Many of the best car and cab suppliers in a destination are small local companies without an API. A travel company that wants to sell their vehicles, for airport transfers, sightseeing or multi-day tours, needs a way to load their fleet, rates and availability and sell them online. That is the job of a car extranet module. This article explains how it works.
Who uses a car extranet?
- DMCs and tour operators that package transfers and sightseeing with hotels.
- Online travel agencies adding car services to their product range.
- B2B consolidators offering transfers to their agent network.
- Local car companies that log in to manage their own listings.
Supplier onboarding
- Create a supplier profile with company details, service areas and contacts.
- Upload documents such as permits and insurance, with expiry tracking.
- Agree commercial terms: net rates, commission and payment cycle.
- Give the supplier a login to manage their own data, if desired.
Fleet and services
Suppliers define what they offer:
- Vehicle categories with seating, luggage capacity and example models.
- Service types: airport transfer, point-to-point, hourly hire, full-day sightseeing, multi-day tour.
- Service areas, airports and cities covered.
Rates and rules
- Fixed prices for routes or zones, or per-kilometre and per-hour rates.
- Seasonal prices and peak surcharges.
- Night charges, waiting time, extra stops and child seat fees.
- Cancellation policies with deadlines and penalties.
The travel company then adds its own markup by channel or agent group.
Availability
For small suppliers, exact real-time availability is not always possible. Common approaches are: a daily capacity per vehicle category, on-request bookings that the supplier confirms within a set time, or blackout dates when the supplier is fully booked. The extranet should support all three.
Booking and confirmation
- The customer or agent books a service on the website or B2B portal.
- The supplier receives the booking by email, SMS or in their extranet login.
- The supplier confirms and later adds driver and vehicle details.
- The customer receives the driver details before the trip.
Payments and reports
- Supplier payable reports by period.
- Sales and margin by supplier, destination and service type.
- Supplier performance: confirmation speed, cancellations and complaints.
In practice: a DMC in Rajasthan
A DMC works with a dozen local car operators across Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur. Before its extranet, rates sat in spreadsheets and every booking needed phone calls. Now each operator has a login, maintains rates and blackout dates, and confirms bookings online. The DMC's agents book transfers and sightseeing alongside hotels in one place, and the DMC sees which operators confirm fastest and receive the best reviews.
Quality control
When you sell a local supplier's service under your brand, their quality becomes your reputation. Ask customers to rate each trip, track complaints by supplier and review the results monthly. Reward reliable suppliers with more bookings and work with weaker ones on improvement, or replace them. Requiring basic standards, such as vehicle age limits, clean cars and drivers who carry name signs, sets clear expectations from the start.
Common mistakes
- Not tracking supplier document expiry, which creates legal and safety risks.
- Allowing instant confirmation without any capacity limit.
- Unclear inclusions, such as whether tolls and parking are included.
Frequently asked questions
Can extranet cars appear with API content?
Yes. A booking engine can show local suppliers alongside transfer aggregator APIs in one search.
Do suppliers need training?
A simple interface and a short walkthrough are usually enough for suppliers to manage rates and confirmations.
Key takeaways
- A car extranet brings local suppliers without APIs into your booking platform.
- Structured rates, rules and capacity limits prevent errors.
- Supplier logins and performance reports make the network easy to manage.
Add cars and transfers to your platform with our car API and supplier integration services.
