What do I need to sell my product with Tourism Exchange Australia?

1. A booking system, property management system or inventory management system that has integrated with TXA. If you are not sure if your system is integrated to TXA, you can either:
   1. ask your system provider for this information or
   2. for a complete list of current TXA-compatible systems, please visit the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse website.
2. Live availability and pricing information for your products on your property management system or booking system.
3. An Online Merchant Service Facility (OMSF). This enables online payments to be deposited directly into your nominated bank account with no manual intervention.
4. A listing with the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW). If you have a listing on visitvictoria.com your product details have automatically been listed with ATDW. If you are not on ATDW and would like to be, please register at  my.visitvictoria.com or alternatively contact the visitvictoria.com support desk on 1300 306 366 or via email at .

What are ‘property management systems’ and ‘inventory management systems’?

A property management system (PMS) is the process used by an accommodation business to manage the day-to-day bookings of its rooms, room charges and customer details.  A property management system could be as simple as a diary, but to be compatible with TXA it must be a more advanced software system such as RMS, respax or Frontdesk.

Similar systems exist for other types of tourism products to help businesses manage their tour, attraction admission and event ticket sales. These software programs are known as ‘inventory management systems’.

What are the steps in signing up to the Exchange?

1. Call 1300 266 582 and speak to a TXA consultant who will discuss your options and send you an application kit.


2. Complete the application form associated with your integrated property management system, as well as a Direct Debit form, which enables booking revenue to be deposited directly into your bank account and booking fees & commissions to be automatically debited.


3. To enable funds to be deposited directly into your bank account, you will require an Online Merchant Services Facility (OMSF). You will need to get this from a nominated bank. TXA has negotiated some very competitive OMSF deals which you can choose from. Or you can seek your own deal. Before doing this, please ensure the bank you are dealing with is integrated with TXA.


4. Once you have signed up to TXA you will be given access to a TXA management website. Through the website you can view all of the distribution partners (distributors) that are integrated to TXA.  An example of such a distributor is www.visitvictoria.com. You can view each distributor’s commission and terms. You can then opt-in or opt-out of these sites as you wish. If your PMS supports the feature, you can also select what price your product is sold through each distributor.


5. Your product description, as well as live price and availability information, will then appear on the distributor websites you have opted into.  Consumers can then book your products online.

What does it cost to sign up to Tourism Exchange Australia?

There is no sign up cost, however there is a 2.8% (incl GST) fee, plus an 80 cent secure transaction fee associated with a successful online sale through TXA.

Do I have to accept all credit cards?

No. Only the cards you accept will display as payment options on your booking page.

Can I sell inventory through TXA on-request?

No. All products sold through Tourism Exchange Australia must provide instant confirmation on bookings. ‘On request’ inventory that is confirmed manually by the operator after the booking is made cannot be sold through the Exchange.

What happens when I receive a booking from the Exchange?

When a TXA booking is made, the following occurs:

1. Your availability is automatically updated within your reservation system;
   
   
2. TXA will automatically synchronise this booking across the entire system and update availability on all your distribution websites;
   
   
3. Depending on your property management system, you may receive an email confirmation of the booking; and
   
   
4. In most cases booking revenue will be placed directly into your own bank account at the time of booking. (However some distribution websites may choose to pay you outside the TXA system).
   
   

What kind of fee and commissions will I pay for products sold through TXA?

How do I pay fees and commissions for sales through the Exchange?

In most cases all fees and commissions associated with TXA are automatically managed within the system, therefore requiring no manual intervention from you. 

The Online Merchant Service Fee (OMSF) is deducted at the time of booking by the bank that has issued you the merchant facility. The rest of the booking revenue is deposited into your account.

There is a fee of 2.8% (including GST) for all bookings through TXA, in addition to a secure transaction fee of $0.80 and any distribution commission that you have accepted. You are provided with a summary of fees and commissions each month for review, and the owed amount is automatically deducted from your account. 

A few distributors of Exchange product will manage payment and commissions outside the Exchange. They may take full payment and then pay your revenue (less any fees and commissions) on a monthly basis. Operators are free to choose whether or not they wish to sell through distributors with these kinds of payment terms.

What are distribution commissions?

A distribution commission is the percentage that a distribution website or channel charges for a successful online booking they facilitate for your product.

Distributors are free to set their own commissions, and you can decide whether you want to be sold through that channel. The choice is yours.

Tourism Victoria will not be charging a Distribution Commission through visitvictoria.com

How will I control the commissions and fees I pay for my bookings?

When you distribute through the Exchange, you have complete control over which distribution channels can sell your product. You only pay what you believe to be fair and reasonable costs for the distribution of your product online.

The total TXA related costs over and above your agreements with information centres, retail web sites and other online booking sites is 2.8% (inc GST) + 80 cents.

How are cancellations and refunds handled through the Exchange?

Any refunds or cancellations are processed manually outside the Exchange using the same merchant facility that was used to process the booking payment.

For instance, when a B&B operator receives a payment for $200 for a TXA booking the money is debited automatically from the customer’s credit card using the operator’s merchant facility.

If the customer then wishes to cancel the booking, they must contact the B&B operator directly by phone or email. The operator can then refund the monies (manually) back to customer using the merchant facility provided by their bank. The operator’s bank will provide information on how to make credit card refunds using the merchant facilities.

Operators are required to pay any applicable commissions and fees for all TXA bookings, even if the customer later cancels or changes the booking. Operators can offset this cost by charging a cancellation fee, which is shown to customers at the time of booking. 

Have other questions?

If you have questions that aren't answered here, please visit our other TXA FAQ pages:

• FAQs about Tourism Exchange Australia
• TXA Glossary
  

If you have any other questions about Tourism Victoria’s online booking program, please contact the visitvictoria.com Support Desk: