Where do I find it?
In TourCMS, go to Configuration > Channels > Agent credentials.
Use this page to set the credentials that TourCMS sends to a connected sales channel or integration when an agent makes or manages a booking.
What does it mean?
Agent credentials are the keys, tokens or identifiers that allow a TourCMS agent to work correctly with an external channel or integration.
TourCMS can manage credentials at three levels:
- Account credentials: the default credentials used across the account.
- Agent credentials: credentials for one specific agent. These override the account credentials on normal channels.
- Channel-specific agent credentials: credentials used only for one channel. These are useful when the same agent needs different credentials for different connected channels.
For most tour operators, the important point is simple: if a channel has its own credentials, TourCMS sends the values configured for that channel only. It does not fall back to the normal account or agent credentials.
How it works
- Palisis staff enable channel-specific credentials for the required channel.
-
Account users enter the credentials for that channel. This can include a channel default and, where needed, values for individual agents.
- TourCMS applies the precedence rule to decide which value each agent receives for each channel.
- The resolved credentials are sent through the usual integration points, such as booking APIs, availability webhooks and live reservation.
- Support can use the tester to check what a specific agent would receive before any live dispatch happens.
What should I do?
1. Confirm whether the channel needs its own credentials
Use channel-specific credentials when a channel must send different values from the standard account or agent credentials. This is common for third-party integrations where the same TourCMS account connects to more than one external system.
If the channel can use the normal account or agent credentials, keep the standard setting. If the channel requires agent-specific credentials, contact our Support team and they will enable this at the channel level.
2. Enter the channel credential values
Agent credentials can be entered at account level or agent level, depending on how specific the value needs to be.
- Channel default — Configuration > Agent credentials: use this when most or all agents on the channel should receive the same value. Agents receive this value unless they have their own channel-specific value.
- Agent-specific value — Partners > Marketplace agents > Manage > select the channel > Configure agent icon: use this when one agent needs a value that is different from the channel default.
Who can enter values: account users with the Marketplace section permission can enter credential values for their own account.
3. Understand what happens when you save
- Each channel configured to keep its own credentials has its own credentials box.
- Channels are shown in one clear list, even though the values are stored differently in the background.
- A channel with its own credentials no longer appears in the normal credentials mask, so the same channel is never editable in two places at once.
- Saving stores the values shown on the screen.
- Leaving an agent-specific box blank clears that agent-specific value and falls back to the channel default.
- Channels not shown on the current screen keep their stored values. Nothing is silently removed.
- If every channel on the account is configured this way, the screens still work normally.
Account-level credentials
Marketplace-level credentials
4. Check which credentials will be sent
TourCMS uses the same precedence rule for real dispatch and for the backoffice tester. This means the tester shows the same value the integration would receive.
| Situation | What the agent receives |
|---|---|
| Channel with its own credentials: the agent has a value for that channel | The agent’s channel-specific value |
| Channel with its own credentials: the agent has no value for that channel | The channel default |
| Channel with its own credentials: neither the agent nor the channel has a value | Empty credentials — this is expected and does not fall back to normal account or agent credentials |
| Normal channel: the agent has credentials | The agent’s credentials |
| Normal channel: the agent has no credentials | The account credentials |
Golden rule: a channel with its own credentials never sends the normal account-wide or agent-wide credentials. If there is no agent value and no channel default, TourCMS sends empty credentials. This is expected behaviour.
5. Know where credentials are sent
The resolved credentials are included at the usual integration points:
- Booking Show API — details of a single booking.
- List Bookings API — booking listings, resolved per booking because each booking may use a different channel.
- Availability webhook — included in the notification body sent to the integration.
- Live reservation — used in the booking engine’s reservation flow.
The Channel APIs also report whether a channel keeps its own credentials, so integrations can identify the channel type correctly.
6. Use the tester before escalating
The backoffice webhook tester shows exactly what an agent would receive on a channel. Use it to confirm the configuration without triggering a real booking, webhook or reservation.
- It shows the value exactly as it would be sent, for both normal channels and channels with their own credentials.
- It lists the agents that receive credentials, so you can select the agent you need to check.
🚩 Good to know
Key rules
- A channel with its own credentials does not inherit normal account-level or agent-level credentials.
- Changing the channel setting does not copy existing values. Enter the required values manually after changing it.
- Empty credentials can be correct when a channel has its own credentials but no channel default or agent-specific value.
- Clearing an agent-specific value makes that agent fall back to the channel default.
- Channels outside the current view keep their stored values. Nothing is silently lost.
- Accounts with no channel-specific credentials see the same screens as before.
Permissions and security
- Palisis staff can flag a channel as using its own credentials.
- Account users with the Marketplace permission can enter credential values for their own account.
Glossary
- Credentials mask: the form that displays credential boxes for channels.
- Channel default: the value agents receive on a channel when they do not have their own channel-specific value.
- Dispatch: the moment TourCMS sends credentials to an integration, for example through an API, webhook or live reservation.
❓ FAQs
Why does an agent receive empty credentials on a channel?
Because the channel is configured to keep its own credentials and neither the agent nor the channel default has a value. This is correct. The channel does not fall back to the normal account or agent credentials.
I changed a channel to use specific credentials and integrations stopped receiving the previous values. Is this a bug?
No. Once a channel keeps its own credentials, it stops inheriting normal account and agent values. Enter the required values in Configuration > Agent credentials or on the agent record.
I cannot see the setting to make a channel keep its own credentials. Why?
This setting is available to Palisis staff only. Account users with the correct permission can enter credential values, but they cannot change whether a channel uses its own credentials. Please, contact our Support team to change the configuration.
When should I use an agent-specific value instead of the channel default?
Use the channel default when all agents on the channel can share the same credentials. Use an agent-specific value only when one agent needs different credentials from the default.