In Fieldbook, itinerary items and services are crucial components that help you manage tours efficiently. Itinerary items represent scheduled activities or events, while services are linked to suppliers and handle reservations and passenger assignments. Linking these two elements allows for seamless updates and changes to your itinerary, ensuring everything stays in sync. This article explains how linking works, its benefits, and when you might choose not to link them.
Linked Services
When you create an itinerary item and add a service to it, these elements become linked. This means that any changes you make to the itinerary item—such as moving it to a different time or day—will automatically apply to the linked service as well. If you delete the itinerary item, the linked service will also be deleted.
Within the Itinerary Item: Linked services will be listed directly within the itinerary item.
Within the Service: If you open a service, you’ll see the associated itinerary item it’s linked to.
Benefits of Linking Services
Linking services to an itinerary item is the default behavior in Fieldbook, offering several key benefits:
Automatic Updates: When you move an itinerary item, the linked service moves with it, ensuring that your itinerary and reservations remain aligned.
Reservation Management: If reservations are tied to a service and you move the itinerary item, Fieldbook will notify you if these reservations are no longer needed, helping you avoid unnecessary bookings or cancellations.
Contextual information: By linking services to an itinerary item, all related information is accessible within the itinerary item drawer, allowing you to see and manage everything in one place.
Adding Services Without Linking to an Itinerary Item
In some cases, you might add services without linking them to a specific itinerary item. This is ideal for services that aren’t tied to a particular itinerary item or event during the tour.
Use Case: This approach is best for services like merchandise, ski passes, or water bottles that don’t need to appear in the itinerary but are a service required for the tour. It keeps your itinerary clean while ensuring these services are still accounted for and accessible through the Services tab.
In the example below, the Water Bottle is added to the tour, but is not linked to an itinerary item.
How to Unlink a Service from an Itinerary Item
Navigate to the Services tab.
Open the specific service you want to unlink.
In the Date & Time section, locate the Linked Itinerary Item field and click the “x” on the right-hand side.
Click Save.
Adding a Service Without Linking to an Itinerary Item
Go to the Services tab.
Leave the Linked Itinerary Item field blank.
Fill out the service details as needed.
Click Save.
Linking Services Without Time Association
Fieldbook also allows you to link services to an itinerary item without associating them with the specific time of that item.
Use Case: This is useful when you have an activity that spans multiple hours but includes services that only happen during part of that time. For instance, if you have an itinerary item called “Morning Program” from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, but the service (e.g., lunch) only occurs from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, unlinking the time ensures the service is accurately scheduled.
In the example below, the “1-hour presentation” service is linked to the “Orientation” itinerary item, which runs from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. However, the service is only required from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.
How to Unlink a Service from an Itinerary Item’s Time
Navigate to the Services tab.
Open the service you want to adjust.
In the Date & Time section, untick the box labeled “Use Itinerary Item Date & Time.”
Click Save.
Conclusion
Linking itinerary items and services in Fieldbook is a powerful tool that helps you manage tours effectively, keeping everything synchronised and reducing manual work.
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