Safari Play
- Industry
- Leisure & Entertainment
Product features
Safari Play is an award-winning children's adventure play and party venue with locations in Milton Keynes and Peterborough. Combining adventure play with quality dining experiences for all the family, Safari Play has become a model for modern soft play centres. However, the business faced a significant challenge when customer behaviour shifted dramatically post-pandemic.
The challenge of evolving customer payments
As a cashless business, Safari Play relies on its payment system to run smoothly. “Pre-COVID, we had probably 2-3% of our entry tickets booked online. Now it's 97%," says Gordon Forster, Managing Director of Safari Play. This transformation exposed limitations in payment infrastructure, particularly the lack of digital wallet options in the online checkout. The existing payment system also created practical challenges for the business and its customers. Without Apple Pay and Google Pay support, the checkout process felt cumbersome, leading to a high volume of unconfirmed bookings blocking venue spaces and affecting revenue.
The fix: Streamlined payments via integrated solutions
In an effort to close the profit gap, Safari Play turned to us for a frictionless payment system. We helped them simplify online payment processing, reduce lost revenue, and speed up service – all with our innovative tech.
- Effortless online payments: Visitors can simply pay online using their card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay for a quick and convenient booking process.
- Smooth integration: Our hardware syncs seamlessly with FuseMetrix (a POS and online booking platform for visitor attractions).
- Reliable payments: Dojo Go delivers fast payments that keep queues moving – courtesy of our robust payment processing platform featuring 99.99% uptime.
Switching to Dojo for our integrated in-person payments, online transactions, and payment links proved game-changing for Safari Play. "When people have to input all their credit card details, those few seconds might make them think twice about spending. With digital wallets, it's done with just a click," says Gordon.
Providing additional payment methods for customers has also made an impact on business growth. "We're definitely seeing significantly fewer unconfirmed bookings," says Gordon. "That means we're more efficient at managing our venue capacity and maximising revenue opportunities."
The final step towards Safari Play improving their payment processing was by using Dojo’s virtual terminal. Bookings can be made over the phone, giving convenience to customers however they choose to pay.
Powerful payment options that boost business
Partnering with Dojo has brought Safari Play additional benefits beyond easy online payments. Payment links revolutionised how party bookings are handled – addressing a common customer concern. "There's a nervousness about giving credit card details over the phone," Gordon notes. "Being able to send a payment link has come across as more professional and helped build trust with customers."
The virtual terminal has added flexibility to its operations, allowing staff to process payments while working remotely and eliminating the need for multiple card terminals in the office. With integrated Dojo Go devices handling in-person transactions at its cafes, Safari Play now enjoys seamless payment processing across all aspects of the business.
A model for modern soft play centres
By consolidating its payment processing with a single provider, Safari Play has set an example for how soft play centres can achieve both cost savings and operational efficiencies. The implementation of modern payment solutions has helped them adapt to rapidly changing customer preferences while maintaining outstanding standards of service.
"When there's a problem, you really see how good a company is," Gordon reflects. "The first time I personally had to call with a query, I chatted to a human who understood my issue and resolved it quickly. You can't ask for more than that."
As Safari Play continues to welcome families to its soft play centres, it now has a payment system that matches its commitment to providing an outstanding customer experience – from the first click of a booking to the last transaction at its cafes.
