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OTA Capacity Management Tool


What is OTA Capacity Management on ExperienceBank?

OTA Capacity Management on ExperienceBank is a sophisticated tool that gives you precise control over how much of your activity capacity (availability) is shared with various Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). Instead of automatically offering your full capacity to all OTAs, this feature allows you to apply specific restrictions based on various criteria. With this tool, you can:
  • Marketplace: Tailor availability for specific OTAs like Viator or GetYourGuide, or apply the rule to all OTAs.
  • Activities: Apply the rule to all your activities or a specific activity.
  • Options: Set the rule for all options, or customize it for a specific option. 
  • Day of the Week: Establish distinct rules for weekdays or weekends based on your needs.
  • Date Range: Implement restrictions for specific date ranges, optimizing availability during peak and low demand periods.
  • Cut-off time: You can also set a custom cut-off time under this capacity rule.
Note: Once a custom cut-off time is set on ExperienceBank under a capacity rule, it will override the cut-off time configured in your reservation system.
This functionality ensures that you can strategically manage and balance your availability distribution across multiple OTAs channels

This guide outlines the process of managing your capacity (availability) for Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) using ExperienceBank. 

Log in to ExperienceBank

Start by navigating to the ExperienceBank login page. Enter your supplier contact email address to access your account. If you’ve forgotten your password, click the “Forgot password” link to initiate a reset.

Note: Your login credentials for ExperienceBank will be provided by your booking system upon account creation.

After a successful login, you will be redirected to the ExperienceBank dashboard, as shown below:


Access the Capacity Rule Page

To begin managing your capacity, click on the CAPACITY RULE link under the MANAGEMENT section in the left-hand menu. This will take you to the Capacity Rule overview page.


Add a Capacity Rule

To create a new capacity rule, click the |+Add Capacity Rule| button on the right side of the page. Follow these steps on the Add Capacity Rule page:


On the Add Capacity Rule page, follow these steps:

Name:

Enter a descriptive name for your capacity rule to facilitate easy identification. For example, “50 Percent for Aug to October.” Choose a name that clearly reflects the rule you are defining.


Select Marketplace:

Choose the relevant marketplace from the dropdown list. If your marketplace is not listed, type its name or leave the field blank to apply the rule to all marketplaces.

“For demonstration purposes, I will be using the GetYourGuide Marketplace.”. 


Select Activities:

Choose the applicable activity from the dropdown list. Similar to the marketplace selection, if the activity is not listed, you may type its name or leave the field blank to apply the rule to all activities.

“For demonstration purposes, I am selecting two activities from the list.”


Select Options:

Select the relevant options from the dropdown list. As before, you can type the option name if it’s not listed or leave it blank to apply to all options.

“For demonstration purposes, I am selecting three options from the list.”

Note: The options refer to the start times or departures listed in your reservation systems. For example, if your activity offers two options: 1. A walking tour at 9:00 AM, and 2. A walking tour with lunch at 12:00 PM.


From Date to Until date:

From Date: Click on the date field to open the calendar and select the start date for the capacity rule.

Until Date: Click on the date field to open the calendar and select the end date for the capacity rule. Ensure the end date is later than the start date.

“For demonstration purposes, I am selecting From Date 23-Aug-2024 and Until Date 30-Sep-2024.”


Weekdays:

Select the weekdays on which the capacity rule should apply. If no weekdays are selected, the rule will apply to all weekdays. Use the calendar view below to see which days the rule will be applied. Refer to the attached GIF animation for a visual reference.

As you can see in the calendar view, the days highlighted in green indicate when the capacity rule has been applied.

“For demonstration purposes, I am selecting Saturday and Sunday.”


Define Rule:

This crucial step involves setting the capacity allocation for OTAs. You can define this allocation using two methods: 1. Percentage-Based Allocation: 2. Capacity-Based Allocation:

Percentage-Based Allocation:

You can set the capacity rule as a percentage of the total capacity provided by your booking system for the activity. For example, if your activity has 100 seats and you set the rule at 50%, then 50 seats will be allocated to OTAs for that activity.

Another example: If you apply a 50% capacity rule to three activities, each with 100 seats in your booking system, then a total of 150 seats will be available for OTAs across all three activities.



Note: The percentage rule is applied to the remaining seats after bookings. For instance, with a total capacity of 100 seats and a 50% rule, 50 seats are initially available for OTAs. If 2 seats are booked via any channel, the remaining capacity becomes 98 seats. Applying the 50% rule to the remaining 98 seats results in 49 seats available for OTAs.

Below is the detailed example for percentage-based rules:

  • If the rule is set to 10%:
    • Initial capacity: 100 real -> OTA sees 10 (100 * 0.1 = 10).
    • Scenario 1: 2 seats booked: 98 real -> OTA sees 9 (98 * 0.1 = 9.8, rounded down to 9).
    • Scenario 2: 50 seats booked: 48 real -> OTA sees 4 (48 * 0.1 = 4.8, rounded down to 4).
    • Scenario 3: 40 more seats booked: 8 real -> OTA sees 0 (8 * 0.1 = 0.8, rounded down to 0).

Capacity- Based Allocation:

You can define a capacity rule by specifying the number of seats available from the total capacity provided by your booking system. For example, if you have 100 seats and set the rule to 40, only 40 seats will be available for the Marketplace which is in the rule. 


Note: The Number of seats won’t change until the set capacity is more than actual capacity.

Below is the detailed example for Capacity-based rules:

  • If the actual capacity is 100 and you set a fixed capacity of 40, the OTAs will see 40 seats available.
    • Initial capacity: 100 real -> OTA sees 40 (the minimum between real capacity and set capacity).
    • Scenario 1: 2 seats booked: 98 real -> OTA still sees 40.
    • Scenario 2: 50 seats booked: 48 real -> OTA still sees 40.
    • Scenario 3: 10 more seats booked: 38 real -> OTA now sees 38, as it is less than the set capacity of 40.

By following these steps, you can effectively manage and adjust your OTA capacity to ensure optimal availability and booking efficiency.


Benefits of OTA Capacity Management

OTA Capacity Management offers several key advantages:

  1. Enhanced Control Over Availability Allocation: By setting specific restrictions, you can more effectively manage how your activities availability are distributed across different OTAs. This ensures that your inventory is aligned with your strategic priorities, giving you greater control over where and how your offerings are available.

  2. Promotion of Direct Sales Channels: By limiting availability on third-party platforms, you can drive more bookings to your direct sales channels, such as your own website or reservation system. This strategy can reduce commission costs and boost your profit margins.

These benefits collectively enable a more strategic approach to managing your distribution channels, leading to improved operational efficiency and increased revenue potential.


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