Xola is a reservation and e-commerce platform for tour, activity and attraction operators, spanning online checkout, point of sale, kiosks, digital waivers, staff and equipment scheduling, waitlists and reviews, with Xolabot handling cart recovery and marketing follow-up. Its operator base concentrates in adventure and experience categories such as helicopter tours, ziplines, escape rooms, watersports, boat tours and fishing charters.

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

To learn more about Xola, visit xola.com.

Primary website	xola.com
Tags	Booking / Ticketing System
Connection features	Availability Sync · Pricing Sync · Bookings Sync
Developed by	Ventrata (using Xola OCTO API)

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

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

Creating the Xola 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 be listed as a Distribution Channel in Xola's App Store. See Step 1.
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: Get Listed in Xola's App Store

Email [email protected] and [email protected] with the names of the Xola operators you want to connect with, plus your logo, business name and a point of contact for your app listing. Allow several days for Xola to review and approve your request.

Step 2: Get the Operator's OCTO API Key

Once you're listed, ask the operator to install your app in Xola, select the experiences they want to share with you, and securely share the OCTO API Key with you.

Step 3: Configure the Operator in Ventrata

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 Xola and enter the OCTO API Key. Leave the OCTO Endpoint as the default https://octo.xola.com/latest unless the operator or Xola tells you otherwise.
Press Update Operator.

In the Backend Partner section, choose Xola 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 Xola, leave the OCTO Endpoint field with the default pre-filled value for Xola

📒 NOTE – Each API key connects you to one operator. Set up each Xola operator separately.

Step 4: 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 Xola, and Backend Pricing to use prices from Xola.
Press Update Product.

📒 NOTE

Xola sends retail prices only. With Backend Pricing ticked, Ventrata records the retail price and calculates your net (cost) price using the cost percentage set on the operator in the Ventrata Dashboard.

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

Mapping Products to Xola

‼️ IMPORTANT

Mapping tells Ventrata which Xola 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 Xola experience, option and units from the dropdowns, which Ventrata loads from Xola. 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 Xola. 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 Xola account.

Managing the Xola Connection

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

Connection Features Detailed

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

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

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

Product Mapping	✅	You map each Ventrata product, option and unit to the operator's Xola experience in the Ventrata Dashboard. This works as follows: Get Products (`GET /products`) – Ventrata reads the experiences the operator has shared with you in Xola, with their options and units, to fill the dropdowns on the Mappings tab. Capabilities (`GET /capabilities`) – Ventrata checks which OCTO capabilities the operator's Xola account supports. Typically with Xola: Ventrata re-reads the operator's products and capabilities from Xola every few hours, so new experiences the operator shares with you show up in the dropdowns without any action. What this means for you: if an experience, option or unit is missing from the dropdown, the operator hasn't shared it with you in Xola yet. Ask them to add it to your app.
Availability Sync	✅	With Backend Availability on, Ventrata checks the operator's live availability in Xola. 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 Xola live for the dates on screen. Xola answers with each time slot, its status and the remaining capacity. Before someone interacts with the calendar, it can show the result from the last time those dates were checked (cached). Typically with Xola: Requests usually cover a single day or a few days at a time, starting today and reaching up to about 6 months ahead, as people browse. What this means for you: customers always book against the operator's live Xola availability, so you can't oversell a slot the operator has already sold elsewhere. Ventrata asks Xola for availability in 7-day ranges, or for a single day.
Pricing Sync	✅	With Backend Pricing on, Ventrata takes both retail and net prices from Xola. This works as follows: Availability Check with the `octo/pricing` capability – Ventrata asks Xola for prices with each availability request. Prices are shown to the user and stored in Ventrata as API-generated fares. Net (wholesale) prices from Xola are recorded as the cost price, whatever cost percentage you've set on the operator. With Backend Pricing off, the product uses the prices you set in Ventrata, and bookings still post to Xola. Xola sends retail prices only. With Backend Pricing ticked, Ventrata records the retail price and calculates your net (cost) price using the cost percentage set on the operator in the Ventrata Dashboard.
Bookings Sync	✅	Bookings, changes and cancellations made in Ventrata for a backend-connected product are sent to Xola automatically. This works as follows: Hold: Booking Reservation (`POST /bookings`) – when the product is added to the cart in Ventrata, Ventrata reserves the places in Xola. Confirm: Booking Confirmation (`POST /bookings/{uuid}/confirm`) – after payment, Ventrata confirms the booking in Xola with the customer's contact details. The ticket or voucher Xola returns becomes the Ventrata ticket or voucher, except PDF_FILE, which Ventrata doesn't support. Change: Booking Update (`PATCH /bookings/{uuid}`) – when a booking is changed in Ventrata, the change is sent to Xola. Cancel: Booking Cancellation (`POST /bookings/{uuid}/cancel`) – when a booking is cancelled in Ventrata, it's cancelled in Xola too. ‼️ IMPORTANT – Bookings sync one way, from Ventrata to Xola. If the operator changes or cancels a booking in Xola, Ventrata isn't notified. Ask the operator to tell you about any changes they make.
Content Sync	❌	Ventrata doesn't import product content from Xola. Ventrata doesn't import product content from Xola. You create and describe the products in Ventrata yourself.
Promotions Sync	❌	Promotions aren't sent to Xola. Promotions aren't sent to Xola. Your Ventrata promotions still apply to the price your customer pays in Ventrata.
Pickups/Dropoff Sync	❌	Pickup and drop-off details aren't passed to Xola. Pickup and drop-off details aren't passed to Xola. Share them with the operator another way if a product needs them.
Custom Questions Sync	❌	Answers to your booking questions aren't passed to Xola. Answers to your booking questions aren't passed to Xola. Share them with the operator another way if they need them.
Extras Sync	❌	Extras and add-ons aren't booked in Xola. Extras and add-ons aren't booked in Xola. Only the main product, option and units are.
Redemption Sync	❌	Redemptions and other status changes in Xola aren't sent back to Ventrata after a booking is confirmed.. Redemptions and other status changes in Xola aren't sent back to Ventrata after a booking is confirmed.
Pass Walkup Scanning Sync	❌	Pass walk-up scanning isn't available with Xola.. Pass walk-up scanning isn't available with Xola.
Gift Card Sync	❌	Ventrata gift cards aren't passed to Xola. Ventrata gift cards aren't passed to Xola. Gift card payments stay in Ventrata.

✅ supported · ❌ not supported

Good to know: limits and details of the Xola connection

One operator per key: each Xola operator gives you its own OCTO API Key.
Shared experiences only: you can map and sell only the experiences the operator has shared with your app in Xola.
Live availability: availability comes from Xola as people browse, so there's no availability to keep in sync by hand.
One-way bookings: changes the operator makes in Xola don't reach Ventrata.

FAQs

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

The OCTO API Key or OCTO 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 shared with you in Xola. Ask the operator to share it. 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 Xola. If the issue persists, contact our Technical Support.

Useful Resources

📚 More about Ventrata connections

Partner Information

Xola, Inc.

Hewes Building, 995 Market St

San Francisco, CA 94103, USA

xola.com

Ventrata Partner ID: 360a0ae4-5437-4c21-9dfa-68c0e8e22c8a

Xola: Operator Backend