Adding an option to your experience

An option is a variant of your experience that guests choose between. A tour in Spanish, a version with lunch included, a private group booking — each is an option. Pricing, guest types and availability are all set per option, and every experience needs at least one before it can go live.

A few words you'll see

• Option — a variant of your experience. If two versions differ in price, inclusions or availability, they're separate options.
• Guest type — a category of guest you sell to, like Adult, Child or Senior. Each has its own age range and price.
• Schedule — the dates, time slots, pricing and inventory for an option.
• Inclusion and exclusion — what a guest does and doesn't get for the price they pay.
• Release period — how close to the start time you can still accept a booking.

Note: Fill in your experience details first — see Adding a new experience. The option form has five stages: Setup, Guest directions, Reservation settings, Guest types, and Schedules, Closures, & Campaigns.

Before you start

• Know what's included and excluded in this option.
• Know where guests go on the day — the meeting point, and whether you pick up from hotels.
• Decide how you want to confirm bookings: automatically, through your reservation system, by email, or via your B2B portal.
• Have your cancellation and rescheduling windows ready.
• Know your guest types and their age ranges.

Step 1 — Setup

Option name

Give the option an internal name and a reference code. Both are for your own use, so make them something you'll recognise later — for example the language, or whether transfers are included.

Inclusion & exclusion

List what a guest gets for the price, and what they don't. Being explicit here prevents queries and complaints later — if entry to a particular area isn't covered, or a meal isn't provided, say so.

Step 2 — Guest directions

Pickup details

If you collect guests from their hotels, turn on hotel transfer and add the hotels you pick up from. You can enter them one at a time or upload a list.

Start location

Add the points guests need — your meeting point, redemption point or boarding point, depending on how your experience runs. You can add more than one, and say whether guests need to visit them in a specific order.

You'll also set:

• Redemption type — how guests exchange their voucher for entry.
• Reporting time — how far ahead of the start time guests should arrive.
• On-ground contact — who a guest reaches if they can't find you.
• Whether guests must arrive on time, and whether they need to bring a photo ID.

Note: The voucher preview only becomes available once your Guest directions details are filled in.

Step 3 — Reservation settings

Booking

Choose how you'd like to confirm new bookings from Headout:

• Instant confirmation (Freesale) — bookings are confirmed automatically the moment a guest books. Nothing is needed from you.
• Reservation system/API connection — bookings are confirmed automatically through your third-party reservation or ticketing system. You'll pick which system, and enter your product code.
• On request via email — you confirm each booking from the email we send you. You can add the email address to use, and set a release period or cutoff time.
• Your B2B booking portal — bookings are managed through your portal. You'll add the portal link and login details.

Cancellation

Say whether this option can be cancelled and whether it can be rescheduled. For each one you allow, set the window — how long before the start time a guest can still cancel or move their booking.

Step 4 — Guest types

Add each type of guest you sell to and set their age range. Age ranges must not overlap, so an Adult starting at 18 means Child needs to end at 17.

The guest types you add here are the ones you'll price and set inventory for, so add all of them now — you'll save yourself a trip back.

Step 5 — Add a schedule

Under Schedules, Closures, & Campaigns, create the schedule for this option — its dates, time slots, pricing and inventory. This is a short four-part flow ending in Save schedule.

For a walkthrough of each part, see Adding a schedule to a new listing.

Note: If bookings for this option come through an API connection, you don't need to enter pricing or inventory here — those come from your reservation system.

Step 6 — Review and submit

Open Review details to see everything you've entered for the experience and its options in one place. Anything still missing is flagged, so you can go back and fill it in.

Click Preview listing to see how guests will see it on Headout. When you're happy, click Submit for review.

You'll see “Submitted! Your experience will be live in about 21 days” and the listing moves to Under curation.

Frequently asked questions

How many options do I need?
At least one. Beyond that, add an option wherever the price, inclusions or availability genuinely differ. If two versions are identical to a guest, keep them as one option.

Do I have to build each option from scratch?
No. Once you have one option, you can duplicate it and change just the parts that differ — useful for the same tour in several languages.

Why can't I submit my experience?
Every experience needs at least one complete option. Open Review details — it flags anything still missing across the experience and its options.

I'm connected via API. Do I still fill in pricing and availability?
No. Choose Reservation system/API connection on the Booking step and your prices and availability sync from your system. You still complete the descriptive parts — inclusions, guest directions, guest types.

Can I change my booking confirmation method later?
Yes, but it changes how every booking for the option is confirmed, so raise a ticket and our team will make the switch with you rather than it changing mid-season unexpectedly.

What are the age ranges used for?
They decide which price a guest pays. Guests select their guest type when booking, so if your ranges overlap or leave a gap, some guests will be charged the wrong price or won't be able to book at all.

Can't add an option on Hub? If a step won't accept your details or something isn't working, raise a ticket and our team will help you get it set up.