UK Zoos- why is advance booking still essential?

[Pertinax]

The title says it...why are many of our bigger zoos e.g. London/Whipsnade,Twycross(probably Chester, Bristol etc too but I haven't checked) still insisting on all tickets (apart from members in some cases) being booked in advance? Social distancing is now largely past and many other mass event gatherings like sport, festivals, theatres, museums etc are now completely normalised again, and we've just had a Jubilee weekend where thousands congregated in London and at street parties all over the UK. So why are zoos still adopting this policy? Is it because it is easier( or more profitable) for them than walk-in admissions? Will on-the-day straightforward admission at the gate ever return in these zoos? And is this peculiar to the UK now, or are zoos in e.g. Europe still doing this I wonder.

I'd be interested to know which zoos you have experienced (or know of) which have reverted to normal pre Covid style admission also.

 

[Keelan]

Some zoos I visit often/recently are blackpool, knowsley safari and Yorkshire wildlife park. All of those had bookings as essential might have changed though

 

[Zoo2022]

The title says it...why are many of our bigger zoos e.g. London/Whipsnade,Twycross(probably Chester, Bristol etc too but I haven't checked) still insisting on all tickets (apart from members in some cases) being booked in advance? Social distancing is now largely past and many other mass event gatherings like sport, festivals, theatres, museums etc are now completely normalised again, and we've just had a Jubilee weekend where thousands congregated in London and at street parties all over the UK. So why are zoos still adopting this policy? Is it because it is easier( or more profitable) for them than walk-in admissions? Will on-the-day straightforward admission at the gate ever return in these zoos? And is this peculiar to the UK now, or are zoos in e.g. Europe still doing this I wonder.

I'd be interested to know which zoos you have experienced (or know of) which have reverted to normal pre Covid style admission also.

Would I be wrong to assume they are saying one thing, and doing another?
Saying pre-booking is essential, gives the impression that supply is limited and encourages purchases - plus of course it is always good to get the money up-front!
But on the flip-side, would any zoo ticket office turn away business from 'casuals'? - regardless of what the booking system says. Surely not

 

[Pertinax]

Would I be wrong to assume they are saying one thing, and doing another?
Saying pre-booking is essential, gives the impression that supply is limited and encourages purchases - plus of course it is always good to get the money up-front!
But on the flip-side, would any zoo ticket office turn away business from 'casuals'? - regardless of what the booking system says. Surely not

One website I saw even warned that tickets could not be purchased on entry, so I'm not sure how innacurate the 'essential booking' message is, at least in some places. The reason given still seems to be mainly 'social distancing measures' but why are the larger zoos still so concerned about that now.

 

[Jennings]

I suspect that, as with other attractions, the emphasis on pre-booking allows zoos to decide how many resources to commit to any given day. How many part time staff to roster, how many covers to prepare for the cafes, that sort of thing. It's a useful money-saving tool in these difficult economic times.

 

[robmv]

I've just returned from a trip to Germany where I visited 11 zoos without any need to pre-book.

 

[Lafone]

Cotswold, Hamerton and Whipsnade don’t require advance booking for members now. Shepreth and Linton require member booking.

Otherwise it’s probably easier / more economical and faster in terms of processing entries to get people to book in advance (and easier for resource planning as mentioned) and it’s not really a big deal for me anyway - so many things are booked online now it feels a bit out dated not to have a booking system play an integral part in park management.

 

[Ned]

If a zoo could afford to turn away a family that hadn't pre-booked and were happy to incur all the bad feeling that would go with that, they must be pretty well off.

 

[Maguari]

probably Chester

Just for avoidance of doubt, Chester no longer require pre-booking for any visitors.


I visited Lotherton and Ponderosa today, both of which I 'pre-booked' late last night. Lotherton 'recommends' prebooking as there was still a theoretical reduced capacity but I struggle to see you'd have trouble getting in looking at how many slots were free when I went in to their system.

Slightly surprised that Ponderosa still absolutely insists on both pre-booking and a half-hour arrival slot (at least, according to the website - having read that I pre-booked myself so I can't confirm what would have happened if I'd just turned up).

Most places are drifting back to the situation where pre-purchased tickets might save a quid or two and a few minutes in a queue on arrival - but frustratingly often still have websites that leave it ambiguous whether it's truly essential.

There is at least one small zoo I went to closer to the business end of the pandemic who insisted on booking online, but had no restriction on when - with the result that a family who turned up not booked in were able simply to book their tickets for the current slot online while stood in front of the ticket office...

 

[Pertinax]

Just for avoidance of doubt, Chester no longer require pre-booking for any visitors.


I visited Lotherton and Ponderosa today, both of which I 'pre-booked' late last night. Lotherton 'recommends' prebooking as there was still a theoretical reduced capacity but I struggle to see you'd have trouble getting in looking at how many slots were free when I went in to their system.

Slightly surprised that Ponderosa still absolutely insists on both pre-booking and a half-hour arrival slot (at least, according to the website - having read that I pre-booked myself so I can't confirm what would have happened if I'd just turned up).

Most places are drifting back to the situation where pre-purchased tickets might save a quid or two and a few minutes in a queue on arrival - but frustratingly often still have websites that leave it ambiguous whether it's truly essential.

There is at least one small zoo I went to closer to the business end of the pandemic who insisted on booking online, but had no restriction on when - with the result that a family who turned up not booked in were able simply to book their tickets for the current slot online while stood in front of the ticket office...

Thanks for the information Maguari. I'm pleased to see somewhere as large as Chester have done that. I just looked and it actually says you can buy admission at the ticket office..finally. Your example of the place where people were actually booking their tickets while standing at the ticket office was a scenario I've imagined several times. I hope eventually they all drift back to 'normal entry.'

 

[OwenR]

Visited Twycross last weekend, booked in advance as they said, but at least two families bought tickets at the gate. Booking online might help them decide on staff levels as a lot of the kiosks were closed and the zoo wasn't busy.

 

[Zoo2022]

Visited Twycross last weekend, booked in advance as they said, but at least two families bought tickets at the gate. Booking online might help them decide on staff levels as a lot of the kiosks were closed and the zoo wasn't busy.

How can booking help with deciding staffing requirements; if they then go on and allow un-booked entry too? If it is 100% booked then it could, but not if there is a casual element too.

 

[Zoo2022]

Thanks for the information Maguari. I'm pleased to see somewhere as large as Chester have done that. I just looked and it actually says you can buy admission at the ticket office..finally. Your example of the place where people were actually booking their tickets while standing at the ticket office was a scenario I've imagined several times. I hope eventually they all drift back to 'normal entry.'

I dont think it will ever be 'normal' - as in pre-Covid entry. From what I have gleaned, those collections offering both still have around 50% to 80% pre-booked, and the rest casuals. As Lafone says, the UK public seem comforted by on-line purchasing now for pretty much all goods and services. This is the new post(?)-Covid (hopefully!!) World we are in, in the UK at least. I am sure that the implication such as Lotherton above, that numbers of spaces are limited is a marketing exercise, to encourage ticket purchase. There is no incentive for the UK shopper stronger than the fear of not being able to get what you want, and get it now.

 

[Pertinax]

Visited Twycross last weekend, booked in advance as they said, but at least two families bought tickets at the gate. Booking online might help them decide on staff levels as a lot of the kiosks were closed and the zoo wasn't busy.

That's interesting. I really can't see any zoo refusing un-booked people entry at the gate, particularly at non-peak times e.g. midweek in termtime or looking forwards to next winter, periods when zoos can be very quiet indeed. Perhaps they would if the pre-booking levels indicated it would be a very busy day, though I'm still not sure why, as revenue is revenue. Zoos have never ever restricted numbers at any time before Covid I don't think, even on very popular days like Bank Holidays. Of course Twycross is one place that has recently suffered from traffic jams, car parking problems and consequently annoyed visitors, when they advertise their special cheap deals- possibly the pre-booking system might prevent that in future if they used it to put a limit on numbers.

 

[Pertinax]

I dont think it will ever be 'normal' - as in pre-Covid entry. From what I have gleaned, those collections offering both still have around 50% to 80% pre-booked, and the rest casuals. As Lafone says, the UK public seem comforted by on-line purchasing now for pretty much all goods and services. This is the new post(?)-Covid (hopefully!!) World we are in, in the UK at least. I am sure that the implication such as Lotherton above, that numbers of spaces are limited is a marketing exercise, to encourage ticket purchase. There is no incentive for the UK shopper stronger than the fear of not being able to get what you want, and get it now.

It does feel like there has been a move toward even more 'booking' in all walks of life and the zoos are simply following the trend. I understand it as a marketing exercise but its the 'essential' bit I don't quite get, as it seems to preclude or deter casual visitors from making a spur of the moment decision to pay a visit, or change plans at short notice e.g. due to the weather. I suppose if you've got as far as looking on a website you would go ahead and book there and then anyway, but I also suspect few places would actually turn anyone away now though.

 

[Pertinax]

How can booking help with deciding staffing requirements; if they then go on and allow un-booked entry too? If it is 100% booked then it could, but not if there is a casual element too.

They would presumably be working on the basis that the great majority booked, and only a handful were casual walk-ups, so the staffing requirements would still be correct for the day.

 

[J C]

I visited YWP the other week on a spur of the moment thing and bought tickets on the gate no problem they even charged us an extra £5 a head for the privilege so perhaps this is an cash driven thing

 

[JT]

I visited Northumberland Country Zoo on the 1st May with my brother and we pre booked on the way to the zoo. The website insisted and the earliest slot we could get was 2 hours away. When we got there they just let us straight in.

 

[Maguari]

I visited YWP the other week on a spur of the moment thing and bought tickets on the gate no problem they even charged us an extra £5 a head for the privilege so perhaps this is an cash driven thing

To be fair though, that existed before Covid - not so much an extra charge for 'on the gate', but a discount for booking online - though it's more usually £2 than £5.

I visited Northumberland Country Zoo on the 1st May with my brother and we pre booked on the way to the zoo. The website insisted and the earliest slot we could get was 2 hours away. When we got there they just let us straight in.

I've still never heard of anyone failing to get in for missing (or pre-empting) their slot - I guess even at the peak of Covid concern just the existence of slots spread enough people out that the odd early or late person was nothing to worry about.

 

[Zoo2022]

I visited Northumberland Country Zoo on the 1st May with my brother and we pre booked on the way to the zoo. The website insisted and the earliest slot we could get was 2 hours away. When we got there they just let us straight in.

Yes, I am convinced this is the new 'normal' - the only real variation being now whether the on-line system 'insists' on, or just 'advises' pre-booking.
This probably is a best-of-both-worlds scenario, as it gives those wanting the assurance of a slot the comfort of purchasing a ticket up-front, giving the zoo an idea of potential foot-fall - whilst still allowing a casual decision for those who want to decide at the last minute, usually made as a result of the weather forecasts.