Market Group

Market Group X is an optional plugin that allows the user to group the Search result by markets that share the same Options.

What it does

The Market Group X plugin groups the input markets from Search depending on the agrupations you’ve decided before hand (with a configuration file. More details regarding configuration below.). In order to be able to use the plugin, you’ll have to decide which markets to join for which supplier. This way the Search will only process as much transactions as groups has been formed by the plugin, since all of the markets of a same group, would return the same options.

You’ll have for instance a configuration file with two market groups “ES”, “EN” and “FR”, “DE”, “IT” for the supplier AAA. You’ld then be launching a Search query with the markets “ES”, “EN”, “DE”, “PT”, “IT”. As the “ES”-“EN” markets share a same group in the configuration file, we’ll only be requesting to AAA supplier one query, instead of two. The same would happen with “DE” and “IT”. With the plugin we will be running only 3 querys:

  • ES-EN
  • DE-IT
  • PT

instead of 5.

Following the same example case, in the response you’ll find the search options with the following market groups: “ES”, “EN” and “FR”, “DE”, “IT”.

The main goal we’re seeking with this plugin is allow the client the possibility to configure the markets as he may find it suits better their supplier connections. The plugin also reduces the transactions processed through our system and to your connected suppliers, which may also improve the response time in some cases.

Bear in mind that this plugin is only available in Search step and the market groups will not be recalculated after Search step. So if you take an option from Search that has been executed with market groups, those groups will remain the same through all the booking flow, even if you change those groups via ftp. This characteristic could also affect the interaction with other plugins like commission, which recalculate the rules in Quote and Book steps.

How to use it

Use this plugin by adding it to the settings in your HotelX Search Query. You’ll also need to add a configuration file.

Execution example

In order to use the plugin, we shoud send the following json in the query variables

		"plugins": [
			{
				"step": "REQUEST_ACCESS",
				"pluginsType": {
					"name": "market_groupX",
					"type": "MARKETS_GROUP"
				}
			}
		]

Loading a Market Group X configuration file is as easy as following the steps below:

File Format

The file should be in the below format:

  • Encoding: UTF-8
  • File Name: markets_groups.csv
  • Header Row: Supplier,Markets,Other

    • Supplier: Identifier of the supplier (supplier code).
    • Markets: List of groups of market. Each group will be separated by ‘;’ and each market will be separated by ‘#’.
    • Other: There will be a value true or false. If the value set is true, the Search input markets (HotelCriteriaSearchInput) not found in this configuration file, will be joined together and we will launch a query to the provider searching for options in this markets. If the value is false, these markets will be discarted.
  • Delimiter: Comma (“,”)

  • Directory: /F[folder code][unique code]/HotelX[unique code]/

Sample File

Name: markets_groups.csv

Sample Data:

    Supplier,Markets,Other
    ABR,ES#EN#IT;FR#DE,false
    ATH,ES#EN;FR#DE,false
    BAR,ES#EN;FR#DE,false
    BSEA,ES#EN;FR#DE#IT,false
    CAN,ES;EN#IT#FR#DE,false
    ELB,ES#EN#IT;FR#DE,false
    HOTELTEST,FR#ES;EN#DE,true