Travel: Search & Reservation

Problem Statement

Travel search involves querying availability across hotels, flights, or rental cars with dates, locations, guest counts, and preferences. Booking creates a reservation with financial commitment.

Why Human-Only Semantics Fail

• Travel search forms have tightly coupled date pickers, location autocompletes, and guest counters
• Search results display pricing grids that vary by room type, fare class, etc.
• "Book Now" buttons don't declare the financial commitment amount
• Rate cards show "from $X" prices that differ from actual totals

Why Scraping Fails Here

• Date pickers are calendar widgets with event-driven state
• Location autocompletes require typing and waiting for suggestions
• Pricing is dynamically calculated based on availability
• Booking requires session state (selected room, fare class, add-ons)
• Anti-bot protections on travel sites are extremely aggressive

How AXAG Eliminates Scraping

travel.search and travel.book are separate intents. Search is read-only; booking is a write with financial side-effects and confirmation requirements.

Annotated UI Example

Travel — search & book actions

<!-- Search -->
<button
  axag-intent="travel.search"
  axag-entity="travel_listing"
  axag-action-type="read"
  axag-required-parameters='["destination","check_in","check_out","guests"]'
  axag-optional-parameters='["property_type","price_max","amenities","sort_by"]'
  axag-risk-level="none"
  axag-idempotent="true"
  axag-description="Search for available travel accommodations"
>Search</button>

<!-- Book -->
<button
  axag-intent="travel.book"
  axag-entity="reservation"
  axag-action-type="write"
  axag-required-parameters='["listing_id","check_in","check_out","guests","payment_method_id"]'
  axag-optional-parameters='["special_requests","add_ons"]'
  axag-preconditions='["listing must be available for requested dates","payment method must be valid"]'
  axag-postconditions='["reservation created","payment authorized","confirmation email sent"]'
  axag-risk-level="critical"
  axag-confirmation-required="true"
  axag-approval-required="false"
  axag-idempotent="false"
  axag-side-effects='["payment_authorization","email_notification","availability_update"]'
  axag-description="Book a travel accommodation"
>Book Now</button>

Semantic Manifest Excerpt

Manifest — travel search + book

{
  "actions": [
    {
      "intent": "travel.search",
      "entity": "travel_listing",
      "action_type": "read",
      "operation_id": "travel_search",
      "description": "Search for available travel accommodations",
      "required_parameters": [
        { "name": "destination", "type": "string" },
        { "name": "check_in", "type": "string", "format": "date" },
        { "name": "check_out", "type": "string", "format": "date" },
        { "name": "guests", "type": "integer", "min": 1 }
      ],
      "optional_parameters": [
        {
          "name": "property_type",
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["hotel", "apartment", "villa", "hostel"]
        },
        { "name": "price_max", "type": "number", "min": 0 },
        { "name": "amenities", "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" } },
        {
          "name": "sort_by",
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["price_asc", "price_desc", "rating", "distance"]
        }
      ],
      "risk_level": "none",
      "idempotent": true
    },
    {
      "intent": "travel.book",
      "entity": "reservation",
      "action_type": "write",
      "operation_id": "travel_book",
      "description": "Book a travel accommodation",
      "required_parameters": [
        { "name": "listing_id", "type": "string" },
        { "name": "check_in", "type": "string", "format": "date" },
        { "name": "check_out", "type": "string", "format": "date" },
        { "name": "guests", "type": "integer", "min": 1 },
        { "name": "payment_method_id", "type": "string" }
      ],
      "optional_parameters": [
        { "name": "special_requests", "type": "string" },
        { "name": "add_ons", "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" } }
      ],
      "risk_level": "critical",
      "confirmation_required": true,
      "idempotent": false,
      "side_effects": ["payment_authorization", "email_notification", "availability_update"],
      "preconditions": [
        "listing must be available for requested dates",
        "payment method must be valid"
      ],
      "postconditions": ["reservation created", "payment authorized", "confirmation email sent"]
    }
  ]
}

Constraints & Safety Notes

• Search is safe: read-only, idempotent, no risk
• Booking is critical: involves financial authorization
• Booking MUST require confirmation — agent cannot autonomously spend money
• check_out must be after check_in
• Booking is NOT idempotent — double-booking creates two reservations