You can now offer Viator activities and transfers to your clients directly from Smart Proposals and Itineraries! With this feature, you can search for and add these Viator bookable items straight from your Smart Proposal or Itinerary, so you don’t have to leave TravelJoy. From there, you or your clients can book and pay for these activities directly from the itinerary. Plus, you'll earn an 8% commission on all booked activities and transfers!
In this guide, we will go over how to use this feature as well as frequently asked questions.
How it works
When creating a Smart Proposal or Itinerary, you’ll have the option to add activities and transfers from Viator for your clients to book—this all happens right from the proposal itself! We’ll walk you through the steps of getting this added to your Smart Proposal as well as how this will appear for your clients.
Adding Activities and Transfers to a Smart Proposal
When you create a Smart Proposal or Itinerary, click the “Explore bookable items” button:
Next, decide if you're adding an activity or transfer first:
Then, you can use the search bar to search any keywords, destination, or a specific activity or transfer company:
Then, you can click the filter button to expand your search with date selection, activity types, and ratings:
You can also sort these items by clicking the drop-down menu in the right-hand corner of the screen:
Finally, add the chosen bookable item to the proposal by clicking the “+”:
Alternatively, you can click on the bookable item for more information and click the “Add to proposal” button:
Once the item has been added, your proposal will be be pre-filled with all relevant details, no copying and pasting needed.
Editing Bookable Item Details
Since the details are already pre-filled straight from Viator, making edits to the activity or transfer details isn’t required. You can simply add the bookable item with the preset date and time (which can also optionally be updated to a specific date/time). If you’d like to edit bookable item details, you can click on the item from the Smart Proposal builder once added:
Then you can begin making the appropriate changes:
| 💡 Note: Duration and and Price cannot be changed when making edits to a selected activity or transfer. |
Adjustable markup
You can also offer pricing flexibility on your Viator bookable items offered through TravelJoy! When editing the item details, you can adjust the base price higher or lower based on your markup. This can be a useful tool if you need to increase your markup, or offer a discount for competitive pricing. Use the slider to adjust this price and see the results of your expected commission payout!
| 💡 Note: Discounting the activity or transfer price will reduce your expected commission payout accordingly. Example: offering a 5% discount to your client means your commission is reduced from 8% to 3%. |
Booking
Bookings can be made via your browser or Itineraries App!
When booking via your browser, the items will appear as such on your Smart Proposal or Itinerary and your client will be able to book and pay for Viator bookable items at any time, all the way up to in-trip:
You can also book the activity or transfer yourself by clicking on the “Book now” link in the Edit panel:
To begin booking, pick your preferred date and number of travelers then click “Check availability”:
You’ll then be shown the available booking options and the times these activities and transfers will be bookable for:
Once date, travelers, and preferred time is selected, you’ll be brought to the booking page to enter the primary contact’s payment details to reserve this booking.
Start by entering the client details:
Next, fill in the required details/questions about the bookable item:
Finally, enter the payment information to pay and book:
| 💡 Note: Once the booking is chosen and while payment details are being entered, the booking will be held for 10 minutes until all details are entered. |
Once the booking has been made, the primary contact, with you cc’d, will receive an email with details about the booking, including a receipt and voucher for the activity or transfer from Viator! These details will also be viewable within the trip’s message feed.
An invoice will be generated and added to the “Files” tab of the trip. This will automatically be marked as paid and can always be revisited in this tab!
Booking in the app
Activity and Transfer bookings can also be conveniently made by using TravelJoy's Itineraries app! The booking will appear as such once added to the Smart Proposal or Itinerary:
Simply click "Book now" within the app to get started!
How will the booked item look?
Once a client has made their booking, it will be accessible to them directly any time on their Smart Proposal or Itinerary, including from the Itineraries App.
For an example of how this will appear via the web and what information can be reviewed see below:
Once a booking has been successfully made, the booking will appear on the Smart Proposal or Itinerary with some helpful information as seen in the example:
- The status of the booking—this will display as “Booked”
- The confirmation number for the booking
- Downloadable PDF of the ticket for the booked item
Payout/Commission
When using this feature, you’ll be eligible to receive 8% commission on these bookings, plus any markup you add! This will be paid directly to your linked bank account within a week of travel!
You can keep track of this by visiting Reports -> Commissions & Sales and clicking on the trip details:
Cancellations
Cancellations can be made only by you and not your client, so you can stay in control of your bookings.
To cancel a booked item, you can navigate to the item while in edit mode on the Smart Proposal or Itinerary, then select “Cancel Booking” under Activity or Transfer Info:
Review the warning and refund details and select “Cancel booking”.
The booked item will then show as “Canceled” but the option to rebook will still show on the item.
Refunds
When an item booking is eligible for a refund, the amount and percentage of the refund will be shown. Once you cancel this item booking, the funds will be refunded to the card used to make the original booking. The refund will also be represented on the invoice created for the booking and your accounts reporting.
FAQs
When can I expect to receive my commission?
Commission is typically paid out within a week of travel.
How will this show up on my client's credit card statement?
This will show as "TJ*____" with your agency name included.
Will I be charged payment processing fees?
No, since TravelJoy is processing the transaction, neither you nor your client will be charged any payment processing fees on the item transaction.
What if I don't want to let my client book?
There is a toggle at the bottom of the item on the Smart Proposal builder that will let you turn off the "Book now" button.
What happens if an operator cancels my client's booking?
In cases like this, everything will be handled automatically! You and the client will both be alerted via email, a refund will be initiated, and the item will be displayed as "Canceled" on the Smart Proposal or Itinerary.
How do I contact an activity or transfer operator?
The activity or transfer operator's information will be accessible via the voucher provided after booking the item.
Why did I not receive my full markup amount?
Items booked through TravelJoy pay out 8% commission; however, any markup you add is subject to a 10% administrative fee. You'll always see your total profit in our markup tool before and after your clients book.
Comments
14 comments
Love this option, but just tried to find options and they were very limited in what was suggested/offered, despite selecting different parameters. Is there a way for more options to be added beyond the 10 that pull up? There are specific tours that I would like to link to my proposal, but they aren't pulling up. Will this be remedied soon?
Hi Dorothy! If there is a specific tour offered through Viator that you would like to add to your Smart Proposal, you can find the product code on the Viator website, and search for that specifically in TravelJoy! This should help the tour populate :)
Are there any fees with receiving commission? Typically, I only use Supplier invoices so if I set up direct payments but don't charge clients are there any fees associated with this?
Hi Jamee! Since TravelJoy is processing the transaction, neither you nor your client will be charged fees. I hope this helps but please feel free to reach out to us at hello@traveljoy.com if you need any further assistance with this- we're happy to help!
Is there any way to remove pricing?
Is there way to copy our own Viator link? I’m with a host agency and we can get paid directly.
Hi Samantha! At this time, there is not an option to toggle or remove the view of an activity's pricing. We'll be happy to share this feedback with the team, though!
Hi Luxe Travel Lounge! At this time, there is not a way to set up an outside Viator link to be booked through TravelJoy. You can still use Viator to add activities without your clients booking through TravelJoy. To do this, you can toggle the "book now" button at the bottom of the item. Then, you can book outside of TravelJoy if it conflicts with your host agency's requirements. If you have any questions about this or need further assistance please let us know at hello@traveljoy.com so we can help!
Is it possible to add a the Viator Tour information if I book outside Travel Joy and then edit to add the confirmation number and voucher? Are there any plans to integrate with Project Expedition or other tour operators?
I am writing to inquire about the transportation options for the excursions you offer. Could you please clarify whether transportation is included for each excursion? If transportation is not explicitly mentioned, should I assume it is not included?
Thank you for your assistance.
LaDonna Littlejohn Thanks for your question! You can still send your clients Viator options and book outside of TravelJoy. Currently, they will see the "Book Now" button, but this can be booked outside of TravelJoy with no issues. If you need any assistance with this please feel free to reach out and we'll be happy to help!
Lisa's Luxury Travel LLC Thanks for your question! When it comes to transportation included with the activities, this will need to be mentioned in the activity details; so you are correct, if transportation is not mentioned by the activity then you can assume that this will not be included!
My question is if the client booked directly with the Cruise line, am I able to book excursions for them through TravelJoy? If they are not already former clients do they just fill out information and I select the excursions for them?
SK McClenton You can book excursions for your clients as long as the excursions are offered through Viator! You will need to either manually enter new clients or have them fill out an inquiry form to add them to your client list before any bookings can be made on their behalf.
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