Viator

Viator is Tripadvisor’s booking platform.

This partnership is designed to save clients time by consolidating systems and allowing Viator to pull live availability from FareHarbor. As a result, clients do not need to manage their availabilities manually in Viator, and bookings made on Tripadvisor/Viator will flow into the client’s FareHarbor dashboard automatically.

In order to start the integration process, the client will need to have an account on Viator with active products built out in their Viator account.

Fareharbor clients can sign-up for a Viator supplier account via this link.

Pre Go-Live

AE will gather any commission information and the affiliate will be built out during the onboarding process by the build team. The Connectivity Team is notified of any new dashboards with the Viator affiliate when they go live. The Connectivity New Connections team adds the shortname to Airtable with a proper SLA based on client tier. Once the record is claimed by an available agent, the Connectivity team will reach out to the client requesting them to follow a few steps on Viator. This will trigger an automatic email from Viator that will allow us to access their Viator account and start the connection process.

NOTE: In order for this to work, the Dashboard builder must ensure the FHDN API affiliate is added to the Affiliates section of the dashboard before the client is set to “Active” in Close.

Post Go-Live

• Submit a Mapping Request Form using the “New Connection” request type to notify the Connectivity Team that a client wants to connect.

• The Connectivity Team will follow the appropriate process as described below:

For Current Viator Clients:

1. Instruct client to log into the Viator management center here

2. Click on their account name in the top right-hand corner > “Account” in the drop down > Connectivity tab and then “Connect Now.”

3. Select FareHarbor in the drop down and then click “Save.”

4. Connectivity Team will receive an email alert to set up the connection.

Note: Products on Viator must be active, out of draft mode.

For Current Viator Clients Switching Reservation Systems:

1. Instruct client to log into their Viator management center here.

2. Click on their account name in the top right hand corner > click Account in the drop down > click the Connectivity tab on the account page.

3. They will see their current reservation software listed. Click on “edit” and then change the system to FareHarbor in the drop down. This will create a pop-up screen asking client to confirm the change.

4. Connectivity Team will receive an email alert to set up the connection.

For Clients Not Currently Working with Viator:

1. Instruct client to follow this link to complete the online sign-up application.

2. Once client becomes an approved supplier, they can use the Viator Management Center to build out the products they would like to offer on Tripadvisor.

3. When the products are approved and active (out of draft mode), client will need to follow the steps below to notify the FareHarbor Connectivity Team:

3a. Log into the Viator management center here

3b. Click on their account name in the top right-hand corner > “Account” in the drop down > Connectivity tab and then “Connect Now.”

3c. Select Fareharbor in the drop down and then click “Save.”

4. Connectivity Team will receive a triggered email from Viator to start the connection process

Note: The Connectivity Team cannot promise when we will be able to complete the mappings as this depends on many factors, such as product setup complexity. We will reach out to the client if we have any questions about the setup.

To see if a client is live on the API, search in Close for the Connectivity – Live custom field in the Dashboards custom object. If the company is live on the API, Viator will be listed.

Booking overview:

Additional information that Viator has collected at the time of booking can be found in FareHarbor booking notes (on the booking overlay, in the manifest, and on booking notification emails sent from FareHarbor to the client) including the following:

• Supplier Note
• Required Info (questions and answers)
• Special Requirements
• Pickup Point
• All travelers names
• Language Code
• Language Options

Please note that the client must add these fields to the products in their Viator account for this information to be included on the FareHarbor book form.

You can find all info sent through the Viator API in the booking comments:

Yes! If changes are made to a FareHarbor item that is connected to Viator, the Connectivity team needs to manually update our mapping files to keep the connection intact. What kinds of changes should I submit to the Connectivity team?

• Removing customer types from availabilities and adding new ones
• Changing the start times of availabilities
• Deleting/archiving a connected item and replacing it with a new one
• Removing or changing API-specific resource setups and/or customer types
• Adding availabilities with new start times that should be available on Viator
• Note that call-to-book, cancelled, or closed and hidden availabilities are read as unavailable through the API

Always check admin notes for Connectivity-specific notes! If you’re ever unsure if a change has broken a connection, please submit a request to the Connectivity team so we can check (see below)!

Please submit an API Mapping Request Form so we can follow up with the client. Please include as much detail as possible!

Does pricing pull from FareHarbor?

No, Viator pricing does not pull from FareHarbor and clients must update their Viator pricing manually in their Viator account. For reporting purposes, the Channel Support Team can create Viator price sheets and invoice sheets in FareHarbor with corresponding rates.

Can a supplier have multiple FareHarbor dashboards connected to one Viator account? What about multiple Viator accounts to one dashboard?

Yes, we can connect multiple FareHarbor dashboards to one Viator account. We can also connect multiple Viator accounts to one FareHarbor dashboard.

Does Viator support multi-language tours?

Yes, we are able to connect Viator with different language tours if those are built as separate tour options on Viator and we have language specific customer types in FareHarbor.

Can clients contact Viator customers through the FareHarbor booking overlay?

Yes, Viator sends through a traveler-protected email address that will forward messages to the customer’s personal email (see example below). The traveler protected email address is valid for 30 days after the travel date.

What FareHarbor emails are and are not sent out on Viator bookings?

FareHarbor reminder/confirmation emails can be enabled for Viator bookings under the Viator affiliate settings.

Follow-up emails are sent automatically on every API booking.

How do cancellations and refunds for Viator bookings work?

Cancellations follow the policy set in Viator and flow through the API to mark a booking as cancelled in FareHarbor. Viator will allow all cancellations to be sent through so the client can potentially find another customer to fill the spot, but will refund the booking (or not) according to their policy. The refund must be done through Viator since the payment was collected there.

Clients may subscribe to cancellation notification emails in FareHarbor, which will notify them when Viator cancels a booking. (To do this: go to Client FH Dashboard > “Users and Permissions” > “Edit” > “Account” > “Email Notifications”)

How do amendments (rebookings) work?

Amendments to Viator bookings flow through the API and the original booking will automatically update in FareHarbor.

Can a client limit availability on Viator?

Clients can choose to only sell certain days/times by limiting their Viator schedule to those days and times. Clients may also use affiliate rules to open/close availability to Viator.

Can a client have a different currency on Viator than on FareHarbor?

No. The currency of a client’s Viator account must match the currency set in their Fareharbor dashboard. Keep in mind that the currency of a Viator account is not visible on the front-end platform.

Can Viator Book into unlisted items in FareHarbor?

Yes.

Can Viator Book into unlisted availabilities in FareHarbor?

Yes.

Can Viator pull FareHarbor’s QR codes?

Yes, if a client has ticket scanning enabled in FareHarbor and has QR codes enabled in Viator, a customer’s Viator voucher will include one FareHarbor QR code per whole booking for check-in.

How much does a client have to pay for this integration?

Viator takes a commission percentage on every booking made through their platform. This is negotiated between Viator and the client. FareHarbor collects an API off eligible API bookings as outlined here.