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Connecting Expedia

What you need first
  • The Expedia account you want to connect
  • Chrome
  • A stable internet connection

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Step 1. Sign in to Expedia in Chrome

Open Chrome, go to Expedia, and sign in with your partner account.
  1. Launch Chrome.
  2. Go to Expedia Partner Central.
  3. Sign in.
  4. Leave that tab open. Do not close it.
Expedia Partner Central
The signed-in tab has to stay open even after the integration is running. Close it and sync stops.
Leave the Expedia tab alone
  • The pinned Expedia tab on the left of Chrome is doing the integration work. For a stable connection, touch it as little as possible.
  • To look something up on Expedia, open a separate new tab instead of using the pinned one.

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Step 2. Install the Chrome extension

Install the VCMS extension from the Chrome Web Store and run it.
Already have the extension? Skip to Step 3.
  1. Install the extension.
  2. Click the puzzle icon at the top right of the browser.
  3. Click the VCMS extension to run it.
Chrome extension reconnect

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Step 3. Run and set up the extension

Sign in to the extension with your VCMS account, pick the property, and press Expedia’s “Use” button.
  1. Sign in with your VCMS account
  2. Pick the property
  3. Press Use
Check before you press it.
  • Chrome has to be signed in to Expedia before you press “Use”.
  • Make sure the Expedia tab you opened in Step 1 is still there.

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Step 4. Connect the Expedia property in VCMS and map packages

Back in VCMS, connect the Expedia property and map the packages. That completes the connection.
Check before you map.
  • Finish your inventory and rate setup in VCMS Distribution before mapping.
  • If you use occupancy-based pricing (OBP) on Expedia, 🔗 set occupancy-based pricing in VCMS to match.
  • Map without OBP set and rates do not reach Expedia properly.
  1. Activate the channel property
    • Go to the Channels menu in VCMS.
    • Select the Expedia channel.
    • Connect the property you operate.
  2. Map channel packages
    • Link each Expedia package to the VCMS package it corresponds to.
    • Press Save once every mapping is done.
Package mapping can be changed any time afterwards in the VCMS channel settings.

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Things to watch

Once the channel is connected, bookings, inventory, and rates sync automatically. Keep to the following or sync will not hold.
Important
  • Close Chrome or the Expedia tab after connecting and sync stops.
  • After rebooting the computer, open Chrome and the Expedia tab again and sign back in.
  • Expedia bookings, inventory, and rates sync every 5 minutes.
Running several properties
  • With several properties, signing in to more than one Expedia account in a single Chrome tab causes conflicts.
  • Sign in per property on separate PCs, separate browsers (Edge, Safari, and so on), or separate Chrome profiles.

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FAQ

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Q. What if I reboot the computer or close Chrome by accident?

Start Chrome again and the Expedia tab opens by itself.

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Q. How often does it sync?

Every 5 minutes. As long as the integration is healthy, bookings, inventory, and rates sync on that cycle.

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Q. I run several properties. What then?

One Chrome profile connects one property. Add a Chrome profile and run Step 1 through Step 4 again.

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Q. Can I sync inventory only?

Turn off rate sync under Settings, Channels, channel packages, and only inventory syncs. Manage rates on Expedia yourself.

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Q. I got a notification that the Expedia integration dropped.

Sign in again from the Expedia tab on the left of Chrome and it reconnects. If the notifications keep coming, check the network at your property.
Expedia reconnect notification

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Q. The extension is already installed. Do I have to install it again?

It depends.
If the extension is already there from another channel (Airbnb, say) and you are adding Expedia for the same property, you do not need to install anything. Skip Step 2 and start at Step 3.
If you run several properties and connect two or more of them to the same channel, separate your Chrome profiles and install the extension in each profile.

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Q. Expedia rates are not following VCMS.

Check whether occupancy-based pricing is turned on in Expedia.
With occupancy-based pricing set on Expedia, you have to set it in VCMS too. Map without it and rates do not reach Expedia properly.

With occupancy-based pricing

Expedia Partner Center OBP

Without occupancy-based pricing

Expedia Partner Center
Not using occupancy-based pricing on Expedia means not setting it in VCMS either.

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Q. Some packages never sync their inventory or rates to Expedia.

Expedia decides whether a package uses occupancy-based pricing from the package’s rate data. A package whose rate has never been set gives it nothing to judge by, so that package is dropped from inventory and rate adjustments automatically.
Save a rate at least once.
  • Save a rate once and it syncs normally from then on.
  • You do not have to do it date by date. In Distribution, pick a range and save the rates in bulk.

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Q. Saving Expedia rates throws an error, or the rates do not stick.

Expedia limits how much rate change it accepts at once, so saving a wide date range in one go can error out mid-save.
Break the range into shorter stretches.
  • Save in smaller ranges and it goes through.
  • This shows up rarely, at properties selling room by room where each package has its own occupancy-based pricing.
  • It does not happen with plain room rates.