Viator is a consumer marketplace for experience and activity providers around the world. Here is a little more information about Viator in their own words.
Viator will allow customers to book experiences and activities directly through their website. Integration with your Xola account would ensure that your Viator experiences appear on your Xola calendar and tie into your Capacity and Equipment settings.
Here's what needs to happen for you to list your Experiences through Viator and have those reservations show up in your Xola account.
You must have an account with Viator as well. Not signed up with Viator yet? Learn how here.
What's covered in this article:
How to set up your listings in Viator properly
There are a few important things to keep in mind when you're doing this. For your offerings to integrate successfully with Xola :
- Each of your Viator offerings must align with only one of your Xola Experiences.
- The schedule offered in your Viator offering must exactly match the corresponding Experience in Xola. If it does not exactly match, you'll need to modify your schedule or create a new Experience for your offering.
- To sign up with Viator, please click here.
How to set up Viator integration in Xola
After your Viator account is up and running, you can integrate it with your Xola account by following these steps:
- Locate Viator in the Xola App Store and select it.
- Click INSTALL and agree to the terms of service.
- Click Visit Settings Page, or navigate to Settings > Apps > Viator > Configure and select which Experiences you would like to allow Viator access. Selecting Experiences from this page allows Viator to look at the selected Experience's availability. Your Xola and Viator accounts will still have to be mapped together.
To start the process, navigate to your Viator account's Account > Connectivity section and select Xola from the Reservation System drop-down menu. Selecting Xola from this list will prompt Viator to reach out to Xola to begin mapping.
FAQs for Viator integration
Q: How long will the integration take?
A: Integration completion times can vary, so getting a timeline from your Viator representative is important when attempting to sign up. To expedite the process, ensure your Experiences are being shared to Viator ( Settings > Apps > Viator > Configure ) and ensure that your Products in Viator are configured and match what you are offering in Xola.
Q: Will I be able to edit Viator reservations directly through Xola?
A: Your Viator reservations will need to be edited through Viator directly; however, your Xola account will reflect select changes made within Viator's system. These changes include cancellations, refunds, arrival date/time changes, and guest quantity.
You can enable the ability to make edits to Viator's reservations in Xola by navigating to Settings > Preferences > Modify OTA experiences. By checking this box, you can edit an experience in Xola that originated in Viator, but your edits will not reflect in Viator's system.
Learn More about Modifying OTA Bookings.
Q: Will Viator honor my Experience and Outing minimums set within Xola?
A: No, all reservations made through Viator are auto-accepted. You may be able to set minimum restrictions within Viator.
Q: What about email communications to my customers? Who sends them?
A: When a customer makes a reservation through Viator via this integration, all emails and communication they receive will be those you set up in Viator from the Viator system. No Xola emails will be sent.
Q: How will Viator know which Experiences to connect to within Xola?
A: Within your Viator account, you will select Xola as your distribution partner and select which of your Xola Experiences to map to your Viator products.
Q: What about schedule changes?
A: If you add or change your experience and activity schedules, please make sure to mirror those changes exactly in Viator - this ensures the mapping between the two platforms stays successful, as it "tells" the Viator API what to "look" for. The schedule offered in your Viator offering must exactly match the corresponding Experience in Xola for this to work.
Q: I already have an account with Viator; what do I do now?
A: If you already have a Viator account, awesome! Simply navigate to the product connection section of your Viator account to begin the mapping process. If you have any questions, contact Viator to help start the process.