Big Bus Tours is the world's largest open-top sightseeing operator, running hop-on hop-off routes in more than 28 cities across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Beyond its own buses it retails partner attractions, cruises and day trips through brands including Tour Dubai, Tower Tours and Westcoast Sightseeing, bringing operators international visitors who are already in destination and buy same-day at kiosks, on board and online, adding attractions and cruises to a hop-on hop-off ticket. Big Bus Tours uses Ventrata as their primary ticketing system.

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

To learn more about partnering with Big Bus Tours, visit bigbustours.com.

Primary website	bigbustours.com
Tags	Operator Reselling Others · Sightseeing & Hop-On Hop-Off · Ventrata Client
Destination markets	🌎 Global
Source markets	🌎 Global
Specialties	Same-day add-ons for hop-on hop-off passengers in destination
Connection features	Availability Sync · Pricing Sync · Bookings Sync
Ventrata Booked GMV (last 12 months)	US$1M+
Ventrata Booked Suppliers (last 12 months)	10+
Developed by	Ventrata (using Ventrata's OCTO API)

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

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

Creating the Big Bus Tours Connection

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

Before you begin:

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

Big Bus Tours runs on Ventrata, so this is a Ventrata-to-Ventrata connection. You create a Ventrata Reseller Connection for Big Bus Tours and securely share its API key. Big Bus Tours 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 Big Bus Tours 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 Big Bus Tours.
Big Bus Tours adds you as an operator with Ventrata (Operator Backend) as the backend, then connects and maps each product. 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. Big Bus Tours follows Ventrata: Operator Backend.

Managing the Big Bus Tours Connection

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

Connection Features Detailed

This section is for anyone who wants to know exactly how the Big Bus Tours connection works: which Ventrata OCTO API calls Big Bus Tours 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: Big Bus Tours 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 Big Bus Tours, so anything you change in Ventrata reaches Big Bus Tours the next time it checks.

Timings are typical for Big Bus Tours and rounded, and they can change if Big Bus Tours changes how it syncs.

Product Mapping	✅	Big Bus Tours maps your products to its own in its Ventrata account. On each backend-connected product, Big Bus Tours 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	❌	Big Bus Tours doesn't read your product content from Ventrata. Big Bus Tours uses the descriptions, images and other content set up on its own side, so update your content with Big Bus Tours directly.
Availability Sync	✅	Big Bus Tours checks your live availability in Ventrata. Ventrata doesn't push availability changes to Big Bus Tours. This works as follows: Availability Check (`POST /availability`) – Big Bus Tours 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 Big Bus Tours 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 Big Bus Tours can't overbook a slot that has just sold out, even if its stored availability is slightly out of date. Typically with Big Bus Tours: Availability Check: Big Bus Tours checks your products throughout the day, usually starting 46 days ahead and covering 7 days per request, looks up to about a year ahead and re-checks the same product and dates about every 2 hours. Availability Calendar: Big Bus Tours 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. 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, Big Bus Tours shows it after its next check. For dates it checks regularly, that's within about 2 hours. Dates further ahead are usually checked less often.
Pricing Sync	✅ / ❌	Your prices come back with availability only when Big Bus Tours asks for them, and Big Bus Tours doesn't always do so. This works as follows: Typically with Big Bus Tours: Big Bus Tours 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 Big Bus Tours. Prices on Big Bus Tours don't include promotions you create in Ventrata. Set up any promotions with Big Bus Tours directly.
Bookings Sync	✅	Bookings and cancellations made on Big Bus Tours 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 Big Bus Tours, Big Bus Tours 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, Big Bus Tours 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. Big Bus Tours gives these to the customer, who shows them at your entrance like any Ventrata ticket. Expire: if the customer doesn't finish paying, Big Bus Tours 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 Big Bus Tours, Big Bus Tours 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 Big Bus Tours has to contact you. Change: Big Bus Tours doesn't use Booking Update (`PATCH /bookings/{uuid}`), so a change most likely reaches Ventrata as a cancellation plus a new booking. Typically with Big Bus Tours: Big Bus Tours doesn't set a hold time, so the default hold time applies. A typical Big Bus Tours 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. Big Bus Tours also checks the bookings it has made, with Get Booking (`GET /bookings/{uuid}`) every few minutes, for example to reconcile its records. ‼️ IMPORTANT – Bookings sync one way, from Big Bus Tours to Ventrata. If you cancel, change or rebook a booking from Big Bus Tours in Ventrata, for example in the Dashboard, Big Bus Tours isn't notified. Contact Big Bus Tours so the booking is cancelled or changed on their side too, or ask the customer to cancel through Big Bus Tours.
Pickups/Dropoff Sync	❌	Big Bus Tours doesn't send pickup or drop-off details with its bookings. If your products include pickups, check with Big Bus Tours how it collects pickup details, or arrange them with the customer.
Custom Questions Sync	❌	Big Bus Tours doesn't send answers to your booking questions. If you rely on booking questions, for example names or dietary needs, check with Big Bus Tours how it collects that information.
Extras Sync	❌	Extras and add-ons can't be booked through Big Bus Tours. Customers can only book your main products and options on Big Bus Tours. Sell extras separately, for example on arrival.
Redemption Sync	❌	Redemptions aren't reported to Big Bus Tours. Ventrata doesn't notify Big Bus Tours when a ticket is scanned or redeemed. Big Bus Tours only sees a redemption if it reads the booking back from Ventrata.
Pass Walkup Scanning Sync	❌	Big Bus Tours pass holders can't be scanned at your entrance without a booking. Customers from Big Bus Tours need a booking made through Big Bus Tours before they visit.
Gift Card Sync	❌	Ventrata gift cards can't be sold or redeemed through Big Bus Tours. Gift cards bought in Ventrata can't be used on Big Bus Tours, and Big Bus Tours can't sell Ventrata gift cards.

✅ supported · ✅ / ❌ limited · ❌ not supported

Good to know: limits and details of the Big Bus Tours connection

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

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

The Big Bus Company Limited

110 Buckingham Palace Road

London SW1W 9SA, United Kingdom

bigbustours.com

Ventrata Partner ID: 780e4263-0adc-4564-97df-50113d946500

Ventrata Ltd

55 Baker Street

London W1U 7EU, United Kingdom

ventrata.com

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

Big Bus Tours: Reseller Connection