Soft play
90-minute sessions, memberships and the café on one record
VenueOra is a soft play booking system for UK centres. Parents book a 90-minute session with its own capacity, join a monthly membership priced by you and order coffee at a Posso kiosk, with the session, the membership and every message on one guest record.
A day at your venue
What happens, in order
- 01
A session booked before nap time
The parent books a 90-minute session from the branded checkout on their phone. Each session has its own capacity and a buffer for cleaning the frame, and child and adult tickets each carry their own price and capacity.
- 02
Scanned at the gate
Staff scan the QR code and the family is in; a ticket already used is rejected. Walk-ins buy at the VenueOra kiosk and count towards the same session capacity, so the number on the frame matches the plan.
- 03
Coffee ordered at the kiosk
A self-ordering kiosk from Posso, our hardware and installation partner, takes the order while the parent keeps one eye on the frame. The order goes to the kitchen display and VenueOra provides the payment processing.
- 04
A membership for the regulars
A family that comes every week joins a monthly plan priced by the centre. A members-only ticket type carries the member price, discount codes run the half-term offer, and the member signs in by magic link to download tickets.
- 05
The week closes in the reports
Session reports show each session against its capacity, sales and VAT reports cover every ticket type, and year-on-year comparison sets this half term against the last. Renewal reminders go out to members due next week.
The stack
What the venue runs on
-
01
TicketingSoft play sessions with capacity
Soft play sells 90-minute sessions, not all-day entry, so capacity per session is the business model. Sessions carry their own capacity and buffer time, sell online and at the kiosk, and tickets go out by email and mobile wallet.
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Monthly memberships that renew
Monthly and annual subscription plans priced by the centre, with renewal reminders and lifecycle emails for due, lapsed and win-back members. Members-only ticket types and discount codes reward the families who fill weekday mornings.
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QR check-in and walk-in kiosk
Staff scan the QR code and a used ticket is rejected. Reception mode finds a family by name or order, and the VenueOra kiosk sells walk-in tickets for the current session by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
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Café ePOS and kitchen display
Tills and kitchen display systems for the café, supplied, installed and supported by Posso. VenueOra provides the payment processing on the Posso platform, so card data never touches the till.
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Self-ordering kiosks for the café
Kiosks let a parent order without leaving sight of the frame or queuing with a toddler. Posso reports up to 30% higher average order value with kiosks across its own customers, and installs and supports the hardware.
Outcomes
What changes for your venue
01
Sessions sell to the cap
Capacity per 90-minute session is set once and the checkout closes a session when it fills, so weekends sell every safe space online before the walk-in queue forms at the gate.
02
Weekday mornings fill with regulars
A monthly membership gives the families who come every week a reason to commit, renewal reminders and lifecycle emails keep them on the books, and a campaign to past ticket buyers fills the quiet Tuesday.
03
The café earns while parents watch
Kiosks and tills from Posso take orders and payments at the counter with VenueOra providing the payment processing, so the café runs without a queue of parents turning their backs on the frame.
Why one platform
A soft play centre is a café with a capacity cap
The session gets the family through the door and the café pays the rent. VenueOra sells the session, renews the membership and checks the family in, and Posso runs the café counter. ePOS, kiosk and kitchen display hardware is supplied, installed and supported by Posso Ltd under our partnership. Performance figures are Posso's, from its own customers.
Sessions, start time and cap
Parents search for sessions and that is what the checkout sells: a start time, a length and a capacity. Live capacity and QR check-in handle the Saturday peak without a clipboard at the door.
Memberships that bring families back
Monthly plans with renewal reminders and lifecycle emails keep the regulars on the books. Members-only ticket types carry the member price, and discount codes with campaign URLs run the half-term and birthday offers.
Card data stays off your tills
Card payments at the gate, the kiosk and the café till run through a PCI DSS Level 1 acquiring partner. Card data never touches your tills, kiosks or lockers.
FAQ
Questions venues ask
What should a soft play booking system in the UK do?
Sell 90-minute sessions with their own capacity, check families in at the gate, renew memberships for regulars and report sales and VAT, with the café on hardware that is supported. VenueOra does each of those from one platform, with tickets delivered by email and mobile wallet, a gate that rejects a used ticket, session and daily capacity reports, and UK-based support. Posso, our hardware and installation partner, supplies and installs the café tills and self-ordering kiosks.
Can we set a different capacity for each session?
Yes. Each session has its own start time, length, capacity and buffer time, so a quiet Tuesday morning and a Saturday afternoon can carry different limits. The checkout closes a session when it fills, and live capacity shows what is left to sell. Walk-ins bought at the VenueOra kiosk count towards the same capacity as online bookings, so the number on the frame matches the number you planned for.
How do memberships work for soft play?
You price a monthly or annual plan and families join on your branded site. Members sign in by password or magic link, see outstanding payments and download tickets to Apple or Google Wallet. A members-only ticket type carries the member price on sessions, and discount codes run offers for everyone else. Renewal reminders go out before the due date and lifecycle emails follow members who are due, lapsed or worth winning back after the summer.
Who supplies the café till and the self-ordering kiosk?
Posso, our hardware and installation partner, supplies, installs, trains on and supports the ePOS tills, self-ordering kiosks and kitchen display systems, with UK-based support and free setup and training. VenueOra provides the payment processing on the Posso platform. Café sales report from the Posso tills; VenueOra reports cover sessions and memberships. Posso reports up to 30% higher average order value with kiosks across its own customers; those figures are Posso's, not ours.
Is this for soft play centres or for hiring out equipment?
A booking system for soft play centres, not equipment hire. VenueOra sells sessions and memberships and takes payments for a centre that owns or leases its frame. If you hire out inflatable or soft play equipment to events, this is not the product for you. For a centre, two platform plans per venue are published on our pricing page with fees per ticket, and Posso quotes the café hardware separately.
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ReadSee VenueOra on your own venue
Tell us what your venue sells and we will walk you through the guest record, the gate and the till with your own numbers.