Picture this: it’s a beautiful sunny day and the lines to get into your attraction lead all the way into the car park. You’ve never seen this many people in a queue before, and the air is buzzing with anticipation.  

If this scenario is making you break into a cold sweat, don’t worry – we’re here to help.   

Peak periods like the upcoming school holidays don’t have to leave you fretting about the domino effect long queues at the entry gate can have on gift shop and restaurant revenue. It’s possible to make the most of the boom in business while also ensuring that both your customers and your hardworking staff have a positive experience.

If you’ve never considered an online ticketing system before, here are four ways it can make life simpler.

Making the change won’t be as scary as you think

Contemplating a big step like investing in new technology can be unnerving. When you’re teetering on the edge of change, it can be tempting to stick with your current, familiar methods – no matter how labour-intensive they are. Moving your operations across to a brand new system may seem daunting, but it’s actually a relatively straightforward process - and one that your online ticketing system provider should guide you through. Once everything is installed and performing smoothly, you’ll find yourself wondering why you didn’t take the leap sooner!

A less-stressed team is a manager’s dream

Having one convenient system will take a huge amount of pressure off the people working on the frontline – especially when they’re facing long queues at the entry gate and need to work efficiently and effectively. Forget those flustered days of working the register while trying to juggle great customer service with the frantic search for information on pricing and availability. With an online ticketing system, everything’s all in the one place: right where you need it.

One system to rule them all:

Quick quiz: which well-known industry figure once said ‘Admin is my idea of a good time’?

There’s no answer to this. No one has ever said those words.

With all your business needs integrated into one all-inclusive system, it’s easy to streamline both your booking and capacity management processes.

If you’re currently selling in-attraction experiences only through the gift shop, you know there’s a very real risk that customers won’t realise the opportunities available to them until they’re almost ready to leave. Not only will the right software enable you to sell these bonus experiences at the entry gate, you’ll also be able to offer them as an upsell option for online bookers. Plus, an integrated system also helps you to keep an eye on capacity and suggest alternatives when certain experiences are booked out.

Managing everything from online booking and point of sale to pricing and inventory in one place will free up the brain space you need to focus on maximizing operational performance.

Ending analysis paralysis

When things get busy, it can be tricky to take a step back and look at the big picture. It’s especially challenging to identify current trends and timely opportunities when you have to tackle a mammoth number of spreadsheets and reports from multiple systems that won’t cooperate with each other.

Investing in the right technology will provide you with a 360 degree view of how the business is performing. Online ticketing systems offer real-time reporting and analytics on your main revenue drivers and profitability. They also allow you to test and experiment with different pricing promotion strategies. Let the platform deal with the admin, while you focus on the real work!  

Change can be scary, but using an online ticketing system to streamline your attraction business will not only improve your team’s efficiency and your customer experience, it will give you the breathing space to step back, make the most of the peak periods and dream big about opportunities for the future.

A great online ticketing system can also help you improve your booking process. We have a simple quiz you can complete to check how effective your booking process is and if it’s impacting your sales, start it now!

Booking Boss is an online booking system for tour operators and attraction providers. Trusted by many in the tourism industry, Booking Boss is about getting you out of the spreadsheets and into the sun. We provide free education resources for operators like you, to make your business the best it can possibly be.