Anchor Operating System is a cloud reservation, ticketing and point-of-sale platform for boat tour, ferry, cruise, aviation and excursion operators, covering scheduling with route options and variable pricing, an iPad box office, dynamic pricing rules, invoicing, custom reporting and self-serve transfers and refunds. It reports more than 70 million tickets sold and deployments across more than 15 countries, with direct connections to major online sales channels and payment options including Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal.

Connecting Anchor to Ventrata lets you resell products from operators that use Anchor as their booking system. Ventrata reads their live availability and prices from Anchor, and every booking you take is created directly in the operator's Anchor account.

To learn more about Anchor, visit getanchor.io.

📒 NOTE

Looking for Anchor to resell your products instead? See Anchor: Reseller Connection.

Primary website	getanchor.io
Tags	Booking / Ticketing System
Connection features	Availability Sync · Pricing Sync · Bookings Sync
Developed by	Ventrata (using Anchor OCTO API)

This operator connection (also called a backend) lets you resell products from operators that use Anchor as their primary booking system, with every booking created directly in Anchor. Features of this connection include:

Availability Sync – live availability comes from the operator's Anchor account.
Pricing Sync – prices come from Anchor, or you set prices in Ventrata.
Bookings Sync – bookings, updates and cancellations post from Ventrata to Anchor, and Anchor issues the tickets or vouchers.

Creating the Anchor Connection

🔐 Required Role Permissions: See Operators, Modify Operators, See Products, Modify Products

Before you begin:

You must have a commercial agreement with the operator for their rates and terms.
You must have the OCTO API Key for the operator. See the steps below.
You must recreate the operator's products in Ventrata. See how to create products. The connection syncs availability, pricing and bookings, but doesn't create products in Ventrata.

Step 1: Configure the Operator in Ventrata

Ask your operator for the OCTO API Key. Operators contact their Anchor contact to obtain it.

In the Ventrata Dashboard, go to Products → Operators and open the operator. If they don't exist yet, create them as an operator first.
In the Backend Partner section, select Anchor and enter the OCTO API Key. Leave the endpoint as the default https://my.hornblower.com/api/octo unless the operator or Anchor tells you otherwise.
Leave the OCTO Endpoint field at its pre-filled Anchor value unless the operator or Anchor tells you otherwise.
Press Update Operator.

In the Backend Partner section, choose Anchor from the list of available connections and enter the OCTO API Key provided to you by your operator. Unless otherwise instructed by the operator or Anchor, leave the OCTO Endpoint field with the default pre-filled value for Anchor

📒 NOTE – Each OCTO API Key connects you to one operator. Set up each Anchor operator separately.

Step 2: Connect Each Product

Open the operator's product in Products → Products and edit it. Check that Operator is set to this operator.
Tick Backend Connected. Tick Backend Availability to use availability from Anchor, and Backend Pricing to use prices from Anchor.
Press Update Product.

📒 NOTE

Anchor sends both retail and net prices. With Backend Pricing ticked, Ventrata records the retail price as your selling price and the net price as your cost price, whatever cost percentage is set on the operator.

Check Backend Availability to pull availability from Anchor and Backend Pricing to pull pricing.

Without those, the product uses the availability and pricing set in Ventrata but still posts bookings to Anchor.

Check Backend Connected for this product to use the API connection (backend). To pull availability from Anchor, ensure Backend Availability is checked; to pull pricing, check Backend Pricing. If you do not check Backend Availability and/or Backend Pricing, the product will use the availability and/or pricing configured in Ventrata but will still post bookings to Anchor. Click Update Product to save.

Mapping Products to Anchor

‼️ IMPORTANT

Mapping tells Ventrata which Anchor product, option and units to check availability for and book. If a backend-connected product isn't mapped correctly, its bookings fail. A red highlight across the product row shows an incorrectly mapped product.

In the Ventrata Dashboard, go to Products → Products and open the product.
Open the Mappings tab. It appears once the product is set to Backend Connected.
For each Ventrata option and unit, select the matching Anchor product, option and units from the dropdowns, which Ventrata loads from Anchor. Don't leave any field empty.
Press Save Changes.

The product page will now display a Mappings tab. Navigate to this tab and map your Ventrata product, option(s), and units by selecting the corresponding products, options, and units from the dropdown lists as received from Anchor. Ensure that no fields are left empty (unmapped), and click Save Changes.

📗 TIP

Make a test booking after mapping, and ask the operator to confirm it arrived in their Anchor account.

Managing the Anchor Connection

Update the mapping when the operator changes products, options or units in Anchor.
Replace the key on the operator if Anchor or the operator issues a new one.
Switch Backend Availability or Backend Pricing off on a product to use Ventrata's own availability or prices instead. Bookings still post to Anchor.

Connection Features Detailed

This section is for anyone who wants to know exactly how the Anchor connection works. Here the direction is the opposite of a reseller connection: Ventrata calls Anchor, using Anchor OCTO API. For each feature, it explains which calls Ventrata makes, when, and what that means for you.

In short: Ventrata asks Anchor for availability and prices whenever someone looks at a backend-connected product, and creates every booking in the operator's Anchor account. Anchor doesn't send changes back to Ventrata.

Timings are typical for Anchor and rounded, and they can change.

Product Mapping	✅	You map each Ventrata product, option and unit to the operator's Anchor product in the Ventrata Dashboard. This works as follows: Get Products (`GET /products`) – Ventrata reads the operator's Anchor products, options and units to fill the dropdowns on the Mappings tab. What this means for you: if something is missing from the dropdown, the operator hasn't made it available to you in Anchor. Ask them to.
Content Sync	❌	Ventrata doesn't import product content from Anchor. Ventrata doesn't import product content from Anchor. You create and describe the products in Ventrata yourself.
Availability Sync	✅	With Backend Availability on, Ventrata checks the operator's live availability in Anchor. This works as follows: Availability Check (`POST /availability`) – when someone uses the availability calendar in Ventrata, for example in the Dashboard, your web checkout or a terminal, Ventrata asks Anchor live for the dates on screen. With Backend Availability on, Ventrata makes a live request to Anchor when a user interacts with the availability calendar (dashboard, web checkout, terminal and so on). Requests are usually for a 7-day range or a specific day. The calendar may show cached, non-live data from the previous request until the user interacts with it. Typically with Anchor: Requests cover 7 days at a time, from today up to about a year ahead, as people browse and as Ventrata loads the calendar. What this means for you: customers book against the operator's live Anchor availability, so you can't oversell a slot the operator has already sold elsewhere.
Pricing Sync	✅	With Backend Pricing on, Ventrata takes prices from Anchor. This works as follows: Availability Check with the `octo/pricing` capability – Ventrata asks Anchor for prices with each availability request. With Backend Pricing on, Ventrata pulls both retail and net (wholesale) pricing from Anchor in the same live availability request. Pricing is shown to the user and cached/stored in Ventrata as API generated fares. Net pricing is recorded as cost pricing, regardless of the cost percentage set on the operator. With Backend Pricing off, the product uses the prices you set in Ventrata, and bookings still post to Anchor. Anchor sends both retail and net prices. With Backend Pricing ticked, Ventrata records the retail price as your selling price and the net price as your cost price, whatever cost percentage is set on the operator.
Promotions Sync	❌	Promotions aren't sent to Anchor. Promotions aren't sent to Anchor. Your Ventrata promotions still apply to the price your customer pays in Ventrata.
Bookings Sync	✅	Bookings made in Ventrata for a backend-connected product are created in the operator's Anchor account. This works as follows: Hold: Booking Reservation (`POST /bookings`) – when the product is added to the cart in Ventrata, Ventrata reserves the places in Anchor. Confirm: Booking Confirmation (`POST /bookings/{uuid}/confirm`) – after payment, Ventrata confirms the booking in Anchor with the customer's contact details, and the ticket or voucher Anchor returns becomes the Ventrata ticket or voucher. Change: Booking Update (`PATCH /bookings/{uuid}`) – changes made in Ventrata are sent to Anchor. Cancel: Booking Cancellation (`POST /bookings/{uuid}/cancel`) – cancellations made in Ventrata are sent to Anchor. Reserve when a product is added to the cart. Confirm after payment, sending customer contact details; Anchor's voucher/ticket is ingested into Ventrata (except PDF_FILE, which Ventrata does not support). Updates and cancellations made in Ventrata are sent to Anchor. ‼️ IMPORTANT – Bookings sync one way, from Ventrata to Anchor. If the operator changes or cancels a booking in Anchor, Ventrata isn't notified. Ask the operator to tell you about any changes they make.
Pickups/Dropoff Sync	❌	Pickup and drop-off details aren't passed to Anchor. Pickup and drop-off details aren't passed to Anchor. Share them with the operator another way if a product needs them.
Custom Questions Sync	❌	Answers to your booking questions aren't passed to Anchor. Answers to your booking questions aren't passed to Anchor. Share them with the operator another way if they need them.
Extras Sync	❌	Extras and add-ons aren't booked in Anchor. Extras and add-ons aren't booked in Anchor. Only the main product, option and units are.
Redemption Sync	❌	Redemptions and other status changes in Anchor aren't sent back to Ventrata after a booking is confirmed. Redemptions and other status changes in Anchor aren't sent back to Ventrata after a booking is confirmed. Not supported. Booking status from Anchor, such as Redeemed, is not sent back to Ventrata after confirmation.
Pass Walkup Scanning Sync	❌	Pass walk-up scanning isn't available with Anchor. Pass walk-up scanning isn't available with Anchor.
Gift Card Sync	❌	Ventrata gift cards aren't passed to Anchor. Ventrata gift cards aren't passed to Anchor. Gift card payments stay in Ventrata.

✅ supported · ❌ not supported

Good to know: limits and details of the Anchor connection

Live availability: availability comes from Anchor as people browse.
One-way bookings: changes the operator makes in Anchor don't reach Ventrata.

FAQs

I get an error when I save the operator's backend configuration.

The OCTO API Key or endpoint is most likely incorrect. Check them with your operator. If the issue persists, contact our Technical Support.

There's no Backend Connected box in the product settings.

The operator set on the product most likely doesn't have a backend configured. Check the operator's Backend Partner settings and try again. If the issue persists, contact our Technical Support.

The product, option or unit I want to map isn't in the dropdown.

The dropdowns list what the operator has made available to you in Anchor. Ask the operator. If the issue persists, contact our Technical Support.

Bookings fail for a backend-connected product.

Check the product's mapping first: every option and unit must be mapped. Then check that the slot is still available in Anchor. If the issue persists, contact our Technical Support.

I get an error when saving the operator's backend configuration.

The OCTO API Key or OCTO Endpoint is most likely incorrect. Double-check them with your operator. If the issue persists, contact support.

There is no Backend Connected checkbox in the product settings.

The operator selected on the product most likely has no backend configured. Check the backend configuration and try again. If the issue persists, contact support.

Useful Resources

📚 More about Ventrata connections

Partner Information

Encore Studios / Hornblower Group, Inc.

2645 Townsgate Rd, Building 200

Westlake Village, CA 91361, USA

getanchor.io

Ventrata Partner ID: 9ffb6043-1f28-4c4c-8d1e-27679ad48555

Anchor: Operator Backend