“Can we call it live?”
Last updated: January 22, 2025
Sales and Onboarding work together to get accounts live in a timely and efficient manner. We always consider how we are sending clients live in order to set our clients, their customers, and our fellow FH Admins up for long term success.
Specifically, there are some scenarios that will stall the onboarding/go-live process until they are resolved according to our best practices. Pausing the go-live process momentarily in these cases displays our commitment to being the most trusted software and partner for tour and activity providers.
Below you will find the most common of these scenarios, examples, and guidelines for handling them. All CX teams have worked together to develop these guidelines to ensure the smoothest go-live process.
Note: If the situation you find yourself in is not covered below, or if you have additional questions, please follow up with your manager.
A company has two different softwares on their website
Approved to call live: When the 2nd software is offering activities/items not provided by the client we have onboarded
- Example: A new FH client is reselling tours for another company, and that company uses Bokun
Not approved to call live: When a competitor’s software is still on the client’s website and it is an activity/item that could be on FareHarbor.
- Example: A client is offering a sunset tour, but it is hosted on Peek instead of FareHarbor
A company has all their items on FareHarbor except lodging, which is on another software
Approved to call live: When their lodging is on a lodging specific software
- Example: Airbnb, Booking, a proprietary lodging software, etc.
Discuss with your manager: When their lodging is hosted on another comparable activity reservation software
- Example: Peek, Xola
A company is using Paypal/Square for an item(s) instead of FareHarbor
- Approved to call live: When retail items are using Paypal/Square
- Example: books, toys, memorabilia
- Not approved to call live: When tours, activities, gift cards are utilizing Paypal/Square
A company’s membership item is not on FareHarbor
Approved to call live: When membership items are not a good fit for our membership feature.
- Examples:
- Punch card use cases (Buy 10 classes, get 2 free)
- Automatic renewal of memberships
- Multi-scan ticketing: Round trip bookings, commuter bookings, weekend passes – where a single booking will gain you entry for multiple days or events
- RFID pass integration (like key cards/Fobs)
- Examples:
Not approved to call live: When membership items are a good fit for our membership feature.
- Examples:
- Daily, monthly, yearly/annually, season passes, “10 class passes”
- Tiered memberships
- Examples:
Discuss with your manager: When they are using a direct competitor’s software
- Example: Peek, Rezdy, Xola, Checkfront, Bookeo, EZtix, Showclix
A company’s donation item is not using FareHarbor
Approved to call live: When they are using PayPal, Square, or another point-of-sale provider
Not approved to call live: When they are using a direct competitor’s software
- Example: Peek, Xola, Rezdy, etc.
A company’s school/large group program is not using FareHarbor
Approved to call live: When items aren’t bookable anywhere else. Clients can advertise the items as “Call to Book” on their website OR build them out in FareHarbor as unlisted items/private items/call to book items
Not approved to call live: When they are using a direct competitor’s software or when the items are bookable elsewhere.
A company has links in their book form
- Not approved to call live: Any links that lead off-site
- Examples: terms and conditions
A company’s summer items are on FareHarbor but winter items are on another software
- Not approved to call live: It is not in FareHarbor or Client best interest to onboard in this way.
A company’s primary language (in advanced settings) does not match the added custom content language (item names, custom fields, policies, etc)
- Not approved to call live: The Dashboard language should always be the same as its content (item descriptions, custom fields, customer types). Any discrepancies between language and content can cause issues with language display for online customers, as well as issues with Dashboard use in the future if additional languages need to be added. If additional languages are needed, the Translations feature should be utilized.
A company’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, other) contains old software
- Not approved to call live: It is not in FareHarbor or Client best interest to onboard in this way.
A company’s only integration is on social media (Facebook, Instagram, other)
Approved to call live: When the client has no other means of integration.
- Example: The client does not have a website at all and social media is the main source of online, organic traffic.
Not approved to call live: When they also have a website where integration is applicable.
- Example: They will integrate on the website next month but right now they only have Facebook integrated.
A company’s website mentions FareHarbor by name as well as our fee
Approved to call live: When use of our company name is not egregious and does not discourage online booking
- Example: “Click here to book online with FareHarbor!”, or “Online booking incurs a fee”
Not approved to call live: When use of our company name and fee is egregious or does discourage online booking
- Example: “Call to book! Avoid FareHarbor booking fees!”
A company’s website is not published yet
- Not approved to call live: FareHarbor integration must be discoverable in a public, organic way to be considered “live”.
A company has published on a standalone page
Approved to call live: When the integration is on a public, published web page.
Not approved to call live: When the integration is on a private, unpublished, or unlisted page. When the integration cannot be found organically.
To escalate/get input: If the page can be accessed via special links or passwords, but cannot be found organically.
A company has old reservation software on third-party sites with API integrations
Not approved to call live: When the old software is still linked to third-party sites, whether availabilities are closed/bookable or not.
To escalate/get input: When Sales and OB and the Client have tried unsuccessfully to have old software removed.
A company doesn’t have any bookable items
- Not approved to call live: When ZERO items have availabilities that are bookable online (they are closed and hidden or CTB, or there are no availabilities at all for example).
- Discuss with your manager: Availabilities are closed/CTB for a certain time frame.
- Example: Avails are not bookable for the next 2 months
A company only has Gift Cards available to book online
- Approved to call live: All non-gift items built on the dashboard are set to Private or availabilities are Call to Book BUT we have a firm and reasonable timeline commitment from the Client on when availabilities will be opened.
- Example: Seasonal companies that want to get Gift Cards integrated before their activities open online and have committed to opening others at a reasonable, agreed upon time.
- Not approved to call live: No additional items have been created on the dashboard or Client has no plan to immediately open availabilities for any other items.
- Example: Client has not decided on when or how to operate their business, but is eager to get started
A company performed their own website integration and it’s not the best
Not approved to call live: When there is old software present
To escalate/get input: When there is no old software present, and we are integrated, but there are still significant integration opportunities present. When Sales / OB / Client have tried unsuccessfully to integrate / give integration tips.
A company has only some of their items integrated on their website
- Approved to call live: When the items not integrated are offline in the Dashboard and there is communication about reasoning (eg: temporary situation, tailor made items, etc.)
- Example: A new FH client that has backend items to manage customized tours
- Not approved to call live: When there is a competitor’s software in the items that are not integrated
- Example: A client is offering a sunset tour, the item exists in the Dashboard but it is hosted on a different software on the site instead of FareHarbor
- Discuss with your manager: If the client has contact forms for items that are not integrated.
Note: Is it Friday? If it is Friday, please run these situations by an OB manager. We want to make a judgment call that ensures the client will receive the best level of service possible over the weekend.