Inntopia + Agilysys Visual One

The OTA/HTNG two-way integration between Inntopia’s Commerce platform and Agilysys Visual One (V1) performs two main functions:

  • Agilysys V1 sends availability (restrictions), rates, and inventory (ARI) to Inntopia RMS.
  • Inntopia sends reservations, modifications, and cancellations (reservation delivery) to Agilysys V1.

The integration supports the following:

  • Batch processing of OTA-compliant reservation (Create, Modify, and Cancel)
  • Availability
  • Rack Rate
  • Non-Rack Rates
  • Inventory messages
  • Sending group codes down to V1 with reservations
  • Payment Postings
  • Group Blocks and Group Codes

Visual One controls the frequency of availability, rate, and inventory updates to Inntopia. Reservation transmittal frequency is configurable and can be as frequent as every 15 seconds. You can also include the following information within the Special Instructions and/or Comments field on the V1 reservation:

  • supplier notes;
  • repeat guest information;
  • customer requests (via CRS or online booking);
  • customer requirements;
  • package name;
  • fees;
  • insurance items;
  • summary of non-lodging items by product category booked with the reservation; and
  • any other non-lodging items booked with the reservation.

Inntopia maintains the reservation and room type code cross-references between the two systems. Once a reservation has been successfully transmitted to V1, the integration is set up to "Acknowledge" the reservation. Inntopia can set up one or multiple email addresses to receive errors and warnings pertaining to the V1 integration.

To view successful bookings as well as manage and resubmit reservations that did not transmit, you can use the Remote System Reservations Report.

  • The partner must register an SSL Certificate for the V1 webservice on their CRS infrastructure (this certificate can be used for different webservices; therefore, do not limit the name to a specific integration). A domain name is not required.
    • The integration requires an SSL Certificate registered against IIS for both the LIVE and TEST integrations.
  • Agilysys will install a webservice on the partner's CRS infrastructure.
  • Inntopia will send bookings to the public webservice URL for Agilysys Visual One.

The initial setup of this integration requires steps by Agilysys and Inntopia. To request the Visual One setup lead time and discuss whether they can implement this integration into your system, contact your Agilysys representative.

Inntopia requires a two week lead time to perform the setup. To begin the implementation process with Inntopia:

  • Submit an INNTERACT request that includes:
    • Supplier IDs
    • Sales Channel ID that will house the Remote System Reservations Report
    • Partner Web Service URL and credentials (username and password from Agilysys)
    • Client email address(es) where reservation and error messages will be delivered
    • Rate code
    • Indicate whether or not you want Payment Postings enabled.

The following Reservation, Rate, Availability, and Inventory data is passed between Inntopia and Visual One:

  • Arrival/Departure Date
  • Travel Agent (including IATA)
  • PMS Room Type Code
  • PMS Rate Code – Inntopia sends the resamount.

    Note: By default, the average daily rate is sent to Visual One in the reservation message. To have the average nightly rate sent, contact Inntopia Partner Services to enable this feature.

  • Total Reservation Amount
  • Total Reservation Tax Amount
  • Extra Person Information
  • Company
  • First Name, Last Name
  • Address
  • City
  • State
  • Country
  • Phone
  • Email
  • Credit Card
  • Inntopia Itinerary ID

The following are sent in the Comments field of the reservation message:

  • Customer Requirements
  • Special requests entered by the guest
  • Promotion Name
  • Repeat Guest (Yes/No)
Notes:
  • Inntopia Promotion Cross Reference Code can be used to send a rate-plan code other than RACK to Visual One with the reservation message.
  • Sending of Net Rates to Visual One is not supported.
  • Room Type Code
  • Rate Amount Start and End Dates
  • Rate Plan Code
  • Rate Amount
  • Extra Person Charges
  • Room Type Code
  • Start and End Dates
  • Close Out Flag
  • Minimum Stay Requirement
  • Room Type Code
  • Start and End Dates
  • Quantity Available

The existing integration cannot differentiate the same exact room type across multiple lodging suppliers. Visual One does not have the concept of a supplier; therefore, each room type must be unique and suppliers cannot share the same room type (with no Supplier ID, the integration does not know where to send an update).

Your Agilysis V1 integration can be configured to transmit multiple rates to Inntopia. There are three options available for multiple rate setup:

  1. Using Inntopia RMS, configure multiple rates and/or discounts in Inntopia to be sent to V1.
  2. Once you configure the discount in Inntopia, the price the guest books for any given promotion is sent to V1 under the RACK rate code.

    No additional setup is required in V1 for this option.

To send the V1 Package Rate code to Inntopia so that the rate code can then be sent to V1:

  1. Configure the promotion, pricing, and discount in Inntopia RMS.
  2. Link the V1 Package Rate codes to individual promotions in Inntopia using the Promotion Cross-Reference Code field.
  3. To ensure the multiple-rate functionality is working as expected, coordinate testing by both V1 and Inntopia representatives.

To have the V1 package rate code sent to Inntopia so that the rate code can then be sent to Special Billing in V1:

  1. Map all V1 package rate codes in V1. For assistance with mapping, contact your V1 representative.
  2. Create the promotion in Inntopia RMS. Do not set up a discount or price in Inntopia. Once the V1 Package Rate is mapped and sent to Inntopia, the price is determined based on the setup of the V1 Package Rate in Visual One.
  3. Link the V1 Package Rate codes to individual promotions in Inntopia via the Promotion Cross-Reference Code field.
  4. Coordinate testing with both V1 and Inntopia representatives to ensure the multiple rate functionality is working as expected.

Note: If your team accidentally sends the wrong V1 package rate codes to Inntopia, submit an INNTERACT request for an Inntopia developer to either remove the update or to resend the correct data via V1.

The V1 group block feature sends group block inventory and rates to the Inntopia system, and, with each reservation made in Inntopia, decrements group block inventory in V1. Restriction updates for the group product are not supported; however, restriction updates can be set manually in Inntopia RMS for either products or promotions.

A group product is a copy of a general availability product that has the same Room Type Code cross reference, but the group product also includes a Group Cross Reference (same as InvBlockCode attribute). The Group Cross Reference allows the Inntopia system to store inventory for the group product separately from the general availability product. Group codes are sent to V1 in the reservation message within the RoomRate/InvBlockCode attribute, which allows the inventory in V1 to be accurately decremented.

A dedicated Inntopia promotion is required for each group, and group products must only be sold through these promotions. So that only those guests who have the promotion code can book the promotion, Inntopia suggests setting up a private promotion for the group promotion. For the groups to successfully integrate between Inntopia and V1, each promotion must have the Promotion Cross Reference Code field set to the Rate Plan Code, and the Group Code field set to the InvBlockCode.

For large numbers of group products and promotions, an auto-create option is available for groups. After group products and promotions are created in V1, they can be automatically created in Inntopia. Group products are created in Inntopia as Inactive and with the Package Restriction flag on. Group promotions are created in Inntopia with the Dates Available as they are in V1, but with the Booking Dates in the past and the Promotion Cross Reference Code field blank. For the Groups to be available, the products must be activated and the promotions must have updated Booking Dates and a Promotion Cross Reference Code added.

For assistance configuring the Group Code via Promotions, contact Inntopia Partner Services.

To view all reservations transmitted from Inntopia to Visual One, refer to the Remote System Reservations Report. This report shows successfully booked reservations, as well as manages the reservations that failed to transmit. You have the option to "View Details" as to why a transmission failed, and also are provided the option to Submit a reservation to be transmitted again. The Submit button lets you queue the reservation to be re-sent once the issue preventing message transmission has been resolved. A developer request must be made for the CRS to access the report.

Below is a sample error message generated from the Visual One web service client that sends reservations to V1. In such cases, the partner is expected to investigate and take action using the Inntopia Remote System Reservations Report. The error message below was generated by Visual One, so they should be contacted first in this scenario:

Original Message-----

From: Notifications Mailbox

Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 1:08 AM

To: John Smith; Evelyn Johnson

Subject: Error Processing Itinerary via V1 Web Service Client: 5222145

The following error occurred in the V1 web service client for Itinerary: 5222145 For Supplier: 1712258

Session Id: 472f44e2-0e4d-4f15-8d84-967daf1890a3Code: 0001Message: Unable to Process the Request

Your VisualOne integration can be configured to transmit advance deposit payments and customer refunds on lodging products via the Deposit/Refunds Posting feature. When the deposit/refund is sent to VisualOne, a dated transaction line-item posts to the guest ledger. Deposit payments collected in Inntopia are transmitted and posted to VisualOne as a credit on the guest ledger with a description of OTA Deposit. Customer refunds issued in Inntopia are transmitted and posted to VisualOne as a debit on the guest ledger with a description of OTA Cancel.

The following information is posted to the VisualOne reservation folio:

  • The individual deposit amounts collected
  • Deposit amounts collected upon modifying an itinerary
  • Refund amounts
  • Multiple deposits – Multiple deposits on multiple lodging products in the same itinerary are sent to VisualOne with the full deposit amount(s) on only one product.
  • Single-item refunds – Refunding a single item on an itinerary containing multiple lodging products requires cancelling all products, issuing a full refund, and rebooking the item(s) the guest wants to keep.

The following payment types are supported via the Deposit /Refunds Posting feature:

  • Credit Card Payment
  • Travel Agent Deduction Payment
  • Credit Card Refund
  • Travel Agent Deduction Refund
  • Cash/Check Payment
  • Customer Account Transfer Payment
  • Cash/Check Refund
  • Customer Account Transfer Refund
  • Supplier Transfer Payment
  • Affirm
  • Supplier Transfer Refund
  • PayPal
  • CRS Write off (comp)
  
  1. Agent reserves VisualOne item in Inntopia.
  2. A batch-mode reservation delivery process sends the reservation to VisualOne within one minute. If a payment was collected at the time of booking, then the amount is included in the reservation messaging.
  3. VisualOne responds immediately with its confirmation ID.
  • Collecting funds outside of the specified deposit policy in Inntopia transmits the full amount collected to VisualOne.
  • Processing refunds on an uncancelled item will not transmit the refund to VisualOne.
  • Deposit/refund amounts processed AFTER the checkout date will not trigger a payment to be sent to VisualOne (if a refund is taken in Inntopia after checkout, the partner must manually post the refund in VisualOne).
  • To test deposit postings in a stage environment, you must have an active VisualOne stage environment set up. It is not possible to point VisualOne production environment to the Inntopia stage environment.

The Deposit/Refund Postings feature must be turned on by Inntopia staff. To activate the Deposit/Refund Postings feature for your VisualOne integration:

  1. Submit an INNTERACT request with the following information:
    • Request to complete “VisualOnePayment Posting” integration setup
    • Supplier ID – Submit for each supplier using the integration
    • Account name – Submit for each supplier using the integration
    • Environment – Specify if you want the feature turned on in both Inntopia Stage and Production environments
    • Start Date – Specify the date you want the feature to become active
  2. Contact your VisualOne account representative to request they configure the Inntopia Deposit feature for your account.

The following setup items MUST be configured for Inntopia suppliers using the integration: 

Email: v1support@agilysys.com