We have optimized our connectivity with the Sabre GDS by integrating a high-performance caching system that is updated every 15 minutes. This optimization allows for regular refreshing of availabilities and consequently reduces price discrepancies for your flight-related products on the quote page compared to your catalog price.
đ Digitrips (Misterfly) new API integration
We have updated our integration with Digitrips (Misterfly) by adopting their new API. This technical enhancement provides a more modern and robust connectivity, ensuring better performance and reliability for all your flight booking operations. New features are also available:
Cabin baggage management: it is now possible to benefit from additional services such as cabin baggage.
Seat map: the seat selection feature (Seat Map) is now available (when offered by the airline).
Air Arabia new API integration
We have updated our integration with Air Arabia by migrating to their new API. This major enhancement now provides access to a richer flight offering, including interline flights across all Air Arabia companies (Air Arabia, Air Arabia Maroc, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, Air Arabia Egypt).
It is now possible to book a flight from Dubai to Casablanca with a layover in Istanbul, combining Air Arabia (from Dubai) and Air Arabia Maroc (from Istanbul) on a single ticket.
Viator, activities import with specific languages
This new filter allows you to configure which activities are offered by limiting the activities offered to specific languages. This means that the activities will only target the languages of potential customers.
Travelgate – Performance improvement
The change involves optimizing the performance of the availability update request (price push from Travelgate). This request has been optimized and enables more robust operation of Travelgate connectivity.
MSC V3.0
Connectivity with MSC has been reestablished on a brand new version of the API.
New add-ons available on Disneyland Paris connectivity
New add-ons are available for sale with Disneyland Paris connectivity.
These will be add-ons linked to catering during the guest’s stay, and for luggage storage.
Changes to Disneyland Paris combinability
An improvement in the IBS connectivity has been implemented to allow more precise management of additional services based on the room type and the selected meal plan.
Hotel: TravelgateX new connectivity
The Orchestra platform is now connected to the TravelgateX (TGX) platform belonging to the Travelsoft group. This connection enables Orchestra customers to access all TravelgateX Channel Managers easily and more simply. In fact, TravelgateX handles all the human aspects of hotel onboarding (communication, identifiers, setup, etc.), making the process transparent for Orchestra customers.
Optimization of BSP Auto connectivity: vehicle reservation schedule
We have improved connectivity with BSP Auto to enable a better user experience, and to propose in the booking process rental start and return times that are more consistent with the departure and arrival times of flights booked by the customer.
Automatic importing price lists via Meteor
Automatic import of price lists for previously created products is now available thanks to our cache file integration module Meteor.
New features for producer NG Travel
Several new features have been added in the Rosetta connectivity for NG Travel (Boomerang, Directours…):
NG Travel products with multiple accommodations can now be booked on the Orchestra platform.
Rich content is now available for product room categories and board types.
The car rental option is also available for NG Travel products.
Optimized booking synchronization between Travel Compositor and Orchestra platforms
Booking synchronization between the Travel Compositor and Orchestra platforms has been improved.
Bookings are now automatically updated in the Orchestra Back office in the event of creation, modification or cancellation of a booking on the Travel Compositor platform.
Developing connectivity with IBS Software
We have developed connectivity with our partner IBS Software, Property Management System, for real-time accommodation reservations.
Implementation of the Maestro catalog format for Kuoni
A new âMaestroâ catalog format has been integrated and can be used in product content imports. In particular, it replaces the XFT format for partner Kuoni.
New fields added for Europlayas hotel source
The Europlayas hotel source has been upgraded. It is now possible to distinguish between Europlayas reservations made through agencies and e-commerce, and to associate agencies or sub-agencies with them, thanks to additional fields.
Automatic cancellation of activities for the GTS source
In the back office, we have added a feature to automate the cancellation of activities for the source GTS of the PMS Infor HMS.
Creation of pre-packages with train-only or bus-only on Tictactrip
In pre-package management, it is now possible to filter transport so as to offer either buses or trains in the sales process. Activated via connector configuration.
More precise B2B error messages in the booking process
Connectivity error messages are more detailed when configuration is enabled, replacing the standard error message. They now enable the travel agent to better understand the origin of any booking failure.
Europlayas – Cancellation policy
Percentage cancellation conditions are now managed via Europlayas connectivity.
Undated and multi-dated activities
Two new functionalities have been added to activities.
The management of “undated” activities and the management of activities that can be booked on several dates at the same time, the multi-dated.
Undated
To manage “undated” activities, we’ve added a column to the grid (this column will be in the red zone). Whether an activity is dated or undated does not depend on its period. This column can now take two values: “Dated” or “Undated” (dated by default if not filled in).
However, we’ve retained the declarations and period operation for both types.
Emails and messages from other modules about activities have been modified to allow this new behavior.
Multi-dated
The aim is to be able to sell the same activity booked over several days in one go.
This will involve the creation of a new column in the grid.
This column will be linked to the “dated/undated” column. An undated activity cannot be booked for several dates.
The options currently available for this column are “Multi-dated” or “Single-dated”. Each available date can be added to the reservation. The default choice in the event of non-completion will be an activity like today’s “Dated / Single-dated”. Consistency will be validated on import.
The activity connector has been enhanced to take into account these new activity types and booking processes.
Integration of the TicTacTrip multi-modal transport source
Tictactrip is a land transport ticket comparator. It allows the creation of intermodal combinations to travel across Europe. This source gathers offers from rail and road carriers (bus and carpooling). About a hundred transport companies are partners of Tictactrip, such as Ouibus, Flixbus, Isilines, SNCF or Blablacar. Their offers are analyzed, restructured and combined by the Tictactrip platform, which aims to offer economical and environmentally friendly trips.
This integration has also led to numerous changes in the reservation process.
Management of the schedules of the agencies of the source BSP Auto
The management of the opening hours of the car rental agencies connected via the BSP source has been implemented in such a way as to not offer car rentals for selected flights outside these opening hours.
Adding editorial content in languages other than those imported
It is now possible to manually enter editorial content on external (imported) products in a language other than the imported languages.
Use case:
Activation of a language, all internal and external products have the edito of this language activated (empty/grey by default).
Completion of an EN editorial manually on an external product, each zone can be desynchronized or synchronized in anticipation of a future import.
Import of contents for this product (external TO), with an EN editorial only
The FR edito visible is the one of the import. It can be overwritten manually by desynchronizing fields.
The EN editorial entered manually (in progress) is not impacted.
I import contents for this product (external TO), with an editorial FR and EN.
The manually entered EN editorial is not impacted, but an imported version appears (desynchronized by default, at least on the zones that have been desynchronized manually in the previous steps)
New API for the SPI system
SPI is a system used by seasonal rental agencies (mainly in the mountains today).
Their API is evolving for more security and more content and performance. We have integrated this new API.
It supports advanced options (new feature).
It adds more editorial information (new fields).
It handles the services with more accuracy (sending the date range on each request).
The commission is handled on this integration (for stay and commissinable services).
Integration of the Viator source
The Viator activity source has been connected and is now available for distribution via the platform and according to all processes (Package and Prepackage, Dynamic Package, Activities and Services)
Improvement of the management of age groups
The evolution of the sales of activities and services makes it important to be able to sell the activities requiring a fine management of the age groups.
This means being able to import them into the database, send them to the reservation process, display them and be able to select and reserve them. Once the reservation is made, it is necessary to be able to consult in the back office the reservation with the age groups in question. It is therefore an important work that has been done and that has impacts at many levels and in many modules of the platform, from import to back office.
Import
In the price grid, prices can be entered by age group by duplicating as many groups as possible with their prices.
In this import, it is possible to specify the low and high limit of ALL the brackets (minimum and maximum age of the bracket).
The management of quantity constraints by band also follows this new operation.
Catalog services
The information of the slices and the prices per slice are connected via the catalog services. This is so that a website can use them.
Reservation process
On the booking process, it is now proposed a selection menu by age group and not a selection by passenger one by one according to the booking form.
Here is the appearance of the selection of a service with the following age groups:
Senior [65-99]
Adult [16-64]
Teenager [11-15]
Children [2-10]
Infants [0-1]
Depending on the participants requested in the catalog, some choices will not be displayed.
The senior age group is always proposed if it exists because adults can be concerned (in fact, all the groups can concern an adult whose age is not known).
The automatic assignment between the reservation process and the connection takes into account these brackets.
Improved product typing
A better automatic typing of imported products has been implemented in order to avoid that tours, self-tours, combos, cruises, or campsites are typed as stays.
Integration of the SuperControl source
The SuperControl source for access to rental agency products in package mode has been integrated into Orchestra.
Improved Assurever connectivity
The connectivity with Assurever (ex-April) has been improved so that the identifiers of the reserving agency and the context of the reservation can be sent to Assurever.
Modification of files by airlines
In the context of production-distribution via Direct Connect companies in pre-pack or dry flight. The management of the files varies according to the modifications, some require actions and others are modifications for information.
Functional description
The aim is to make the processing of messages sent by airlines clearer.
First, we must distinguish between changes that inform and are without consequence (Example: Addition of phone or identity information) of changes that can impact the file (Example: change of flight)
Then on the modifications that impact the file, we must distinguish two sub-sets:
The quick modifications to be processed. For example, the outbound flight is shifted by one hour and does not impact the rest of the file
Changes that require a longer processing time. For example, the flight is shifted by one day. In this case, the rest of the trip must be reviewed with the customer.
Case of use
Case 1: A modification arrives, there is no action, the modification must go in the list: “Information”.
Case 2: A modification arrives, there is an action to carry out, the modification must go in the list: “Fast treatment”.
Case 3: A modification in the list “Fast treatment” is validated, it disappears from the list.
Case 4: A modification in the “Quick treatment” list cannot be validated. It must be possible to put a “LowPriority” label. The file must be sent to the “Long processing” list.
One-way car rental via BSP
Via BSP, it is now possible to have a different rental agency of departure than the rental agency of return.
Any fees incurred (to be paid locally) are displayed in the booking process and confirmation emails.
Car rental through Sixt
The car rental partner Sixt has been integrated. It now allows car rental as an option in the booking process.
Rental cars are searched by Sixt stations according to the airport’s IATA code. Meet&Greet stations will not be available as they impose different pricing and the obligation to pay on the spot.
The reservation voucher will be generated by Sixt.
Selecting the Car Rental option in the booking process.
Dynamic documents for Assurever (ex April)
An evolution of Assurever connectivity has made it possible to make the documents proposed in the reservation process (IPID, etc.) dynamic (vs. static) according to the file being reserved
Initially managed via the configuration of the reservation process, they are now obtained dynamically from the Assurever API by the reservation process.
Management of dynamic cancellation conditions via SynXis
Via the SynXis channel manager, it is now possible to display the cancellation conditions according to the selected rooms and boards.
Centralized configuration of product exclusion for “On Request”
A producer can now request the filtering (and exclusion) of products that are booked “On Request” for his entire distribution.
Gestour Producer System – Addition of “Cabin Classes”, “Direct Flight” and “Honeymoon” filters
New filters allow real-time queries to the Gestour system with filters on the cabin, on direct flights and on Voyage de Noce fares.
If there are no flights corresponding to the requested criteria, the real time answer will not contain any flight and will not be in error if the tour operator allows a sale without transportation, otherwise there will be an error announcing that transportation is mandatory.
The Honeymoon criterion will trigger specific rates if they exist, otherwise the “standard” rates will apply.
Real-time quotation relaunch when changing agencies
In the case where the selection of an agency is proposed in the booking process, it is sometimes necessary (for certain partners and technical sources) to re-launch a quotation in real time to re-initiate the booking file with the partner
This is implemented in the latest responsive booking process.
Integration of TravelExchange
We have connected TravelExchange to the Orchestra platform.
TravelExchange is a distribution platform for DMCs. The connectivity implemented allows access to DMC offers: stays without transport, to manage them as packages and pre-package them, combine them and then market them for booking in real time via API.
Improved connectivity with Solution+
Migration and development work has been carried out in the context of modifying connectivity with the Solution+ system
Improved connectivity with d-edge
Various connectivity enhancements to the d-edge channel manager have resulted in improved synchronization and hotel updates, as well as increased synchronization capabilities for cancellation conditions.
Key enhancements include:
Addition of occupancy information per person to the automatic creation of occupancies during hotel synchronization.
Evolution of the creation and update of rooms to keep the editorials.
Evolution of the rates mapping to take into account the non refundable cancellation conditions.
Integration of a loyalty benefits management system
A system for managing the loyalty benefits of a travel agency has been integrated. It allows the customers of this travel agency on the one hand to accumulate an amount in euros in a loyalty program which increases with each reservation while, on the other hand, being able to consume the available amount of their account to reserve a stay according to precise and configurable conditions.
Improved Siteminder connectivity
The connectivity to the Channel Manager Siteminder has been improved in order to be able to manage the occupations created manually in the Orchestra Administration.
Feeding of prices for manual occupancies
In addition to feeding automatically created occupancies when the hotel is synchronized with Siteminder, it is now possible to feed prices for manually created occupancies (provided you have received the base prices and additional prices needed to calculate these prices).
Standardization: modification of the Price API to adopt the generic OTA :
Transpartent for distribution, now the Prices API uses an OTA format to perform price updates.
Rich content on room categories, pensions and internal services.
In the highly recommended case where rich content is offered for the room or guesthouse category proposals in the Packages booking process, the “information” pictogram (i) will be displayed next to the section title for guesthouses or at the benefit group level.
The modal windows now have rich content with titles, images and descriptions.
Apart from all connectivity these rich contents are available on “internal” benefits, ie loaded in Orchestra directly.
Choose to display the cancellation and room deduplication conditions for Hotelbeds and SunHotels
When creating a pre-package with an online hotel source, for example via Sunhotels, it is possible to associate a hotel with a flight. Then, when displaying the rooms of the hotel, it is displayed what are the cancellation conditions of the room
In some cases it can be interesting to display these conditions, and in some cases, to display only the cancellation conditions of the distributor.
This is now possible via a configuration.
Sending the customer’s phone number to agencies via Arkiane
As part of the connectivity with the Arkiane system (products from rental management agencies), the customer’s phone number can now be sent to allow the agency to organize the reception of the customer in his rental and the handing over of the keys.
Geolocation of Belambra and Pierre & Vacances – Center Parcs products
In a context where more and more producers send the GPS coordinates of products in the flows and where the mechanics of research, display and refinement by geolocation are increasingly appreciated on sales tools (in B2C and travel agency), the GPS coordinates have been added for products from producers Belambra, Pierre & Vacances – Center Parcs.
In the case where no geolocation is associated with the product, we use the geolocation of the hotel linked from the Orchestra hotel database.
It is now possible to automatically retrieve information about rooms, capacities, rates and cancellation conditions from the hotel administration interface after the hotel has been created.
The actions flow is now as follows:
Creation of the d-edge hotel as usual in Orchestra with the right identifier
Click on the “Get info from d-edge” button
Rooms, occupancies, rates and cancellation conditions are created automatically.
Sends the hotel’s Orchestra ID to d-edge to synchronize the two systems.
Integration of the Hotelbeds source
Hotelbeds is now available in a connectivity that makes the most of the possibilities given by this hotel source.
Improved connectivity with Kuoni and Thalasso N°1
Connectivity with Kuoni and Thalasso N°1 suppliers has been improved in order to integrate geolocations and images for the Kuoni’s tour stages and Thalasso N°1’s product geolocations.
Integration of the Catlante partner
The new partner Catlante, offering cruises in catamarans in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean or the Indian Ocean, is now available.
SiteMinder connectivity update
Following a SiteMinder evolution, the connectivity with this channel manager has been updated to remain functional
Email with contact information for services
It is now possible to set up the booking confirmation email to the producer of a service so that it contains the information of the customer who booked. This is useful in case the producer needs to contact the customer or send him/her a physical good.
Version upgrade of Traveltainment connector for FTI Flex
The version of the connector used to access the FTI Flex production has been updated to its latest version. This migration, although mandatory, has mainly technical impacts.
In response to the improvements in circuit content formats in previous releases, the content imports for Asia and Kuoni producers have been revised to take full advantage of these new formats.
Negative margins in Gestour
Tariff lines with negative margins can now be transmitted to the Gestour back office.
New Camping and Rental format for the P&V-CP group
The product flows of the Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs Group’s brands have been updated to fit in with the new Camping et Rental product format that better highlights the various accommodations, the destination and the services available.
Marketplace mode for Fram and Plein Vent
Connectivities with Fram and Plein Vent brands has been enhanced to allow the use of marketplace mode.
This mode makes it possible to communicate as of the reservation the information customers and passengers so that the producer can make himself the follow-up of the reservation as person in charge of the file.
New version of the Belambra connector
In order to activate the marketplace mode for the producer Belambra, the connector between Orchestra and the producer’s system has been reworked from version 10 to version 12 of this connector.
Updating the type of product to be imported
As part of the new and richer Camping and Rental product templates adapted to these typologies, existing products can now be re-imported according to the new types and updated.
New sections are added, and if existing sections in the old typology no longer exist in the new one, they are marked in red.
Adaptations to new rich formats
In the case where a producer enriches its product presentation format, but the distributor has not adapted its product presentation formats, a simplification of the format is automatically carried out on these contents so that the rich format can be readable in the poorer format.
Of course, this workaround does not take advantage of the improvements that result from these format enhancements.
Automatic criteria of the main routing type for Salaun
At Salaun Holidays, the main type of routing is now automatically added to the producer criterion A08 “Routing”.
According to the following rules :
No transportation : no criteria
Only airplane : Airplane
Coach only : Coach
Train only : Train
Train + Coach : Coach
Train + Airplane : Airplane
Train + Coach + Airplane : Airplane
Airplane + Coach : Airplane
Products of Pierre & Vacances Group – Center Parcs in the new Rental format
In this version, the import of Pierre & Vacances – Center Parcs products will benefit from the new Rental import format.
Integration of the JB Concept system
The JB Concept system allowing access to ski lift passes for the Pays du Mont-Blanc has been integrated as a new service provider.
Integration of Reservit Channel Manager
We integrated Reservit as Channel Manager. They were previously integrated in “Package” mode. Now, Orchestra distributors can get hotel prices per night as well as alternative pensions.
The integration includes the update of stocks, prices and of course the reservation in connectivity.
Costa CroisiĂšres and Covid-19 obligations
Within the restrictions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, email and telephone contact information must be sent to Costa CroisiĂšres system at the time of booking. This evolution allowed to take into account this new behaviour.
New alert scripts for connectivities
The technical elements that manage alerts to track behavior and monitor connectivity with different sources and producers have been reviewed and reworked to enable better performance.
Activities data model
An important work was carried out on the technical elements in the background of the subjects of the services in order to prepare the evolutions allowing the direct sale of activities and services.
Bedroom stock via SynXis
In the case where a bedroom type in a hotel has an availability that is less than the number of bedrooms requested by the customer, this bedroom type must not be offered more times than it is available at the time of booking.
For instance, if there is only one “Sea View” bedroom left and the reservation is for three bedrooms, the bedroom category “Sea View” will only be proposed for the first room.
Accomodation capacity for iResa
Packages are traditionally searched per person (in half-double price = price base per person in case of booking a double room for two persons).
In the case of the reservation of rental products (camping or rental), the accomodation capacity is a very important information at the time of the search and we would like it to be taken into account in the search so that only the products corresponding to the customer’s needs are proposed.
In the context of multi-hosting products, it is therefore important not to rely on the maximum capacity of the product, but on the maximum capacity of the remaining availabilities at the dates sought by the customer.
Integration of the Travelclick channel manager
The API of the Travelclick channel manager has been integrated. From now on, prices, stocks and stay constraints of hotels that have opened a channel on Orchestra are available to distributors as well as the sending of reservations and cancellations.
Messages et information for Weekendesk
From now on, information and alert messages (Information, Alert and Error) are implemented in order to be displayed in the booking process.
Of course, these messages can not contain advertising information or direct contact solicitation, but information sent in real time to inform travelers of special arrangements to be made concerning their transport, for instance, of services, or concerning the price of their stay.
Improvement of the Connectique Alert tools
Within the scope of monitoring the performance of connectivity between Orchestra and the external systems connected (product sources, Tour Operator systems, etc.) computer porgrams monitor health of these connectivities to alert internal teams according to the problems.
These programs have been improved in order to increase in performance and allow a greater reactivity from teams.
Services via SPI connectivity
Septeo PĂŽle Immobilier (SPI) is a software dedicated to seasonal rentals. Via an Orchestra connectivity, rental products are accessible and marketable by Orchestra customers.
In this version, an evolutions allows to add the reservation of optional services to the accodomoation rental (cleaning service for example).
E-ticket number via Amadeus in the Back office and in MCTO
In some cases, especially in the case of low-cost bookings, the PNR is not a relevant information, this is the e-ticket number which is required. This information can now be displayed in the Back office or sent via MCTO.
FTI in Dutch and multi-chamber
Dutch language products are now available for the FTI producer.
Also, evolutions allows, from now on, to cover the needs for the following combinations :
2 adults (was already available)
2 adults + X children
1 adults + X children
3 adults + X children
4 adults + X children
Camping and Location content
When selling a camping or a rental, the content of the offer must be attractive and structured. By reworking the information received, we can propose a clearer and more detailed format, which will enhance the products.
Each distributor will be able to choose to receive the inital flow, or this enriched flow.
The content is enhanced by more emphasis by, particularly, distinct categories for this type of product and available according to sources: “Offer”, “On site”, “Catering”, “Accomodation”, “To know” and “Nearby”, which include information on activities or points of interest nearby the product, “Keywords”, and “Geolocation”.
New Keywords for products in connectivity
Producer criteria (otherwise called Keywords) are characteristics of travels retrieved via the partners’ content in order to add important information to products, we can see them in the Producers’ Criteria in the Administration.
CritĂšres producteurs ou “Keywords”
We have updated this list composed of more than 350 keywords (WTF), of whose, following the first 100 :
Family
Thalassotherapy
CleaningEquipment
City
PersonOfReducedMobility
ChildrenClub
AquaPark
Desert
SingleParent
ChildrenEntertainmentProgram
SeminarGroup
Garden
Beach
Animation
ChildrenPool
Mountain
Culture
Music
HeatedPool
Sea
Discovery
LiveShow
SeaWaterPool
Slope
Sport
Skiing
FreshWaterPool
SmokingArea
Wellbeing
Golf
PoolBar
Meal
Maisonnette
Buggy
Playground
Promotion
Apartment
Tennis
Whirlpool
Babysitting
UnusualHousing
Gastronomy
SwimmingPool
MedicalAssistance
WaterVilla
Countryside
Terrace
RoomService
CampingCar
Seaside
IndoorParking
ValetParking
Hotel
DishWasher
OutdoorParking
VehicleRental
LeisurePark
Laundry
AutomatedTellerMachine
EscortedTour
Bathroom
BabyPhone
Bar
CostalCruise
GamesRoom
Highchair
Casino
Reception
Lift
Television
CurrencyExchange
Location
Lounge
AirConditioning
Library
Pet
MeetingRoom
TemperatureRegulationDevice
NightClub
SeaLake
TelevisionRoom
Crib
Restaurant
DestinationSpa
SaunaRoom
InternetAccess
SnackBar
lastminute
SmokingRoom
InternetInRoom
Supermarket
LastOffer
Heritage
InternetInPublicLocation
WineBar
Charme
WineDegustation
Telephone
Parking
Classic
The entire list is available on request.
Belgian French language for Campings.com
The Belgium language (French) is available for the producer Campings.com. For the Belgian market, this is thus possible to display a product via three different locations : French, Dutch and French Belgian French..
Centralization of Connectique information
In order to speed up and increase the reliability of the transitions ofOrchestra’s versions, different connectivity settings have been centralized independently of the versions.
Multiple rooms reservation via Rservit
We have added the possibility of book several rooms in one reservation via the Reservit system.
Improvement of the imported products pre-treatments
The Homair Vacances production is now available on the Orchestra platform from version 16.9.
The Weekendesk production is now available on the Orchestra platform from version 16.9. Weekendesk, for instance, is integrated in the marketplace mode : this means that customer information can be direclty sent to Weekendesk at the booking time so that the processing of files is carried out on the partner’s side.
The HĂŽtel Club Le CrĂȘt production is now available on the Orchestra platform from version 16.8.
The Intersport Rent production is now available on the Orchestra platform from version 16.8 .
Tariff Tolerance Management on the Gestour back office
An evolution has be made in order to allow the propagation of the tariff tolerance to the Gestour back office.
A tariff line is added so that the accounting reconciliation via Gestour can be improved.
Availability of pensions via d-edge
From now, the interface with the d-edge Channel Manager allows to read the types of tariffs corresponding to pensions as such. This means that the rates retrieved when querying hotels via the Channel Manager are interpreted as pensions and no longer as different rates (mixed with promotional offers for instance).
Passport information for MSC (mandatory or otherwise)
A configuration now exists to define whether
passenger passport information is mandatory, optional or not requested for the
provider MSC.
The three scenarios are therefore possible:
Information mandatory (as was the case until this update)
Information not requested (no entry zone)
Information requested but not mandatory.
In terms of connectivity, the information, if
available, is sent to the source regardless.
Managing customer payment and version information in Gestour
Different payment information needs to be sent
to the Gestour back-office to complete the information for a file, depending on
the situation. The request containing this information may be made in different
ways depending on the information required (the PSP used, for example).
For those readers with more detailed technical
knowledge, this means a configuration allowing the choice between the
âenregistrerEncaissementCommandeâ request in Gestour, or the XFT âaddPaymentâ
request.
Another update involves adding the target
Gestour customer record version number (in the post-booking stage). This allows
Gestour to halve the number of customer records.
Extensive (and international) content for Campings.com
Campings.com
products are becoming multilingual. Languages currently available are:
French
French (Belgium)
German
Dutch
Dutch (Belgium)
Spanish
Italian
The booking of these
products also takes into account the language of the request so that the
language information is sent to Campings.com and then messages and information
sent by the source is in the language used for the request.
The development also
means extensive content about the accommodation can be offered and the
composition of participants can be refined by adding the maximum number of
adults per accommodation to the maximum number including children. For example,
accommodation for a maximum of 6 people can be limited to 4 adults (and two
children), which wasnât specified before this development and could lead to
disappointment.
Services for Center Parcs
Services have been added for the producer Center Parcs, these are now available through connectivity:
Spa menu 2 entries
Spa menu 4 entries
Adult half-board
Child half-board
Adult full-board
Child full-board
Adult meal menu
Child meal menu
Adult bicycle rental
Child bicycle rental
Pet
Luggage for Thalasso N°1
With Thalasso N°1, it is now possible (since version 16.8) to book luggage when the inclusive flight does not offer this. The selection is made per passenger in the booking process.
New type of product: combined packages
There is now a new
type of product on Orchestra: combined packages.
These products were sometimes categorised as stays, sometimes as trips, but they are a completely separate category and are often searched for as such by customers and travel agents. A system has been implemented to recognise key words and automatically categorise products where the title or summary contains variations of the word âcombinedâ.
Improvement to BSP Auto connectivity
A cache file exchange has been implemented by the BSP Auto and Orchestra teams to calculate availability of pre-packages with car rental.
Enhanced web services for Kayak
When it comes to connectivity with the meta engine Kayak, a development of their product displays flights contained in the packages.
In order to meet this need while increasing the frequency and precision of updates sent, a specific web service has been set up centrally and is ready to be deployed in distributorsâ catalogues.
The purpose of this development is to allow the management of more and more hotels in distributorsâ flows (sometimes more than 1 million), to accelerate their import into distributorsâ systems and also to add monitoring to enable proactive maintenance of this connectivity.
Accommodation categories from FRAM
It is now possible
to sell alternative categories of accommodation from the producer FRAM.
We have upgraded
the connector so that accommodation categories can now be selected during the
booking process. To do this, we reconstitute the possible splits and the
categories available depending on the accommodation combinations sent by the
FRAM connector.
Yield in indirect booking
In an indirect
booking, the distributor’s back-office used to receive all price lines
including the yield potential entered by the producer.
Now, the price and
yield policies for indirect bookings are solely a matter for the producer and
the distributor receives in its back-office only the overall price of the
package and its options without details on the price lines, which are grouped.
Communication of agency name for rentals
For certain seasonal accommodation rentals, the keys to the property need to be collected from a management agency.
In order to provide the customer with clear details about the agency managing the property rental, this information is retrieved and saved to the booking file for communication to the customer.
New content flow format for the PVCP Group
In order to support a technical development to PVCP Groupâs IT systems, the Adagio, Maeva, Pierre & Vacances and Center Parcs brands are using a new flow format to send their product content to the Orchestra platform.
Managing the Meteor cache
Meteor is a central system within Orchestra that translates the entire set of product flows from all provider systems and forwards them to the different distributors.
We have included a development that will allow the Provider and Connectivity teams to be more responsive when working on this system.
Changes to connectivity with SynXis
It is now possible to configure a custom list of hotels by distributor through connectivity with SynXis.
Managing passports with Aon
Within the context of insurance products through connectivity, the passport number of the first person insured can now be sent to Aon.
Alternative flights, luggage and information messages with Kuoni
With Kuoni, it is now possible to select alternative flights within the booking process. When flights are available, the travel agent or web user has the option to display more flight options.
Flight selected by default in the booking process and action button to display more flights.
A pop-up flight selection window is then displayed for searching alternative flight options; these flights can be filtered by departure times, departure and arrival airports, airline company, and those with luggage included.
Managing the distributor yield in Gestour
Distributor yields are now included within bookings in Gestour as separate services to allow for better monitoring, and have been removed from the prices in the âprice listâ.
Accommodation names for Campings.com
We have made improvements to the way that accommodation names are managed for the provider Campings.com. In cases where the accommodation name is already filled in, this is the name used. If no accommodation name is entered, we concatenate the type and capacity of the accommodation in order to generate a name automatically.
This allows for a wider variety of accommodation naming options, which in turn enhances the offer.
Connectivity with Ctoutvert
The Secureimmo software used for seasonal property rentals has added Arkiane and SPI as options for sourcing rental products from estate agents.
Car rentals from Gestour
Optional car rentals can now be booked via Gestour TO. Multiple rentals are possible (limited to the number of adults included). Options for pick-up and drop-off points are also available.
Integration of Homeresa source
The Homeresa seasonal accommodation rental source is now available.
Homeresa provides an application for estate agents, properties or booking centres which includes the entire chain from booking through to property and customer management.
The ERP system in marketplace mode
The ERP system can now be used in marketplace mode. This means that customer information is sent to the producerâs system, as it is the producer who takes responsibility for the sale and its tracking.
The customerâs information and information regarding payment, language and insurance are sent to the ERP system.
Integration of the i-Resa system in Marketplace and multilingual mode
When querying the i-Resa system, it is possible to send the expected language for the system response.
Once the booking has been made, as part of a Marketplace operation, the supplier needs additional information compared to more traditional distribution methods. Depending on the configuration, customer information (email, telephone) and payment information can also be sent when the folder is created in i-Resa.
Lastly, insurance can be added to records using dynamic conditions from the connected system.
New connectivity options with the SPI, Arkiane and Vakario systems
New options for connecting to the SPI, Arkiane and Vakario systems have been added to the platform.
SPI and Arkiane are property management packages; connecting them to Orchestra provides access to large inventories of rental properties from estate agencies. It is now possible to distribute and reserve batches of private landlords directly.
Vakario is an aggregator of sporting services. This system connects local service suppliers. This connectivity makes it possible to distribute these suppliers via the Orchestra platform.
Option confirmation in Gestour
From the Orchestra Back Office, it is now possible to confirm an option via webservices in Gestour V3.
Improvements to services
Comprehensive redesign of the services template, enabling future versions to dynamically add complex, customisable services (such as sports lessons, involving the entry of a place, a level, an age and possibly a teaching language) into the reservation process or a pre-package.
Addition of the concept of location for services, as well as search and filtering functions for these locations, allowing (for example) the selection of an activity service based on its meeting point or a location service based on its finishing point.
Hotel connectivity improvements
The Orchestra platform is now SynXis-certified! In addition, we have improved editorial content management for hotels from this source.
The filter by type of board block in the Hotel reservation tunnel:
Platform connectivity enhancements
We have improved post-reservation connectivity with Gestour to ensure that field length limitations do not generate errors when saving the record to Gestour.
CroisiEurope: the CroisiEurope editorial content management system has been improved, for example to handle âUseful Informationâ paragraphs.
Credentials management has been updated so that different credentials per language and market may now be selected for a single producer. This means that in future, a distributor can use different credentials for its sales in France and Germany to the same producer.
Bey Tours is a tour operator specialising in organising seaside holidays, tourist and cultural tours and weekends away in Turkey. Bey Tours also charters lots of direct flights to Antalya.
Improvements to the way board and pricing conditions are displayed on B2B and within Hotels and Dynamic Packages booking processes.
When a hotel is sold by just one supplier, their logo will appear on the list of results.
Added option to widen or narrow the accuracy of searches by specifying a distance from the city centre and filtering results with a slider (just like the price slider) on the results page.
Modification in hotel connectivity
Changes to conversion calculation methods following KO quotes related to 30Â days post-view.
Connectivity Improvement Packages
Costas CroisiĂšres
Improved visuals on deck maps. Added a new tariff code and optimised calls in real time.
FTI
Improvements to the Summary of products section.
Integration of a new producer
Addition of the Travelcar provider offering parking space booking if the booked trip contains a flight.
Connectivity with BSP Auto
Why? BSP Auto is a car rental provider offering the services of several rental companies. This connectivity makes it possible to offer, as an option, car rental services as part of the booking process for packages and dynamic packages.
Where? In the booking process for packages (including pre-packages), flights and dynamic packages.
How? This connectivity can be administered in the administration tool. It can be used in two ways :
As an optional service, via a new section entitled âCar rentalâ in the âConfigurationâ tab.
As a mandatory service, by adding it as a pre-package service.
In the âConfiguration > Car rentalâ section, you can set product features rules and/or channels for which you want to offer optional car rentals during booking.
In pre-packages, a new âCar rentalâ service can be selected. It is then possible to choose the list of car categories you want to offer.
In the booking process, these services appear in a special new section with, in the same way as for flights, a set of filters that can be used to refine a search. Just below the car choice section, there is a section in which car insurance can be chosen covering refund of the deductible.
Car rental services are also compatible with yields and commissions in the price management module.
Lastly, in booking details in Back-Office, the service appears its own section.
Hotel connectivity improvements
For channel manager Siteminder, setting added in the Partner module where you can choose the system to use when booking.
Manage multiple room occupation in our API with the channel managers.
Detailed hire car information is now shown in âCar Hireâ. Information on luggage that is included/not included is also now displayed. You can add extra luggage if this is not included.
Sunhotels source integrated. You can now access Sunhotels and JacTravel hotels in over 10,000 destinations.
Improvement of the API “Channel Managers”
Improvement of the âChannel managersâ API to retrieve the list of different services booked on the call to the department making it possible to retrieve bookings.
Improvement of the âChannel managersâ API to retrieve the customer comments on the call to the department making it possible to retrieve bookings.
Several improvements in package connectivity
Pacha Tours and Rev Vacances have migrated to the Travys system. All of both brandsâ products will now be available following a new connectivity request (compatible from version 15.5 upwards). The Turkey circuits are published with immediate confirmation.
For providers who use the Gestour system, grouped services are now sorted, for example to display outbound transfers before inbound transfers.
On the package booking process quote page, information on the rooms is displayed (photos, descriptions) for the provider Fram.
Brochure price management for the provider VVF.
Post-booking: GDS improvement
Improvement of connectivity with Gestour in order to manage a few specific cases better.
Package connectivity: comments and baggage not included
Possibility of sending a âcommentâ zone in the book request for the provider Voyamar.
For packages with transport by the provider TUI, improvement of connectivity in order to display the pictogram âluggage not includedâ when this is the case.
Connectivity improvements
Improved connectivity with the Jettours provider to check the most relevant catalogue whenever a date is available in more than one catalogue.
A new catalogue for the JettoursTCI brand has been added containing transport offers (regular and low-cost), based on existing weekend type trips.
In the availability import report, visible in the âstatisticsâ tab on the administration tool, a new message will explicitly alert users whenever a product is no longer available.
There is now an option to send a discount code from the catalogue for providers working with the Gestour system (Visiteurope, Beachcomber, Corsicatours, Solea).
Improving hotel connectivity: Synxis, GAT and Travelcube
Technical modifications have been made in terms of connectivity with the Synxis hotels source in order to improve information sharing from agencies making the bookings.
Technical adaptations have been made in terms of connectivity with the GTA and Travelcube hotel sources in order to account for new versions of their systems.
New hotel sources: Sunhotels and JacTravel
Sunhotels and JacTravel hotel sources are now available on the platform. They provide services in resorts and cities in more than 120 countries around the world.
Post-booking improvements
Managing trains in folders sent in MCTO format is now possible,
There is improved compliance of the hotel, transport, dynamic package and Ă la carte booking processes with MCTO format folders.
Several improvements in package connectivity
Global commissions for the Spring Travel provider can now be managed,
Various improvements have been made to connectivity with the TC Collection provider,
Improvements have been made to connectivity with the Villages Club du Soleil provider, in order to manage supplements,
Developments that have been introduced to imports now mean Novasol/Cuendet can offer accommodation on the Orchestra platform,
Improvements that have been made to response times from Fram mean quote pages will display more quickly,
Improvements have been made to the provider flow import algorithm.
New provider : FTI Flex
FTI Voyages have enriched the content available on Orchestra through their new provider, âFTI Flexâ. In particular, this new dynamic content means users can access packages based on dynamic flights at even more attractive prices, as well as new routes and airlines (for example, Ryanair).
H.I.S. PRODUCTION is the number one French tour operator from the Japanese global group, H.I.S. Co. Ltd, whose head offices are in Tokyo. With significant knowledge and over 35 years of experience, these travel providers operate in more than 60 countries and 130 cities across the world. The group also owns an Asian airline, 2 hotel chains and 2 theme parks in Japan.
Hotel counter-proposal system
Why ? To offer users alternative hotels when browsing.
Where ? Within the hotels, dynamic packages and Ă la carte booking processes, with compatible hotel sources.
How ? If the exact hotel requested is not available, a range of other options will be displayed on a page of search results, alongside an explanatory message.
If the exact hotel requested is available, a range of other options will also be displayed with the search results or, if requested, on the hotel form.
By default, the selection of other options will be generated based on the hotelâs city, but wherever possible, by additional means, where the strategy for suggesting other options will be set according to the source.
Three improvements in package connectivity
Display of the number of stars in the names of packages for the provider Campings.com.
Possibility of choosing alternative flights for the provider Megavacances.
Possibility of adding luggage for the providers Megavacances and Promovacances.
Several improvements in hotel connectivity
The display and selection of rooms for GTA and Travelcube hotel sources have been improved. They are now completed in the hotel’s file and are presented in a more legible manner.
Technical improvement of web services for managing âautocompleteâ of hotel sourcesâ codification.
Automatic file synchronisation mechanism
Why ? So that the distributors are able to group together the files booked on all their sales channels in their Orchestra Back-Office. This is of great interest for distributors that are also providers. This helps to simplify file management and, therefore, agentsâ productivity.
Where ? The files from the different distribution channels are centralised in the distributor/providerâs Back-Office.
How ? An automatic file synchronisation mechanism has been created. This allows the files from other channels to be retrieved so that they can be viewed in the Orchestra Back-Office.
This synchronisation works for :
Creations,
Modifications,
Cancellations,
Placing of options,
Travel documents.
In partnership with Gestour, this synchronisation mechanism has been implemented between the Gestour Back-Office and the Orchestra Back-Office. It can also be adapted for other Back-Office systems.
New provider : Circuits du monde
Circuits du monde is a B2B brand devoted to tourism professionals comprising a team of travel professionals with more than 30 years of experience and specific expertise in the field of guided circuits over the past 20 years.
The provider was validated in 15.4 and is now available in all versions.
Several connectivity improvements
Hotel : When searching with an Expedia hotel source, the trip duration is now limited to a maximum duration as approved by the source (28 days).
Flight : Developments have been introduced to Amadeus Wallet integration in order to be able to define card payment types by low-cost airline.
Package : Honeymoons have been removed from the Jet tours TCI brand. They are now only available as part of the Jet tours brand.
Several post-booking improvements
When booking pre-packages or dynamic packages, better accommodation supplier management is available within post-booking Gestour system folders.
Improvements have been made to creating vouchers for the Crystal Flex provider, in order to retrieve editorial text for associated products.
There is now an option to configure what is sent to the Gestour system with different URLs, depending on the channel.
Improvement of channel managers connectivity
Improvements have been made to our connectivity with channel managers via improved responses within associated web services.
Management of alternative flights : FRAM
Alternative flights are now available on FRAM products, up to and including version 14.8.
Vacances Fabuleuses, which specialises in North America, offers guided tours, road trip itineraries, trips with excursions and activities and Ă la carte trips across the United States, Canada, and the Bahamas.
Donatello
Donatello, which specialises in Italy, offers guided tours, road trip itineraries and trips to cities or beaches across Italy, including in Sardinia or Sicily.
Managing discounts : Jet tours
Discounted prices on Jet tours products are now available.
Displaying B2B product discounts
Displaying taxes : Expedia
Tax information included within prices is now available when making an Expedia hotel booking.
This improvement makes it possible to refresh availability more regularly and, as a result, reduce rate differences in your pre-packages when compared to integrated hotels.
New providers
Activity provider Ceetiz is now available on the Orchestra platform from version 15.0 onwards.
New providers
Bleu Marine Tour
Bleu Marine Tour has been a tour operator specialist in the islands since 1997.
Exclusively at the service of professionals, its destinations are: Martinique, Guadeloupe, Cuba, Dom. Republic, Madagascar, Reunion and Maurice. Bleu Marine is available starting with version 14.7.
Corsicatours
CORSICATOURS, a specialist of Corsica & Sardinia for 20 years, offers you its rigorously selected team of experts and production. Corsicatours is available starting with version 14.8.
Travel Team
TRAVEL TEAM has been a GIR and Group Tour Operator and specialised in circuits and long-haul stays for 14 years now. TRAVEL TEAM is available starting with version 14.7.
Changes to hotel sources
Expedia: double CID and automatic cancellation
Automatic cancellation is now available for dynamic package sales and pre-package sales processes.
Additionally, it is possible, from within the same channel, to have different credences between single hotel reservations and the reservation associated with another source (packaged price).
Hresa-Koedia: optimisation of calculation time for pre-packages
A cache file can be used to significantly improve calculation time for call prices and availabilities of pre-packages created from the administration tool.
New hotel source
Site Minder: channel manager The channel manager Site Minder is now available on the platform. Hotels accessible using this source are now accessible according to hotel contracts and can be sold through various pre-package and Orchestra sales processes.
New providers of activities and transfers
The Orchestra platform now offers generic integration of activity and transfer providers. Sale of activities and transfers is available off the shelf without any limitation of stock.
The general functioning is as follows: Fee schedules for ancillary services by external providers are imported automatically into the platform. Once the services are loaded in the platform, they are available for sale in all Orchestra sales processes just like the other services loaded manually by the fee schedules.
Following this, booking is made of the providerâs external service on both the external system and from within the Orchestra platform. After reservation, the invoice is recovered automatically and associated to the stay reservation file.
Ceetiz
The Ceetiz provider is currently being certified on the Orchestra platform.
Ceetiz is a French leader in the marketing of tourism, cultural and leisure activities. Ceetiz offers all sorts of essential activities at the best prices available, on major French and international destinations, and offers the widest variety of visits and activities dedicated to a French-speaking clientele.
The offer catalogue is constantly enriched from within Orchestra.
Citydiscovery
City Discovery offers airport transfers and
activities at hundreds of destinations around the world and general-purpose
visits around specialised thematic activities that respond to specific travel
desires. Thanks to connectivity with local service providers, its multilingual
reservation platform and strictly selected choice of activities, City Discovery
helps find unforgettable experiences and offers you the best of travel.
Holidays Taxi
The provider HolidayTaxis is currently being certified on the Orchestra platform.
HolidayTaxis is a worldwide aggregator of land transportation specialised in airport/city transfers. The group includes 12,000 destinations and a presence in over 130 countries around the world.
Since its creation in 2002, HolidayTaxis has developed to offer its services to more than 1,500 online partners, over 30 airline companies and more than 30,000 travel agencies in the world. The company performs more than 5 million transfers each year. It offers a wide gamut of products from shared shuttle services and private transfers to executive vehicles, adapted to each geographic partner. All this is backed by 24/7/365 multilingual customer support, in order to provide the best service to our partners and customers.
Provider changes
Visiteurope : insurance has been integrated
Visiteurope insurance is now available directly via their Gestour producer system.
Jet tours : various upgrades
The product codes for Jet Tours have been standardised. Also, some of the optional services can now be de-activated.
Kuoni : booking options for new services
Kuoni now lets you book differently priced room categories as well as differently priced board options.
Thalasso n°1 : replace spa treatment
You can now change the spa option included by selecting an alternative spa option. This change may lead to an additional fee or reduced fee in comparison to the default spa option.
New providers
Bravo Club
The provider, Alpitour France, a BRAVO CLUB Club de Vacances specialist for all-inclusive packages, French speaking activities and medium and long-haul destinations is available in Orchestra starting from version 14.8.
The provider, Spring Travel, a Tunisian specialist, has been certified and is available in Orchestra starting from version 14.8.
Changes to providers
Changes to the Resalys system (MMV, Tohapi, etc.)
It is now possible to offer a precise category of accommodation from the catalogue and book it exclusively in the booking, during a non-rental trip.
Changes to Voyamar booking
The prices of the rooms and the alternative categories are now managed and displayed in the booking tunnel.
TUI and Passion des Ăźles
The process to find the best price of the best category by default has been optimised to reduce price differences between the catalogue and the booking.
Visiteurs
Visiteurs is changing system. During the transition, the current production will be available on the old system, and the new production will be available on the new system (under the name Visiteurs Pro), available as from version 14.6 on request to contact-tour-operateurs@orchestra.eu with the agreement of the partner.
Thanks to the new theme park-oriented editorial format, the content of Disneyland Parks is richer and more effectively showcased.
New format available in the B2B solution
Note that the old Disneyland format is still available.
TUI
The Orchestra system will send passenger types (adults/children) according to the TUI definition in order to provide teenager rates.
This means that a 15-year-old passenger will be shown as a child throughout the booking process (Orchestra standard 0-17 years included), but will be identified as an ‘adult’ in the producer system, which sets the end of the child age group at 12.
This method is transparent for users, who only enter the age or date of birth.
New providers
Ăvoyages
Ăvoyages, the Thalasso N°1 brand, is now certified and is available in Orchestra from version 14.4.
Changes to providers
Improvements have been made to the Promovacances and Megavacances providers, to provide a more appropriate catalogue.
New insurance source
Integration of the Allianz Global Assistance solution
The new external insurance API, Allianz Global assistance, is now available during the booking process.
A new connector has therefore been developed to retrieve insurance products from the supplier and book them.
New trip providers
HIS
A new provider specialising in trips to Japan, currently undergoing certification.
Destination Corse
A new provider specialising in trips to Corsica, currently undergoing certification.
Adonis
A network of 24 hotels and holiday apartments ranging from 2 to 4* in France is now available on the Orchestra platform: by the sea, in the countryside, in city centres, near ski slopes, etc.
New hotel source : Expedia
The Expedia reservations centre is now available on the Orchestra platform.
Below are some images of the integration into the platform :
Display of a hotel in a pre-package.
Display of a hotel information sheet
Display of a dynamic package with a hotel provided by Expedia
This source includes improved auto-completion with the option to select multi-cities, areas of interest or cities.
Display of places of interest from Expedia
Changes to providers
VisitEurope has improved its offer of rooms at the time of booking.
Kuoni‘s trip reservations now offer the possibility of reserving “multi-activities” and selecting the corresponding dates.
Thalasso n°1 packages now allow for the reservation of alternative categories and accommodation. These improvements are already available in production.
Special Tours has made improvements to its content. These improvements are already available in production.
Travelplan now offers booking of alternative accommodation and flights.
The new VVF OP provider is now available on the Orchestra platform. This is a new VVF provider which manages all the VVF special operations.
The services management of the Exotismes provider has been enhanced to provide more choice and better description of services, particularly room categories. This development is in the certification process.
Display of room category descriptions on the quote page
Camping N°1 now provides “producer criteria” information.
Camping N°1 producer criteria
There have been improvements to the “round the world” cruises by Costa.
Changes to providers
The provision from Transat has been changed and now offers customisable trips such as “Self-drive tours” and “multiple stop-overs”.
The provision from Travelplan now includes bookings for its dynamic flights.
New transfers source
Natecnia
The transfers source Natecnia is now available on the Orchestra platform. It can be used within the Ă la carte sales process, dynamic packages or within pre-packages.
New hotel source
The hotels source aggregator Koedia is now available on the Orchestra platform.
Changes to providers
1/ Addition of criteria for packages imported using advanced rules
It is now possible, through integration specific to the provider, to automatically add criteria for the products sent by the partner in accordance with rules based on the content of the imported file.
These rules must be defined taking into account the data included in the flows, and the existing distributor criteria in the administration tool.
2/ Changes to Jet Tours connectivity
New imports now allow the dynamic production and production without transport from Jet Tours to be retrieved. If several Jet Tours catalogues exist for the same availability, the one of most interest is calculated.
In addition, a new booking service is now available. This allows :
Management of products without
transport,
Management of taxes,
Management of commission,
Improved calculation of the
rate for rooms with children,
The displaying and booking of
alternative flights.
Changes to insurance sources
New source April
April insurance is now available on the Orchestra platform. This can be a simple insurance, or enhanced with schemes and extensions.
Changes to the AON source
Changes have been made for the AON insurance source. It is now possible :
To display the insurance logos,
To configure the insurance
based on the type of sales process and the destination,
To manage bookings with the âon
requestâ status.
Changes to providers
Standardisation of provider names
All provider titles have been revised to avoid ambiguity and to use the real names of brands sold on the platform. For example, the Marmara brand has been renamed in TUI. The technical codes stay the same.
Changes
The Center Park provider has been certified and has been available on the Orchestra platform since version 13.8.
Improvements have been made to file imports of cached TUI prices/availabilities to improve their quality and pertinence.
The FTI provider now accepts passenger information when a booking is saved.
Changes to hotel sources SynXis
The hotel source, Synxis, has been certified and is now available on the Orchestra platform.
Updates to providers
1/ Retrieving providersâ alternate rates has been improved
A new multiple request system has been developed in order to price a maximum number of alternative elements as possible.
This allows a greater number of alternative rooms, categories, meal options and flights to be offered on the quote page. This system is compatible with all producers whose API response times are sufficiently short.
2/ Gestour System
Producers using the Gestour, Solea, and Corsicatours system, among others, can now display all room and meal option alternatives on the quote page.
Furthermore, per-person options are also available, which lets you select certain services depending on the number of passengers.
3/ Partners
Updates have been made to the departure availability management system to more efficiently manage the French market.
CroisiĂšres de France is now available under the CDF-OP brand to send their negotiated rates to catalogues.
Retrieving flight status is now available and allows you to not receive all âon requestâ flights.
Production of Jet tours is changing with new product code formats which is currently being implemented.
Provider developments
There have been improvements to the way that car rental services are presented for the provider Fram. This development is available with version 13.6 of the platform.
Car rental section for the provider Fram
There have been improvements to the way content is imported from the provider Special Tours in order to collect a greater number of images for product information slideshows. The tours now include photos of the towns/cities covered in the tour. The hotel descriptions have also been improved by adding categories for each hotel.
New provider
The provider Center Parcs has been integrated and is currently being certified.
The Koedia system, which interconnects with various different hotel reservation centres, is now available on the platform. Use of Koedia is compatible with the sales processes for hotels, dynamic packages and pre-packages.
Provider developments
Passport information is no longer required. New informational messages are available at the quote stage of the booking.
The “COMFORT” option has been updated and offers the service associated with basic accommodation. A new “OPEN BAR” service is now available.
“COMFORT” option and “OPEN BAR” option for Belambra
Beachcomber‘s connecting flights are now shown at the quote stage and in the confirmation e-mail.
Display of Beachcomber’s connecting flights
A new list of meal options is now available. Prepaid tips are also optional now.
Optional prepaid tips and new meal options from CroisiĂšres de France
New provider
The Voyages Internationaux (International Trips) provider has received certification. It is available with version 13.3.
Automatic promotions based on price/availability caches
Dates of price/availability caches from providers are now automatically marked as promotions when the sale price is lower than the brochure price.
However, this function can be disabled.
Provider developments
The Jet tours cache has been reworked to enable smoother integration of all content files and availability for its various brands.
A new Costa-Op brand is now available. It contains only the tariffs negotiated with Costa for special operations.
New provider
The ‘La France du Nord au Sud‘ (France from North to South) product range is now certified and available. It is mainly comprised of residences, unusual accommodation, Club hotels, gĂźtes and GĂźtes de France, campsites, Villages Vacances (holiday villages), holiday homes, etc.
Optimisation of system for importing content and prices/availability
In order to minimise integration time for new partner process flows, a new prioritisation algorithm has been developed to separate the processing of minor updates from major updates.
Updates to sources of transport
1/ Misterfly – Integration of a cache
The transport source Misterfly now allows a cache file of prices/availability to be used when generating prices and availability of pre-packages, thus speeding up the calculation of this data and allowing a greater number of possible departures to be managed.
2/ Azor Train – Display of the types of tariffs
The integration of Azor Train now uses the new version of the online booking API of this system. It is now possible to display the information on the types of tariffs such as promotions, last minute offers, etc. These tariff types appear in the form of pictograms in the booking processes for transport and dynamic packages.
Displaying the transport tariff types for Azor Train
3/ Azor Flight – Managing the payment of issuing fees
It is now possible to configure the payment in order to use different payment methods to pay for the various elements making up the Azor Flight price (to account for the commission and the issuing fees of the main office, by card for the rest). In the Back-Office, the commission, payment fees for the main office and the rest of the payment will then go to separate payment lines.
Detail of the commission and the issuing fees of the main office
Different payment lines in the Back-Office
Provider developments
A new system for importing content and prices/availability has been implemented in order to maximise data freshness.
The management of optional services for this provider has been improved.
The following group of services can now be offered :
New provider
The Corsicatours provider is currently being certified on the Orchestra platform. They offer trips to Corsica, with and without transportation.
Managing special operations
The “Connectivity validationâ domain is renamed as “Connectivityâ.
It is enhanced with a new section, “Special offersâ), intended for providers who do not have the possibility to generate a prices/availability cache including their special operations.
New Special operations section in the Connectivity domain
This module is used to recover the dates and prices of the special operation by querying the system of the compatible provider in real time. The usual prices/availability cache file will then be updated with the dates and the prices of the special operation, then imported for the distributor.
A form, which can be accessed via the âCreate a new operationâ button, is used to define a new special operation. The fields of this form are as follows :
Operation code,
This code identifies a special operation.
Task start and end dates/times,
Data fetching
times,
Determines the dates and times during which real-time queries will be made (at night, for example).
Operation start and end dates/times
The start date is used to trigger the importing for the distributor of the special operation prices/availability.
The end date is used to trigger a second import which will delete the special operation prices/availability.
Email addresses to which to
send the report,
Target
environment (Acceptance, Production),
Criteria of the products to be
queried (product codes, dates, durations, etc.),
Origin of the brochure price to
be retrieved
Either retain the original brochure price,
Or retain the previous sale price as the brochure price.
Optional technical information (Credentials, number of requests, etc.)
First part of the special operation creation form
Second part of the special operation creation form
Once the special operation is created, a status system is used to check the status of the task :
Pending launch,
In progress,
Paused,
Cancelled,
Stopped,
Calculation completed,
File generated,
File sent.
An email is sent to the provider to inform them that the special cache file has been generated. This file will then be sent automatically when the special operation starts. The prices/availability for the distributor will then be updated with the dates and tariffs of the special operation. When the special operation end date is reached, a new update will be triggered automatically in order to return to the usual dates and tariffs.
Provider developments
Calculating the Vacanciel brochure price has been reworked to improve quality of information.
It is now possible to book the new Costa price types :
Basic
Comfort advanced / Deluxe
Comfort
Last minutes (already
available)
Thalasso n°1 can now group its products by category.
Booking Transatâs âWide Searchâ products has been modified to optimise accommodation combination offers.
New hotel source
LowCostBeds, which was already available on the Orchestra platform as a package source (LowCostBedsPlus), is now available as a hotel source.
Provider developments
The Auchan Voyages product range is now available through the latest version of their system.
These two providers now allow for price brochures and meal option information to be collected.
The CroisiEurope product range is now available for various markets (United States, Ireland, China, etc.), and different currencies (Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, etc.).
The Disneyland Paris product range is now available through bundled products (duration and offers). They also display information on rooms, meal options, as well as optional services.
information on rooms, meal options, as well as optional services.
Display of different accommodation categories
Display of types of meal options in pop-up mode
Display of optional services
New providers
The provider ‘Voyages Internationaux‘ (International Trips) is currently being certified. This provider is characterised by a wide variety of products (tours, holidays, coach trips and cruises). Furthermore, their products offer different pick-up points (local departure points).
The ‘La France du Nord au Sud‘ (France from North to South) product range is currently being certified. This provider offers campsites, properties for rent, and gites from different providers such as Odalys, Pierre & Vacances, etc. These products are booked with these providers via France from North to South.
Evolution of providers connectivity
Solea will soon be available through their new system. It is currently being certified on the Orchestra platform.
Jet Tours rental products are now available on the Orchestra platform.
Europlayas and PortAventura hotel sources are now available on the Orchestra platform.
New producers
The output from Passions des Ăźles and PopVoyages is now available on all versions of the platform.
The Ze-camping range is now available on the Orchestra platform.
Optimising Vacances Transat production
New types of offers are now available for the producer Vacances Transat.
These more flexible offers let clients choose certain elements of their trip by dynamically suggesting alternative flights or options, for example.
New source hotels : Europlayas
The Europlayas hotel reservation centre is currently being certified.
Management of depleted status for connectivity packages
Connectivity packages can now be marked as depleted if the producer sends back an unavailability code when querying the date in real time. This function is configurable and the default behaviour is to remove the date when it is no longer available.
Moreover, to maintain the depleted status in the calendar, this mechanism must be linked with import management at the product level. With the “Allocate rates” action in the administration tool, it is possible to disable the import of a productâs availability so that the depleted dates are not overwritten by the next update.
Allow/prohibit availability import action for a connectivity package
6.2. Reports for NOK quotes/reservations and depleted stocks
A new tool was developed for sending reports concerning :
Failed
quote and reservation transactions
Depleted
stock for internal products (shared stocks).
These reports can be sent periodically by email as an Excel file.
NOK quote/reservation reports contain the number of failed transactions in the form of pivot tables whose horizontal axis and vertical axis can be configured.
For example, a report can be defined with the product, the departure city and the passenger configuration for the horizontal axis and the starting date for the vertical axis. The email body contains a summary by product (or producer) statistics.
Example of NOK quote Excel report
The reports on depleted stocks (shared stocks) is only for internal products and appears as an Excel file with two tabs. The first tab contains a table with a list of all remaining stocks and their availability for requested products and the second tab contains the list of availability whose stocks are depleted or below
2. The email also contains a summary of this information by product (or producer).
Example of depleted stock Excel report
For example, these reports can be used to monitor the performance of a sale or a special operation throughout its development. Performance reports on failed quotes/reservations and monitoring of stock depletion allow for restocking of successful products or detecting products that sell poorly.
A new universe : Connectivity validation
A new âuniverseâ can now be activated in the main menu: âConnectivity validationâ. This new module can be used by distributors and producers.
It validates the external connectivity of producers.
New “Connectivity validation” universe in the main menu
The goal is to verify the information displayed on the quote page (availability dates and prices of different items) by running automatic availability queries on the products selected. Once all availability requests have been executed, a report is sent to the email address indicated. The email contains an Excel report with all information necessary for validation :
Number of OK and NOK availabilities
Price differences with the catalogue
Response time
Several validation tasks can be programmed and executed in parallel (with a configurable limit). The home page shows a list of tasks and their status :
Hom page of the “Connectivity validation” universe
A left filter allows you to display current tasks only. Each task can be controlled through a menu containing a list of possible actions (edit, pause, cancel, delete).
Clicking the button âCreate a new taskâ will make a new form appear that allows you to define a validation program for a producer. Its launch can be programmed by entering a start date, and its execution can be stopped automatically by entering an end date (in case validation is not completed, to avoid too long or excessive load execution on the producer’s server).
Additionally, different criteria are used to limit the list of products and availability for inquiry.
Producer validation task creation form
Once a task is created, its configuration can be accessed by double clicking on it in the list. A tab showing the configuration of the task in question opens. The possibilities for modifying the task vary according to its status :
If the task has not been started, all fields are editable
If the execution of the task has been started, the list of editable fields is restricted
If the task is complete, the configuration is no longer editable
View of a producer validation task
Once a task is completed (or cancelled), an Excel report is sent to the email address indicated. The Excel report contains three tabs :
A âSuccessâ tab containing a list of all OK availabilities
Validation report “Sucess” tab in Excel format
A âFailuresâ tab containing a list of all NOK availabilities
Validation report “Failures” tab in Excel format
A âSummaryâ tab containing statistics for each product queried.
Validation report âSummaryâ tab in Excel format
Optimised Jet tours production
Jet tours products without transport are now available on the Orchestra platform.
New producers
The LowCostBeds producer is now available for the Spanish market.
Stock quantity and “advance reservation” status
For compatible producers, it is now possible to record this information in the availability of each product.
The information can be found in the product data sheet of the administration tool and can be used in the catalogues.
New information on the amount of stock and the “advance reservation” status
Managing the notion of “early booking” on producer rates
Producers can now send the notion of “early booking” rates in the price/availability cache sent to Orchestra.
This notion will thus enter the catalogue services and may be used for example to display the relevant icons.
Optimising Costa production
The cruise specialist is now able to send specific rates linked to special sales operations, according to distributor. This requires a specific configuration for this producer.
New producers
The production of VVF Villages is now certified on Orchestra and is available from version 12.3 onwards.
Optimisation of the Jet Tours offer
The Jet Tours range has been optimised in different ways.
Some products have been given
additional durations (4 nights for example)
The Honeymoon product range is
now bigger
During the booking of a holiday
with a flight an information message is now shown systematically which allows
distributors to inform the customer that detailed information will be sent
later
New producers
The Kepler range is now available on the Orchestra platform.
New producers
The O2 Voyages product range is available.
The Alliance du Monde product range is now available with Solution+.
The ClubMed product range is currently being certified. Booking will not be available for this producer.
Improvement of existing producers
1/ RCCL Group
Management of drinks packages
The various drinks packages are now handled for the producers: Royal Caribbean, CroisiĂšres de France, Celebrity Cruises and Pullmantur.
Management of new pricing types
New pricing types, in particular, promotional price types, are now handled for the producers: Royal Caribbean, CroisiĂšres de France, Celebrity Cruises and Pullmantur.
2/ Costa â Management of “Last minute” prices
“Last minute” prices are now handled.
New producer
VVF is currently being certified on the Orchestra platform.