We have partnered with OpenActive to make your scheduled events available to a larger audience.
This article covers:
How does it work?
OpenActive is designed for organisers of fitness and well-being activities in the UK. It collects activity data from platforms like Bookwhen and shares it with OpenActive partners, who then display the information to their audiences.
Partners range from local authorities to sizeable national class finder sites. These partners allow a much larger audience to discover and book your classes.
Why should I join?
It's free, and you can opt-out anytime.
Reach more people by making your activities easier to find.
Fill quieter sessions by promoting them to new audiences.
Enhance your data skills with optional training.
Shape the future of OpenActive by contributing to data standards (optional).
💡 For more details, check the OpenActive website.
How do I publish my data?
To publish your data:
Select Settings from the left-hand menu on your account, then Integrations.
Select View Integration on the OpenActive section.
Select the I want to publish my data now checkbox.
Select the I confirm I have the appropriate insurance, licensing and safeguarding in place checkbox to confirm that you have the appropriate insurance, licensing and safeguarding in place before you publish your data:
💡 Not seeing the OpenActive integration on your Integrations page?
This may be because the correct sector label isn't attached to your account.
The integration is available for the following sectors:
Activities & Experiences
Children’s Activities
Fitness & Sports
Yoga & Pilates
To check your sector label:
Select Account from the left-hand menu, then Account Details .
Select Edit next to your Business/organisation name:
Scroll down to the Business or Organisation sector drop-down menu.
Change your sector label to one of the valid sectors to enable the OpenActive integration:
Select the Save changes button to save your changes.
💡 Please note: Once you have integrated your account with OpenActive, you will need to tag your events to ensure that they are picked up by OpenActive partners.
Unpublishing your data
To unpublish your data:
Select Settings, then Integrations from the left-hand menu in your account.
Select View integration in the OpenActive section.
Once you have opened the OpenActive integration page, untick the I want to publish my data now, and I confirm I have the appropriate insurance, licensing and safeguarding in place checkboxes.
Select Update preference:
The status of your feed should then show as UNPUBLISHED:
FAQ: Why aren't my events showing on OpenActive?
Here are some potential reasons:
Course event data: Course events may not be pulled through.
Ticket is offline: If the ticket is set to offline, it won't appear.
Location map missing: Ensure the location map is shown for your event.
Safeguarding insurance not selected: Check that safeguarding insurance is ticked on the Integration page.
💡 Please note: To ensure data is removed from OpenActive, make sure to unpublish entries before disabling the OpenActive integration.
How do I share my events with OpenActive?
To share an event with OpenActive:
Open the relevant Scheduling page, select the entry, then Edit entry:
Select the Information tab, scroll down to the Additional details section, then Class search data.
Tick the Share this event with Class Search Portals checkbox:
Tag your event with an Activity Type that best describes your event or class:
Additional information for your event
While most options are optional, you may find it helpful to provide further details that could be important for the public to know about your event.
💡 Important notes
Activity Types Tags:
OpenActive manages the tags available in Activity Types. If the tag for your class doesn't exist, please contact us.
We can submit a proposal to OpenActive on your behalf. OpenActive reviews Activity Types quarterly and new additions are usually added within a month of approval. We can't guarantee that your proposed tag will be added, but we'll happily try! 🙏
Class Visibility Delays:
There can sometimes be a delay before classes appear on OpenActive partner sites like Classfinder.
If the feed is marked as LIVE on the OpenActive integration page and the entries are valid (green "Yes" under "Include?" and green "Valid" under "Validation"), your event data should show up on OpenActive partner sites.
Checking your OpenActive Integration
To check your OpenActive integration:
Select Settings from the left-hand menu on your account, then Integrations.
Select View integration in the OpenActive section to open your OpenActive settings page.
Check that your events are marked as "valid" and discoverable.
What Determines Validity?
Validity is based on the following criteria:
The activity type has been added.
The location is correct and recognised by Google Maps.
Entries marked as valid will display:
A green "Yes" under "Include?"
A green "Valid" tick under "Validation"
Entries marked as invalid will display:
A red "No" under "Include?"
A red warning icon under "Validation".
This means that you need to resolve an issue to ensure that OpenActive can read your event.
If your feed has an issue, you’ll be notified with a message such as "Activity type not defined." This means you haven’t selected a relevant tag yet, and you’ll need to go back and add it.
💡 If you need any help, don’t hesitate to contact us!
💬 Need extra help?
For the quickest response, contact us via live chat on our homepage or your account. Buddy, our trusty chatbot, will assist first and pass you to a support team member if needed.
Prefer email? Send us an email instead.
Thank you! 🕺
Tags: EMD, EMDUK, open, active, classfinder, class, finder