Introduction
Hampden Park is Scotland’s National Stadium and the home of Scottish football. More than 114 years old, Hampden Park is the oldest international football stadium in the world. Aside from matchdays, the Stadium has also played host to the Scotland International Games, Scottish League Finals to Commonwealth Games, live music concerts, conferences, meetings, team building activities, weddings, corporate events and everything in between.
Sodexo has been the chosen sales and catering partner for Hampden Park since 1999. Sodexo operates in 64 countries and serves 100 Million Consumers each day through its unique Combination of on-site services, benefits & rewards services and personal & home services. They have extensive experience in Stadium Management and, in addition to Hampden, their current clients include Newcastle United FC, Everton FC, Brighton & Hove Albion FC, Blackburn Rovers FC, Wigan’s DW Stadium and More. In 2021, Sodexo secured a new 10-year contract with the Scottish Football Association as the preferred venue partner for retail, catering, sales, marketing, events, conferences and hospitality at Hampden Park. Sodexo invested £1.7M into suite refurbishments and committed to delivering a premium ticketing website for online hospitality sales as part of the new contract.
Key Challenge
Seeking an end-to-end technology partner to deliver a premium ticketing solution
In their bid to become the venue partner for Hampden Park, Sodexo outlined a strategy that would reengineer the venue for new matchday and non-matchday hospitality experiences. A primary focus of this strategy involved moving from a manual, hard copy ticketing system to a paperless, online solution with an enhanced booking journey for customers.
To support this strategy, Sodexo required an end-to-end technology partner. In particular, they needed a system that could address the specific needs of Hampden Park, including requirements for an online ticketing site for hospitality packages and online bookings for event spaces. Separate from Hampden Park, Sodexo needed a scalable solution that could help them support the other stadiums they manage across the globe. They also needed a venue and event management solution that could integrate with the other systems they use across their organisation, including financial packages (SAP) and their global CRM (Salesforce).
“We are delighted to partner with Priava who provide expert advice and solutions to enhance our venue technology in the UK. They understood our ambition to transform our events and hospitality growth and have responded to our requirements above and beyond expectations.”
Amanda Brown
UK Sales Director Sodexo Sports & Leisure
The Solution
A innovative and integrated venue management solution that would transform online hospitality sales and improve venue booking processes
Sodexo began the search for a technology partner before commencing their new contract with Hampden Park. After conducting extensive research, participating in multiple product demonstrations and reviewing several systems, Sodexo engaged Priava as their chosen venue management technology partner in 2020. As part of this partnership, Priava would support not only Sodexo’s central reservations team known as the hub, but the software would also be implemented on-site at Sodexo’s client locations across the globe.
In 2021, Priava was implemented at Hampden Park. The implementation was carried out in phases, with the first two phases happening during the lockdown period resulting from covid19. The first phase was to implement the core venue and event management solution and train the venue staff. The second phase was launching a booking site for venue bookings for different events, from corporate events like meetings, conferences, team building activities and meetings, to exhibitions and private functions like weddings, funerals and other celebrations. Implementing both of these phases was instrumental in helping the venue to reopen once the lockdown was over. The third and final stage of the implementation included launching a new ticketing site for hospitality packages. In a short time, Priava’s premium ticketing solution has transformed the online sales process, providing a first-class experience for Hampden Park customers and opportunities for considerable business growth through improved efficiency and increased upsell opportunities.
The Results
Single digital ticket replace two paper tickets
Before implementing Priava, the process of buying hospitality packages was manual. Customers needed to call or email the venue staff and purchase separate physical tickets for general admission and hospitality. Instead of relying on paper tickets, the new online system allows customers to purchase tickets online that include their chosen hospitality packages, together with relevant barcodes for general admission. This approach is not only more sustainable but has also improved the customer’s end-to-end purchase journey.
Online ticketing site provides opportunities for upsell and CRM encourages repeat business
From a revenue generation perspective, Priava’s ticketing solution has allowed Hampden Park to explore more upsell opportunities as part of its hospitality packages. For example, Hampden Park can now offer customers to purchase items like merchandise and car parking at the time of booking, which will allow them to increase their yield per booking. Separate from upsells, Priava allows Hampden Park to capture critical contact data and purchase history for all ticket holders and event attendees. Using this information, they can create targeted campaigns for past customers, or frequent visitors to encourage repeat customers.
New online booking site allows staff, stakeholders and customers to create self-service room bookings for events, meetings etc.
The introduction of an online bookings site has meant that internal staff, stakeholders, and the general public can make reservations for corporate and private events online. The booking site has significantly increased efficiency and reduced administration because all bookings submitted online are populated into Priava, ready for the team to pick up straight away.
Venue bookings data has been integrated with external venue search agencies to ensure live and accurate availability and maximise venue occupancy
By integrating live booking data from Priava with leading venue search agencies including venue directory and hirespace, Sodexo are able to maximise venue occupancy at Hampden Park. This is due to the fact that these integrations improve the visibility of their live availability for prospective customers and encourage them to enquire or make a booking instantly.
Priava advanced reporting capabilities allow the stadium to gain instant access to key business metrics
Priava’s core system includes a suite of more than 40 customisable report templates. The reporting tool gives the stadium 360-degree visibility on the performance of the business, including detailed profit and loss data, occupancy rates and more. By choosing to integrate Priava with other systems that they use across their business, including epos solutions, financial packages and sales management tools, Sodexo can gain real-time and accurate business insights at a glance.
Priava advanced reporting capabilities allow the stadium to gain instant access to key business metrics
Priava’s core system includes a suite of more than 40 customisable report templates. The reporting tool gives the stadium 360-degree visibility on the performance of the business, including detailed profit and loss data, occupancy rates and more. By choosing to integrate Priava with other systems that they use across their business, including epos solutions, financial packages and sales management tools, Sodexo can gain real-time and accurate business insights at a glance.
Mobile access to the venue management software allows venue staff to check availability, capture enquiries and manage upcoming events while working remotely or on the go
Given the size of the stadium and the number of venues, suites, and other spaces used for events, the Hampden Park team needs the flexibility to work on the go. Priava’s native mobile application supports the staff to manage events and bookings from their mobile or tablet, meaning they can check availability and update booking details in real-time from wherever they are working within the stadium or offsite.
Summary
The benefits that Hampden Park and Sodexo have achieved through the use of Priava’s cloud-based venue management solution so far include:
- Digital tickets replace physical/printed tickets;
- Improved customer ticket purchase journey means more opportunities for upsell;
- CRM captures critical contact data which translates into marketing opportunities to encourage repeat business;
- Increased efficiency and reduced administration by capturing venue bookings online;
- Maximise venue occupancy by integrating with venue search agencies;
- Advanced reporting capabilities provide in-depth analysis into business performance at a glance;
- Native mobile application allows staff to work on the go.
Get in touch if you’d like to learn more about how you can introduce live availability and instant bookings at your venue using Priava.
