Expedia: 3 skills for AI agents

Expedia - typeahead API, property URLs, affiliate shortlink chain

Field-tested 2026-06 against www.expedia.mx (applies to other POS domains - www.expedia.com, etc. - with the same paths).

Hotel typeahead API (no auth, no cookies)

GET https://www.expedia.mx/api/v4/typeahead/{url-encoded query}
    ?client=SearchForm&lob=HOTELS&personalize=false&regiontype=2047
    &dest=true&features=ta_hierarchy&maxresults=10

• Works with plain curl_cffi chrome impersonation (impersonate="chrome120") - no session, no PerimeterX/Akamai challenge observed at low volume.
• Response sr[] items of "@type": "gaiaHotelResult" carry exactly what you need to identify a property: hotelId (the .h{id}. in property URLs), regionNames.shortName/fullName, and coordinates.lat/long.
• Querying "{hotel name} {city}" reliably puts the right property first; retry with the bare hotel name if the combined query returns nothing.
• The contributor reports a 10× speed improvement over search-page extraction. The report includes no paired timings.

Property page URLs

• Canonical shape: https://www.expedia.mx/{slug}.h{hotelId}.Informacion-Hotel (.Hotel-Information on the English POS). Routing is by .h{id}. only - the slug is cosmetic and Expedia 301s to the canonical slug (it even rewrote Roma-… → Rome-… in tests).
• Useful query params: startDate=YYYY-MM-DD, endDate=YYYY-MM-DD, rm1=a{adults}[:c{age}...] (e.g. rm1=a2:c8:c5), expediaPropertyId={id}. These pre-fill dates and occupancy on the page.
• Search fallback: https://www.expedia.mx/Hotel-Search?destination={name}, {city}&startDate=…&endDate=…&adults=N&rooms=1.

Trap: property pages 429 datacenter-ish IPs

GET on property pages returned HTTP 429 from a residential-but-curl client while the typeahead kept returning 200. If you only need to construct URLs for a human to open, never fetch the property page at all; if you must read one, do it through the user's real browser session (coordinate clicks), not http_get.

Affiliate shortlink chain (expedia.tpx.lv)

expedia.tpx.lv/<code> links are Travelpayouts partner shortlinks. The redirect chain (observed):

expedia.tpx.lv/<code>
  → deals.vio.com?label=…-<TP marker>&ofd=book_uri=destination=<expedia URL>
  → r.vio.com (same params)
  → prf.hn/click/camref:…/pubref:…/destination:<expedia URL>   (Partnerize)
  → r.bttn.io (Button attribution)
  → www.expedia.mx/<City>-Hoteles-<Name>.h<id>.Informacion-Hotel?…&affcid=…PHG…

• The Travelpayouts marker is recoverable from the label=/utm_content= params on the vio.com hop.
• To mint these programmatically, don't reconstruct the chain - use the Travelpayouts links API: POST https://api.travelpayouts.com/links/v1/create with {"trs": <project id>, "marker": <partner id>, "shorten": true, "links": [{"url": "<full expedia URL>", "sub_id": "…"}]} and the account's API token (header X-Access-Token). Limits: 100 req/min/marker, ≤10 links per request. Returns partner_url shortlinks. Full-length brand URLs only (no shortened input).
• HEAD requests die mid-chain (some hops 405 HEAD); use GET with allow_redirects or walk Location headers manually.

api.md · updated Oct 9, 2026 · 371 words

Expedia - Browser Automation

Field-tested against expedia.co.in on 2026-04-27 using browser-harness CDP helpers (goto, js, click, type_text, screenshot).

TL;DR

Build your search via URL parameters, not the UI. The date picker, destination autocomplete, and traveller widgets are fragile-coordinate clicks frequently dismiss them or mis-target. Encode everything you can into a goto() URL, then use JS clicks only for what the URL can't express (child ages, price filters).

Hotel Search URL Template

https://www.expedia.co.in/Hotel-Search?destination={DEST}&startDate={YYYY-MM-DD}&endDate={YYYY-MM-DD}&rooms={N}&adults={N}&children={N}&childrenAges={age1,age2,...}

Example - 2 adults, 2 children (ages 5 and 7), Tokyo, June 2026:

goto("https://www.expedia.co.in/Hotel-Search?"
     "destination=Central+Tokyo,+Tokyo+Prefecture&"
     "startDate=2026-06-01&endDate=2026-06-07&"
     "rooms=1&adults=2&children=2&childrenAges=5,7")

Note: childrenAges in the URL may not always populate the age dropdowns on the results page. Verify with a screenshot and set them via JS if needed.

Date Picker - DO NOT USE

The calendar widget is extremely unreliable with coordinate-based clicks:

• Clicking a date cell frequently closes the entire picker instead of selecting the date.
• The picker has month-navigation arrows that are tiny targets.
• "Flexible dates" mode has a different DOM structure with pill-shaped month selectors that also mis-fire.
• Dozens of retry attempts across multiple strategies all failed.

Workaround: Always pass dates via URL parameters (startDate, endDate).

Travellers Widget

The travellers stepper panel works with JS .click() on the increment/decrement buttons.

Opening the panel

js("""
(()=>{
  let btn = document.querySelector('button[data-testid="travelers-field-trigger"]')
           || [...document.querySelectorAll('button')].find(b => b.textContent.includes('traveller'));
  if(btn){ btn.click(); return 'opened'; }
  return 'not found';
})()
""")

Incrementing children count

js("""
(()=>{
  let span = [...document.querySelectorAll('span')].find(s => s.textContent.trim() === 'Children');
  if(!span) return 'no Children label';
  let container = span.closest('div').parentElement;
  let buttons = container.querySelectorAll('button');
  let plus = buttons[buttons.length - 1];  // last button is "+"
  plus.click();
  return 'incremented';
})()
""")

Setting child ages

Child age dropdowns are <select> elements with aria-label like "Child 1 age", "Child 2 age", etc.

js("""
(()=>{
  let selects = document.querySelectorAll('select');
  // selects[0] = Child 1 age, selects[1] = Child 2 age, etc.
  let setter = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(window.HTMLInputElement.prototype, 'value').set;
  selects[0].value = '5';
  selects[0].dispatchEvent(new Event('change', {bubbles:true}));
  selects[1].value = '7';
  selects[1].dispatchEvent(new Event('change', {bubbles:true}));
  return 'ages set';
})()
""")

Closing the panel

js("""
(()=>{
  let btn = [...document.querySelectorAll('button')].find(b => b.textContent.trim() === 'Done');
  if(btn){ btn.click(); return 'done'; }
  return 'no Done button';
})()
""")

Price Filter

On the results page, the nightly-price filter has two text inputs and two range sliders.

Setting max price

The most reliable method is to click the input, select all, type the value, and press Enter:

click(x, y)  # coordinates of #price-max
js("document.getElementById('price-max').select()")
type_text("20000")
press_key("Enter")

Setting the value purely via JS (dispatchEvent) does trigger a re-search but coordinate-click + type is more reliable for actually applying the filter.

Key Lessons

1. URL-first strategy - Encode destination, dates, room count, adults, children, and child ages in the URL. Only use UI interaction for things the URL cannot express.

2. JS .click() over coordinate clicks - For buttons inside panels (traveller stepper, Done), find elements by text/attribute and call .click() in JS. Coordinate clicks on overlay panels are unreliable.

3. dispatchEvent with {bubbles: true} - Required for React-controlled inputs (selects, text fields). Without bubbling, React state won't update.

4. Wait after navigation - After goto() or pressing Search, call wait_for_load() + time.sleep(3) before interacting. Expedia loads results asynchronously.

5. Indian locale - expedia.co.in shows prices in ₹ (INR). The price filter values include the ₹ symbol and commas in the text input but the underlying range slider uses plain integers.

automation.md · updated Apr 28, 2026 · 618 words

Expedia.ca - Flight Search Automation

Field-tested 2026-05-22 using browser-harness + Mac Chrome CDP with residential Canadian ISP IP.

Anti-Bot Protection

Expedia uses DataDome (or similar behavior-based anti-bot). Key facts:

• Blocks datacenter IPs with HTTP 429 ("Too Many Requests") and captcha pages ("Show us your human side…")
• Even headless Chromium with stealth init scripts gets blocked after 1-2 requests from the same IP
• With residential IP + real Chrome: Works reliably - Canadian ISP IP through real Mac Chrome (not headless) passes DataDome checks without captchas or rate limiting
• From datacenter IPs: Use a cloud browser with residential proxies (Browser Use cloud, ScrapingBee, BrightData)

Search URL Format

Expedia flight search can be initiated via a direct URL - this is the primary recommended approach. It avoids the fragile datepicker, airport autocomplete, and traveller widget entirely:

https://www.expedia.ca/Flights-Search?flight-type=roundtrip&mode=search&trip=roundtrip&leg1=from:YYZ,to:ICN,departure:2027/07/03TANYT&leg2=from:ICN,to:YYZ,departure:2027/07/25TANYT&passengers=adults:1&options=cabin:economy&sort=price%3Aa

URL parameters:

• leg1 - outbound: from:{IATA},to:{IATA},departure:{YYYY/MM/DD}TANYT
• leg2 - return: same format
• passengers - adults:N,children:N
• options - cabin:economy|premium|business|first
• sort - price:a (ascending), price:d (descending), duration:a, departure:a, arrival:a

Navigation in browser-harness

Open the search in a task tab. The pre-filled URL loads results directly; no Search button click is needed:

search_url = "https://www.expedia.ca/Flights-Search?flight-type=roundtrip&mode=search&trip=roundtrip&leg1=from:YYZ,to:ICN,departure:2027/07/03TANYT&leg2=from:ICN,to:YYZ,departure:2027/07/25TANYT&passengers=adults:1&options=cabin:economy&sort=price%3Aa"
new_tab(search_url)
wait_for_load(timeout=25)
if not js('!!document.querySelector("[data-stid*=listing]")'):
    raise RuntimeError("Flight listings are absent; inspect the search tab before continuing")

CRITICAL: Do NOT click the Search button. The pre-filled URL already returns search results. Clicking Search just reloads the same page, which can reset applied filters and clear extracted results entirely.

UI Search Flow (when URL approach fails)

When navigating to https://www.expedia.ca/Flights directly, the page has:

Step 1: Select trip type

Radio buttons: "Roundtrip" / "One-way" / "Multi-city"

Selector: button[data-testid*="trip-type"] or a[data-stid*="trip-type"]

Step 2: Origin (Leaving from)

Selector: input[aria-label="Leaving from"] or #origin-airport

Fill: clear first, then type YYZ, wait for autocomplete dropdown, press Enter (or click first result).

origin = page.locator("#origin-airport")
origin.fill("")
origin.type("YYZ", delay=100)
page.wait_for_timeout(1000)
page.keyboard.press("ArrowDown")
page.keyboard.press("Enter")

Step 3: Destination (Going to)

Same pattern, field #destination-airport or input[aria-label="Going to"].

Step 4: Dates

Dates are a date-picker widget. Do NOT use the date picker via clicks (highly unreliable, see lessons below). Instead:

• Set date fields via JavaScript to bypass the calendar widget:

page.evaluate("""() => {
  const depart = document.querySelector('input[aria-label*="Depart"]');
  const ret = document.querySelector('input[aria-label*="Return"]');
  if (!depart) return false;
  // React controlled input — need native setter
  const nativeSetter = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(
    window.HTMLInputElement.prototype, 'value'
  ).set;
  nativeSetter.call(depart, '2026-07-01');
  depart.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));
  depart.dispatchEvent(new Event('change', { bubbles: true }));
  if (ret) {
    nativeSetter.call(ret, '2026-07-23');
    ret.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));
    ret.dispatchEvent(new Event('change', { bubbles: true }));
  }
  return true;
}""")

Step 5: Travellers & Cabin

Toggle button: button[data-testid="travelers-field-trigger"]

Inside the panel:

• Adults stepper: +/- buttons within a container
• Cabin class: select element with options (Economy, Premium, Business, First)
• Close with "Done" button: find button containing text "Done"

Step 6: Click Search

Search button locators:

• button[data-testid="search-button"]
• button:has-text("Search")
• Any button inside the search form

After clicking, wait for results:

page.wait_for_url("**/Flights-Search**", timeout=15000)
page.wait_for_selector('div[data-testid="listing"], div[role="listitem"]', timeout=30000)

Results Page

After search, the page shows a list of flight combinations.

Flight cards

Each flight option is a card. Selectors in the URL-preload results page:

• div[data-stid*="listing"] - primary working selector with browser-harness

Selectors for the form-submitted results page:

• div[data-testid="listing"]
• div[role="listitem"]

Extracting flight data from cards

Using browser-harness js() with the URL-preload approach (up to 200 listings):

result = js("""Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('[data-stid*="listing"]'))
    .slice(0, 200).map(card => card.innerText).filter(Boolean)""")
if not result:
    raise RuntimeError("No flight cards appeared; inspect the page before reporting results")

This example captures at most 200 rendered cards. Verify additional pages or lazy loading before claiming complete results.

Using Playwright for structured extraction (form-submit result page):

results = page.evaluate("""() => {
  const cards = document.querySelectorAll('div[data-testid="listing"], div[role="listitem"]');
  return Array.from(cards).slice(0, 20).map(card => {
    const priceEl = card.querySelector('[data-testid="price"], .uitk-type-500');
    const durationEl = card.querySelector('[data-testid="duration"]');
    const stopsEl = card.querySelector('[data-testid="stops"]');
    const airlineEl = card.querySelector('[data-testid="airline"]');
    const times = card.querySelectorAll('[data-testid="time"]');
    return {
      price: priceEl?.innerText?.trim(),
      duration: durationEl?.innerText?.trim(),
      stops: stopsEl?.innerText?.trim(),
      airline: airlineEl?.innerText?.trim(),
      depTime: times[0]?.innerText?.trim(),
      arrTime: times[1]?.innerText?.trim(),
    };
  }).filter(c => c.price);
}""")

Sorting

Sort options: dropdown or button group - look for "Sort by" trigger, then options: "Cheapest" / "Fastest" / "Best" / "Departure" / "Arrival".

Stop Filters - Critical Quirk

Expedia's stop checkboxes are exclusive - not inclusive. Each checkbox shows exactly that many stops, not "up to that many":

To search for 0 OR 1 stop:

1. Click "Nonstop" checkbox
2. Wait 5+ seconds for page refresh
3. Click "1 stop" checkbox
4. Wait 5+ seconds for page refresh

Each click triggers a full page reload with new results. Do NOT assume they'll stack - wait for the reload to complete between clicks.

Finding stop filter checkboxes

Filter element IDs are dynamic (e.g., NUM_OF_STOPS-0-:rs:) with random suffixes. Find by aria-label match:

stops = js("""
JSON.stringify(
    Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('input[type=checkbox]'))
        .filter(i => (i.getAttribute('aria-label')||'').match(/stop/i))
        .map(i => ({id: i.id, label: i.getAttribute('aria-label'), checked: i.checked}))
)
""")

Other Filters

Common filter panels:

• Price range: min/max inputs or slider
• Airlines: Checkbox list
• Times: Checkbox groups for morning/afternoon/evening

Click-through to Fare Selection

To get the REAL total price (not the listing estimate):

1. Click a flight card/button → opens fare details or booking page
2. Look for "Continue" or "Select" button: button:has-text("Select")
3. On the fare selection page, extract the total:

   div[data-testid="price-summary"]
   div[data-testid="fare-total"]
   h4:has-text("Total")
   

4. Take screenshot to verify price

Key Lessons

1. URL-first strategy - encode everything you can into the search URL parameter format. Avoid interacting with the datepicker, airport autocomplete, and traveller widget (all fragile).

2. Direct URL loading skips the landing page bot check entirely in many cases. Navigate to Flights-Search?... URL directly rather than clicking through from the homepage.

3. Do NOT click Search with URL pre-load - the pre-filled URL already returns results. Clicking Search reloads the same page and resets any applied filters.

4. Residential IP + real Chrome works - from a home ISP connection with a non-headless Chrome instance, Expedia's DataDome passes without captchas. Cloud browser with residential proxies only needed from datacenter IPs.

5. Stop filters are exclusive - each checkbox toggles a specific stop count. To show 0 AND 1 stop, click both sequentially with 5+ second waits for the page refresh between clicks.

6. Filter IDs are dynamic - use aria-label matching instead of hard-coded IDs for stop checkboxes and other filter elements.

7. goto_url() + new_tab() fallback - navigate the existing tab silently first; if results don't load, open a new tab as fallback. This avoids unnecessary macOS window popups.

8. Fresh browser context per search - don't reuse cookies/session across repeated searches from the same IP, as bot score accumulates.

9. Use non-headless mode with xvfb on headless servers - headless mode is heavily fingerprintable. The --disable-blink-features=AutomationControlled flag + navigator.webdriver override is essential.

10. Wait for async loads - after search or filter application, wait for the URL to change to /Flights-Search* and for flight elements to appear. 15-30s timeout recommended. Filter changes take 5+ seconds.

flights-search.md · updated Oct 9, 2026 · 1,209 words