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Where do I find it?
PARTNERS > MARKETPLACE AGENTS
What does it mean?
TourCMS provides a comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline your partnerships with Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and web affiliates.
By using the TourCMS Marketplace, you can manage your distribution network from a single location, ensuring that your live availability and pricing are synchronised across all your sales channels.
In TourCMS, connectivity is supplier-led. This means that although a reseller may have a TourCMS account, they cannot view your live inventory or process bookings until you have explicitly authorised a connection from your side.
Think of the Marketplace as your private "partner directory." When you connect with an agent, you are essentially granting them a digital key to your products. This connection is governed by Permissions and Agent Types, which determine:
How much data the agent can see (statistics vs full customer details).
Who is responsible for the payment (the agent or the customer).
Whether the agent receives a commission or is booked at a net rate.
Your agent records and configurations are entirely private; this data is not shared with other suppliers or even the agents themselves.
What should I do?
To establish a new connection with an OTA or reseller, follow the steps below:
1. Locate the agent ID
Every reseller on TourCMS has a unique Agent ID. Before starting, ask your partner for their ID to ensure connection with the correct agent. You can find them by navigating to: Homepage > Partners > Marketplace Agents
Pro Tip: Use the "Verified" tab to quickly locate major, established OTAs.
Alternative: You can also connect by responding to an automated email request from an agent or by inviting them via the "Local Agents" manager.
2. Configure the connection
Once you have located the correct agent, click the Connection icon within the Actions column. To ensure your financial reporting and data privacy are accurate, you must define the following settings:
A. Access & financials
Channel selection: Select the specific channel (product set) the agent is authorised to book.
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Commission & net rates: Assign the appropriate commission scheme or net rate level based on your commercial agreement.
Commission: If a tour is £100 with 10% commission, the agent pays a net balance of £90.
Net rates: You distribute the tour at £90; the booking enters TourCMS with 0% commission. Note: Most large OTAs prefer Net Rates.
B. Connection permissions (data access)
Select the level of information the reseller can access:
Level 1: Sell only (No booking access): Best for advertisers; they can list products but cannot see performance data.
Level 2: Summary statistics: Ideal for web affiliates. They can view performance totals (sales value, commission earned) without seeing sensitive customer personal data.
Level 3: Full booking details: Essential for retail agents and OTAs. They receive full access to customer records for the bookings they generate, allowing them to manage the customer relationship directly.
C. Travel agent types (payment responsibility)
The "Agent Type" determines who is responsible for the payment and when it is collected.
Retail Travel Agent: Agent pays the net balance at the point of booking.
Trusted Travel Agent: Bookings are immediately confirmed without upfront payment. Ideal for OTAs or local partners (like concierges) whom you invoice monthly.
Lead Customer (Full): The customer pays you the full price, and you pay the agent commission later. Typical for web affiliates.
3. Finalise and verify
Click "Create Connection" to go live. If a field labelled "Invite Code" appears, please contact the Palisis Support team here for assistance.
Note for Live Connections: Once connected to a live OTA, we strongly recommend performing a test booking to ensure that all data—including pick-up keys and required fields—is flowing correctly between systems.
Strategic configurations by partner type
Large Online Travel Agents (OTAs)
For major distributors, we recommend setting them as Trusted Travel Agents using Net Rates. This facilitates seamless direct importing of bookings and real-time synchronisation of descriptions and availability.
Hotel concierges
Because concierges are often local and trusted, setting them as Trusted Travel Agents allows them to confirm bookings for guests instantly without paying on the spot. If you use an API-powered booking engine, the system can display the retail price to the customer while tracking the net amount due from the concierge.
Web affiliates & lead generators
Affiliates drive traffic to your site for a commission (typically 5–8%).
Tracking: Once connected, you can generate Product Widgets for them. TourCMS uses a "first-click" principle with a 1-year cookie to ensure they are credited for the sale.
Lead Generation: For partners just sending enquiries, use the Enquiry Create API method to funnel leads directly into your account.
Financial reports
Sales Ledger: Find all unpaid commissions and uncollected balances in the Money section.
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Operational Reports: These include unpaid balances for "Retail" agents (to collect on the day).
Note: Unpaid balances for Trusted Travel Agents are excluded from operational reports, as these are typically handled via monthly invoicing.
Managing existing connections
You remain in full control of your distribution. If you wish to disconnect an agent or update their commission levels, navigate to the Connected tab in Marketplace Agents and select Manage. From here, you can adjust permissions or remove the connection entirely.
Best practices
For recommended ways to configure and manage Marketplace agents in TourCMS, see Best practices for working with Marketplace agents.
Best practices for Marketplace agents