OTA Integrations | Guidewinds

What Are OTA Integrations?

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Viator, GetYourGuide, and Google Things to Do are marketplaces where millions of travelers search for experiences. By connecting your Guidewinds account to these platforms, your trips appear to a much wider audience without any extra marketing effort.

Guidewinds uses the OCTO standard (Open Connectivity for Tourism) to sync your availability, pricing, and bookings in real time across every connected channel.

Plan Requirement

OTA integrations are available on the Enterprise plan.

Supported Channels

Guidewinds currently supports integrations with the following platforms:

Viator: The world's largest experiences marketplace, owned by Tripadvisor. Great for reaching international travelers.
Google Things to Do: Your trips appear directly in Google Search and Maps results when travelers search for activities in your area.
GetYourGuide: Popular with European travelers and growing rapidly in North America. Strong mobile presence.

Pro Tip

Start with one OTA channel, get comfortable with the workflow, then expand to additional channels. Most captains see the best results from Viator and Google Things to Do.

Connecting a Channel

Go to Dashboard → Settings → OTA Distribution
Click "Connect Channel" and select the OTA platform
Enter your supplier credentials (provided by the OTA when you sign up as a supplier)
Map your trips to the OTA's product categories
Set channel-specific pricing (optional)
Enable the connection and verify the sync

OTA Supplier Account Required

You need an active supplier account with each OTA before connecting. Sign up on their supplier portals first — approval can take 1–2 weeks.

The OCTO Standard

Guidewinds implements the OCTO (Open Connectivity for Tourism) standard, which is the industry-standard API for tour and activity distribution. This means:

Real-time availability: Your calendar syncs instantly. When a slot is booked on any channel, it's immediately blocked everywhere else.
Automated confirmations: Anglers receive confirmation regardless of where they booked.
Standardized data: Product details, pricing, and policies are consistent across all channels.
Two-way sync: Bookings from OTAs appear in your dashboard alongside direct bookings.

No Double Bookings

The OCTO sync runs in real time. When a angler books through Viator, that slot is instantly marked as taken on GetYourGuide, Google, and your direct booking page.

Channel-Specific Pricing

OTAs typically charge a commission (15–25%) on each booking. You can set channel-specific pricing to account for these fees:

Go to Dashboard → Settings → OTA Distribution
Select the connected channel
Click "Pricing Rules"
Set a markup percentage (e.g., +20% to offset OTA commission)
Choose whether to apply it to all trips or specific ones

Pro Tip

Many captains add a 15–20% markup on OTA channels to maintain the same net revenue as direct bookings. This also encourages anglers to book directly next time.

Managing Sync & Troubleshooting

Monitor your OTA connections from Dashboard → Analytics → OTA:

Sync status: Green means connected and syncing. Yellow indicates a temporary delay. Red means action is needed.
Last sync time: See when data was last exchanged with each channel.
Error log: Review any failed syncs with detailed error messages and resolution steps.
Channel revenue: Compare revenue and booking volume across channels.

Keep Products Updated

When you change a trip's details (price, duration, capacity), the changes sync to OTAs automatically. However, some OTAs require re-approval for major changes like pricing — allow 24–48 hours.

What's Next?

Analytics — Track channel performance and ROI
Availability — Fine-tune when anglers can book across channels