Bookeo was different. It flowed. It felt good.
When business started to take off, Tom started sampling booking systems. He discovered that some were nothing more than a calendar. Others were so complicated, he says he actually considered hiring someone just to explain them.
He went back to the drawing board, and finally discovered Bookeo. Immediately attracted to Bookeo’s clean yet powerful interface, Tom says “It was different from everything else.”
Tom and Phil liked Bookeo so much for RibRide that they also started using it for the Marine Club, their powerboat school. “Bookeo does massive amounts for us,” says Tom.
Bookeo filled the boats and helped us create a very solid product base.
Tom says that adding Bookeo to RibRide’s website actually inspired Tom and Phil to offer more customer-friendly time slots. “When we could give people loads of choices,” he says, “they started filling the boats.”
This rapid increase in bookings forced the partners to plan and offer outings much further in advance than they had – three or more months in many cases. As these slots filled, Tom and Phil realized they’d need to invest in new boats and secure more engineers and staffing.
The result? RibRide’s product base is so solid that Tom and Phil have no need to offer discounts, and they pride themselves on guaranteeing that every boat leaves, even if only one person has booked it.
Bookeo really is the backbone of our business.
TripAdvisor rates RibRide the #1 boat attraction in Wales, and #3 in the entire UK. Tom says this success is due to the multiple efficiencies Bookeo affords the company. He says Bookeo makes it easy to be sure “everything’s in place, all the seats are occupied, and everyone knows what they’re doing.”
Tom likes how Bookeo handles the bulk of his online marketing as well. Bookeo sends automatic followup emails to each of his customers, thanking them, requesting a TripAdvisor review, and upselling RibRide’s other trips.
He also appreciates that his customers can book directly from RibRide’s Facebook page. “You know what social media is like,” he says. “People share photos from our onboard camera – and it spreads like a rash.”
Bookeo is as graceful as a swan, with legs under water paddling like mad.
“With Bookeo,” Tom says, “we have all the information we need. We know where our customers come from, and we know their buying behaviors. We also use it for our accountancy.”
As a member of North Wales’ Adventure Map board, Tom works directly with heads of multi-million dollar attractions. “We discuss tourism, business, and generally try to help each other out.”
He recommends Bookeo, saying that with Bookeo these larger companies could avoid problems and expensive systems that simply don’t work. “My advice to anybody looking at Bookeo is, ‘No, you’re not too big for it.’”
I can be out with my family and Bookeo shows me everything is running smoothly.
Tom says he uses Bookeo on his desktop, on his laptop, and on his smartphone. If he’s out with his family and sees an upcoming change in the weather, for example, Bookeo lets him see instantly whether – and how – his team has reacted.
“I really have access to the engine of the business to see that everything is running smoothly,” he says. “With Bookeo, I don’t have to call or bother my staff or make them feel like they’re being micromanaged.”
Not only has Bookeo allowed Tom to grow his business; it also gives him peace of mind when he needs to get away from it.
