accesso Learning Series: Virtual Queuing for Social Distancing

We are liv­ing in unprece­dent­ed times. More like­ly than not, your busi­ness has been impact­ed by the unique events of the world­wide COVID-19 pan­dem­ic. How­ev­er, even in times of eco­nom­ic dis­rup­tion, con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion remains crit­i­cal­ly impor­tant. In an effort to con­tin­ue sup­port­ing our client part­ners dur­ing this dif­fi­cult time, we will con­tin­ue shar­ing insights and guid­ance to help you strength­en your busi­ness and serve your val­ued cus­tomers when the time comes to wel­come them back to your venue. Learn more about our post-COVID solu­tions here.

Social distancing is a term that has quickly become a part of our vocabulary as the COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the globe. To support the safe reopening of parks, accesso has introduced a 100% virtual queuing initiative to help guests maintain social distancing during their visit. Join us for an in-depth look at how theme parks and attractions can use virtual queuing to support social distancing and safe reopening. accesso Sales Director Jeremy Gray and Senior Sales Director George Hambleton tackle our most frequently asked questions and considerations for virtual queuing in our latest deminar video. If you’re curious about using virtual queuing at your attraction, this deminar is a must-see!

Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions about Virtual Queuing

1. What is the difference between a traditional line and a virtual queue?

Instead of having to stand in a slowly moving line with masses of other guests in front of an attraction or a ride, a virtual queue enables guests to spend their time waiting elsewhere in the park, socially distant apart from other guest, while their smartphone essentially does the waiting “for them.”

A virtual queue behaves, just like how a physical line would behave: First Guest in, First Guest Out, and the wait time is dictated by the popularity and live actual throughput of the ride. If the ride temporarily closes, everyone in the virtual queue will also “freeze,” just like the physical line. If guests in front of the line decide to cancel their reservations and therefore leave, all other guest reservations are pulled forward.

2. What is the difference between a Time Slot Reservation system and Virtual Queuing?

Virtual Queuing is again simply a digital version of your physical queue lines. Time slot booking systems simply allocate guests a time to come to a ride. This is fine if all the parameters you enter into the technology actually perform as you expect, but doesn’t respond to changes in ride throughput, temporary ride closures, bad weather, load rates changing due to staff or guest not behaving perfectly all of the time.

Virtual Queuing though is Dynamic and reacts when demand increases and most importantly when operational issues arise – which they always do. The result to the guest is that they are informed of a live wait time and therefore parks can better manage their expectations.

3. What do parks need to consider when implementing virtual queuing?

The biggest thing for theme parks to consider is where they expect guests to naturally gather, and therefore, where the possible danger zones will be. Queue lines are the obvious places, but so are the entrance areas to queues. Managing these areas is just as important as the actual queue lines. Reduced capacity is a given, but where will guests go? Will season pass holders all flock to their favorite rides? What space outside of the ride queues do you have available, and do you have smaller rides that you predict low usage of?

Parks can implement technology which they think will solve their problems, but unless its supported by experts then you will undoubtedly run into operational problems. We’ve seen it for years when a new tech seems like no brainer, but if not properly thought through or supported properly it just falls over and either the ride throughput or the guest experience (or both) are negatively affected, and the system is then just stripped out. In this new post COVID era, parks only have one chance to keep their guests safe and happy, which is why we’re seeing a spike in enquiries.

4. Is swelling of guests at a ride entrance a huge problem?

Yes, especially if a park implements a time-slot-based system. For example, a ride with a 1500 riders per hour capacity, split into six 10-minute time slots will have 300 people in each slot who will then all arrive simultaneously. 300 guests all arriving at noon, for example, plus probably a few people arriving early for the 12:10 slot, will create a bunching of guests at the ride entrance. If you have 2 rides which share an entrance or have entrance very close together then this problem is obviously multiplied.

Virtual queuing, by comparison, provides a consistent and steady flow of guests and therefore minimizes build-ups at the ride entrance areas.

5. What technology does a park need to install in order to run this system?

Nothing is the quick answer. accesso provides the service via its AWS Cloud platform and guests use their phones to make and redeem reservations in the queues. accesso will provide scanners for the ride operators to use to validate guests onto the rides (we call these Attendant devices), and provide these to the park, one per ride, plus a couple of spares. Thereafter, the park just needs to have a PC running the Operator console (again, just a webpage) to view and manage the rides.

6. How much support is necessary for virtual queuing to be successful?

This isn’t technology that has been created overnight, and similarly, there is huge support structure behind the scenes already in place backing up the operators at ground level. Park staff can put temporary stops on a ride, or transfer quests between virtual queues themselves, but in addition accessohas a dedicated 24/7/365 support team that is on hand as first line support to resolve any problems that may occur, plus advice on how to adapt the system in response to actual ride throughput levels.

7. What is the process like for the guest who is making a reservation using this system?

• Upon arrival at the park the guest using their mobile will be asked to access a webpage (not an app that they have wait and download). For most people this is just tapping a link on their e-ticket that they’ll have on their phone anyway.
• They then enter their email address (allowing us to confirm they have a valid ticket) and can view all the rides available with Virtual Queues and their corresponding live wait times.
• They simply click on the one they want to enter and are instantly added to the virtual queue.
• They see a countdown clock, ticking down to zero, and which point they will then be alerted to enter the ride.
• Their phone will then display a QR code which park staff will then scan to validate their entrance to the ride.

The system is extremely easy to use, and once a guest queues virtually once, they will also realize the extra benefits of doing so, most importantly the time saved by not standing in a physical queue line. This in turn opens up the opportunity to explore other parts of the park, go and have a beer, browse the shops, take longer having lunch, etc.

8. Is it possible for a group of guests to split their session up so they can go on different rides?

Yes, there is a self-service function in the website called “Send a Friend.” Guests can “send” some of their guests to a different email address so for example a family of 4 can split up into 2 persons on two email addresses, and therefore go on separate rides.

9. Can guests use virtual queuing if they don’t have a smartphone?

Great question! In order to alert guests when it’s their time to ride and to make sure guests are informed about delays on the ride, it is crucial to be able to communicate with guests while they are virtually waiting. Since Smartphones are the most common piece of communication technology, it makes most sense to offer it this way.

In addition, a park can have some Rental phones available at Guest Services to be rented out, or accesso can also provide some wearable devices for non-smartphone guests if needed, but the reality is that this system is designed to be mobile based, and you only need one person in a group or a family to make reservations.

In the case that a battery dies, or a phone is misplaced, guests can easily log in to a different phone and access their reservations with their user name and password.

10. Are there ways that a Park can generate new revenue streams using this system?

Yes. We have a free to use service for guests to utilize post COVID-19, but several options for generating revenue are possible:

• If a park has a an existing queuing system, we can factor that into the algorithm.
• Additionally, we can digitize the Express Pass service and make it all part of the same system. This is a premium option and involves us taking payments through the system, but is a proven use of the technology to generate revenue for the parks by optimizing the number of Express Passes sold each day.
• A lot of venues use the system to introduce additional products, for example a guest paying a nominal fee to reduce their wait time (in half for example) or to purchase what we call “One Shots.” These are instant access passes to single rides and can be sold in parallel to any express pass service.

To learn more about how theme parks and attractions are using virtual queuing technology to reopen safely, check out these resources:

• Walibi Holland Announces Virtual Queuing Partnership with accesso® to Facilitate Social Distancing
• Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari® Expands Partnership with accesso® to Implement Virtual Queuing
• Lake Mary company creates app for theme parks to utilize virtual queues through phones (Video)

See how virtual queuing can help you eliminate waiting and uncertainty in your plans to reopen. We’re ready to help you plan your reopening today! To get started, fill out our form and our queuing experts will be in touch shortly.