Managing customer and participant data effectively is key to ensuring smooth operations and a personalized booking experience. Within the platform, three primary features are available for collecting customer and participant information:
Participant fields
Custom fields
Checkout input fields
To better understand when to use each, let’s explore their key differences, use cases and where the data resides within the system.
What they are
Participant fields are predefined, systemic-level fields configured at the product level and linked directly to an individual customer and participant (co-traveler) profile.
Examples
Date of Birth
Passport Number
Height
Shoe Size
Purpose
Participant fields allow the Business to collect and store Customer and Co-Traveler data within the Triparound platform. This data can be reused/prefilled across multiple bookings, helping build richer and more accurate customer and participant profiles and allowing for a smoother booking flow.
Where the data is stored
In the customer's guest profile
In the Co-Travelers section (under the Associations section within the customer)
Where the data is visible
Within the booking
In the Guest app
Use Cases
Participant fields are appropriate when:
Information must be collected and managed for each participant/co-traveler on a trip
The information is core to the Customer and Co-Travelers
The data can be reused/prefilled across future bookings
Important:
Participant fields cannot be used if any Custom Field in the product has "Available for each participant" activated.
Customer validation or identification during the booking process (for example via PMS integration or the Itineraries feature) is required for the participant fields to be used most effectively.
What they are
Custom fields are fully configurable fields created by the Business at the product level and applied to specific products. Both the content of the field and the input type (free text, dropdown, checkbox, etc.) can be defined.
Examples
T-shirt size for a workshop
Session preferences in a multi-day program
Purpose
Custom fields provide flexibility to collect booking-specific or product-specific data that is not saved in the Customer or co-Traveler profile.
Where the data is stored
Stored only within the booking
Not saved to the Customer's guest profile
Where the data is visible
Within the booking
In the Guest app
In email notifications
Use cases
Custom fields are appropriate when:
The required information is not covered by predefined systemic fields
The data applies only to a specific product/activity
The information does not need to be reused/prefilled for future bookings
What they are
Checkout input fields are predefined systemic fields configured at a Company level and applied across all products. These fields are displayed during the checkout stage of the booking process to collect additional Customer-only information.
Examples
Date of Birth
Passport Number
Dietary restrictions
Health issues
Purpose
Checkout input fields enable the collection of Customer data across all products. This information is stored in the customer’s guest profile and helps build more complete customer records.
Where the data is stored
Stored in the customer’s guest profile
Where the data is visible
Within the booking
In the Guest app
Use cases
Checkout Input Fields are appropriate when:
The information is core to the Customer only
The data is stored and can be reused in future bookings (i.e. prefilled during the booking process)
Key differences at a glance
Aspect | Participant Fields | Custom Fields | Checkout input fields |
Scope | Systemic-defined, product level | Fully customizable, product level | Systemic-defined, company level |
Applies to | Customer & Co-Travelers | Booking only | Customer only
|
Main purpose | Build Customer & Co-Traveler profiles | Collect booking specific data | Build Customer profile |
Customer validation/ identification required | Yes (for best results) | No | No |
Where data is stored | Customer's guest profile, Co-Travellers, Booking | Booking only | Customer's guest profile, Booking
|
Where data is visible | Booking, Guest app | Booking, Guest app, email notifications | Booking, Guest app |
Reusable/ Prefilled Fields | Yes | No | Yes |
When to use |
|
|
|