Explore how City Train GmbH, a train operator in Germany, leveraged Palisis to transform their business. With the ability to manage online bookings, connect with OTAs, and utilise comprehensive reporting, City Train GmbH has experienced significant growth in revenue and enhanced customer satisfaction. Discover how Palisis’ integrated system and mobile devices have empowered this operator to adapt to changing customer preferences and expand their operations successfully.
“We started only with the webshop on our homepage, and there we had one or two bookings per day. But now, in the Palisis system, last year, between GetYourGuide, Viator, and our website, we had about €400k in online bookings. Things massively changed because people wanted to book their seats in advance, and with the QR code, we can scan and check them in”
Frank Venus, Partner/ Owner of City Train GmbH
City Train GmbH is running train operations in three German cities and has four trains in total. They noticed a shift; travellers make reservations for a table in the restaurant and want to make reservations for their city tour, which is a normal process for travellers now. Upgrading their tech solution, they wanted to keep everything in one system, all capacities, and connect with OTAs.
“Corona changed the situation; many people book online now. They want to have their tour at a specific time, and they book it via GetYourGuide, Viator, and so on, and with Palisis, we have connectivity to all these platforms. Now we have one system with all the capacity, and everything is online in this system, and it’s perfect for us,” Frank explained.
With the connections to the OTAs, their trains are getting more exposure and awareness as travellers start to plan their trips and research using GetYourGuide and Viator, which results in more bookings for them. They see this as a benefit and additional advertising.
“We wanted everything to be in one system, to have online bookings. We can handle the capacity, we have 60 seats in our trains, and we see how many people are arriving each hour, and they can book online”
Frank Venus, Partner/ Owner of City Train GmbH
This operator finds Palisis to be an ideal fit for them—they need a bit more support working within their capacity limitations. They have been with Palisis since 2015 but now use the full product suite, ticketing devices, webshop, OTA distribution, and reservations.
“We use all the tools you have to operate smoothly. The tracking is perfect; in the evening, we know how many people were on the tour and who paid with a card or with cash. We use the reporting you offer, to understand year-over-year differences or where to add an additional tour based on demand,”
City Train GmbH has partnered with local agencies to bundle products and create a wider sales avenue. Their adoption of connectivity and ticket pre-sales has significantly impacted their annual revenue and strategically maximised every seat.
“Palisis’ mobile devices are perfect for us. We work in places in the city where there is no electricity, and we need good battery capacity to work the whole day with access to the online capacity tool. Most people now want to pay with cards, Apple Pay, and so on, which has been a change”
Frank Venus, Partner/ Owner of City Train GmbH
A big shout out to this operator for leaning into the changes that COVID brought about and relying more heavily on technology and online resellers to take them to the next phase of their business.
They also manufacture these electric trains and tell anyone who purchases them to use the Palisis System.
“It is very easy to train our employees on the terminals; it’s very simple to use,”
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