A paper seat plan for the Christmas market trip
Your excursion programme goes out in a leaflet and on the website. For the Christmas market trip, bookings come in by phone and in person at the office. The person taking the booking finds the paper seat plan for that date, writes the names in the seats the customer asks for (regulars always want the same seats near the front), notes the pick-up point, and takes payment by card on the phone.
Three people take bookings on different days. The seat plan is in a folder. Someone books seats 5 and 6 on the phone while someone else at the counter gives them to a couple in person. On the day, the driver has a pick-up list written out the night before, and a couple at the third stop are not on it.
Seats and stops are the awkward part
Day excursion bookings are simple in principle. What makes them awkward is seat choice, which customers care about, and pick-up points, which drive the timings and the driver's list. A paper plan handles one person at a time.
- Seats are allocated on paper, so two people can take the same seat.
- Pick-up points and times are written on the booking but not collected into a route.
- Phone, counter and website bookings are held in different places.
- Regular customers' seat preferences depend on staff memory.
- The driver's list is written out by hand from the bookings.
Clashes on the day, and a lot of admin
Two couples claiming the same seats at the first stop is an uncomfortable start to a day out, and it lands on the driver. A missed pick-up leaves customers waiting in the cold. And the office spends time copying bookings onto seat plans and pick-up lists, and answering calls asking which seats are left.
Online booking would take some of the load, but only if the website can see and hold the same seats as the office.
One booking system for seats, stops and payments
We build excursion booking that the website, phone and counter all share.
- Each excursion is set up with date, vehicle and its seat layout, price, and the pick-up points on the route with their times.
- Customers booking online see the seat plan, choose available seats and their pick-up point, and pay through a secure payment page (for example with Stripe).
- Staff taking phone and counter bookings use the same seat plan on screen, so a seat taken anywhere is taken everywhere.
- Regular customers can be recognised by phone number or email, with their usual seats and stop suggested.
- If the trip needs a larger vehicle, the seat plan switches to the new layout and existing bookings are moved across for the office to check.
- The driver gets a pick-up list on their phone and on paper: each stop, its time, and the names and seats boarding there, with a tick-off as people board.
- Customers get a confirmation with seats, pick-up point and time, and a reminder the day before.
| Task | Paper seat plan | Shared booking system |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing seats | Plan in a folder | Live plan online and in the office |
| Avoiding double booking | Relies on one person at a time | Seat held the moment it is taken |
| Pick-up points | Written on each booking | Chosen from the route with times |
| Driver's list | Written out by hand | Generated by stop, with tick-off |
| Reminders | None or phone calls | Sent the day before |
If your coach operator software has an excursion module, or a tour booking tool you already pay for can do this, we look at that first.
The Christmas market trip with shared booking
Regulars book online the evening the programme goes live, choosing their usual seats. Phone bookings the next day see the same plan. When the trip fills a 49-seater, the office moves it to a 53-seater, and the plan updates. The day before, customers get a reminder of their pick-up time, and the driver's list shows each stop with the names boarding there.
On the day, the driver ticks people off at each stop. Nobody argues about seats, and the office is not taking calls asking what time the coach leaves the third stop.
Is your excursion programme run on paper?
- Seats are marked on paper plans.
- Two customers have been given the same seats.
- Pick-up lists are written out by hand.
- Online bookings cannot see the office seat plan.
- Customers ring to ask about seats and pick-up times.