SynXis Channel Management: Frequently Asked Questions

In order to set up a connection through SynXis, you will need to have a channel management contract with Sabre/SynXis. 

Please email SynXis with the request to connect to Secret Escapes. You should already have the contact details of your SynXis account manager. If not, please contact SynXis customer service for more details.

If the connection has been set up, please contact your Secret Escapes Contracts Manager to start the connection procedure.

Setting up a connected sale should not take longer than setting up a non-connected sale with Secret Escapes. We have agreed on the same SLAs for both our internal teams and SynXis. The speed of the connectivity go-live really depends on the hotel delivering the rates in a proper and timely manner.

In order to ensure the correct steps are taken and the go-live process runs smoothly, please follow the proposed steps of your Secret Escapes Contracts Manager closely.

The reason why we need two rate codes per offer is to generate a discount (% or strikethrough discount) on our website. 

The discount will be automatically calculated by the system and is updated in real-time, based on the rate difference between SE promo rates vs. Supplier BAR for exactly the same offer plus inclusions.

The preferred rate code names are: 

SERETAIL - The base price / price we check the sell price against to generate a discount

SESELL - Actual sell rate on the Secret Escapes website

Commercially, there are no different sales criteria than non-connected sales. 

To set up the commercial aspect and agreements of the sale with Secret Escapes, please speak with your Contracts Manager.

No, it is not possible to work on net rates with SynXis. 

Currently, it is not possible for us to add any sort of percentage or monetary value on top of rates provided via SynXis, as we are working on a real-time pull connection. We are not storing any rate or inventory data in our system.

SE only accepts commissionable rates for our connected sales with SynXis

Yes, you will be able to set restrictions in your offer, like MLOS, release dates and BOD. The setup of these restrictions will be done by the hotel during the initial rate setup in SynXis. 

Please make sure the preferred restrictions are discussed and agreed upon by your Secret Escapes Contracts Manager.

Any inclusions (for eg. Dinner and Welcome drinks) are included, need to be added by the hotel in SynXis.
The value of these inclusions can be added on top of both rate codes.

It is possible to set a cap on the available rooms for Secret Escapes on specific rate codes. This means that Secret Escapes will never receive more room availability than the set cap. If your total inventory drops below the set cap, Secret Escapes will receive less inventory as well, as it will automatically switch to real-time inventory.

You will be able to set up your preferences in SynXis for Secret Escapes. Please make sure your Secret Escapes Contracts Manager is aware of any room limitations if set.

Yes, it is possible to set different cancellation terms. This can be done by the hotel per rate code under 'Policies', upon the setup of said rate codes. 

Please make sure the cancellation terms are discussed and agreed upon by your Secret Escapes Contracts Manager.

Yes, child policies are supported by SynXis.
The child policy through SynXis is covered per room (not per person).

Occupant configuration (ages and number of occupants) will be set up manually on Secret Escapes side. We will be able to receive and charge child costs via the Channel Manager and deliver full price booking via the API to the hotel.

Please ask your Contracts Manager for more information and to agree on the child policies to be set up for your sale.

Yes, you will be able to set different discounts in the same sale. This can be set directly in your rate plan setup in SynXis.

We will not be able to combine rate plans with different LoS. These will need to be loaded as separate offers.

However, we aim to combine multiple rate plans. If those are based on the same LoS, we will only display the lowest priced LoS. For example, we will receive ‘Best Available rate’ and ‘Advanced Purchase’, and only display one of the two at the same time.

We are consuming both the “AmountBeforeTax” and “AmountAfterTax” from SynXis, so rates can be loaded as inclusive or exclusive. You will be able to set this up however you prefer.

Please make sure your preferred settings are discussed and agreed upon by your Secret Escapes Contracts Manager.

Sabre/SynXis is available as a whitelabel through two different channel manager companies: 

• HotelRez

• Navarino Services

If you run your channel management connection through one of the above companies, it might be possible for you to get connected to us via the SynXis Channel Management connection. Please contact your contact person at the respective company to discuss the possibilities.

For any other channel manager: We can only set up a connected sale with you when there is a direct SynXis Channel Management contract. It is not possible to connect to our SynXis Channel Management integration through a third party other than the above-named companies.

When viewing the booking in your reservation system, the provider will be displayed as the connectivity provider name. This will show 'Secret Escapes' for our bookings.

You will receive your weekly booking summaries as usual, including the connected sales. 

If you want to receive the booking summary on request, please speak to your Contracts Manager at Secret Escapes and they can download the booking summary, which will include connected hotels.

If there’s an outage between Secret Escapes and SynXis (caused by either party), Secret Escapes will create an error message to the customer on the sale. The customer will be refunded if we've already taken payment. The reservation will not be sent to the hotel, and we will release the room back to SynXis.

If there’s an error between SynXis and the hotel, we encourage you to contact your SynXis contact person to get the issue solved.

Yes, cancellations will be transmitted via the API. The booking will be cancelled in your reservation system.

Yes, it is possible to set different cancellation terms. This can be done per rate code. If you go to 'Policies' in the rate code, the cancellation terms can be set. 

Please ensure that these cancellation terms are according to the agreement with your Contracts Manager

Yes, you will receive the SUVC/VCC details in the reservation through SynXis. This will happen directly after the booking is made.

We do ask you to always set your payment method on 'Direct Billing' with SynXis for Secret Escapes. The reason for this is that Secret Escapes has a slightly amended workflow when it comes to creating SUVC details: The SUVC details are only created after the booking is made. These details will be sent to you through SynXis and will appear directly in the booking. However, in order to ensure that the booking will go through in the first place, the payment method 'bank transfer' will need to be selected. 

When setting 'SUVC' as the payment method in SynXis, SynXis asks us to deliver SUVC details the moment the reservation is made, something Secret Escapes cannot do. If this data cannot be provided, the reservation will fail and you will not receive a booking. 

Secret Escapes has a slightly amended workflow when it comes to creating SUVC details: The SUVC details are only created after the booking is made. These details will be sent to you through SynXis and will appear directly in the booking. However, in order to ensure that the booking will go through in the first place, the payment method 'bank transfer' will need to be selected. 

Yes, you are still able to receive your payments via bank transfer. 

We do recommend you to discuss this matter with your Contracts Manager, to ensure that we're on the same page and the payment is running smoothly from our side.

Yes, the commission invoices will remain the same. They are still handled the same way by our Finance department. 

Nothing will change on this front when you switch to the SynXis channel management connectivity,

You are of course always welcome to propose any changes in your offers. Please contact your Contracts Manager to discuss the potential changes.

Please be aware that any changes you make in the conditions of the rate plan on SynXis side (e.g. board basis, room type, discount etc.) will need to be amended by SynXis as well. Please inform your SynXis account manager of any changes you have made, so they can input this for you in the SynXis rate code on their end.

As Secret Escapes is working on a so-called 'pull connection', the changes in the rates will be reflected immediately on our website. Every time a member opens up the calendar on your offer, we pull the new data in from the SynXis connection.

Please be aware that we are only able to show changes in the actual rates. If you change any settings in your rate code (e.g. lower discount, change board basis, etc.), you will need to contact SynXis to have the rate code settings changed. Please make sure your amendments have been discussed and agreed upon with your Secret Escapes Contracts manager in this case.

Yes, you will still be able to participate in marketing actions and campaigns.

The discount can be agreed with your Contracts Manager. After the agreement, you can amend any rate codes to fit the marketing campaign.

Secret Escapes will complete a price check before and during the campaign to ensure the rates has been discounted properly. The discount % on sale will be updated automatically in the system.

Unfortunately, this is not possible at the moment. We are working on a solution to get this fixed as soon as possible.