ExperienceFirst is a New York-headquartered tour operator running small-group, guide-led walking and landmark tours in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Paris, Barcelona and Madrid, with premium departures reaching Athens, Lisbon, Marrakech and Tokyo. It packages third-party attractions such as Statue of Liberty and Alcatraz tickets alongside its own departures. For operators, it brings culture-minded American and European travelers who book a guided tour and add attraction admissions in the same city, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before as the standard policy. ExperienceFirst uses Ventrata as their primary ticketing system.

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

To learn more about partnering with ExperienceFirst, visit exp1.com.

Primary website	exp1.com
Tags	Operator Reselling Others · Ventrata Client
Destination markets	🇫🇷 France · 🇪🇸 Spain · 🇬🇧 UK · 🇺🇸 US
Source markets	🌎 Global
Connection features	Availability Sync · Pricing Sync · Bookings Sync
Developed by	Ventrata (using Ventrata's OCTO API)

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

Availability Sync – ExperienceFirst checks your live availability in Ventrata.
Pricing Sync – ExperienceFirst gets your prices from your reseller pricing in Ventrata.
Bookings Sync – bookings, updates and cancellations from ExperienceFirst are created in Ventrata instantly, and customers get Ventrata tickets.

Creating the ExperienceFirst Connection

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

Before you begin:

You have a commercial agreement with ExperienceFirst for them to sell your products.
ExperienceFirst is created as a Reseller in Ventrata, with retail and wholesale/commission pricing set up.

ExperienceFirst runs on Ventrata, so this is a Ventrata-to-Ventrata connection. You create a Ventrata Reseller Connection for ExperienceFirst and securely share its API key. ExperienceFirst then connects and maps your products in its own Ventrata account.

In the Ventrata Dashboard, go to Connections > Connections, press + New Connection and search for Ventrata Reseller Connection.
Select ExperienceFirst as the reseller. If needed, allow or disallow destinations and products on the connection, then press Create Connection.
Press the eye icon to reveal the API key, copy it and securely share it with your contact at ExperienceFirst. ExperienceFirst can access all products enabled on the connection, but you can also share the Product and Option IDs from the connection page to say what to map.
ExperienceFirst adds you as an operator with Ventrata (Operator Backend) as the backend, then connects and maps each product. This usually takes a few business days. Ask them to make a test booking, and check that it appears in your bookings table.

📗 TIP

For every step with screenshots, see Ventrata: Reseller Connection. ExperienceFirst follows Ventrata: Operator Backend.

Managing the ExperienceFirst Connection

Allow or disallow products: limit which destinations, products and options ExperienceFirst can access. See how to allow or disallow products.
Rename the connection to tell several ExperienceFirst connections apart.

Connection Features Detailed

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

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

Product Mapping	✅	ExperienceFirst maps your products to its own in its Ventrata account. On each backend-connected product, ExperienceFirst picks the matching product, option and units from your account on the product's Mappings tab. Products that aren't mapped correctly are highlighted in red, and bookings for them fail. See Ventrata: Operator Backend.
Content Sync	❌	ExperienceFirst doesn't read your product content from Ventrata. ExperienceFirst uses the descriptions, images and other content set up on its own side, so update your content with ExperienceFirst directly.
Availability Sync	✅	ExperienceFirst checks your live availability in Ventrata. Ventrata doesn't push availability changes to ExperienceFirst. This works as follows: Availability Check (`POST /availability`) – ExperienceFirst 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 ExperienceFirst 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. Check at booking – when a customer books, Ventrata checks capacity again before it creates the booking, so ExperienceFirst can't overbook a slot that has just sold out, even if its stored availability is slightly out of date. What this means for you: when you close a date, change capacity or sell out in Ventrata, ExperienceFirst shows it after its next check. Dates further ahead are usually checked less often.
Pricing Sync	✅	ExperienceFirst gets your prices from your reseller pricing in Ventrata. Your prices come back with availability when ExperienceFirst asks for them. ExperienceFirst can take your prices with Backend Pricing on its product, or set its own prices in its account.
Promotions Sync	❌	Your Ventrata promotions don't apply on ExperienceFirst. Prices on ExperienceFirst don't include promotions you create in Ventrata. Set up any promotions with ExperienceFirst directly.
Bookings Sync	✅	Bookings and cancellations made on ExperienceFirst are created in Ventrata instantly, and customers get Ventrata tickets. This works as follows: Hold: Booking Reservation (`POST /bookings`) – when a customer starts checkout on ExperienceFirst, ExperienceFirst 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. Confirm: Booking Confirmation (`POST /bookings/{uuid}/confirm`) – once payment goes through, ExperienceFirst 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. ExperienceFirst gives these to the customer, who shows them at your entrance like any Ventrata ticket. Expire: if the customer doesn't finish paying, ExperienceFirst never confirms, and the hold expires on its own and frees the places. Cancel: Booking Cancellation (`POST /bookings/{uuid}/cancel`) – when a customer cancels on ExperienceFirst, ExperienceFirst 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 ExperienceFirst has to contact you. Change: if ExperienceFirst supports changes, they reach Ventrata through Booking Update (`PATCH /bookings/{uuid}`) or as a cancellation plus a new booking. It's normal to see more holds than confirmed bookings: holds from customers who don't finish paying simply expire. ‼️ IMPORTANT – Bookings sync one way, from ExperienceFirst to Ventrata. If you cancel, change or rebook a booking from ExperienceFirst in Ventrata, for example in the Dashboard, ExperienceFirst isn't notified. Contact ExperienceFirst so the booking is cancelled or changed on their side too, or ask the customer to cancel through ExperienceFirst.
Pickups/Dropoff Sync	❌	ExperienceFirst doesn't send pickup or drop-off details with its bookings. If your products include pickups, check with ExperienceFirst how it collects pickup details, or arrange them with the customer.
Custom Questions Sync	❌	ExperienceFirst doesn't send answers to your booking questions. If you rely on booking questions, for example names or dietary needs, check with ExperienceFirst how it collects that information.
Extras Sync	❌	Extras and add-ons can't be booked through ExperienceFirst. Customers can only book your main products and options on ExperienceFirst. Sell extras separately, for example on arrival.
Redemption Sync	❌	Redemptions aren't reported to ExperienceFirst. Ventrata doesn't notify ExperienceFirst when a ticket is scanned or redeemed. ExperienceFirst only sees a redemption if it reads the booking back from Ventrata.
Pass Walkup Scanning Sync	❌	ExperienceFirst pass holders can't be scanned at your entrance without a booking. Customers from ExperienceFirst need a booking made through ExperienceFirst before they visit.
Gift Card Sync	❌	Ventrata gift cards can't be sold or redeemed through ExperienceFirst. Gift cards bought in Ventrata can't be used on ExperienceFirst, and ExperienceFirst can't sell Ventrata gift cards.

✅ supported · ✅ / ❌ limited · ❌ not supported

Good to know: limits and details of the ExperienceFirst connection

Delays: availability and prices reach ExperienceFirst only when it checks, so there's always a short delay after you change something in Ventrata.
Cancellation cutoff: ExperienceFirst can cancel over the API only before your option's cancellation cutoff. Later cancellations have to be agreed with you.
What ExperienceFirst 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: ExperienceFirst issues the Ventrata tickets or voucher it gets on confirmation, so your usual scanning and redemption work as normal.
Test bookings: ExperienceFirst 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 ExperienceFirst.

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.

📚 More about Ventrata connections

Partner Information

ExperienceFirst

c/o Northwest Registered Agent LLC

418 Broadway, Ste N, Albany, NY 12207

United States

exp1.com

Ventrata Partner ID: 9b120a3c-11e6-4fdf-a51f-b0b17b2fe5d0

Ventrata Ltd

55 Baker Street

London W1U 7EU, United Kingdom

ventrata.com

Ventrata Partner ID: a6a2a406-088a-4466-b87c-7fcc17770b71

ExperienceFirst: Reseller Connection