# Hotel Price Aggregator (Booking.com + Kayak) (`apage/travel-price-aggregator`) Actor

Compare hotel prices across Booking.com and Kayak in a single scrape. Smart deduplication matches the same hotel across platforms, calculates savings, and exports results as JSON, CSV, or Excel. Ideal for travel agencies, hospitality competitors, and price monitoring.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/apage/travel-price-aggregator.md
- **Developed by:** [Andy Page](https://apify.com/apage) (community)
- **Categories:** Travel, Automation
- **Stats:** 19 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Hotel Price Aggregator (Booking + Kayak)

Compare **hotel prices** across **Booking.com** and **Kayak** in a single scrape. This hotel price comparison scraper uses smart deduplication to match the same hotel across both platforms, calculates potential savings, and exports results as JSON, CSV, or Excel — ideal for travel agencies, hospitality competitors, and price monitoring.

### Why Use This Actor?

- **One tool, two platforms** — No need to run separate hotel scrapers for Booking.com and Kayak
- **Smart deduplication** — Same hotel on multiple platforms? Merged automatically with price comparison
- **Savings finder** — Instantly see which platform has the lowest hotel price and how much you save
- **Travel-ready output** — JSON, CSV, or Excel with formatted price comparison sheets
- **Residential proxies** — Built-in support for Apify residential proxies to handle aggressive bot detection
- **Browser fingerprinting** — Crawlee fingerprint-suite integration for realistic browser profiles

### Features

| Feature | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| Multi-platform hotel search | Scrape Booking.com and Kayak simultaneously |
| Smart deduplication | Fuzzy name matching + geo-proximity + star rating validation |
| Hotel price comparison | Side-by-side pricing across both platforms for each hotel |
| Flexible filters | Filter by star rating, max price, amenities, property type |
| Multiple output formats | JSON (default), CSV, Excel with formatted workbooks |
| Date range support | Search any check-in/check-out date combination |
| Guest configuration | Adults, children, rooms — all configurable |
| Pagination | Automatically fetches multiple pages for large result sets |
| Proxy support | Auto-enables Apify residential proxies on the platform |

### Input Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|---------|-------------|
| `location` | string | Yes | — | City or destination (e.g., "Paris, France") |
| `checkIn` | string | Yes | — | Check-in date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `checkOut` | string | Yes | — | Check-out date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `guests` | object | No | `{adults: 2, children: 0, rooms: 1}` | Guest configuration |
| `platforms` | array | No | `["booking", "kayak"]` | Platforms to scrape |
| `maxResultsPerPlatform` | integer | No | `50` | Max hotel listings per platform (up to 500) |
| `minStars` | integer | No | — | Minimum star rating (1-5) |
| `maxPrice` | number | No | — | Maximum total price in USD |
| `filters` | object | No | `{}` | Advanced filters (amenities, propertyTypes) |
| `deduplication` | boolean | No | `true` | Merge same hotels across platforms |
| `outputFormat` | string | No | `"json"` | Output format: json, csv, excel |
| `proxyConfig` | object | No | Residential | Proxy configuration |

#### Advanced Filter Options

Use the `filters` JSON field for additional filtering:

```json
{
  "amenities": ["wifi", "parking", "breakfast"],
  "propertyTypes": ["hotel", "apartment"]
}
```

Or combine with the top-level `minStars` and `maxPrice` fields for quick filtering.

### Output Schema

Each hotel listing includes:

```json
{
  "id": "agg_hotel_paris_001",
  "name": "Hotel de la Paix",
  "location": {
    "address": "123 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris",
    "coordinates": { "lat": 48.8606, "lng": 2.3376 },
    "neighborhood": "1st Arrondissement",
    "city": "Paris, France",
    "country": "France"
  },
  "pricing": {
    "totalPrice": 850,
    "pricePerNight": 170,
    "currency": "USD",
    "taxes": 45,
    "fees": 15
  },
  "platformData": {
    "booking": {
      "url": "https://booking.com/hotel/fr/de-la-paix.html",
      "price": 850,
      "available": true,
      "scrapedAt": "2026-02-15T14:30:00Z"
    },
    "kayak": {
      "url": "https://kayak.com/hotels/...",
      "price": 875,
      "available": true,
      "scrapedAt": "2026-02-15T14:32:00Z"
    }
  },
  "lowestPrice": {
    "platform": "booking",
    "price": 850
  },
  "stars": 4,
  "rating": 8.7,
  "reviewCount": 1234,
  "amenities": ["wifi", "parking", "breakfast", "air_conditioning"],
  "propertyType": "hotel",
  "roomType": "Standard Double Room",
  "cancellationPolicy": "Free cancellation until June 10",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-02-15T14:32:00Z",
  "_platform": "aggregated",
  "_matchConfidence": 92
}
```

### Example Use Cases

#### 1. Travel Agency Daily Price Check

Find the best hotel deals across platforms for client bookings:

```json
{
  "location": "Rome, Italy",
  "checkIn": "2026-08-15",
  "checkOut": "2026-08-22",
  "guests": { "adults": 2, "rooms": 1 },
  "platforms": ["booking", "kayak"],
  "maxResultsPerPlatform": 50,
  "minStars": 4,
  "deduplication": true
}
```

#### 2. Hospitality Competitor Monitoring

Track competitor hotel pricing in your market:

```json
{
  "location": "Miami Beach, FL",
  "checkIn": "2026-07-04",
  "checkOut": "2026-07-07",
  "guests": { "adults": 2, "rooms": 1 },
  "platforms": ["booking", "kayak"],
  "minStars": 4,
  "filters": { "propertyTypes": ["hotel"] },
  "deduplication": true,
  "outputFormat": "excel"
}
```

#### 3. Budget Travel Search

Find affordable hotels with specific amenities:

```json
{
  "location": "Barcelona, Spain",
  "checkIn": "2026-09-01",
  "checkOut": "2026-09-05",
  "guests": { "adults": 2, "children": 1, "rooms": 1 },
  "platforms": ["booking", "kayak"],
  "maxResultsPerPlatform": 100,
  "maxPrice": 150,
  "filters": { "amenities": ["wifi"] },
  "deduplication": true
}
```

#### 4. Single Platform Quick Search

Use just one platform for a fast hotel lookup:

```json
{
  "location": "Tokyo, Japan",
  "checkIn": "2026-10-01",
  "checkOut": "2026-10-05",
  "platforms": ["booking"],
  "maxResultsPerPlatform": 25
}
```

#### 5. Enterprise Data Feed

Large-scale hotel data extraction for price comparison apps:

```json
{
  "location": "London, UK",
  "checkIn": "2026-06-01",
  "checkOut": "2026-06-04",
  "guests": { "adults": 2, "rooms": 1 },
  "platforms": ["booking", "kayak"],
  "maxResultsPerPlatform": 200,
  "deduplication": true,
  "outputFormat": "json"
}
```

### Output Formats

#### JSON (Default)

Standard Apify dataset output. Each hotel is a JSON object in the dataset.

#### CSV

Flattened data with proper headers, suitable for Excel/Google Sheets import. Saved to key-value store as `output-csv`.

#### Excel

Formatted workbook with two sheets:

- **Hotel Listings**: Complete hotel data with all platform prices
- **Price Comparison**: Summary with best/worst prices and savings per hotel

Saved to key-value store as `output-excel`.

### How Deduplication Works

When you search across both platforms, the same hotel appears on each one — often with different prices. Our deduplication engine:

1. **Fuzzy name matching** — "Hotel de la Paix" matches "Hotel de la Paix Paris" (85%+ similarity threshold)
2. **Geo-proximity check** — Hotels within 50 meters are considered the same property
3. **Star rating validation** — Must match within +/-0.5 stars
4. **Smart merging** — Combines data from both platforms into a single record with complete `platformData`

Each merged record includes a `_matchConfidence` score (0-100) so you can verify the accuracy.

### Troubleshooting

#### "0 hotels scraped" or empty results

- **Check your proxy config**: Both Booking.com and Kayak require residential proxies for reliable scraping. The actor auto-enables them on the Apify platform, but if you disabled proxies or are running locally, results may be empty.
- **Verify dates**: Ensure `checkIn` and `checkOut` are future dates in `YYYY-MM-DD` format.
- **Check the location**: Use a well-known city name (e.g., "Paris, France" rather than "CDG Airport Area").
- **Review debug artifacts**: The actor saves screenshots and HTML to the key-value store on failure. Check `debug-booking-screenshot-*`, `debug-kayak-screenshot-*`, and `debug-*-html` keys.

#### Bot detection / CAPTCHA

- **Kayak** is particularly aggressive. The actor retries up to 4 times with fresh proxy sessions. If all attempts fail, try again later or reduce `maxResultsPerPlatform`.
- **Booking.com** occasionally shows CAPTCHAs. Residential proxies solve most cases.
- If issues persist, check the Apify proxy dashboard to confirm your residential proxy quota hasn't been exceeded.

#### Slow runs

- Each platform takes 30-90 seconds per page due to realistic browser rendering and anti-bot delays.
- **Tip**: Reduce `maxResultsPerPlatform` for faster runs. 25-50 results is fastest.
- The actor requests 2048 MB of memory minimum. For large result sets (200+), 4096 MB is recommended.

#### CSV/Excel output missing

- CSV and Excel files are saved to the **key-value store**, not the dataset. Look for `output-csv` or `output-excel` keys in the run's key-value store.

### Limitations

- **Hotels only** — This actor searches for hotel accommodations. It does not support flights, car rentals, or vacation packages.
- **Two platforms** — Currently supports Booking.com and Kayak. Expedia was excluded due to infeasible bot detection requirements (see FAQ).
- **Maximum 500 results per platform** — Higher limits increase run time and risk of bot detection.
- **Maximum 30-night stays** — Date ranges are capped at 30 nights per search.
- **USD pricing** — Prices are requested in USD. Other currencies may appear depending on the platform's geo-detection.
- **No real-time availability** — Results reflect pricing at scrape time. Prices and availability change frequently on travel sites.
- **Rate-limited** — The actor includes per-platform rate limiting (100 req/min for Booking, 30 req/min for Kayak) to avoid IP blocks.

### Pricing

| Apify Plan | Price per 1,000 listings |
|------------|--------------------------|
| Free | $5.00 |
| Starter | $3.00 |
| Scale / Team | $2.00 |

**Compare**: Running 2 separate scrapers costs $6-10 per 1,000 listings. This actor saves you 40-60%.

### Platform Notes

| Platform | Method | Proxy Required | Notes |
|----------|--------|----------------|-------|
| Booking.com | Playwright (browser) | Recommended | Most reliable, DOM + API interception, pagination |
| Kayak | Playwright (browser) | Required (residential) | JS rendering required, API interception + DOM fallback |

Both scrapers use Apify's **fingerprint-suite** for realistic browser fingerprints (user-agent, viewport, WebGL, Canvas, navigator properties) to minimize bot detection.

**Tip**: For best results, always use Apify residential proxies. The actor auto-enables residential proxies when running on the Apify platform.

### FAQ

**Q: How long does a typical run take?**
A: 50 hotels across 2 platforms typically takes 2-3 minutes. Larger result sets (200+) may take 5-10 minutes.

**Q: What if one platform fails?**
A: The actor is resilient — if Kayak is blocked, you still get results from Booking. Failed platforms show up as error records in the output.

**Q: Can I use this without proxies?**
A: Booking.com may work without proxies for small runs. Kayak requires residential proxies. On the Apify platform, proxies are auto-enabled.

**Q: How accurate is the deduplication?**
A: We use conservative thresholds (85% name match + location verification) to minimize false positives. Each merged record includes a confidence score.

**Q: Can I search for flights or car rentals?**
A: No — this actor is specifically designed for hotel price comparison. Flight and car rental support may be added in a future actor.

**Q: Why isn't Expedia included?**
A: Expedia employs extremely aggressive bot detection (TLS fingerprinting, behavioral analysis) that makes reliable automated scraping infeasible without proprietary solutions. Booking.com and Kayak together provide comprehensive hotel coverage and pricing data.

**Q: How often should I update the prefill dates?**
A: The default check-in/check-out dates in the input schema are set ~6 months in the future. If Apify's automated tests start failing, update the prefill dates in `.actor/input_schema.json`.

### Changelog

#### v1.0.0 (February 2026)

- Initial public release
- Booking.com and Kayak hotel scraping with API interception + DOM fallback
- Smart deduplication (fuzzy name matching, geo-proximity, star rating)
- JSON, CSV, and Excel output formats
- Pagination support for Booking.com (up to 5 pages)
- Auto-proxy detection on Apify platform
- Comprehensive input validation and error handling
- 100 unit tests covering core logic

### Support

- **Issues**: Report bugs via GitHub issues or Apify community
- **Feature requests**: We'd love to hear your ideas — contact us through Apify
- **Enterprise pricing**: For 100K+ listings/month, reach out for custom pricing

Built by **A Page Ventures** | [Apify Store](https://apify.com/store)

# Actor input Schema

## `location` (type: `string`):

City or destination to search for hotels (e.g., 'Paris, France', 'New York, NY').

## `checkIn` (type: `string`):

Check-in date in YYYY-MM-DD format.

## `checkOut` (type: `string`):

Check-out date in YYYY-MM-DD format.

## `guests` (type: `object`):

Guest configuration for the search.

## `platforms` (type: `array`):

Which travel platforms to scrape. Select one or more.

## `maxResultsPerPlatform` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of hotel listings to return per platform.

## `minStars` (type: `integer`):

Only include hotels with at least this many stars (1-5). Leave empty for no filter.

## `maxPrice` (type: `number`):

Maximum total price for the stay (in USD). Leave empty for no limit.

## `filters` (type: `object`):

Advanced filters as JSON. Supports: amenities (string\[]), propertyTypes (string\[]). Example: {"amenities": \["wifi", "pool"], "propertyTypes": \["hotel"]}

## `deduplication` (type: `boolean`):

Merge the same hotel appearing on multiple platforms into a single record with price comparison.

## `outputFormat` (type: `string`):

Format for the output data.

## `proxyConfig` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. Residential proxies recommended for best results.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "location": "Paris, France",
  "checkIn": "2026-09-15",
  "checkOut": "2026-09-20",
  "guests": {
    "adults": 2,
    "children": 0,
    "rooms": 1
  },
  "platforms": [
    "booking",
    "kayak"
  ],
  "maxResultsPerPlatform": 50,
  "filters": {},
  "deduplication": true,
  "outputFormat": "json",
  "proxyConfig": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Aggregated hotel listings with cross-platform pricing, deduplication, and savings data from Booking.com and Kayak.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "location": "Paris, France",
    "checkIn": "2026-09-15",
    "checkOut": "2026-09-20",
    "guests": {
        "adults": 2,
        "children": 0,
        "rooms": 1
    },
    "platforms": [
        "booking",
        "kayak"
    ],
    "filters": {},
    "proxyConfig": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("apage/travel-price-aggregator").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "location": "Paris, France",
    "checkIn": "2026-09-15",
    "checkOut": "2026-09-20",
    "guests": {
        "adults": 2,
        "children": 0,
        "rooms": 1,
    },
    "platforms": [
        "booking",
        "kayak",
    ],
    "filters": {},
    "proxyConfig": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("apage/travel-price-aggregator").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "location": "Paris, France",
  "checkIn": "2026-09-15",
  "checkOut": "2026-09-20",
  "guests": {
    "adults": 2,
    "children": 0,
    "rooms": 1
  },
  "platforms": [
    "booking",
    "kayak"
  ],
  "filters": {},
  "proxyConfig": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call apage/travel-price-aggregator --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=apage/travel-price-aggregator",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/sGWnvroEHgg5VzOFP/builds/RHaZF24Wkvivbycb3/openapi.json