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Vistra Travel: Reseller Connection

Connect Vistra Travel to Ventrata to sync availability and prices and receive bookings instantly. Curated city, hiking and history itineraries.

Vistra Travel logo powered by Palisis TourCMS Palisis TourCMS

 

Vistra Travel is a London-based online travel agency (OTA) selling guided city tours, hiking and history itineraries, cruises and car rental. For operators, it brings leisure travelers who want a curated itinerary, from budget backpackers to upmarket buyers, across a catalog of roughly 700 destinations in Europe, 400 in the Americas and 950 in Asia.

 

Connecting Vistra Travel to Ventrata syncs your availability and prices and delivers bookings, changes and cancellations with tickets issued automatically. Vistra Travel runs on Palisis TourCMS, and receives your products through its certified integration with Ventrata's OCTO API.

 

To learn more about partnering with Vistra Travel, visit vistratravel.com.

 

📒 NOTE

This connection is available only to specific client accounts. If you're interested in using it, contact our Technical Support or your Ventrata Customer Success Manager.

 

Primary website

Tags

OTA · Tours & Activities OTA

Destination markets

🌎 Global

Source markets

🌎 Global

Specialties

Curated city, hiking and history itineraries for leisure travelers

Connection features

Availability Sync · Pricing Sync · Bookings Sync

Ventrata Booked GMV (last 12 months)

US$10k+

Developed by

Palisis TourCMS (using Ventrata's OCTO API)

 

This reseller connection lets you sell your products through Vistra Travel without managing availability, pricing and bookings by hand. Features of this connection include:

  • Availability Sync – Vistra Travel checks your live availability in Ventrata.

  • Pricing Sync – Vistra Travel gets your prices from your reseller pricing in Ventrata.

  • Bookings Sync – bookings, updates and cancellations from Vistra Travel are created in Ventrata instantly, and customers get Ventrata tickets.

 

Creating the Vistra Travel Connection

🔐 Required Role Permissions: See Connections, Modify Connections, See Connection Key

Before you begin:

  • You must have a commercial agreement with Vistra Travel for them to sell your products. To inquire about partnering with them, contact them via vistratravel.com.

  • You must have Vistra Travel created as a Reseller in Ventrata with their pricing (retail, wholesale/commission) defined correctly. Note that this API connection requires that the reseller is set to the "Bill to my account" settlement method.

 

  1. In Ventrata Dashboard, go to Connections → Connections, click + New Connection, and select Vistra Travel (powered by Palisis TourCMS) from the list of partners.

  2. Select Vistra Travel Reseller from the list of your resellers (must be created before creating a connection). The connection will inherit the reseller's configuration like pricing, allowed destinations, products, etc.

  3. (Optional) You can also set the connection Name of your choosing, which may be helpful if you plan to have multiple Vistra Travel connections and would like to differentiate between them more easily in the future.

  4. Press the Create Octo Connection button.

 

📗 TIP

If needed, you can also allow or disallow products or destinations on the connection level, in addition to what you have configured on the reseller.

 

Mapping Products to Vistra Travel

Securely share the OCTO API key shown on the connection you've created with your Vistra Travel contact and ask them to map your products using Ventrata's OCTO API, with pricing (octo/pricing) enabled. Typically, it takes no longer than a few business days for the Vistra Travel team to complete this.

 

Your Ventrata configuration is complete. You do not need to take any further steps.

 

📗 TIP

Vistra Travel can access all products enabled on the connection, but you can also provide the Product and Option IDs from the connection page when contacting them to specify what to map.

 

Managing the Vistra Travel Connection

  • Allow or disallow products: limit which destinations, products and options Vistra Travel can access. See how to allow or disallow products.

  • Rename the connection to tell several Vistra Travel connections apart.

 

Connection Features Detailed

This section is for anyone who wants to know exactly how the Vistra Travel connection works: which Ventrata OCTO API calls Vistra Travel makes (through Palisis TourCMS's certified integration), when it makes them, and what that means for you. Each call links to Ventrata's API documentation.

 

In short: Vistra Travel pulls everything it needs from Ventrata. It reads your products, checks your availability and prices, and sends bookings and cancellations. Ventrata doesn't push changes to Vistra Travel, so anything you change in Ventrata reaches Vistra Travel the next time it checks.

 

Timings are typical for Vistra Travel and rounded, and they can change if Vistra Travel changes how it syncs.

 

Product Mapping

❌

You can't map products from Ventrata. Vistra Travel maps them on its side, through your account manager or Vistra Travel's portal.

This works as follows:

  • Get Products (GET /products) – when Vistra Travel sets up your connection, and whenever it refreshes its listings, it reads every product enabled on the connection, with its options and units (ticket types such as Adult or Child).

  • Get Product (GET /products/{productId}) – Vistra Travel re-reads a single product to pick up changes to its options, units, booking cutoffs and settings.

  • Mapping on Vistra Travel's side – Vistra Travel links each Ventrata option and unit to its own listing and ticket types. Your Vistra Travel account manager does this for you, or you do it in Vistra Travel's own portal if Vistra Travel offers one. You only share the connection's API key.

 

Typically with Vistra Travel:

  • Vistra Travel reads your full product list about every 11 hours.

  • It re-reads each product about every 20 minutes.

 

What this means for you: Vistra Travel can only sell what it has mapped. When you add a product, option or unit in Ventrata, Vistra Travel may see it on its next refresh, but it won't sell it until it's mapped. So tell your Vistra Travel account manager whenever you add one.

Content Sync

✅ / ❌

Vistra Travel can read your product content, such as descriptions and images, from Ventrata.

This works as follows:

  • octo/content capability – when Vistra Travel adds it to the Octo-Capabilities header, Get Products (GET /products) and Get Product (GET /products/{productId}) also return your product content, such as descriptions, highlights, inclusions and images.

  • Content changes in Ventrata reach Vistra Travel on its next product refresh.

 

Typically with Vistra Travel:

  • Vistra Travel requests octo/content.

Availability Sync

✅

Vistra Travel checks your live availability in Ventrata. Ventrata doesn't push availability changes to Vistra Travel.

This works as follows:

  • Availability Check (POST /availability) – Vistra Travel sends a product, an option and a date or date range. Ventrata answers with each bookable day or time slot, its status (AVAILABLE, LIMITED, SOLD_OUT, CLOSED or FREESALE), the remaining vacancies, the booking cutoff and an availabilityId, which Vistra Travel needs to book that slot.

  • Availability Calendar (POST /availability/calendar) – returns one summary per day instead of every time slot, typically to show which dates are open in a date picker.

  • Availability Calendar Batch (POST /availability/calendar/batch) – the calendar for many products in one request, designed for background syncs.

  • Check at booking – when a customer books, Ventrata checks capacity again before it creates the booking, so Vistra Travel can't overbook a slot that has just sold out, even if its stored availability is slightly out of date.

 

Typically with Vistra Travel:

  • Availability Check: Vistra Travel checks your products throughout the day, usually starting 12 days ahead and covering 19 days per request, looks up to about a year ahead and re-checks the same product and dates about every 5 hours.

  • Availability Calendar: Vistra Travel checks your products throughout the day, usually starting today and covering 8 days per request, looks up to about a year ahead and re-checks the same product and dates about every hour.

  • Availability Calendar Batch: Vistra Travel checks your products throughout the day, usually starting today and covering 8 days per request, looks up to about a year ahead and re-checks the same product and dates about every 20 minutes.

  • Checks are spread through the day with no strong peak, which suggests a mix of scheduled syncs and live customer searches.

 

What this means for you: when you close a date, change capacity or sell out in Ventrata, Vistra Travel shows it after its next check. For dates it checks regularly, that's within an hour. Dates further ahead are usually checked less often.

Pricing Sync

✅

Your prices come back with every availability check, once Vistra Travel asks for them with the octo/pricing capability.

This works as follows:

  • octo/pricing capability – Vistra Travel asks for prices by adding octo/pricing to the Octo-Capabilities header of its requests. Without it, Ventrata sends availability with no prices at all.

  • Availability Check (POST /availability) – with pricing on, each day or time slot comes back with your price per unit (ticket type): the retail price the customer pays and the net price you invoice Vistra Travel, both from the reseller's pricing in Ventrata (retail and wholesale/commission).

  • Group prices – when Vistra Travel also sends how many people of each unit type are booking, Ventrata prices that exact group. This matters for Booking Size fares and other group pricing.

  • Booking Reservation (POST /bookings) and Booking Confirmation (POST /bookings/{uuid}/confirm) – the booking comes back with its final retail and net price, so the booking in Ventrata always records the price it was sold at.

 

Typically with Vistra Travel:

  • Vistra Travel requests octo/pricing on all of its availability checks, so it sells at your Ventrata prices.

  • Vistra Travel doesn't send the number of people per unit type, so prices come back per person, and group pricing such as Booking Size fares may not show correctly on Vistra Travel.

 

‼️ IMPORTANT – Ask for pricing to be enabled. When you ask Vistra Travel to map your products, ask them to enable pricing (octo/pricing) as well, or switch it on yourself if you map in Vistra Travel's portal. Otherwise it may be off, and Vistra Travel won't receive your Ventrata prices.

📗 TIP – If prices on Vistra Travel look wrong, check the Vistra Travel reseller's pricing in Ventrata first: that's what Vistra Travel reads.

Promotions Sync

❌

Your Ventrata promotions don't apply on Vistra Travel.

Prices on Vistra Travel don't include promotions you create in Ventrata. Set up any promotions with Vistra Travel directly.

Bookings Sync

✅

Bookings and cancellations made on Vistra Travel are created in Ventrata instantly, and customers get Ventrata tickets.

This works as follows:

  1. Hold: Booking Reservation (POST /bookings) – when a customer starts checkout on Vistra Travel, Vistra Travel sends the product, option, chosen slot (availabilityId) and one unit item per person. Ventrata checks capacity again and creates an ON_HOLD booking, which holds the places while the customer pays. If there's no longer room, Ventrata rejects the hold.

  2. Confirm: Booking Confirmation (POST /bookings/{uuid}/confirm) – once payment goes through, Vistra Travel confirms the hold, with its own booking reference and the customer's contact details. The booking becomes CONFIRMED in Ventrata, and Ventrata sends back your booking reference and the tickets (one per person) or a voucher (one per booking), depending on how your product is set up, each with a QR code and a PDF link. Vistra Travel gives these to the customer, who shows them at your entrance like any Ventrata ticket.

  3. Expire: if the customer doesn't finish paying, Vistra Travel never confirms, and the hold expires on its own and frees the places.

  4. Cancel: Booking Cancellation (POST /bookings/{uuid}/cancel) – when a customer cancels on Vistra Travel, Vistra Travel cancels the booking in Ventrata. Ventrata accepts this only if the booking can still be cancelled and the option's cancellation cutoff hasn't passed. Otherwise it rejects the request, and Vistra Travel has to contact you.

  5. Change: Vistra Travel doesn't use Booking Update (PATCH /bookings/{uuid}), so a change most likely reaches Ventrata as a cancellation plus a new booking.

 

Typically with Vistra Travel:

  • Vistra Travel holds places for about 30 minutes while the customer pays (expirationMinutes).

  • A typical Vistra Travel booking is for about 2 people.

  • It's normal to see more holds than confirmed bookings: holds from customers who don't finish paying simply expire.

  • Vistra Travel also checks the bookings it has made, with List Bookings (GET /bookings) every few minutes and Get Booking (GET /bookings/{uuid}) about every 13 hours, for example to reconcile its records.

 

‼️ IMPORTANT – Bookings sync one way, from Vistra Travel to Ventrata. If you cancel, change or rebook a booking from Vistra Travel in Ventrata, for example in the Dashboard, Vistra Travel isn't notified. Contact Vistra Travel so the booking is cancelled or changed on their side too, or ask the customer to cancel through Vistra Travel.

Pickups/Dropoff Sync

❌

Vistra Travel doesn't send pickup or drop-off details with its bookings.

If your products include pickups, check with Vistra Travel how it collects pickup details, or arrange them with the customer.

Custom Questions Sync

❌

Vistra Travel doesn't send answers to your booking questions.

If you rely on booking questions, for example names or dietary needs, check with Vistra Travel how it collects that information.

Extras Sync

❌

Extras and add-ons can't be booked through Vistra Travel.

Customers can only book your main products and options on Vistra Travel. Sell extras separately, for example on arrival.

Redemption Sync

❌

Redemptions aren't reported to Vistra Travel.

Ventrata doesn't notify Vistra Travel when a ticket is scanned or redeemed. Vistra Travel only sees a redemption if it reads the booking back from Ventrata.

Pass Walkup Scanning Sync

❌

Vistra Travel pass holders can't be scanned at your entrance without a booking.

Customers from Vistra Travel need a booking made through Vistra Travel before they visit.

Gift Card Sync

❌

Ventrata gift cards can't be sold or redeemed through Vistra Travel.

Gift cards bought in Ventrata can't be used on Vistra Travel, and Vistra Travel can't sell Ventrata gift cards.

✅ supported · ✅ / ❌ limited · ❌ not supported

 

Good to know: limits and details of the Vistra Travel connection

  • Delays: availability and prices reach Vistra Travel only when it checks, so there's always a short delay after you change something in Ventrata.

  • Cancellation cutoff: Vistra Travel can cancel over the API only before your option's cancellation cutoff. Later cancellations have to be agreed with you.

  • What Vistra Travel can see: only the destinations, products and options allowed on the reseller and the connection, and enabled for sale on the Direct API source. See how to allow or disallow products.

  • Tickets: Vistra Travel issues the Ventrata tickets or voucher it gets on confirmation, so your usual scanning and redemption work as normal.

  • Test bookings: Vistra Travel can send test bookings while it sets up the connection. Test bookings don't use your availability and aren't invoiced.

 

FAQs

No products are displayed on the connection page.

Verify which destinations, products, and options are allowed on your reseller and connection. Next, confirm that your products and options are enabled for sale on the Direct API source. If the issue persists, contact our Technical Support.

My Ventrata products use Booking Size fares, and pricing isn't working correctly on Vistra Travel.

After every fare change, update the product mapping to ensure the partner tier counts are synced with Ventrata. Ensure the fare is enabled for sale over Direct API.

 

 

Partner Information

Vistra Travel Ltd

27 Old Gloucester Street

London, WC1N 3AX, United Kingdom

 

Ventrata Partner ID: 522d7bc9-23ad-4558-8de2-1af95f058941

 

Palisis AG

Florastrasse 18a

8610 Uster, Switzerland

 

Ventrata Partner ID: f4765bbb-2453-4404-8124-7ffb8f498e8e

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