ILS IntegrationUnit Availability

ILS Unit Availability

Overview

Fortress provides a dedicated API endpoint for Internet Listing Services (ILS) to retrieve unit availability in real-time, following the MITS 4.1 XML standard. This documentation explains how the integration works, what to expect in the response, and how to get started.

While the ILS endpoint provides real-time data, we recommend defining a polling interval during onboarding. This helps avoid issues with throttling and rate limits, and ensures reliable access to unit availability information.

How Unit Availability Works

The ILS integration allows vendors (such as apartment listing services) to programmatically request up-to-date unit availability from Fortress. The process is as follows:

  1. Vendor sends a request to the Fortress ILS endpoint.
  2. Fortress authenticates and processes the request, gathering the latest unit data.
  3. Fortress returns a response in MITS 4.1 XML format, containing available units, floorplans, and property details.

Sequence Diagram

API Endpoint

ActionEndpointMethodResponse
Get Unit Availability/ils/unitsGETXML (MITS 4.1 compliant)

Base URL

https://api-prod.fortresstech.io

Request Parameters

ParameterTypeDescriptionRequiredDefault
formatstringResponse format (json or xml)Nojson
organizationIdstringFilter by organizationNo

Example Request (cURL)

$curl --location --request GET 'https://api-prod.fortresstech.io/ils/units?format=xml' \
>--header 'x-api-key: {api-key}'

Authentication & Onboarding

  • Requires a dedicated ILS API key and x-api-key header.
  • The ILS integration can be configured to provide organization-wide information or information per property. This is determined during initial onboarding with the help of a Fortress customer success representative.
This API key is different from standard Fortress API keys.

Response Structure

  • The response is a MITS 4.1 XML manifest containing unit availability, property, and floorplan details.
  • See the Response Model for a detailed breakdown.

Why ILS for Unit Availability?

  • Standardized: Matches MITS 4.1, widely adopted by ILS platforms.
  • Easy Integration: Designed for quick onboarding by ILS partners.

Getting Started

  1. Contact Fortress to begin onboarding and receive your dedicated ILS API key.
  2. Make a GET request to the endpoint with required headers.
  3. Parse the XML response according to the MITS 4.1 schema.

This section is a starting point for anyone interested in consuming Fortress unit availability for ILS services.