What is Booking Engine Connector?
Booking Engine Connector is a WordPress plugin that connects your website to an external booking engine (the software that holds real availability and takes reservations).
Think of it in four pieces:
- Provider — The booking system behind the scenes (for example Kross Booking). The plugin talks to its API using credentials you enter in WordPress.
- Units — Each rentable room or property becomes a Unit post in WordPress (
Unitsin the admin menu). Names, descriptions, photos, and many details are filled in when you sync. - Search & quotes — Visitors choose check-in, check-out, and guests. That information travels in the page URL (query parameters). The plugin asks the provider whether the unit is available and what it costs—a quote.
- Checkout — When everything looks good, a button sends the guest to your provider’s booking site to finish payment and confirmation.
You build pages and templates the usual WordPress way; the plugin adds shortcodes (small instructions like [bec_search]) that output search bars, prices, booking summaries, and buttons.
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Unit | One bookable item synced from your provider—a room type, apartment, villa, etc. Stored as a WordPress content item under Units. |
| Provider | The booking platform integration (e.g. Kross). Credentials and API behaviour depend on which provider is active. |
| Sync | A job that downloads the latest list of units and updates WordPress—titles, fields, gallery images, and a stored copy of the raw API row for debugging. |
| Shortcode | A WordPress shortcut you paste into a page or block (e.g. [bec_booking_summary]) that the plugin replaces with booking UI or text. |
| Quote | The plugin’s answer from the provider for “this unit, these dates, this many guests”—availability and price info used by shortcodes and the booking summary. |
| Search context | The set of dates and guest counts passed in the URL (bec_checkin, bec_checkout, etc.). Shortcodes read the same context so every block stays in sync. |
| Fallback | Optional contact-only or custom message when live booking isn’t shown—useful during outages or if you prefer enquiries first. |
Related pages
- How it works — Diagram of data flow from provider to visitor.
- Requirements — WordPress version, PHP, and what to ask Kross for.
- Installation — First-time setup.