Pricing Confirmation & Token Lifecycle

Hotel prices are dynamic — they can change between the time a guest views availability and the time they decide to book. The pricing confirmation step locks in a rate and returns a new token that's valid for booking. This article explains the two-token flow, why it matters, and how to handle token expiration.

Why Two Tokens?

The booking flow uses two sequential tokens:

1. Availability Token — Obtained from the Check Availability endpoint. Identifies a specific room, rate, and bed configuration. This token is not a price guarantee.
2. Pricing Token — Obtained from the Confirm Price endpoint (this article). Locks in the exact price for up to 10 minutes. This is the token you use for booking.

Token Flow Diagram

Check Availability    ↓availabilitytoken  (identifies room/rate — price may change)    ↓Confirm Price    ↓pricingtoken  (locked price — valid for 10 minutes)    ↓SSO Checkout / Create Booking

*

Confirm Price Endpoint

Endpoint

GET /hotels/api/v2/properties/price?availability_token={token}&currency={currency}

Query Parameters

Example Request

GET /hotels/api/v2/properties/price?availabilitytoken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.room101...&currency=USDAuthorization: {signature}x-correlation-id: {correlationid}Content-Type: application/json

Example Response

{
  "data": {
    "total_price": 891.08,
    "base_price": 756,
    "taxes": 95.08,
    "fees": 40,
    "currency": "USD",
    "pricingtoken": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.pricingfinal..."
  }
}

Response Fields

Key point: The pricingtoken in the response is a new, different token from the availabilitytoken you provided in the request. You must use this new pricing_token for the SSO checkout or booking step.

*

Token Lifecycle & Expiration

Availability Token

• Source: rates[].beds[].availability_token from the availability response.
• Validity: Short-lived. Availability and prices can change at any time.
• Usage: Pass to the pricing confirmation endpoint only.
• Recommendation: Confirm pricing as soon as the guest selects a room. Don't cache availability tokens for extended periods.

Pricing Token

• Source: pricing_token from the pricing confirmation response.
• Validity: 10 minutes from the time it was issued.
• Usage: Pass to the SSO checkout URL or the booking creation endpoint.
• On expiration: If the token expires before the guest completes checkout, you must repeat the availability check and pricing confirmation to obtain a new token.

Handling Expired Tokens

If a pricing token has expired (more than 10 minutes since confirmation), the booking or checkout will fail. Handle this gracefully:

1. Track when the pricing token was issued (store a timestamp alongside it).
2. Before generating a checkout URL, check whether the token is still within its 10-minute window.
3. If expired, transparently re-run the availability check and price confirmation before presenting the checkout link.
4. Inform the guest if the price has changed between confirmations.

Example: Token Expiry Check (JavaScript)

function isPricingTokenValid(tokenIssuedAt) {  const TENMINUTESMS = 10  60  1000;  return (Date.now() - tokenIssuedAt) < TENMINUTESMS;}
// Before booking:if (!isPricingTokenValid(session.priceLockedAt)) {  // Re-run availability check → confirm price → get new token  const availability = await checkAvailability(hotelId, dates, occupancy);  const pricing = await confirmPrice(availability.token);  session.pricingToken = pricing.pricingToken;  session.priceLockedAt = Date.now();}

*

Price Changes Between Steps

It's possible for the confirmed price to differ from the initial rate shown during the hotel search or availability check. This can happen due to:

• Dynamic pricing — Rates adjust based on real-time demand.
• Currency fluctuations — If displaying prices in a non-default currency.
• Limited inventory — The originally shown rate may have sold out, resulting in a different rate tier.

*

Summary: What to Store at Each Step

*
](#article-6)_