Extension Guide
How to install and use the SmartRent Chrome extension for real Expedia data
What is the SmartRent Chrome Extension?
The SmartRent Chrome extension lets you scrape real car rental prices directly from Expedia's search results page. When you visit Expedia and search for cars at AUA airport, the extension reads the page, extracts all provider prices, car models, and categories, then sends them to your SmartRent dashboard.
This gives you actual live pricing data alongside the AI-generated estimates, so you can compare real market prices with the baseline estimates. Live data appears with a blue "Live" badge in the dashboard, while AI estimates show an amber "AI" badge.
Step-by-Step Installation & Usage
Download the SmartRent Expedia Scraper Chrome extension ZIP file using the button below.
Download Extension ZIPFile name
smartrent-expedia-scraper.zip(~30 KB)Once downloaded, extract (unzip) the file to a folder on your computer. Remember where you saved it — you'll need this folder in the next step.
Open Google Chrome and navigate to the extensions management page:
Type in address bar
chrome://extensionsEnable Developer mode by toggling the switch in the top-right corner of the page. This allows you to load unpacked extensions.
Click the "Load unpacked" button that appears in the top-left area after enabling Developer mode.
In the file picker dialog, navigate to and select the folder where you extracted the ZIP file. Click "Select Folder" (or "Open" on Mac).
You should see "SmartRent Expedia Scraper" appear in your extensions list with a green car icon.
For quick access, click the puzzle icon () in Chrome's toolbar and pin the SmartRent extension.
Click the SmartRent extension icon in your Chrome toolbar to open the popup. You'll see a "Dashboard API URL" input field.
Enter your SmartRent dashboard URL:
Example URL
https://smartscraper.swicasset.comThis URL is saved automatically and persists across browser sessions, so you only need to set it once.
Go to Expedia and search for car rentals at AUA (Queen Beatrix International Airport, Aruba). Set your desired pickup and return dates.
Open Expedia Car RentalsWait for the search results to fully load. You should see car listings with prices, provider names, and "Reserve" buttons before proceeding.
Make sure the page URL contains expedia.com/carsearch or expedia.com/Cars-Search — the extension only activates on these pages.
Click the SmartRent extension icon. The status bar should show a green "Expedia car search page detected" message.
You have two options:
Extracts all car listings and immediately sends them to your dashboard. Prices appear as "Live" data with a blue badge.
Extracts and displays the data in the extension popup without sending it. Useful for verifying what will be imported.
After sending, your dashboard will immediately show the real Expedia prices with a "Live" source badge. The "Last Live Import" card will update with the timestamp.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I scrape?
Car rental prices change frequently. For best results, scrape once every few days or whenever you want to check current prices. The AI estimates run automatically every 6 hours as a baseline.
The extension says 'Navigate to an Expedia car rental search page first'
Make sure you're on an Expedia car search results page (not the homepage). The URL should contain 'carsearch' or 'Cars-Search'. Search for a car rental and wait for results to load.
The extension extracted 0 cars
Wait for the Expedia page to fully load all car listings. If results are still loading (spinning), wait a few more seconds and try again. You can also try scrolling down to load more results before scraping.
I get an API error when sending data
Check that your Dashboard API URL is correct and includes 'https://'. Make sure the dashboard is accessible. If you see a CORS error, the dashboard may need to be republished.
Will the extension work on other car rental sites?
Currently, the extension only works on Expedia car search pages. Support for Booking.com and other sites may be added in future updates.
How do I update the extension?
Download the new ZIP file, extract it to the same folder (overwriting old files), then go to chrome://extensions and click the refresh icon on the SmartRent extension card.
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| provider | Rental company name | Hertz |
| category | Car size category | Compact car |
| totalPrice | Total rental price (USD) | $285 |
| perDay | Price per day | $41 |
| carModel | Car model name | Nissan Versa or similar |
| transmission | Automatic or Manual | Automatic |
| mileage | Mileage policy | Unlimited |
| freeCancellation | Free cancellation available | true |