Japan
• Payment and support handled by Agoda
• Approval difficulty: ★★★★☆ (Individuals can apply)

Recommended for:

• Services targeting Asia including Japan
• Apps for inbound travelers to Japan
• Link: Agoda Affiliate API

🔥 Quick API Selection Table

💬 Final Tips

When choosing a hotel affiliate API, I recommend paying attention to:

✅ Which region you are targeting

✅ Whether individuals can apply

✅ Whether you need to handle payment processing yourself