Compare Travel Options on Expedia

Purpose

Shop and compare travel inventory on Expedia the way a traveler would by hand — search Stays (hotels and Vrbo vacation rentals), Flights, Cars, Packages, and Things to do; apply filters (price, dates, ratings, stops, amenities, cancellation, baggage); read each option's price, rating, fees, refundability, and loyalty/member pricing; then summarize tradeoffs and build a shortlist. Read-only and shopping-only: open and compare options, but never advance past a results/detail page into checkout or place a booking without explicit user confirmation. All dynamic results render in the browser from a single internal GraphQL endpoint; there is no usable public API, so a real (stealthed) browser session is the working surface.

When to Use

• "Find me a romantic weekend stay near Seattle under $350/night" → Stays search + price/rating filters + shortlist.
• "Compare hotel vs Vrbo for this trip" → a single Stays search returns both; filter by Vacation rentals / Hotels property type.
• "Does changing my dates save money?" → re-run the same search across candidate date ranges and diff the totals (flights expose a flexible-date price strip directly).
• "Find the best flight with a carry-on/checked bag and a reasonable layover" → Flights search + the Carry-on bag included / fare-feature filters + Stops/Layover filters.
• "Build me a full itinerary from Expedia options" → run Stays + Flights (+ Cars/Activities) searches and assemble a combined summary.

Workflow

Recommended method: browser (stealth + residential proxy). Every result list (hotels, flights, cars, activities) is hydrated client-side by POSTs to a single internal endpoint https://www.expedia.com/graphql (persisted queries, behind Akamai Bot Manager). There is no documented or cookieless-usable public API — treat GraphQL as internal-only and drive the rendered pages. Deep-link search URLs are the fast path: most search state (destination, dates, occupancy, sort, and price band) is controllable from the URL, so you rarely need to operate the search form.

1. Stealth + residential-proxy session

sid=$(a browserless_agent session a residential proxy stealth \
  | node -e "let s='';process.stdin.on('data',c=>s+=c).on('end',()=>process.stdout.write(JSON.parse(s).id))")

a stealth + residential-proxy session is the configuration that loaded every search page cleanly during testing. Expedia sets Akamai Bot Manager cookies (ak_bmsc, bm_ss, bm_so) on every response and guards the search-results routes; a bare datacenter session is liable to Akamai challenges. A US residential proxy also fixes IP-geolocation (currency/market) for the result set.

2. Stays (hotels + Vrbo) — deep-link search

https://www.expedia.com/Hotel-Search
  ?destination=<URL-encoded "City, State, Country">
  &regionId=<market id>          # optional but locks the market; e.g. Seattle = 3121
  &startDate=YYYY-MM-DD
  &endDate=YYYY-MM-DD
  &adults=2&rooms=1              # &children=age,age for kids
  &sort=PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH        # RECOMMENDED | PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH | REVIEW | DISTANCE | PROPERTY_CLASS
  &price=0,350                   # min,max — see gotcha: this is TOTAL stay price, not per-night

Open it, then dismiss the fee-inclusive interstitial that auto-opens (pwaDialog=fee-inclusive-pricing-sheet) by clicking the Got it button before reading anything.

Do the whole flow in one browserless_agent call (keep proxy: { proxy: "residential" }): open the search URL, dismiss the fee-inclusive interstitial, scroll to hydrate the virtualized list, then read the rendered text.

3. Force the full result list to load, then extract

The result list is lazy/virtualized — only ~3 main cards exist in the DOM right after load. Scroll to hydrate the rest, then read the body:

"commands": [
  { "method": "goto", "params": { "url": "<hotel-search-url>", "waitUntil": "load", "timeout": 45000 } },
  { "method": "click", "params": { "selector": "button[data-stid='sheet-close'], button[aria-label='Close']" } },
  { "method": "scroll", "params": { "direction": "down" } },
  { "method": "waitForTimeout", "params": { "time": 1200 } },
  { "method": "scroll", "params": { "direction": "down" } },
  { "method": "waitForTimeout", "params": { "time": 1200 } },
  { "method": "scroll", "params": { "direction": "down" } },
  { "method": "waitForTimeout", "params": { "time": 1200 } },
  { "method": "text", "params": { "selector": "main" } }
]

(The click closes the "We include taxes and fees" dialog — confirm its button via snapshot if the selector misses.)

Parse the main list (not the promoted carousels — see gotcha). Each property card carries: name, guest rating (9.4 out of 10 + review count), $NNN nightly, $NNN total, an optional struck-through "was" price, refundability (Fully refundable), Reserve now, pay later, and badges (VIP Access, Member Prices). The detail link is /{City}-Hotels-{Name}.h{HOTELID}.Hotel-Information?... — h{HOTELID} is the stable property id.

4. Flights — deep-link search

https://www.expedia.com/Flights-Search
  ?leg1=from:City%20(SEA),to:City%20(JFK),departure:MM/DD/YYYYTANYT
  &leg2=from:City%20(JFK),to:City%20(SEA),departure:MM/DD/YYYYTANYT
  &passengers=adults:1
  &trip=roundtrip                 # oneway | roundtrip
  &mode=search

Results render progressively (wait ~5s after load). Each option shows airline, depart/arrive times, total duration, stop count, and the roundtrip total price. The left rail exposes filters that map directly to common asks: Stops (Nonstop / 1 Stop / 2+ Stops), Airlines, cabin class (Basic economy / Economy / Premium / Business / First), fare features (Carry-on bag included, Refundable fare, Changes included, Seat choice included), Layover airport, and a total-travel-time slider. A price-prediction widget and a 7-day flexible-date price strip (e.g. Fri, Jun 12 $416) are rendered inline — use the strip to answer "would different dates be cheaper?" without re-searching.

5. Other verticals (same pattern)

Navigate from the top nav (Stays → /Hotels, Flights → /Flights, Cars → /Cars, Packages → /Vacation-Packages, Things to do → /Activities, Cruises → /Cruises) or deep-link the search route (/carsearch, /things-to-do/search). All are JS-rendered lists that follow the same load → scroll → read-markdown extraction pattern.

6. Compare & shortlist, then stop

Aggregate the extracted options into a comparison (price, rating, refundability, fees, location/stops, loyalty pricing), surface tradeoffs, and return a shortlist with detail URLs. Do not click Reserve / Select / Continue into checkout unless the user explicitly confirms a booking — that is a separate, write-action skill.

browserless_agent sessions update "$sid" --status session-ends-on-return

Site-Specific Gotchas

• Stealth + residential proxy recommended. Akamai Bot Manager is active on every route (ak_bmsc / bm_ss / bm_so cookies, X-Akamai-Reference-Id header). a stealth + residential-proxy session loaded all search pages cleanly in testing with no challenge. The host pre-run probe reported "no antibots" on the homepage 301, but that only reflects the bare homepage — the value-bearing /Hotel-Search and /Flights-Search routes are the guarded ones, so do not start bare.
• The price filter is TOTAL stay price, not per-night. The price=MIN,MAX URL param (which Expedia rewrites to price=MIN&price=MAX) drives the slider labeled "Total price". So price=0,350 on a 2-night stay means total ≤ $350 (≈ ≤ $175/night), and the filter chip reads "Less than $350". For a "under $X per night" request, multiply by the number of nights before setting the cap, or read the per-night value off each card and filter client-side.
• Cards show both nightly and total prices. Each card renders $NNN nightly and $NNN total; don't conflate them. Expedia displays taxes-and-fees-included pricing by default (the reason for the "We include taxes and fees" interstitial).
• A fee-inclusive interstitial dialog auto-opens on first results load (pwaDialog=fee-inclusive-pricing-sheet). It covers the results — dismiss the Got it button before snapshotting/reading or you'll capture the dialog instead of the list (screenshot 01 shows this state).
• Results are lazy/virtualized. Only ~3 main cards are in the DOM immediately after load; a single get markdown body then will undercount drastically (saw 3 of 15). Scroll several times (window.scrollBy) to hydrate, then extract — yielded the full list (3 → 23 cards) after ~4 scrolls.
• Promoted carousels pollute naive extraction. A horizontally-scrolling VIP Access properties (N) carousel and sponsored modules appear above/within the results and carry their own prices/ratings. A naive "grab every $NNN nightly" pulls these in and corrupts sort/order assumptions. Scope extraction to the main list, which begins after the ## Search results heading; main cards are titled ### Photo gallery for {name}.
• Vrbo / vacation rentals are mixed into Stays results. /Hotel-Search returns hotels and Vrbo rentals (treehouses, cabins, guest houses, glamping) interleaved — convenient for "hotel vs Vrbo" comparisons. Use the Property type filter (Hotels vs Vacation rentals) to separate them.
• regionId locks the market; plain destination text also works. Hotel detail links expose the resolved regionId (Seattle market = 3121, destType=MARKET), neighborhoodId, and latLong. Passing regionId avoids any typeahead-resolution ambiguity. To discover an unknown region, type the city into the Where to? typeahead and read the resolved link, or inspect a returned detail URL.
• The GraphQL endpoint is internal — don't try to call it directly. All result data comes from POSTs to https://www.expedia.com/graphql (persisted-query hashes, client headers, valid Akamai/bm_* cookies, behind Bot Manager) plus telemetry to /api/uisprime/track. There is no public/documented API and no cookieless path; the rendered pages are the reliable surface. Treat it like OpenTable's GraphQL — a trap, not a shortcut.
• robots.txt disallows the search routes for generic bots (/Hotel-Search, /search?, /Flights-Search, /carsearch, /things-to-do/search?, /api/v4/typeahead/, /api/ucs/shortlist/). This is policy, not a hard server block — a real stealthed browser session still renders them — but it confirms there's no bot-friendly data feed.
• Member Prices / One Key loyalty require sign-in. Logged-out sessions see public rates plus "Sign in to unlock Member Prices" prompts; the discounted member rate is only realized after authentication. Report public pricing unless the user supplies credentials. Flights/Stays also surface "VIP Access" and bundle-savings ("save when you book stay + car") badges that are conditional.
• Flight prices are roundtrip totals (for trip=roundtrip), and the inline flexible-date strip already prices ±a few days — read it instead of re-searching to answer date-flexibility questions.
• READ-ONLY shopping. Stop at results/detail. Never click Reserve, Select, Continue, or reach /Checkout, /HotelCheckout, /FlightCheckout, or /MultiItemCheckout.

Expected Output

A shortlist/comparison object per vertical. Distinct shapes:

// Stays (hotels + Vrbo), filtered & sorted
{
  "vertical": "stays",
  "query": {
    "destination": "Seattle, Washington, United States of America",
    "regionId": "3121",
    "startDate": "2026-06-12",
    "endDate": "2026-06-14",
    "adults": 2,
    "rooms": 1,
    "sort": "PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH",
    "priceFilter": { "type": "total_stay", "min": 0, "max": 350 }
  },
  "totalMatches": 15,
  "results": [
    {
      "name": "Ace Hotel Seattle",
      "propertyType": "hotel",
      "hotelId": "h2330513",
      "rating": 9.0,
      "reviewCount": 1007,
      "nightly": 156,
      "totalStay": 312,
      "currency": "USD",
      "taxesFeesIncluded": true,
      "refundable": true,
      "reserveNowPayLater": true,
      "badges": ["Member Prices"],
      "detailUrl": "https://www.expedia.com/Seattle-Hotels-Ace-Hotel-Seattle.h2330513.Hotel-Information?chkin=2026-06-12&chkout=2026-06-14&adults=2"
    }
  ]
}

// Vrbo / vacation rental within the same Stays search
{
  "name": "Alki Beach Courtyard Cabin",
  "propertyType": "vacation_rental",
  "rating": 9.8,
  "reviewCount": 12,
  "nightly": 189,
  "totalStay": 378,
  "currency": "USD",
  "refundable": false,
  "detailUrl": "https://www.expedia.com/...h*.Hotel-Information?..."
}

// Flights, roundtrip
{
  "vertical": "flights",
  "query": {
    "origin": "SEA",
    "destination": "JFK",
    "depart": "2026-06-12",
    "return": "2026-06-15",
    "trip": "roundtrip",
    "adults": 1,
    "cabin": "ECONOMY"
  },
  "lowestPrice": 477,
  "currency": "USD",
  "stopCounts": { "nonstop": 9, "oneStop": 73, "twoPlus": 42 },
  "results": [
    {
      "airline": "American Airlines",
      "depart": "09:25 AM",
      "arrive": "05:55 PM",
      "duration": "5h 30m",
      "stops": 0,
      "priceRoundtrip": 537,
      "fareFeatures": ["Carry-on bag included"]
    }
  ],
  "flexibleDates": [
    { "date": "2026-06-12", "price": 416 },
    { "date": "2026-06-13", "price": 467 }
  ]
}

// Comparison / itinerary roll-up across verticals
{
  "vertical": "comparison",
  "summary": "Cheapest sub-$350-total Seattle stay is the Green Tortoise Hostel ($73/nt); best value hotel is Ace Hotel Seattle (9.0, $156/nt, refundable). Cheapest reasonable SEA-JFK roundtrip is a nonstop at $477.",
  "shortlist": [
    {
      "vertical": "stays",
      "name": "Ace Hotel Seattle",
      "tradeoff": "Best rating-to-price; refundable"
    },
    {
      "vertical": "flights",
      "name": "American 09:25-17:55 nonstop",
      "tradeoff": "$537, carry-on included, 5h30m"
    }
  ]
}