NEWS: Lo-Q announces Walibi Holland as first Q-smart Park

[BeemerBoy]

09 October 2012

Lo-Q plc

 

(“Lo-Q” or “the Company”)

 

Contract Win

 

- First customer signed for Lo-Q’s new Q-smart smartphone solution -

- Strengthening our position in Europe with new customer win: Compagnie des Alpes -

 

Lo-Q plc (AIM: LOQ), the AIM-listed provider of virtual queuing systems for theme parks and major attractions, is pleased to announce that it has signed a new agreement with Compagnie des Alpes, a France-based holding company active in the tourism and leisure industry, to bring Q-smart, Lo-Q’s new patented smartphone-based queuing solution, to Walibi Holland, one of the Netherland’s top theme parks.

 

Following the successful trial of Lo-Q’s Q-smart solution at a North American Park during Summer 2012, Compagnie des Alpes have decided to install the system at their Walibi park in the Netherlands. Under the terms of the 3 year agreement, Lo-Q will be installing the system at Walibi Holland in time for the Halloween season, traditionally one of the busiest periods at the park.

 

Lo-Q’s smartphone-based solution, Q-smart, represents an exciting evolution of Lo-Q’s existing, tried-and tested Q-bot queuing system. Q-smart puts virtual queuing technology straight onto a smartphone-optimised mobile website and combines it with mobile payment features. As a result, guests are able to take advantage of the service without the need to visit an onsite sales office to pick up and pay for a Q-bot system. Importantly, the technical solution is “Cloud” based which significantly reduces the cost of infrastructure installations at customer sites whilst also improving the in park guest experience.

 

Compagnie des Alpes is a major player in the tourism and leisure industries in Europe. It currently manages 36 sites, comprising 21 leisure parks (including Parc Asterix, Grévin, Walibi), in six European countries: France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the UK and 15 major ski resorts in the Alps (including Tignes, Val d’Isère, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Les Menuires, Les 2 Alpes, Meribel, Chamonix).

 

Announcing the win Lo-Q plc Chief Executive, Tom Burnet, said:

“We are delighted to be working with Compagnie des Alpes, one of the key leisure park operators in Europe and are especially excited given that this marks both our first customer win for Q-smart and our first contract with Compagnie des Alpes. For us, this decision demonstrates another important vote of confidence in the value and capability of our technology. Adding Walibi Holland to our park portfolio further strengthens our presence in the European theme park arena and we look forward to building on this renewed strength in the coming months.”

 

General Manager at Walibi Holland, Mascha van Till-Taminiau, commented:

“Walibi Holland is honoured to be The Netherlands’ #1 thrill park, but we continually look for new ways to increase guest satisfaction in order to ensure we maintain this reputation as Holland’s top park. I strongly believe that Lo-Q’s innovative Q-smart system will do exactly this and greatly enhance guests experience in our park.”

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Lo-Q's (LON:LOQ) chief executive Tom Burnet believes its first smartphone deal with a new theme park operator could be the first of many as customers start installing its mobile cloud-based booking system.

 

The three-year agreement with French operator Compagnie des Alpes will see the queuing specialist’s Q-smart smartphone software launched at its Walabi Holland theme park – one of the biggest in the Netherlands – in time for the traditionally busy Halloween season.

 

The system will allow park visitors to plan their day out beforehand on their handsets, skipping queues by booking tickets and times for rides in advance.

 

The shift to smartphones will also save Lo-Q money as it will no longer need to set up sales offices at parks to pick up a queuing device.

 

Smartphones represent a significant opportunity for Lo-Q given their widespread usage, especially among theme park enthusiasts.

 

While Walabi will just be using the smartphone technology at its park, chief executive Tom Burnet believes most of Lo-Q’s existing customers will add smartphone as an alternative to its original product Q-bot.

 

“Depending on the demographic of the parks we’re talking to in terms of future business, I think most customers will choose to go for a hybrid – some Q-bot, some smartphone,” he said.

 

Burnet said this is because not everyone has a smartphone, while battery issues and roaming charges abroad will also play a part for users.

 

However, in a few years this could all change, he adds.

 

“In two or three years’ time, people won’t be thinking about roaming charges, they won’t be thinking about the cost of data – everybody will be using their phones all the time, all over the world without thinking about it.”

 

The deal with Compagnies des Alpes – which runs 36 parks across Europe, including 21 leisure parks (such as Parc Asterix, Grévin, Walibi) and 15 major ski resorts in the Alps – is also another step forward for the company, which now has another avenue along which to grow.

 

“We’re now working with five out of the top ten operators in the world by attendance,” said Burnet.

 

“In every case, we’ve grown penetration into those park groups over time.

 

“I don’t know for sure whether that will happen with Compagnie des Alpes, but if we do a good job, if we can make them money and if we’re improving guest satisfaction, our experience tells us that operators are then keen to give us more work.”

 

Ski resorts are also something Burnet would consider looking at, given the number of resorts on Compagnie des Alpes’ books.

 

“If there’s a constructive way to monetise that in a way that improves guest experience, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a good conversation to be had,” he added.

 

Shares in the company rose 20 pence or 6.5% to 323 pence on the news.

LINK

[gisco]

Pretty much everyone has a cell today so this is a natural. Since you will be using your own phone, I wonder if it will be any cheaper.

[Meteornotes]

Really hope more parks start offering this. I too wonder if this will make the service cheaper, sinc you're using your own hardware.

 

dt

[BeemerBoy]

Following the successful trial of Lo-Q’s Q-smart solution at a North American Park during Summer 2012

By the way, which park was this? And did anyone try it, or have any feedback?

[narkitty]

This is some awesome news! I can't wait for more parks to adopt this technology, it's going to be awesome.

[SharkTums]

^^Pretty sure it was Lake Compounce?

 

I love the idea of it, although it will present some hardships for us on International TPR Trips making sure each group has a phone that will work on the system.

[Jew]

Seems like a perfect fit for Apple passbook.

[Ed Farmer]

"...everybody will be using their phones all the time, all over the world without thinking about it."

 

Super.

[YoshiFan]

I used it in 2010 at Lake Compounce and it was great. They supposedly had the ability to change the price based on how crowded it was at $1 to $3 per person, per ride. When I was there it was $1 for everything except the coasters which were $2. Besides the coasters, there were another 7 or 8 rides that were available with the system. The park wasn't that crowded so I only used it once on Boulder Dash and at Ghost Blasters a few times. It was well worth the $1 per person at Ghost Blasters to skip a 30 minute line.