How To Balance Inventory Between Holidex CRS and OPERA

Records will be displayed on the reservation comparison screen based on priority in this order:

Reservations that have no CRS number
Reservations with CRS number that are only in Holidex
Reservations with CRS number that are only in OPERA
Reservations with CRS number that have a record in Holidex and OPERA
Note: In case you see reservations on only the external system or OPERA side, please DO NOT simply upload or download the respective record as this can potentially duplicate the reservation. Even if the record appears to be only in one system, based on this screen, this is not necessarily the case, and therefore a careful research should be performed before you decide on any action.

1. Reservations that have no CRS number appearing only on the (OPERA Details) side

REASON: The reservation has never made it to Holidex because it was never sent or it failed in Holidex. This also applied to block reservations if the block may not be built in Holidex.

CHECK: In the OXI Message Status, go to MESSAGES TO EXTERNAL SYSTEM. Search for the OPERA Ref No. If you find records with status SUCCESS, Holidex should have that reservation. Search in Holidex if you can find it.

ACTION: If Holidex has the reservation but the CRS number never made it successfully to OPERA, cancel the reservation in OPERA and then send it down again from Holidex.

CHECK: Still in the OXI message status and searching for the OPERA Ref No, you find records with status FAILED. This indicates that Holidex has rejected the booking. Look at the exact Holidex responses to detect why the booking was rejected.

ACTION: You may be able to resolve the problem in the OPERA reservation or through correct conversion entries in OXI. Then, upload the reservation from the reservation comparison screen in order to synchronize.

ACTION: if the reservation failed in Holidex because the block was not built properly at the time the reservation was sent, you could try to upload it again from the reservation comparison to see if the block has been corrected and the reservation goes through now. If that does not work try to resync the entire block with OXI’s resync utility. Once the block is built, try to resync this specific reservation again.

2. Reservations that have a CRS number appearing only on the (External System Details) side

REASON: The reservation was rejected by OXI when downloading from Holidex

REASON: The reservation shares in OPERA now with another CRS number and the original reservation with this CRS number was never cancelled in Holidex.

REASON: reservation with same CRS number exists in OPERA but for a different date range. The date change did not make it back to Holidex and therefore you see a lonely record here.

REASON: OPERA had uploaded that reservation but the CRS number update failed.

REASON: The reservation is Cancelled or No-show in OPERA

CHECK: It is very likely that the PMS reservation exists as single record as well, or has potentially already duplicated the reservation in Holidex again when it was auto resynced after the night audit. In the OXI message status, go to MESSAGES FROM EXTERNAL SYSTEM. Search for the Ext Ref No. If you find records with status SUCCESS, OPERA should have that reservation. Try to locate it in OPERA with the CRS number. You may find it but with different dates, which explains that it does not appear on the reservation comparison for that date.

ACTION: If your OPERA dates and reservation details are accurate for this guest, try to upload it again to Holidex. You can do this through the OXI Resync option ‘reservation’. Enter the CRS number for resync here. Check under OXI message status ‘Messages from external system’ if Holidex has accepted the booking. If not, identify what the error says and whether you can resolve this. The OXI user manual has an appendix with known Holidex errors and you may find the solution there.

CHECK: In the OXI message status, go to MESSAGES FROM EXTERNAL SYSTEM. Search for the Ext Ref No. If you find records with status SUCCESS, OPERA should have that reservation. Try to locate it in OPERA with CRS number and if not found, with the name and arrival date. The reservation may exist but share with other guests now, in which case it can carry another CRS number.

ACTION: If your OPERA dates and reservation details are accurate for this share reservation, try to upload it again to Holidex. You can do this through the OXI Resync option Reservation. Enter the CRS number for resync here. Check under OXI message status ‘Messages from external system’ if Holidex has accepted the booking. If not, identify what the error says and whether you can resolve this. The OXI user manual has an appendix with known Holidex errors and you may find the solution there.

ACTION: It is also important that you cancel this reservation in Holidex in case it was found to be a sharer in OPERA. Run the Reservation Comparison in OXI again and cancel this reservation using the button CANCEL EXTERNAL. You could also go to Holidex and cancel directly from here. The cancel message will fail in OXI, as the reservation with that CRS number no longer exists in OPERA. That failure can be ignored, as you know the circumstances.

CHECK: In the OXI message status, go to MESSAGES TO EXTERNAL SYSTEM. Search for the Ext Ref No. If you find records with status FAILED, OPERA has rejected that reservation. Look at the error message for the explanation.

ACTION: Use the DOWNLOAD button on the reservation comparison. Check under OXI message status MESSAGES TO EXTERNAL SYSTEM if OXI has accepted the booking. If not, you can correct the booking in Holidex and try to download it again.

3. Reservations that have a CRS number appearing only on the (OPERA Details) side

REASON: The reservation exists in both systems but has different dates

REASON: Holidex has this reservation cancelled

REASON: OPERA has shared this reservation after its creation and has thus changed the CRS number on it. The share did not make it successfully to Holidex.

REASON: Reservation is a party booking that was split on the arrival day, and the new CRS number could not be updated properly. In this case it would keep its old CRS number.

CHECK: In the OXI message status, go to MESSAGES TO EXTERNAL SYSTEM. Search for the OPERA Ref No. If you find records with status SUCCESS, Holidex should have that reservation. Search in Holidex if you can find it with that CRS number.

ACTION: if Holidex has the reservation active with that CRS number but on different dates, check which system has the more accurate data and send the reservation from the more accurate system again. Check in the OXI message status if the reservation transmittal was successfully now. Your reservation comparison record for this booking should disappear.

CHECK: Still in the OXI message status and searching for the OPERA Ref No. If you find records with status SUCCESS, Holidex should have that reservation. Search in Holidex if you can find it with that CRS number and if not search for it by dates, name, PMS number.

ACTION: If Holidex has the reservation but cancelled, determine whether the reservation should in fact be cancelled or active. If it should be cancelled, you have to cancel it in OPERA as well. If it should be active, simply upload it from OPERA to Holidex again. If Holidex rejects the booking, cancel it in OPERA as well and rebook it newly so that it will receive a new CRS number.

ACTION: For a share reservation that did not upload successfully the first time, you can try to resync it with the OXI reservation resync utility. Enter the CRS number for resync here. Check under OXI message status MESSAGES FROM EXTERNAL SYSTEM if Holidex has accepted the booking. If not, identify what the error says and whether you can resolve this. The OXI user manual has an appendix with known Holidex errors and you may find the solution there.

4. Reservations that have a CRS number appearing on both sides, (External System Detail) and (OPERA Detail)

Given that the CRS number is the same in Holidex and OPERA records, you will see a record for this reservation on both sides of the reservation comparison screen. The discrepancy will then be based on one of these elements: external segment number, arrival date, number of rooms, room type, number of nights, and block code.
If you have selected additional search criteria before requesting the reservation comparison, your discrepancies will be expanding through the verification of share reservations, rate code, and name. We only recommend using these additional search criteria if you need further detail to resolve your discrepancies.
If you have selected Include Share with Reservations, you will see ALL sharers of a reservation on the OPERA side, as compared to only the main reservation holder on the Holidex side. This is not a discrepancy but allows you to verify that all OPERA sharers belonging to the reservation have the same CRS number. You can only compare the proper names when you look into Holidex directly.

What action should you perform for records that exist in both systems but are discrepant?

In all cases you need to check whether Holidex or OPERA is the system with the more accurate data. This will drive your action.
If you decide that Holidex has the latest details correct, choose to DOWNLOAD the reservation in order to update the OPERA details.
If you decide that OPERA has the latest accurate data, choose to UPLOAD the reservation to update the Holidex details.
For a segment number discrepancy, you know that Holidex always RULES, as only the CRS can update the segment numbers. However, it is still possible to upload your OPERA reservation even if the segment number is not in sync with Holidex. When you select to UPLOAD an OPERA reservation, OXI will apply the Holidex segment number into the upload message, thus making sure that Holidex will accept the changes.
For an arrival date discrepancy, check which of the systems is accurate. It is possible that OPERA is accurate but the change did not make it to Holidex since the used rate code may not be valid in Holidex at that time. Another option could be that a block reservation was moved in OPERA and Holidex rejected this, as the block details had not been updated in Holidex yet. If OPERA is accurate you can try and UPLOAD the reservation again. If it fails, check the Holidex error message and see whether you can do anything to prevent this error. There is an Appendix with (Known Holidex Errors) and you may find the solution here. If Holidex has the accurate dates, you can DOWNLOAD the reservation and this will update your OPERA details.
For a room type discrepancy, it is quite possible that this is based on a conversion problem. Check your room type conversion in OXI carefully, making sure that you have a perfect one-to-one room type conversion with no duplicates on either Holidex or OPERA side. Holidex should have all room types that your hotel has, and if this is not the case, make sure to update your property configuration in Holidex accordingly. It is possible to have a one-to-many room type conversion in OXI, but this is NOT recommended as the interface also transmits blocks and therefore requires a perfect one-to-one conversion. Once you have corrected the room type conversion or configuration, DOWNLOAD or UPLOAD the reservation according to which system has the accurate data.
For a block code discrepancy, you should verify whether Holidex has the block with same dates and inventory details as OPERA has. It is likely that some block changes in OPERA have failed in Holidex, thus causing a difference in block data between the systems. Once you can synchronize the block details in both systems, you should be able to synchronize your block reservations as well. Please read the section (How to synchronize blocks) between Holidex and OPERA for more detail.
For a block code discrepancy where the OPERA reservation is already checked in, it will not be possible to upload this reservation successfully to Holidex anymore. The reason is that the TPI message for checked in reservations does not contain a block code, and therefore OXI has no chance to notify Holidex of this.
For number of nights or number of rooms discrepancies, verify which system is more accurate and DOWNLOAD or UPLOAD accordingly. Please note that a multi room reservation can be split into single rooms on the day of arrival. If this causes the discrepancy with Holidex, it is likely that the split activity in OPERA has not uploaded successfully to Holidex, You can verify this by checking the OXI message status MESSAGES TO EXTERNAL SYSTEM while searching for that CRS or PMS number. Based on the Holidex error received with the rejection you may be able to resolve the problem and upload the OPERA reservation again.
For a rate code discrepancy, which is not a standard option but only active with the additional search criterion, it is quite possible that this is based on a conversion problem. Check your rate code conversion in OXI carefully, making sure that you have a perfect one-to-one rate code conversion with no duplicates on either Holidex or OPERA side. Holidex should have all rate codes that your hotel has, and if this is not the case, make sure to update your property configuration in Holidex accordingly. It is possible to have a one-to-many rate code conversion in OXI, but this will lead to conversion discrepancies such as the one you are looking at. Once you have corrected the rate code conversion or configuration, DOWNLOAD or UPLOAD the reservation according to which system has the accurate data.
For a name discrepancy, which is not a standard option but only active with the additional search criterion, you need to determine whether any action is needed at all, since this does not cause an inventory imbalance. If your name is accurate in OPERA, leave it as it is as your discrepancy in Holidex may only be shown because the OPERA name is longer. Since Holidex stores only 13 characters for the combination of last and first name, a discrepancy can be based purely on the length of the name and no action is needed. If your Holidex names are the correct ones however, attempt a DOWNLOAD in order to update your OPERA reservation profile.
Share reservation discrepancies: using the additional search criterion to Include Share with Reservations, you will see multiple records on the OPERA side as OPERA stores each sharer as one reservation, Holidex will only have one record with the main reservation holder name. This in itself is not a discrepancy. Make sure however that all sharers on the OPERA side have the same CRS number as their Holidex equivalent. Also compare that the Holidex arrival date equals the earliest share arrival date of all shares in OPERA (it is possible that sharers arrive on different dates). The same applies to the departure date, which must equal the ‘latest share’ departure date in OPERA. Since shares are handled vastly different in Holidex and OPERA, it is likely that you find some discrepancies here. The overall goal has to be to have the share reservation inventory in sync based on dates, room type, and number of rooms. Most sharer discrepancies will be depicted as one of the scenarios described in points 1-3 above.
OPERA reservation has the check in flag (C/I) set to (C). In such a case you will have problems downloading any changes from Holidex successfully as OXI will reject your changes as the reservation is already checked in. This rejection is based on your OXI parameter setting UPDATE_INHOUSE_RES, which by standard is set to N for all IHG hotels.