Introduction
Partners must provide the total price the user will pay, including, but not limited to:
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Room cost
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VAT
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City Tax
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Resort Fees
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Destination Taxes
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Service Charges (i.e. cleaning fee, transportation fee, any fee tied directly to the hotel – not location taxes)
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Payment Fees
Prices will be shown differently according to the different markets. There will be two different policies, plus a special policy for the United States.
Price Display Policies by Market
1. Prices exclude all taxes and fees
Applicable markets:
AR, BO, BR, CA, CL, CO, CR, CU, DO, EC, GT, HN, MX, NI, PA, PY, PE, PR, SV, UY, VE, IN
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Only the net price (room-only) will be displayed.
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Taxes and fees are not included in the shown price.
User-visible copy:Taxes and fees not included.
2. Prices include all taxes and fees
Applicable markets:
All markets not listed above.
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The price shown must include all taxes and fees, regardless of whether they are paid via the website or at the selected accommodation.
User-visible copy:All taxes and fees included.
US Special Policy
In addition to the above rules, Skyscanner applies a separate policy for the United States:
Prices must include all taxes and fees in the following cases:
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The user is located in the United States
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The user has manually selected United States as their market
This overrides the standard regional rule for the US listed under “prices exclude all taxes and fees.”
Price Breakdown Example
As an example:
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Net price: $100
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City tax: $20 (paid at accommodation)
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Resort fee: $10 (paid at accommodation)
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Other taxes: $20 (paid via the website)
The total cost displayed will be $150
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$120 paid via the website
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$30 paid at the accommodation
API Expectations
Skyscanner requires a Net and Total price field through the API as well as a breakdown of the various fees charged (as listed above). This is not currently mandatory, but providing it allows Skyscanner to show a detailed price breakdown to users in the future.
If a partner is not able to provide the appropriate prices in any given market, they will not be displayed in that market.
API Structure Examples
When prices exclude all taxes and fees:
{
"results": {
"hotels": [...],
"price_includes": []
}
}
When prices include all taxes and fees:
{
"results": {
"hotels": [...],
"price_includes": ["vat", "city_tax", "other_taxes"]
}
}
The applied price policy will be determined at query level. It is common to all results returned and based on the user’s selected market or hotel location (in the case of the US).
Display Examples
Examples of how pricing appears across different markets, using Booking.com as the partner and a hotel in Florence as the case study:
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Argentinian market (taxes excluded):
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Net price shown.
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Label: Taxes and fees not included.
-
-
Australian market (all taxes included):
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Total price shown.
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Label: All taxes and fees included.
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In each example, the UI displays:
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The selected market (highlighted in purple)
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The Booking.com price (in blue)
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The tax policy label (in orange)
Note: Each market has a different partner configuration. These examples are illustrative only and based on Booking.com.
Enforcement
Skyscanner will conduct regular price accuracy testing.
Failure to comply with the price policy will result in immediate removal from any affected market until the partner is able to meet the requirements.
Summary of Requirements for Partners
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Provide Net and Total price fields
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Ensure price display complies with the relevant market policy
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Include all applicable taxes and fees
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Optionally provide a breakdown in the API response
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Display labels to users clearly indicating what’s included
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Ensure price accuracy — non-compliance results in delisting