By
Rebecca Gibson |
US-based fast ferry operator Seastreak is to implement Hogia Ferry Systems’ BOOKIT reservation, ticketing and check-in solution to help it manage passenger bookings more easily.
Seastreak carries more than 1.5 million commuters and tourists on its eight fast ferries each year, providing frequent services between New Jersey and New York, as well as tourist services in New England between May and October. Currently, the company has a limited reservation facility on mobile devices, while tickets have to be collected at terminals and commuters are only able to board the ferries on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Seastreak will be able to move to an e-commerce platform to better serve customers.
“Our website does the job in attracting interest, but we have had challenges converting that interest into online sales,” said Brett Chamberlain, Seastreak director of marketing. “Seamless transfer of data between our in-house systems and our e-commerce platform was critical to our decision. We met several providers, but we were very impressed with Hogia’s heavy investment in the enabling application programme interface, a prerequisite for advanced web development. We also connected with the company’s understated work ethic – it is family-owned like us and we simply trusted the company to deliver.”
Hogia will roll out its solution in two phases, starting with the ferries on the seasonal routes this spring and then moving to the commuter services.
“We are exceptionally happy to enter this partnership with a like-minded company and look forward to playing our part in driving Seastreak’s long track record of growth,” said Niclas Blomstrom, Hogia Ferry Systems’ managing director.