✅  HOW TO: Build an effective catalog

Fully building out your catalog makes a really big difference to the everyday user. The more information you include by default, you'll improve the speed and accuracy at which people work. Mistakes can be expensive in both time and botched opportunities, so the more you can do to set things up right the first time, the greater your ongoing benefit will be.

Getting started

To build the catalog, start by adding an activity. You can do this from the Settings>Activity page, or from the Catalog.

Expand the activity in the catalog

Once an activity is added, you'll have the ability to view it in the Catalog. By clicking the arrow located to the left of the activity photo, you can reveal the information for each provider associated with that activity. If you expand this section further, you'll gain access to view the intervals.

Provider-level settings

In the header area for each provider of an activity, there are several things you can quickly set to determine where and how this activity displays in various places in Planniac.

• Advance booking time. If you require advance notice for an activity to be booked, indicate that here.
• Added items. Are there extra items (from your Settings > Activity > Added items setup) that always or usually accompany this activity? When you toggle 'on' this setting, you can decide which added items should be included with the selected provider. For example, your in-house dive shop may need to collect size information for gear.
  Early beta feature
• Auto day view. This is what adds the activity as one of the default activities offered on the day view schedule. You must have activities activated here in order for them to display on the Day View page.
• Itinerary quick picks. When you toggle this 'on,' you can include this activity in the 'quick picks' section of the guest's itinerary -- useful for recommending certain activities on certain days of the week. Activities must be activated for quick picks here in order for them to display on the itinerary.
• No charge. Is this an internal task or always a complimentary activity? Toggle this 'on' so that's clearly indicated throughout the activity booking process.
• Offers. If you've turned online offers (upsell) on in your settings, you can toggle it 'off' either temporarily or permanently very easily here. Note: you can't simply turn it 'on' here. It needs to be set up on the activity settings page first.
• Add-on. You can also turn 'off' your Cloudbeds add-ons quickly from the Catalog. Note: you can't simply turn it 'on' here. It needs to be set up on the activity settings page first.
• Tax. (sales tax) If this activity has something different than your default sales tax rate, you can add it here and Planniac will calculate a different amount when adding tax.

At this point, you have the option to click and add a new interval to your schedule, ensuring that you're keeping everything organized. Additionally, if you navigate to the three dots positioned to the right of an interval date, you can open the edit tool. This allows you to make any necessary adjustments or modifications to any existing interval details, tailoring them to better fit your needs.

What fields display?

Depending on your settings, your scheduling and pricing setup will display differently, giving you only the fields you need.

1. On-Demand Activities: These require flexible scheduling. Set up a dynamic pricing model that adjusts based on real-time demand. Scheduling should be open-ended, allowing users to select any available time slot.
2. 1. Capacity
   2. Days of week available
   3. Start or pickup location
   4. Price
2. Duration-Based Activities: Define clear time intervals for each session. Pricing should reflect the length of each session, with potential discounts for longer durations. Scheduling involves setting fixed start and end times.
3. 1. Duration
   2. Capacity
   3. Days of week available
   4. Start or pickup location
   5. Price
3. Standard Times Activities: Create a schedule with specific times when the activity is available. Pricing remains constant regardless of the session chosen. Ensure the schedule is consistently updated based on availability.
4. 1. Base price (Group or minimum price)
   2. Incl pax (Included persons in the base price)
   3. Adult price
   4. Child price
   5. Infant price
   6. Extra item
   7. Cost of extra item
   8. Charge type for extra item (Choose per group or per person)
   9. 1. Per group - if you want a single charge to apply to the activity
      2. Per person - if you want each additional person to be charged an additional price
   9. Start time
   10. End time
   11. Duration
   12. Capacity
   13. Days of week available
   14. Start or pickup location
4. Timeslot Activities: Break down the day into predefined slots. Each slot has a set price, which can vary depending on peak and off-peak times. Scheduling involves users selecting from these predefined slots to book their activity.
5. 1. Base price (Group or minimum price)
   2. Incl pax (Included persons in the base price)
   3. Adult price
   4. Child price
   5. Infant price
   6. Extra item
   7. Cost of extra item
   8. Charge type for extra item (Choose per group or per person)
   9. 1. Per group - if you want a single charge to apply to the activity
      2. Per person - if you want each additional person to be charged an additional price
   9. Start time
   10. End time
   11. Duration
   12. Capacity
   13. Days of week available
   14. Start or pickup location
   15. + Add timeslot

In summary, the catalog's settings for scheduling and pricing are guided by the activity type, ensuring a structured approach to meet diverse consumer needs.