1. WP-TravelGate: Beginning the Journey

Yeah, it just makes sense. I'm fiddling with the WordPress site I built to use WP Travel Deluxe Pro, and as great as it is for most end users, as someone deeply immersed in the web and web solutions, I need more. So, I'm gonna build it.

Hotels Combined

Researching the affiliate program offered by Hotels Combined, and going through all their information, I initially felt cheated. Though I understand and somewhat agreed with their demand for high conversion rates, I felt as though they were in the wrong for not being more supportive. But, I was wrong. They are supportive.

Here is an excerpt directly from the affiliate area of their website:

See this was one of my biggest problems trying to make use of WordPress with WP Travel Deluxe Pro. There was no efficient way to make use of the non-indexable content outside of the site that Hotels Combined provided. I needed content within the WordPress installation, so that I could build quality content that would help me ride the longtail over time. So, I was subject to a lot of copy and pasting. Until I saw Hotel Combined's Data Feeds.

For Hotel Combined to provide this is an agressive move. Not as agressive as it should be, but agressive none the less. What they're saying is "we know you need the content to make a serious go of this, so here it is." What they're not saying is, "we know you need the content so we've developed a complete API for you to access it." But, we can't have everything, right? Or can we?

The First Step: Developing a True API Engine

Yup. I think this is one of the most important pieces of the pie. And, if this was ever going to be a solution for others, this engine needed to exist. So, stay tuned. When it's completed, I'll tell you all about it.