Tour / Departure - Providers


For Odyssey Clients who use the Tour level Selections Method

This page is currently under development



Once a Departure/Trip/Tour has been created, you can continue populating it with Providers

Providers are any entity which provides a service to your client, whether that is accommodation, transport, meals, or activities, etc.

When the Departure is first created, it will automatically be populated with Providers who were listed on the Master that this Departure is based on.

For more detailed information about providers, please see " Provider Types" and "Provider Facilities" 


Using the Tour Selections Method, when a new tour is created the Providers listed on the Master are added to the Provider list on the new tour, and onto any bookings created.


The Provider records for client bookings are managed at Booking level, and can be updated by changes made at Tour level, using the "Update from Departure" button.


Departure level | Accommodation Provider records



To add a new Provider


  • From the Tour | Provider Supplier | Accommodation tab
  • Click the + Accommodation button (in this case we have used an Accommodation tab, but this works the same for all provider types)

Adding a new Provider record
  • At the next screen, choose wether you want your list filtered alphabetically by Provider Name, or by location
  • Then select the provider of your choice

Select a provider by location or name

  • A message will appear confirming which provider you have selected, and asking you to either cancel or say Yes to proceed
Confirming you have selected the correct provider

  • The Provider Details screen appears, where you are able to manage details of the booking

Tour | Provider | Details

  • Odyssey will automatically create a Provider record for the next sequential day in the departure. For example, if you already have an accommodation record for Thurs 23 November, it will automatically create the new accommodation record for Fri 24 November. You can modify this date by using the < > arrows )
  • Change the Supplier Status,  Task Status, (e.g. To Do, Confirmed, Self Booked).  Note the colour coding of each of these different status' to alert you to what action needs to be taken, if any.
  • Select whether or not Agent commission applies on this calculation
  • Make room selections.

Bookings


To add Bookings to this Provider record

  • Go to the Bookings tab, and click the Add Client button

Tour | Provider | Details
  • Tick the boxes for those clients you wish to add to this Provider record, then click Continue
Adding clients to this Accommodation Provider
  • work you way through the screen, choosing the Product (e.g. Queen Room with Breakfast), the Rate (e.g. 1 Pax, 2 Pax, Split), and the number of People who will be using this room, Quality (Economy, Standard), Check in time.  You can also move this accommodation to a different day by using the calendar tool.

DEVELOPMENT OF ADDING CLIENTS IS INCOMPLETE





Supplier Info


Adding Supplier info



From an individual provider record, at Trip/Departure level, it is possible store

  • Enter a Provider Reference if any in the text field
  • a Door Access code (this shows on the Accomodation list output). Note that this is only available at Tour level. If more than one door code is required, then enter "Mary & Jim - 9321354, Jack - 9321845, Sharon xxx" etc.
  • Provider Form comments If your business uses the Advanced Online forms module, and have sent a booking email to the provider containing a link for them to complete online, the data they submit in that form will be fed directly back into Odyssey.  One of those fields is the Provider Comments field, where they might like to leave you a note of some kind.  Perhaps it will say; we have confirmed this reservation, but are almost full on this date.  Learn more about online forms Here
  • Provider's preferred payment type gets entered at the drop down box (e.g. Prepaid, Cash, Credit Card)
  • Alert:  Here you can add an alert about this Departure's reservation with the provider.  Perhaps although the reservation was previously confirmed, the owner is now unwell and there may be a question as to whether they can now accommodate your reservation.  By adding a tick to the Alert, the Departure's accommodation record for this Provider will show you an alert symbol to indicate there is something to be aware of.
This Alert symbol on the Departure Provider's record indicates there is something to be aware of

Alerts

There are occasionally alerts in red to indicate to the user that something may need their attention.



To learn how to set up a Provider note, click Here


Payments





  • Finance Notes An optional space for you to record any Finance Notes relevant to this Accommodation booking for this group
  • Total to pay can be calculated from client level bookings, by clicking the circular arrows above that field.
  • Amount paid will be entered manually by accounts staff, based on the Pre-Pay 30% figure
  • Balance to pay is calculated (Total to Pay - Amnount paid = Balance to Pay)
  • Pre-Pay amount is calculated by the settings on each Providers own Finance settings page, in the Pre-payment percentage required field
  • Date balance due is calculated by the settings on each Providers own Finance settings page, in the Balance due # of days prior field

Each Providers own Finance settings page

Notes


Adding notes

Notes to/for Staff - paperwork:  If your business conducts guided tours, here you can leave notes for the guides in relation to this provider.  Perhaps it could say "Please leave luggage in the store room, pin code 7853", or "Timing is flexible, please contact the day before to confirm".




Itinerary & App


Adding data to be included on Itineraries

The Itinerary App Text tab provides you with

  • a non editable field, displaying the Itinerary text for this Provider (for your reference only)
  • an editable field, displaying Product text for this Provider/product (the green border around the outside of this field indicates that it is editable). This allows you to add any content which is relevant to everyone in your Departure, such as "The dining room will be closed for a private function this evening, so talk to the host about alternative meal arrangements", or "The host has confirmed a dinner reservation for your group at 7pm" There is a Refresh from Provider button to refresh that Product text from the providers record, if you wish to start over.
  • a tickbox to indicate if this text should be displayed in the Itinerary or not. This can still be altered when creating the Itinerary.
  • a Client Notes button: This great feature opens up the Client's Itinerary Notes about this Provider, so it's ideal to add something which is unique to each client on this Departure, for example, their booking reference with this provider.



All Providers tabs screens have some common elements:

Update from Master

If the Master has changed, and you want the changes reflected in this Departure; OR if you have made changes in this Departure, and wish to restore the original Master records, just click the Update from Master button.  The records on the current Departure will be updated with records from the Master.

Start Over

If you have messed up, hit the 'start over' button.  This will remove all the records from this screen, allowing you to start afresh.



Departure level | Accommodation Provider records showing alerts
  1. Bag movements on the Movement tab do not match this day's selected Provider - go to the Movement tab and change the movement if necessary
  2. If the Daily Location District for this day, in Daily Locations, differs from the District of this provider, then the Daily Location District will appear in read to draw your attention to this. (Sometimes, this will be correct - e.g. when there are insufficient providers at the daily location district to accommodate your guests, but other times, it could be that you have chosen an incorrect provider )
  3. Notes from Providers. If you have a Provider alert recorded for this specific Departure, an alert will show beside the Provider Product field. Learn about that Here




Or, there may be some important information you need to know about a Provider - perhaps they are closed on certain days or dates, or have a waiting list - the sort of thing you might stick on a post-it note.  If you have written such a note on the Provider record, when you select that provider from a drop down list in Departures, you will get a note like the one below:

This Note comes from the Provider's Note record

  1. Daily Location. If this Provider's district location does not match the district location defined in the Daily Locations tab, the daily location district will be recorded in red to indicate the variation. Occasionally it is not possible to find accommodation in the daily location district, so this may be correct - it is flagged here to ensure you are comfortable with the variation.


=





Click the Client Notes button to open up the editable Client Itinerary notes for this provider

Task status and Fill down 

Task status, fill down

The task column reflects the status of this Provider task, i.e. if it is confirmed, booked, cancelled etc.

Select the orange triangle button beside a task to change the status

The fill down button above the orange triangles allows you fill down the task status of the first provider record to all the other provider records

The minus sign is a delete button which allows you to delete this Provider record


Provider Details


The PDetails button on the RHS on a Departure, opens the Provider Details view

Hover in the space under the heading P Details (Provider Details) to activate an orange field which will allow you to view edit details about this provider.  Here you can view contact and address details, facilities offered by this provider, the departures booked, products offered, prices, etc.  These fields are not editable in this view.











To view a list of all client's and any provider type bookings, from the Departure | Providers tab, click the 3 days button


This takes you to the 3 day view, where you can see a list of all clients on this Departure/Trip, and the first three days of their accommodation (or activity/transport/meal bookings).  When more than 3 days are booked, use the right arrow to move to the next set of 3 da






Provider Info tab - on all Providers

  • Enter a Provider Reference if you are provided one, this field is not reported anywhere, it is purely for your own internal reference.
  • Tick if a Confirmation is required from the Provider (removed March 24)
  • Select the Payment type indicated by the Provider, from the drop down list
  • Staff Notes - Type notes for office staff, if required


A quick way of visually seeing when if there's something IMPORTANT that need to be identified about this  Departure - the sort of thing that might get stored on a 'Post-it Note' stuck on your computer,  so you don't forget, is the ALERT field on the Provider info tab.  e.g. this might say "There is a Waiting list for this Provider/Booking..."
This allows the very important concerns/instances to stand out, and display in these places:
  • The ALL Provider Records view on Departures shows WHICH Providers have an alert.



  • The Departure | List view will show the Alert, and hovering over it will tell the user how MANY alerts there are



Providers


Accommodation Details






The Provider's availability can be checked on the spot, by clicking the availability button.  This will take you directly to the website set up on the Provider's record for making bookings.  Learn more Here

Clicking the View Availability button takes you directly to the Provider's booking site so you can check availability

Accommodation Provider Info

Departure Level | Provider | Accommodation | Provider Info

Notes/Itinerary


Departure Level | Provider | Accommodation | Notes/Web


Notes - Office 

An optional space for you to record any Office Notes relevant to this Accommodation booking for this group

Notes - Itinerary


Depending on your business model, these notes can work one of two ways. An Admin level setting allows you to display either a live version or an editable copy of the Provider Notes for Itinerary.



  • Odyssey pulls in the Provider Itinerary content, and Provider Product Itinerary content into the departure level Provider "Notes for Itinerary" record, and makes the Provider product field editable so that you can add any optional /personalised text for the itinerary which is relevant to your group at this specific time.   e.g. "Sandy, the Manager, has organised a packed lunch for your group today"


Provider Notes for Itinerary
  • In the Provider Notes for Itinerary, when the Admin default settings switch is set to black, the text block will be COPIED into the Departure records at the time they are created. They do not remain live, they will not reflect any changes made here after the Departure record has been made. They can be individually refreshed from each Departure record when that is required.
  • There is a two headed arrow which allows you to refresh this content from the Provider record.

Departure Level | Provider | Accommodation | Notes/Web, showing Itinerary info

If there is an alert on the Departure Level Provider Accommodation record, highlighted below, this is to alert the user there is a difference between the Accommodation location that a PAX is staying at, and the Provider that their bags are being moved to

The alert on the Accommodation record indicates that the Location of the Accommodation Provider differs from the Location that the bags are being moved to

Note that it's at booking level where the real data needs to be correct, as this is what drives the Manifest and the bag labels!

Activity


An Activity Provider is one who provides fun activities for your clients while they are on their Departure, such as a winery visit, visiting a chocolate factory, or a penguin tour.


Any activities included on the Trip Master will automatically be listed here.

Departure Level | Provider | Activity

Add another activity by clicking the ' + Activity' button


Viewing Activity Records

Click once on an accommodation record to view it

Departure Level | Provider | Activity | Details

As with the Accommodation screen above, populate this screen with the options your client has selected, and press Close.  Remember to set the task status, whether or not confirmation is required, and whether the item is chargeable

Activity Notes/Web

Departure Level | Provider | Activity | Notes/Web

Notes - Office 

An optional space for you to record any Office Notes relevant to this Activity booking for this group

Notes - Itinerary

An optional space for you to record any Itinerary Notes relevant to this Activity booking for this group, other than what is already included on the Itinerary Notes from the Provider's record

Notes - Finance

An optional space for you to record any Finance Notes relevant to this Activity for this group

Transport

Any transport options included on the Trip Master will automatically be listed here.

Departure Level | Provider | Transport

Add another transport option by clicking the ' + Transport' button


Select a transport provider from the drop down list

As with the Accommodation screen above, populate this screen with the options your client has selected, and press Close.  Remember to set the task status, whether or not confirmation is required, and whether the item is chargeable


Transport Notes/Web

Departure Level | Provider | Transport | Notes/Web

Notes - Office 

An optional space for you to record any Office Notes relevant to this Transport booking for this group

Notes - Itinerary

An optional space for you to record any Itinerary Notes relevant to this Transport booking for this group, other than what is already included on the Itinerary Notes from the Provider's record

Notes - Finance

An optional space for you to record any Finance Notes relevant to this Transport for this group

Meals

Any meals included on the Trip Master will automatically be listed here.

Departure Level | Provider | Meals

As with the Accommodation screen above, populate this screen with the options your client has selected, by pressing the ' +Meals' button 


Departure Level | Provider | Meal | Details

Remember to set the Task Status, whether or not confirmation is required, and whether the item is chargeable, and then press close 

Provider info

Departure Level | Provider | Meal | Provider Info

Here you can enter a Provider reference, or if the Provider has submitted their confirmation or otherwise via an online form you sent them from Odyssey, then their feedback to you will be in the Provider Form comments.  Notes for staff (i.e. Guides) can be recorded.  

If you have some major concerns about this reservation, enter your comments in the Alert field.  An exclamation mark will appear on the departure dashboard beside this departure, to indicate that there is a potential issue needing to be addressed.

Notes | Itinerary text

Departure Level | Provider | Meal | Notes/Itinerary Text

IF the Accounting ( Xero API ) Advanced Module has been activated by Creative Technology for your Odyssey set-up, there will also be a General Ledger cost drop down list.

Notes - Office 

An optional space for you to record any Office Notes relevant to this Meal booking for this group

Notes - Itinerary

An optional space for you to record any Itinerary Notes relevant to this Meal booking for this group, other than what is already included on the Itinerary Notes from the Provider's record, e.g. "At this time of year the hosts do amazing roast dinners using locally sourced veg, we highly recommend"

Notes - Finance

An optional space for you to record any Meal Notes relevant to this Meal for this group, e.g. "Our client charged drinks to a tab which we will need to recoup from them."

Other

Any Other providers included on the Trip Master will automatically be listed here.

Departure Level | Provider | Other

As with the Accommodation screen above, populate this screen with the options your client has selected, by pressing the '  +Other' button 


Select the Other Provider from the drop down list

Remember to set the task status, whether or not confirmation is required, and whether the item is chargeable

Notes - Office 

An optional space for you to record any Office Notes relevant to this Meal booking for this group

Notes - Itinerary

An optional space for you to record any Itinerary Notes relevant to this Meal booking for this group, other than what is already included on the Itinerary Notes from the Provider's record, e.g. "At this time of year the hosts do amazing roast dinners using locally sourced veg, we highly recommend"

Notes - Finance

An optional space for you to record any Meal Notes relevant to this Meal for this group, e.g. "Our client charged drinks to a tab which we will need to recoup from them."

All

The All button displays a summary of all activities planned for this [Departure]

Departure Level | Provider | All

To carry on making your [Departure], please follow the 'Related articles' links below to add Resources, Movements, Paperwork and emails.


Related Articles