Museums & Historic Houses

Gain Ownership of your Ticketing Operations for more Flexibility

 

Case Study: The Houses of Parliament

THE CUSTOMER
The Houses of Parliament is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords of the United Kingdom each playing an important role in Parliament’s work. There are a number of ways UK residents and overseas visitors can visit the Houses of Parliament including commercial tours.

 

THE CHALLENGE
The Houses of Parliament used to outsource their commercial tour ticket sales. This arrangement met their needs while they were only opened during summer and their ticket offer was simple.

When Saturday and weekday openings were introduced in 2010, The Houses of Parliament required a flexible and cost-effective ticketing system to support the forecasted increase in visitor numbers and a more complex range of offers including additional tour options and linked offers with the catering department.

“Gaining ownership has allowed us to be more flexible, extend our offer and deliver the projects we wanted to do,” explained Matthew Morgan Commercial Operations Manager at The Houses of Parliament.

 

THEIR SOLUTION
The House of Parliament started to look for an in-house solution allowing them to manage their ticketing and admission control as well as creating bespoke offers.

Following a tender process, The Houses of Parliament chose Gateway Ticketing Systems (Gateway) to supply a solution for online and onsite booking facilities including admission control and online sales.

Gateway’s solution gives them the ability to easily manage both advanced and real-time bookings from various locations and for both groups and individuals. Front-house teams have found the new points of sales very easy to use and Gateway created The Houses of Parliament’s web store using the same visual identity as their website for a smooth online customer experience. 

Since Gateway has been installed and training provided, The Houses of Parliament configure the system themselves and make any required changes in-house while Gateway ensures system maintenance and service support.

 

THEIR BUSINESS BENEFITS
The Houses of Parliament can now manage their own ticketing operations and be more proactive with their offering as well as getting closer to their customers.

“Since we’ve implemented Gateway; our visitor numbers have increased by 13% per year and our income by 20% year on year.” observed Matthew Morgan, Commercial Operations Manager

A new dedicated team
Following the implementation of Gateway’s system, a new dedicated booking team was formed and trained to better answer any customers’ demands and consequently increase the Houses of Parliament’s customer satisfaction.

Bespoke offers
The Houses of Parliament are now able to create new ticket options in the system for special occasions, as and when required, for both online and on-site sales. Gateway’s system can be easily configured in-house to achieve what they want to do with their customer offer, in a timely manner.

Deeper relationship with visitors
The Houses of Parliament are looking at integrating a customer relationship management solution, CRM Plus | Powered by Galaxy, to be able to engage in a deeper relationship with their visitors, creating more relevant communications and bespoke offers.

Increase sales
Taking advantage of Gateway’s continuous development, The Houses of Parliament are also interested in joining Gateway’s Galaxy Connect community to engage in more global ticket distribution through online travel agents. More information about Galaxy Connect available on www.galaxyconnect.com

 

Download a copy of this Case Study

 

Roman Baths goes live with Gateway’s Responsive Web Stores

The Roman Baths, Fashion Museum and Victoria Art Gallery have implemented Gateway’s responsive web stores in order to provide online ticket sales.

“The benefits of the new web stores extend beyond the value of enabling customers to pre-purchase on any mobile or fixed device,” says Patricia Dunlop, Commercial Manager at the Roman Baths. “It is an essential tool for upselling our multi-site options and for tracking customer behaviour to inform our marketing decisions.”

Gateway’s web store is available as a responsive web design offering all the benefits of accessing it from any mobile device. Customers can buy products on mobile, tablet and desktop from a single web store for an improved online experience and conversion rates.

“The Gateway web store has always been aimed at making the sales process as simple, and intuitive, as possible. We use the same visual identity as the venue’s website and offer flexible options from selling general admission tickets to having complicated dynamic ticket pricing and issuing annual memberships.” explains Andy Povey, Business Development Director.

Gateway’s web store is also highly customisable to meet various business needs.

“We have opted for the upsell option on Roman Baths web store and propose that online customers buy The Essential Roman Baths guide in advance and have it ready for collection with their tickets so they can enjoy their visit as soon as they arrive on site.” says Tom Lee, Implementation Specialist at Gateway.

 

To find out more information about Gateway Responsive Web Store download the fact sheet.

For more information about:
Roman Baths visit https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/
Fashion Museum Bath visit https://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk/
Victoria Art Gallery visit https://www.victoriagal.org.uk/

 

–  ENDS  –

 

About Gateway Ticketing Systems
Gateway Ticketing Systems is the world’s leading provider of integrated visitor management solutions for museums and galleries; heritage attractions and historic houses; zoos and gardens and theme parks and events. We support our customers with all aspects of their customers’ journeys from ticketing & admission control, food & beverage, events management to CRM & fundraising strategies and reporting. For more information visit www.gatewayticketing.co.uk

About Heritage Services Bath and North East Somerset Council
Heritage Services is an internal business unit that manages the Council’s museums, record office and historic public buildings. We care for the unique collections in them and make them accessible through study facilities, displays, exhibitions, web sites, special events and formal and informal education programmes.

Aerospace Bristol will take off this summer with Gateway’s Visitor Management solutions

Gateway Ticketing Systems (Gateway) supplies Aerospace Bristol with a comprehensive visitor management solution including fundraising, ticketing, admission control, retail solutions, reporting tools and customer relationship management.

Aerospace Bristol is a new industrial heritage museum being developed at Filton, to the north of Bristol. Due to open this summer, the museum will tell the story of Bristol’s world-class aerospace industry – past, present and future. Aerospace Bristol’s show-stopping centrepiece will be Concorde 216. Designed, built and tested in Bristol, she was the last Concorde to be built and the last to fly.

“We are very excited to open our museum this summer and having Gateway as a partner is central to support and unify our operations from online booking to advanced financial reporting and fundraising campaigns” explains Lloyd Burnell, Executive Director of Aerospace Bristol. “We will take advantage of their industry expertise and knowledge to create a smooth customer experience for our visitors.“

Aerospace Bristol will implement Gateway‘s solutions before the opening day.

“Being able to capture donations and donor information prior to opening and all their visitor information from day one is a great advantage for Aerospace Bristol. Getting closer to their visitors and knowing what their interests are will help Aerospace Bristol develop offers that meet and exceed their expectations,” explains Andy Povey, Business Development Director at Gateway.

 

To follow Aerospace Bristol’s progress and be the first to know when tickets go on sale visit http://www.aerospacebristol.org/

 

–  ENDS  –

 

About Gateway Ticketing Systems
Gateway Ticketing Systems is the world’s leading provider of integrated visitor management solutions for museums and galleries; heritage attractions and historic houses; zoos and gardens and theme parks and events. We support our customers with all aspects of their customers’ journeys from ticketing & admission control, food & beverage, events management to CRM & fundraising strategies and reporting. For more information visit www.gatewayticketing.co.uk

About Aerospace Bristol
Aerospace Bristol will be a major industrial heritage museum and learning centre that inspires and entertains today’s and future generations, through the presentation of the stories and achievements of Bristol’s world-class aerospace industry – past, present and future. Aerospace Bristol will reunite the heritage from a number of important collections to tell not only the stories of design, engineering innovation and achievement, but also the social history of the people who worked in the aerospace industry and the communities which have grown up around it. The object collection contains over 8,000 artefacts (many ‘at risk’) Bristol-built aircraft including Concorde 216, Bristol Scout, Bristol Fighter and a Blenheim IV (WWII Bristol Bolingbroke bomber, under restoration), as well as many scaled models.

Brunel’s SS Great Britain goes live with Gateway’s visitor management software

The Gateway solution at Brunel’s SS Great Britain includes ticketing, fundraising, membership, retail and web sales and CRM

Gateway Ticketing Systems Ltd (Gateway) has been chosen to partner with Brunel’s SS Great Britain. The new revenue management and CRM solution will allow Brunel’s SS Great Britain to sell tickets, memberships, merchandise, and food and beverage along with collecting donations, on the front desk, over the phone and online. This will play an integral role in building stronger relationships in the future and tracking visitors to, and donations for, the historic site.

 

Brunel’s SS Great Britain is TripAdvisor’s number 1 tourist attraction in Bristol. The SS Great Britain is the world’s first great ocean liner and the most innovative steam ship of her time. Launched in 1843, this iron-hulled steamship revolutionised travel and set new standards in engineering, reliability and speed.

 

The Gateway solution will allow Brunel’s SS Great Britain to improve the customer experience and build stronger relationships with its visitors.

 

We are very excited at the prospect of working with Gateway. With a proven record of delivering projects with some of the UK’s biggest heritage attractions, Gateway proved themselves to be best suited our complex needs. We look forward to utilising their industry expertise to ensure the experience for our customers is the best it can be. I have no doubt that we will go from strength to strength as we grow the collection and attract more visitors together.” said Louisa Pharoah, Director of Development, SS Great Britain Trust.

 

“Being the chosen supplier for Brunel’s SS Great Britain is fantastic news for Gateway Ticketing Systems. We have spent much time and effort in recent years working with charitable organisations to support revenue generation, and improve customer relationships, and we look forward to sharing this with the team there. With the opening of a new museum in early 2018, it is imperative that Brunel’s SS Great Britain have the best software to support their mission,” said Andy Povey, Business Development Director at Gateway Ticketing Systems Ltd.

 

For more information about Brunel’s SS Great Britain visit www.ssgreatbritain.org

 

–  ENDS  –

Notes to Editors
Caption for photograph: 
Brunel’s SS Great Britain. Image credit: Max McClure photography

About Gateway Ticketing Systems
Gateway Ticketing Systems is the world’s leading provider of integrated visitor management solutions for museums and galleries; heritage attractions and historic houses; zoos and gardens and theme parks and events. We support our customers with all aspects of their customers’ journeys from ticketing & admission control, food & beverage, events management to CRM & fundraising strategies and reporting. For more information visit www.gatewayticketing.co.uk

About Brunel’s SS Great Britain
Brunel’s SS Great Britain is the world’s first great ocean liner and the most innovative steam ship of her time. Launched in 1843, this iron-hulled steamship revolutionised travel and set new standards in engineering, reliability and speed. Today, Brunel’s SS Great Britain is Bristol’s number one visitor attraction (as voted by the public on TripAdvisor) and home to the Brunel Institute, housing one of the world’s finest maritime and Brunel collections.

Customer Relationship Management: What You Need To Know

Q&A with Dave Langran, Technical Director, Gateway Ticketing Systems

Dave LangranFor more than 15 years, Dave Langran has been helping attraction venues nurture deeper relationships with their members through powerful technologies. Recently, Dave developed a seamless integration between Galaxy® point-of-sale software and Microsoft Dynamics to create CRM Plus, an invaluable customer relationship tool for museums, zoos and aquariums, and other attractions to gain a stronger understanding of their visitors and take informed actions to nurture them.

At its core, what is Customer Relationship Management or CRM?

Dave: It’s knowing who your customers are. It can start out as gathering simple demographics such as age, gender, income and marital status. But the magic really happens when you gather more in-depth information such as transactional history, interests and engagement patterns.

How does having this detail benefit an attraction?

Dave: Armed with this information, they can develop marketing programs that provide mutual benefit for their customers and ultimately, their venue. Let’s imagine that you can run a report and see all your past visitors who have young children but haven’t visited your museum in the past 12 months. If you have a new exhibit on dinosaurs, you might want to do a targeted email campaign to these parents or grandparents touting the interactive features of this exhibit.

Are there other benefits of CRM?

Dave: Absolutely. In addition to being a marketing tool, CRM can maximise fundraising and donation opportunities for nonprofits. It can also give insight into the viability of commercial opportunities such as sponsorships, or events and conferences. Plus, with an integrated approach like Gateway’s CRM Plus, it can reduce administrative burden by providing that crucial 360° view of the customer through one solution.

Tell me about CRM Plus | Powered by Galaxy, what makes it unique over other CRM software?

Dave: A lot. It’s next-generation customer relationship management. The secret is in the seamless integration with Galaxy® point-of-sale software. Galaxy is where all the purchase and usage history lives for customers, members and donors – from ticket or retail purchases on-site at your venue to online ordering of tickets, meal packages and more. This information is fed back real-time into CRM Plus, allowing an invaluable snapshot of your customers at any moment.

CRM Plus also enables you to develop powerful, configurable workflows that automate customer touchpoints such as pre- and post-visit emails. To ensure the right message is getting to the right people at the right time, CRM Plus has insightful segmentation capabilities that allow you to group similar customers together to deliver highly personalised marketing messages. Finally, CRM Plus integrates with commonly used platforms including email providers, social media and other web applications providing a continuous feedback loop.

How would you summarise customer relationship management and CRM Plus?

Dave: CRM is a strategy supported by technology. And CRM Plus | Powered by Galaxy is the only technology that provides a real-time 360° customer view through one solution.

 

For more information, download CRM Plus Product Sheet

Cloud-Based Platform Galaxy Connect™ Receives IAAPA Brass Ring Best New Product Award

Recognising the innovation of one of Gateway Ticketing Systems’ newest technological solutions, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) awarded Galaxy Connect an IAAPA Brass Ring Best New Product Award. The second-place award is for Technology Applied to Amusements: Facilities and presented to Gateway at the IAAPA Attractions Expo, recently held in Orlando.

Galaxy Connect is a cloud-based platform that enables attractions the ability to integrate with any number of online travel agencies with one integration to sell live tickets. In addition to providing guests with direct-to-gate admission, Galaxy Connect also helps venues increase ticket sales while saving money on costly one-off IT integrations and eliminating the time-consuming voucher reconciliation process.

“We innovate every day to help make our customers successful through technology,” says Michael Andre, President and Chief Executive Officer, Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc. “It’s a tremendous honour to be recognised with the prestigious IAAPA Brass Ring Award.”

Gateway previously won an IAAPA Brass Ring Best New Product Award for its eGalaxy Reseller Web Store that automates the process of consignment ticket sales.

Galaxy Connect™ Gains Momentum in UK Market

Galaxy Connect™ Gains Momentum in UK Market as Venues Look to Increase Ticket Sales and Enhance the Guest Experience

Attractions and representatives of the travel trade recently gathered at Church House Westminster, London, to discuss ways to broaden awareness and increase ticket sales through the new cloud-based platform, Galaxy Connect.

Galaxy Connect allows for easy integration of attraction venues and resellers to sell live tickets to customers.

“Galaxy Connect makes it easier for attractions to partner with distributors and resellers, quickly engaging with customers around the world to increase exposure and ticket sales,” says Andy Povey of Gateway Ticketing Systems. “What’s more, Galaxy Connect is easy to set up with no need for additional training for front of house teams.”

Another benefit of Galaxy Connect is immediate admission. “Because sales through Galaxy Connect are live tickets not vouchers, guests can use their smartphones to gain direct access to the venue rather than queuing for the box office,” explains Don Eash, Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer, Gateway Ticketing Systems.

“Galaxy Connect is a massive improvement for distributors. On top of offering more flexibility and real-time access to venues’ ticket systems, it will also create an electronic data trail reducing fraud. We are also looking at new opportunities to generate revenue through the use of mobile app and geolocation,” says Andre Flambard, 365Tickets .

 

Galaxy Connect main benefits:

  • Enhance the guest experience – guests arrive with a live ticket or e-ticket and can enjoy direct-to-gate admission reducing front-gate lines
  • Enjoy real-time access to venue ticket systems – enabling resellers to sell capacity-managed events while avoiding sell-out situations
  • Streamline the reconciliation processes between attraction venues and resellers
  • Save costly IT resource time – connect with any number of online travel agencies and/or attractions with only one integration
  • Eliminate time-consuming voucher process – by selling live tickets, you can save countless hours of manual processing as well as reduce fraud issues

 

To learn more about Galaxy Connect, visit www.galaxyconnect.com or contact us on 0207 912 2022 or email sales@gatewayticketing.co.uk 

Gateway Ticketing Systems ideally placed to assist with challenges of spending cuts

Gateway Ticketing Systems UK ideally placed to assist with recently announced spending cuts in the Museums and Heritage Sector.

 

Gateway Ticketing Systems UK (Gateway) is ready to help attractions in the Cultural, Arts and Heritage sector who must tackle spending cuts or face extinction.

 

The recent announcement from Lancashire County Council, as reported by Museums Association, regarding the closure of 5 museums is viewed by many as an inevitable consequence of spending cuts and a pre-emptive strike before the chancellors spending review announcements.

 

Now that the spending review outcomes have been announced, there will certainly be major concern across the cultural and heritage sector as to how to tackle the loss of funding. As traditional central and local government spending is cut, organisations need to rapidly find additional sources of income if they are to survive. The upbeat nature of the recent Museums Association Conference in Birmingham, with its underlying resilience theme, gave many organisations hope that there was life after government spending cuts. Indeed, in many cases, the opportunities presented by gaining varying degrees of freedom from local and central government control were appealing to many leaders in the sector.

 

All heritage organisations have the opportunity to use their collections and buildings in different ways in order to generate income. This change of direction is hard for some, frightening for many and will pose difficult questions to all within the sector. How to remain true to traditional values and ethos, whilst becoming more commercially minded is something of a cultural shift.

 

Gateway has seen exactly this kind of change of commercial direction in many sectors and believes that it represents an exciting challenge, and one that Gateway is ideally placed to assist arts and heritage colleagues with. Gateway has the experience and insight to help organisations review their business plans, strategies and future approaches. Gateway also has the products and processes to turn new ideas and strategies into reality; to drive efficiency and savings whilst, at the same time, generating new lines of income.
 

Andy Povey, Business Development Director at Gateway Ticketing Systems UK said:

“Whilst the news from Lancashire County Council is shocking it is a huge wake up call for those in the industry. Heritage organisations must face the challenge of bridging the funding gap and this can only be achieved by opening up new income streams. Turning your free visitors into members, donors and contributors is vital for ensuring your future”

 

The spending cuts are here and they need to be faced. Gateway is the ideal partner to help you on this new and challenging journey.

 

We’re excited about your future … we know that you will be too.

 

 

 

About Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc.

Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc. is the world leader in admission control and ticketing software for the attraction, amusement, and transportation industries.

 About Gateway Ticketing Systems UK

Gateway Ticketing Systems UK was established in 2012 and provides admissions solutions to museums and galleries; heritage attractions and historic houses; zoos and gardens and theme parks and events.

In under three years of operation in the UK, Gateway has secured ten new clients including the Roman Baths & Fashion Museum, Bath, Kew Gardens, London and V&A Museum, London.

For more information go to www.gatewayticketing.co.uk

Gateway Ticketing Attends Euro Attractions Show

Successful First Euro Attractions Show in Scandinavia

Approximately 7,000 visitors attend Europe’s leading conference and trade show for the attractions industry. Held in Gothenburg over three days (6 – 8 October) the European attractions industry was in Sweden to discover the latest developments in the amusement park and leisure industry. This conference and trade show is organised in a different European location each year.

In 2015 Euro Attractions Show (EAS) moved to the Scandinavian region (Gothenburg) for the first time. Karen Staley, Sr. Vice-President for IAAPA EMEA, stated:

“Going north was a good idea; EAS 2015 performed above expectations. The location of Liseberg right next to the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre provided attendees with a fully integrated park and Expo experience. This made the entire event inspiring, hands-on, and very enjoyable for all attendees.”

 

Trade show floor features variety of innovations

According to the initial reports, approximately 7,000 visitors attended the Expo in the second largest city in Sweden. They came from 96 countries with 30 percent from Scandinavia. Remarkable was the amount of visitors from Eastern Europe. In addition to visitors from the attractions sector, many attendees also represented campsites, shopping centres, water parks and family entertainment centres. No fewer than 408 companies exhibited their newest products for rides, attractions, ticketing and entry systems, 3D films, games, and much more on the 10,500 m2 trade show floor, making it the second largest show in the history of the event. There was a striking trend to interactivity and attractions combining several technologies. Examples of the latest technologies and products are slides combined with games and virtual reality glasses for roller coasters.

 

First fully park-integrated EAS trade show

EAS 2015 took place in the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre. Liseberg, one of the most well-known amusement parks in Europe with 3.1 million visitors per year, located directly across the street, was fully integrated in this years’ trade show. Not only the education sessions took place here, but also a backstage tour, special events, and evening events. Christian von Elverfeldt (Mack Rides, Germany):

“Gothenburg as host for the EAS 2015 was a great choice. The proximity to Liseberg extended the show floor and formed a great venue for the IAAPA events. We are honoured with great interest for our products during the show.”

 

Some social media reactions from visitors to this years’ event: “Lots of new connections”, “Liseberg was a perfect host”, “amazing Swedish hospitality”, “interesting and inspiring presentations”.

 

Inspiring seminars

Parallel to the Expo there was also an extensive educational programme with more than 30 hours of seminars. The interest in this programme was also overwhelming. Leading speakers from the industry shared their visions on topics including attractions management, revenue operations and profit generation, customer satisfaction, marketing, and leadership and developments in emerging markets . There were specialty day-long programmes for specific groups such as the IAAPA Institute for Attractions Managers, the IAAPA Safety Institute, the Young Professionals Forum, a forum for water park managers, and a symposium for family entertainment centres (FEC) and indoor arcades. Attendees also took part in excursions to a few parks in Sweden and Denmark where they had a look behind the scenes. Special events at Liseberg The Leadership Breakfast, featured a keynote address by Björn Ulvaeus, former member of the famous pop group ABBA, on intellectual property, had a capacity audience. The Opening Reception at Liseberg was also a huge success where attendees took the opportunity, besides riding the attractions and enjoying typical Swedish food, to network with colleagues.

EAS moves to Barcelona in 2016

Euro Attractions Show 2016 will take place at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via Convention Center, 20 to 22 September 2016. Industry professionals will gather here to discover the newest developments in the attractions industry. Many exhibitors have already booked their exhibit space to participate in this trade show. Additional information on EAS 2016 will available shortly at www.IAAPA.org/EAS

Gateway Ticketing Systems UK Integrates Contactless Payment

Gateway Ticketing Systems has announced its ability to perform integrated card transactions using contactless payments including Apple Pay.

The on-site implementation is set to reduce queuing times and improve the customer experience at a number of Gateway’s iconic customers including The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Houses of Parliament and The V&A Museum.

Gateway was able to add this latest service to an existing platform of ticketing and CRM solutions following successful implementation at The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. The reduced time needed to process contactless payments is a big factor in reducing wait times and increasing service levels.

During the trial with Kew the contactless limit was set as £20 and Kew processed 8% of card transactions using contactless technology. This resulted in reducing transaction times at their tills by 1 working day per month. When the contactless payment limit is increased to £30, it is expected this percentage will increase to around 20% of all none cash transactions saving around 3 days per month of queue time. Contactless can also save money for businesses, as the transaction fees are usually lower than traditional chip and pin payments.

Contactless payments have taken off since their introduction in 2012 and are becoming increasingly popular with customers and businesses alike. With 58 million contactless cards in circulation in the UK, there is a substantial market for the tourism industry to tap into.

Implementing contactless payments was a smooth process with benefits to venue and visitor alike, according to Lisa Woodward, Head of Operations at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew:

“We were very happy to see how easy it was to upgrade to contactless, and we are delighted to give our customers greater flexibility with their payments. This in turn has helped reduce transaction time, and so everyone wins!”

Gateway’s newest delivery reflects the expectations of the modern visitor; and the recent announcement of an increased payment limit of £30 means the service is now relevant to even more visitor attractions. Gateway is keen to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to providing effective ticketing systems for the museum and heritage sector by facilitating this service. The new technology is set to go live for all Gateway customers in time for the contactless increase in 2015.

Andy Povey, Operations Director at Gateway Ticketing Systems UK:

“We’re excited to have been chosen to introduce the first contactless payment system to these iconic attractions. We are confident the positive effects of this added capability will benefit both revenue generation, and customer experience.”