DigiTickets, a leading provider of ticketing and EPOS solutions for attractions, tours and events, has shared its advice on integrating booking and staff scheduling systems.
“In the bustling world of visitor attractions, achieving seamless connections between software platforms is key to delivering an exceptional guest experience,” says a spokesperson from the company.
“One crucial aspect that can make a huge difference is the integration of booking and staff scheduling systems. This isn’t just a technological upgrade; it’s a strategic investment that can underpin your operational planning, reduce costs and optimise guest satisfaction for years to come.”
See also: 5 best-practice ticketing recommendations for museums & heritage attractions in 2024
Defining well-integrated systems
DigiTickets has identified the characteristics of a well-integrated system. This can help attractions to assess whether their current software is effective, or if further funding is required to support their operations.
The key characteristics are:
Real-time synchronisation
Manually entering and cross-referencing data from one system to another requires a significant amount of time. It also makes operational planning more susceptible to human error and costly mistakes, which can result in under or overstaffing.
A completely integrated tech stack can instantly update the staff scheduling system when a booking is made for tickets, tours, or events. This aids in the prevention of multiple bookings and ensures an appropriate level of staffing.
Easy access to data insights
Attractions often have a wealth of visitor and operational data, but may not have an easy way to collect, organise, and transform it into useful insights.
Integrated systems make it easier to identify patterns and correlations in guest behaviour, resource utilisation, and operational efficiency. By recognising the value of analytics, leading attractions use data to influence strategic decisions and highlight methods to provide a best-in-class experience that is tailored to the needs of their target audience.
OTA management
Managing bookings across many platforms, such as GetYourGuide, Expedia, and TripAdvisor, can be challenging for attractions that rely on online travel agents (OTAs) for revenue.
Having a clear, centralised view of all sales makes it easier to manage staffing needs and respond swiftly to fluctuations in guest numbers. An intuitive staff scheduling system can quickly provide admissions managers with a picture of staff-to-visitor ratios, allowing them to determine when to deploy additional staff or move resources from one day to the next.
Scalability
Scalability is increasingly important as an attraction expands or adjusts to seasonal variations. Systems that are integrated should be adaptable enough to smoothly handle shifts in operating requirements and demand.
As the number of visitors rises, the issues brought on by a lack of system integration will become more noticeable. Astute attractions act before the strain on procedures becomes unmanageable, and take proactive measures to control expansion and guarantee that their infrastructure is always ready to handle spikes in demand while minimising the possibility of major outages.
Enhancing operational efficiency
“Managing separate systems that don’t communicate with each other can be a headache at the best of times,” says the company. “Instead of constantly doing the legwork to manually transfer data from one software to another, you may consider investing in a dynamic system that automatically connects bookings with staff scheduling and other key operational functions.”
DigiTickets most recent report, Your Roadmap to Selling More Tickets in 2024 offers additional insights into industry trends. Click here to download your free copy.
Earlier this year, DigiTickets shared details of a project that enhanced the guest experience for West Somerset Railway, a popular heritage railway in the UK.
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