connects your external calendars to Tourism Accelerator. This prevents double bookings by automatically updating your availability, saving tourism operators time and ensuring accurate scheduling.
Accessing this feature
Go to Calendar > Connections
How to use it
Start a New Connection
On the 'Calendar Connections' page, click the Add button to begin.
Choose Your Calendar Type
You are presented with options for the type of calendar you'd like to connect. The system supports choices like Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, and any calendar that provides an 'iCal' link (many calendar services offer this).
If you're connecting a Google or Outlook Calendar: You are guided through a secure process to link your Google or Microsoft account. Follow the on-screen prompts from Google or Microsoft to grant Tourism Accelerator permission to access your calendar information.
If you're connecting an iCal link: You see a field where you can paste the iCal link for your external calendar. You usually find this link within the settings or sharing options of your external calendar application.
Give Your Connection a Name
Give your new calendar connection a clear, helpful name. For example, "John's Personal Calendar," "Maintenance Schedule," or "Office Holiday Calendar." This helps you easily identify it later.
Decide on the Sync Direction
Tell the system how you want the calendars to "talk" to each other. You usually have a few choices:
One-Way Sync (External to Tourism Accelerator): Block out time in your external calendar (e.g., for a doctor's appointment or a day off) and have that automatically mark you as unavailable in Tourism Accelerator. Tourism Accelerator reads your external calendar but doesn't write to it.
Two-Way Sync (External to Tourism Accelerator AND Tourism Accelerator to External): Bookings made in Tourism Accelerator also appear in your external calendar, and events in your external calendar block availability in Tourism Accelerator.
Choose Which Tourism Accelerator Calendar to Sync With
Select which Tourism Accelerator calendar this external calendar connection should apply to.
Save or Connect
Once you've filled in all the details, click the Save button. The system now establishes the connection. You should see your new connection listed on the 'Calendar Connections' page.
Tips
Test after setting up a new connection. Add an event to your external calendar for a specific time, then check your Tourism Accelerator availability to make sure it's blocked out.
Give your connections clear, descriptive names to save confusion later, especially if you have several connected.
Carefully consider whether you need a one-way or two-way sync for each connection. If you only want your external calendar to inform Tourism Accelerator about your unavailability, one-way is usually the safest and simplest option.
Keep your external calendars tidy. The cleaner and more accurate your external calendars are, the better the system can read them. Avoid overlapping events or vague entries that might confuse the sync.
Review regularly to make sure everything is working.
Need help?
For further assistance, contact us at [email protected]