Expian is a London ticketing platform for attractions and transport operators, managing sales across web, point of sale, memberships, trade partners and online travel agents in one admin tool, with upsell, cross-sell, bundling, third-party products and unified reporting across all channels. Its customers include heritage sites and historic palaces, museums and galleries, immersive venues, sightseeing companies, heritage railways and ferry operators such as P&O Ferries.

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

To learn more about Expian, visit expian.io.

📒 NOTE

Expian was formerly known as Ticknovate.

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

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

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

Creating the Expian 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 and OCTO Endpoint 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

Your operator asks for them in Expian. Expian users can generate the API key for resellers in their Expian admin. The operator can contact their Expian Customer Success Manager for help getting the endpoint.

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 Expian and enter the OCTO API Key and OCTO Endpoint. Expian's endpoint is usually unique per operator and follows the format octo.api.[operator].expian.io.
Leave the OCTO Endpoint field with its pre-filled default unless your operator instructs otherwise.
Press Update Operator.

In the Backend Partner field, select Expian from the list of connections available and enter OCTO API Key you were provided by your Operator.

📒 NOTE – Each OCTO API Key and OCTO Endpoint connects you to one operator. Set up each Expian 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 Expian, and Backend Pricing to use prices from Expian.
Press Update Product.

📒 NOTE

Expian 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 Connected, then Backend Availability to pull availability and Backend Pricing to pull pricing.

Without Backend Availability and/or Backend Pricing, the product uses the availability and/or pricing set in Ventrata but still posts bookings to Expian.

Check Backend Connected for this product to use the API connection (backend). To pull availability from Expian, 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 Expian. Click Update Product to save.

Mapping Products to Expian

‼️ IMPORTANT

Mapping tells Ventrata which Expian 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 Expian product, option and units from the dropdowns, which Ventrata loads from Expian. 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 Expian. 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 Expian account.

Managing the Expian Connection

Update the mapping when the operator changes products, options or units in Expian.
Replace the key on the operator if Expian 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 Expian.

Connection Features Detailed

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

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

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

Product Mapping	✅	You map each Ventrata product, option and unit to the operator's Expian product in the Ventrata Dashboard. This works as follows: Get Products (`GET /products`) – Ventrata reads the operator's Expian 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 Expian. Ask them to.
Content Sync	❌	Ventrata doesn't import product content from Expian. Ventrata doesn't import product content from Expian. You create and describe the products in Ventrata yourself.
Availability Sync	✅	With Backend Availability on, Ventrata checks the operator's live availability in Expian. 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 Expian live for the dates on screen. Ventrata makes a live request to Expian when a user interacts with the availability calendar, usually for 7-day ranges or a specific day. The calendar may show cached, non-live data from the last request. Typically with Expian: Requests cover 3 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 Expian availability, so you can't oversell a slot the operator has already sold elsewhere.
Pricing Sync	✅	With Backend Pricing on, Ventrata takes prices from Expian. This works as follows: Availability Check with the `octo/pricing` capability – Ventrata asks Expian for prices with each availability request. With Backend Pricing, Ventrata pulls both retail and net (wholesale) pricing. Prices come with the availability check and are cached/stored in Ventrata as API generated fares. Net pricing from Expian 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 Expian. Expian 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 Expian. Promotions aren't sent to Expian. 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 Expian 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 Expian. Confirm: Booking Confirmation (`POST /bookings/{uuid}/confirm`) – after payment, Ventrata confirms the booking in Expian with the customer's contact details, and the ticket or voucher Expian returns becomes the Ventrata ticket or voucher. Change: Booking Update (`PATCH /bookings/{uuid}`) – changes made in Ventrata are sent to Expian. Cancel: Booking Cancellation (`POST /bookings/{uuid}/cancel`) – cancellations made in Ventrata are sent to Expian. Reserve when a product is added to the cart. Confirm after payment, with customer contact information. The voucher/ticket from Expian is ingested as a voucher/ticket in Ventrata, except PDF_FILE, which Ventrata does not support. Updates and cancellations are sent to Expian by API. ‼️ IMPORTANT – Bookings sync one way, from Ventrata to Expian. If the operator changes or cancels a booking in Expian, 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 Expian. Pickup and drop-off details aren't passed to Expian. Share them with the operator another way if a product needs them.
Custom Questions Sync	❌	Answers to your booking questions aren't passed to Expian. Answers to your booking questions aren't passed to Expian. Share them with the operator another way if they need them.
Extras Sync	❌	Extras and add-ons aren't booked in Expian. Extras and add-ons aren't booked in Expian. Only the main product, option and units are.
Redemption Sync	❌	Redemptions and other status changes in Expian aren't sent back to Ventrata after a booking is confirmed. Redemptions and other status changes in Expian aren't sent back to Ventrata after a booking is confirmed. Not supported. Booking status from Expian (for example Redeemed) is not communicated back to Ventrata.
Pass Walkup Scanning Sync	❌	Pass walk-up scanning isn't available with Expian. Pass walk-up scanning isn't available with Expian.
Gift Card Sync	❌	Ventrata gift cards aren't passed to Expian. Ventrata gift cards aren't passed to Expian. Gift card payments stay in Ventrata.

✅ supported · ❌ not supported

Good to know: limits and details of the Expian connection

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

FAQs

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

The OCTO API Key and OCTO Endpoint 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 Expian. 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 Expian. If the issue persists, contact our Technical Support.

Error when updating operator to save backend configuration.

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

The product/option/unit I want to map is not on the dropdown.

The dropdown is pulled from Expian based on the products, options and units your operator made available to you. Double-check with your operator. If the issue persists, contact support.

Useful Resources

📚 More about Ventrata connections

Partner Information

Expian Ltd

Spaces, Mappin House, 4 Winsley St

London W1W 8HF, United Kingdom

expian.io

Ventrata Partner ID: af1db775-3f88-4d78-8b91-b7d69c5a252b

Expian: Operator Backend