Genius Division

Booking and ticketing systems

Your own booking or ticketing system, so you stop paying a fee on every ticket you sell and stop working around software that was built for somebody else's venue.

If you sell entry, seats, tables, rooms or time, you’re probably paying somebody a fee on every single transaction. That was a sensible trade when you were starting out. Past a certain volume it stops being sensible and starts being a subscription to your own revenue.

The other problem is fit. Ticketing platforms are built for the average venue. Yours isn’t the average venue, so you end up working around the software instead of it working around you.

What we build

  • Timed entry and capacity management, so you’re not overselling a Saturday.
  • Memberships and season passes, including the bit where a member turns up and you need to know instantly that they’re a member.
  • Group and school bookings, which almost never fit a normal checkout.
  • Multi-venue setups, one system across several sites with their own pricing and capacities.
  • Integrations with your till, your accounts, your email platform and whatever else is already in place.

Does it pay for itself?

Usually this is a straightforward sum, and it’s the first thing we’ll do with you.

Take the number of tickets or bookings you sell a year. Multiply by the fee you pay on each one. Add the platform’s annual cost. If that total is anywhere near what building your own would cost, you’re renting something you could own outright, and every year after the first is profit.

If the sum says stay where you are, we’ll tell you that. It’s a short call and it costs you nothing.

What it looks like when it works

Cannon Hall Farm is one of the UK’s busiest farm attractions, and it was running on off-the-shelf ticketing software that could never quite keep up. We built them their own. It has since sold more than £10 million in tickets and handed over 200,000 visitors a digital passport to the farm.

Crest Hotels Group run nine hotels on one platform, with every property pushing guests to book direct rather than through an agent taking a commission. Same principle, different industry.

What it costs

From £12,000, depending on how much the system has to handle and how many places it has to talk to.

You get a fixed price before anything starts, and if the arithmetic says an off-the-shelf platform is still the right answer for you, that’s what we’ll say.

We've built this before

Questions we get asked about booking systems

Why build our own instead of using a ticketing platform?
Two reasons. The fees, which stop being trivial once you’re selling in volume, and the fit. Platforms are built for the average venue, so anything specific to how yours works tends to be impossible rather than difficult. You also own the customer data instead of renting access to it.
At what point is it worth it?
It’s arithmetic. Add up what you pay in booking fees and platform costs in a year. If that number is in the same territory as building your own, you’re renting something you could own. We’ll do the sum with you on a call and tell you if the answer is no.
How much does a booking system cost?
From £12,000, depending on what it has to handle: timed entry, capacity limits, memberships, season passes, multiple venues, group bookings. Fixed price before we start.
Can it handle memberships and season passes?
Yes. Cannon Hall Farm’s system gives members a digital passport to the farm, and over 200,000 visitors have one.
Will it take payments securely?
Yes, through the same payment providers the big platforms use. The money goes to you directly rather than being held and passed on.
What if we run more than one site or venue?
That’s normal. Multiple venues, different capacities, different pricing, one system behind them. Multi-site platforms covers that side of it.