Development and implementation of a new payment system at water parks

Description

In this project, we worked with a company that manages a group of hotels with access to water parks. At the time, when we received a request from this company, they were seeking a solution that would allow them to seamlessly automate business processes at their water parks. For reaching this goal, our client wanted to build and implement a hardware-software system.

This system was expected to offer new options for water park visitors, such as cashless payments, access to additional paid services, paid areas, and others. The core idea behind this project was to make all the processes more convenient for people and to ensure a higher level of security and transparency of all the conducted payments. As a result, our client hoped to encourage visitors to spend more time in their parks and use additional paid services.

Client`s pains and concerns

We are continuously looking for new ways to enhance the client experience and help people feel more comfortable while visiting our facilities. That’s why we need to introduce a discount system as well as season tickets for our guests.
We also want to introduce reliable solutions that will allow us to make all financial operations conducted by our visitors more transparent and secure.

Project Team size

Project manager
Business analyst
QA engineer
3 Developers
UX/UI designer

Solutions

After careful analysis of the client’s idea, requirements, and expectations, we decided that the entire automation system can be divided into two parts. The first one covered summer holiday water parks and the second one was devoted to indoor water parks that are available all year round.

To motivate visitors to spend more time at the facilities of our customer, it was decided to introduce a club system that included a loyalty program, a bonus system, as well as season and annual tickets.

The offered club card can be used at all points of sale at the multifunctional facilities which allows visitors to accumulate loyalty points from every transaction that they make.

The automation system was expected to bring visitors a wide range of benefits, such as:

cashless payments at the facilities;
access to entertainment and fitness events organized at water parks;
access to storage units;
access to paid zones;
fast entry.

Bearing these ideas in mind, we built a software-hardware system that is intended for process automation at water parks and helps to organize the process of interaction with visitors in a more transparent and time-efficient manner.

What elements are included in this system?

Blocking barriers, gates, locks, turnstiles, and other devices

They are used for restricting some zones and limiting access to them.
Contactless braceless. These bracelets have unique codes and they act as identifiers of visitors when they want to get access to different zones or services.

Readers

These devices are placed on different types of fences like gates or doors and they are used for detecting visitors’ identifiers.
Controllers. These elements play a key role in the system’s functioning. A controller needs to store unique codes of visitors and match all the data transmitted from contractless bracelets with these codes.

Payment terminals

Such terminals have a role similar to what cash registers are used for. They are required for recharging the balance on the personal accounts of visitors.

Software solutions

They help to organize the work of the whole system, to process all the accumulated data, and to prepare reports.

What changes has this system brought for our client?

Higher quality and accuracy of financial transactions;
Elimination of errors caused by a human factor;
High speed of providing services at the facilities;
Better control of access to services and paid zones;
Introduction of a loyalty program.

Technologies

Used in the project

C#
Java Script
Visual Studio
Microsoft SQL Server
ASP.NET

Outcome

The number of visits per person, as well as the number of visitors, increased thanks to the introduction of a bonus system and season tickets.
People started to spend more time at water parks and the average bill increased by more than 13%.
The company can now better monitor the changes in visitors’ needs and demands and timely react by introducing new services.