Heritage Railway Advance Booking Fees

[30907]

I was surprised recently to discover that the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway uses a third-party ticketing site that adds a booking fee per ticket if you book in advance.

Are there other heritage railways that do this? Thanks in advance.

Note - I am not asking for anyone's views on booking fees, merely for information.

 

[1Q18]

I was surprised recently to discover that the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway uses a third-party ticketing site that adds a booking fee per ticket if you book in advance.

Are there other heritage railways that do this? Thanks in advance.

Note - I am not asking for anyone's views on booking fees, merely for information.

In my experience this is very much the norm in the heritage railway sector nowadays, I can't think of a single heritage railway I’ve booked a ticket online for in the past couple of years without having to pay a booking fee (not that I especially begrudge it).

 

[Spagnoletti]

Most preserved railways have a fairly small office staff and running an online booking system is a complex operation so it makes a lot of sense to outsource it. The business model of nearly all of the providers we looked at is based on an added booking fee.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

The KWVR online booking system is not outsourced and does not charge a booking fee.

It is not especially difficult to manage ourselves, isn't particularly time consuming once the basics are set up and understood, and is an integrated system which links all online and on site sales across all outlets as well as our membership system.

The whole system (in house and online) is purchased from a third party company, who also provide remote technical support as required, but the management of it is entirely in house at the KWVR.

The fact that we have one system which does everything is a huge benefit and ultimately will save a lot of volunteer time and effort faffing around with multiple different systems - one for online tickets, one for tickets sold on site on the day, one for shops and tea rooms, one for membership etc.

Outsourcing isn't always the best idea - you still need someone at the Railway to manage the contract, set up the tickets and bookings, manage any seating plans, and sort out the money afterwards, so you don't just get away with doing nothing.

We do however charge an advance booking fee for any bookings made over the phone or turning up in person.

 

[43096]

I was surprised recently to discover that the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway uses a third-party ticketing site that adds a booking fee per ticket if you book in advance.

Are there other heritage railways that do this? Thanks in advance.

Note - I am not asking for anyone's views on booking fees, merely for information.

Nene Valley Railway. I booked online for the HST's first running day and was less than impressed to find the pay on the day option was cheaper. I complained and got a load of flannel back about booking fees.

It is, frankly, an utter con. A rip-off.

 

[kje7812]

I was surprised recently to discover that the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway uses a third-party ticketing site that adds a booking fee per ticket if you book in advance.

Are there other heritage railways that do this? Thanks in advance.

Note - I am not asking for anyone's views on booking fees, merely for information.

Severn Valley charge a £2 fee per transaction.

 

[30907]

Severn Valley charge a £2 fee per transaction.

Thanks. I have since noticed that the Bluebell do as well. I hadn't realised the practice was relatively common.

The Embsay line is unusual in charging a fee and offering no advance-booking discount then.

 

[Iskra]

To add some balance: a lot of railways do seem to give a modest discount for booking in advance, so this does somewhat offset any booking fee.

However, it seems to be a contentious issue, so if a booking fee is necessary they would be better just building it in to the ticket price so nobody knows about it and it avoids ill-sentiment. It it a way of keeping headline ticket prices down?

 

[30907]

To add some balance: a lot of railways do seem to give a modest discount for booking in advance, so this does somewhat offset any booking fee.

However, it seems to be a contentious issue, so if a booking fee is necessary they would be better just building it in to the ticket price so nobody knows about it and it avoids ill-sentiment. It it a way of keeping headline ticket prices down?

In most cases (but not the one that set me off), I assume the booking fee is less than the online discount anyway.
Adding it to the headline fare doesn't easily work if it is charged at a flat rate - so long as the railway is upfront about it I see no objection.

 

[Titfield]

To add some balance: a lot of railways do seem to give a modest discount for booking in advance, so this does somewhat offset any booking fee.

However, it seems to be a contentious issue, so if a booking fee is necessary they would be better just building it in to the ticket price so nobody knows about it and it avoids ill-sentiment. It it a way of keeping headline ticket prices down?

Yes typically a way of keeping headline fares down / making the product appear more financially attractive than it is.

Booking fees do now seem to have become almost a de facto add on charged by many "leisure" providers.