For my site in the travel industry, I need a bizdev guy to get me access to the APIs.
Also, not really. There are a ton of biz dev relationships that require more than just an API. Making a public API where "The constraints, the terms, everything is all there" probably isn't worthwhile if you don't plan for many to use the API. In the cruise industry, not many players want access to the cruise API, so they negotiate usage costs and commission individually.
APIs definitely won't replace bizdev, but you have to admit, for a lot of industries, it's making the process a lot more efficient.
Look at all the companies that are opening up APIs. The New York Times just opened up an API to their entire catalog of articles, definitely wasn't expecting that. These APIs are making the cost of doing business a lot lower.
The NYT example is a bad one because any commercial use of of the API is forbidden per the Terms of Use [1]. It seems like the API would be a pretty bad starting point if you were a business that wanted a relationship with the NYT.
[1] e. YOU SHALL NOT: (i) use the NYT APIs for any commercial purpose or in any product or service that competes with products or services offered by NYT. (from: http://developer.nytimes.com/Api_terms_of_use)
Also, not really. There are a ton of biz dev relationships that require more than just an API. Making a public API where "The constraints, the terms, everything is all there" probably isn't worthwhile if you don't plan for many to use the API. In the cruise industry, not many players want access to the cruise API, so they negotiate usage costs and commission individually.