Geolocation

Wink uses geolocation extensively to power location-based search, automatic currency and language detection, and geographic inventory filtering.

GeoIP detection

When a user visits the platform, Wink automatically detects their location based on their IP address. This enables:

Automatic currency selection — Display prices in the user’s local currency.
Language preference — Suggest content in the user’s likely language.
Nearby results — Prioritize inventory close to the user’s location.

Spatial search

Wink supports geographic search using four spatial query types. These power the map-based search, radius search, and area-based filtering across the platform.

Point

A single geographic coordinate (latitude, longitude). Used to mark a specific location — for example, a property’s address or a user’s current location.

{
  "point": {
    "x": -73.9857,
    "y": 40.7484
  }
}

Circle

A center point with a radius. Used for “search near me” or radius-based queries — for example, “hotels within 10 km of Times Square.”

{
  "point": {
    "x": -73.9857,
    "y": 40.7484
  },
  "radius": 10000
}

Rectangle

A bounding box defined by southwest and northeast corners. Used for map-based search — when a user pans and zooms a map, the visible area defines a rectangle query.

{
  "southWest": {
    "x": -74.0060,
    "y": 40.7128
  },
  "northEast": {
    "x": -73.9350,
    "y": 40.7831
  }
}

Polygon

A custom shape defined by a series of points. Used for searching within irregular geographic boundaries — for example, a neighborhood, a city district, or a custom-drawn area on a map.

{
  "polygon": {
    "points": [
      { "x": -74.0060, "y": 40.7128 },
      { "x": -73.9350, "y": 40.7128 },
      { "x": -73.9350, "y": 40.7831 },
      { "x": -74.0060, "y": 40.7831 },
      { "x": -74.0060, "y": 40.7128 }
    ]
  }
}

Use cases

Use case	Shape type	Example
Search near me	Circle	Hotels within 5 km of my location
Map viewport search	Rectangle	Properties visible on the current map view
Neighborhood search	Polygon	Hotels in a specific city district
Property location	Point	Exact location of a property listing

For developers

Spatial query parameters are accepted by the Lookup API and Inventory API endpoints. Pass the appropriate GeoJSON shape in your search request to filter results by location.

See the APIs documentation for endpoint-specific details.