The Aquarium of Niagara is located in downtown Niagara Falls, New York and houses more than 30 exhibits. Visitor numbers can fluctuate, so it’s important they maintain a great experience but never restrict capacity unnecessarily.
The aquarium welcomes visitors year-round from a mix of members and non-members. The seasons, day-to-day weather and even Covid regulations can affect visitor numbers. Like any great guest attraction, the Aquarium of Niagara wants to let as many people visit as possible, whilst maintaining a positive visitor experience.
Tasked with achieving this goal was Kim Barrus, Director of Guest Experience.
To better manage flow Kim had tried timed slots for entry but found that the challenge was knowing:
(a) how long to make a time slot?
(b) what the right number of tickets per slot should be?
Without feedback on what was working best, they found it hard to iterate the process.
The Aquarium of Niagara has installed three HoxtonAi sensors and the process could not have gone more smoothly!”
Ticket sales and entry numbers were only half the story. Kim noticed that visitors stayed for different durations depending on factors such as the time of day, day of the week and even the weather, meaning there was potentially excess unused capacity for visitors. To address this, there was a requirement to count ‘outs’ as well as ‘ins’ and calculate ‘occupancy’ overall.
They needed something that worked ‘out of the box’ to help them understand visitor flow into the aquarium, i.e. what the most popular days and times are, how long people are staying for per visit, and where the occupancy gaps are.
When Kim came across the HoxtonAi Occupancy Monitoring solution she decided to test it out as the 30-day return period meant they didn’t have to take a risk to see their own data. The sensors shipped within the week and were installed in no time.
...utilizing the occupancy counter has saved our staff a lot of time and effort of having to stop what they are doing to count the guests in the building."
It was apparent straight away that the occupancy monitoring solution would give them the data points they were looking for. The real-time data highlighted when people were leaving and therefore when they could admit more visitors. They no longer had to restrict demand unnecessarily.
After some weeks of collecting data, they were able to analyse the trends using the dashboard. Kim was able to see visitor flow across different days of the week and found that they could release more tickets for times of the day when people stayed for shorter periods. Conversely, they could release fewer tickets when people are likely to stay longer. By keeping close to their desired capacity they are able to ensure that they maximise tickets whilst also ensuring the best visitor experience.
Kim and her team now report internally on occupancy, and their staff and management are confident that they are efficiently using their space.
We are able to allow more guests in as we now rely on the sensors and know exactly where we are at in our occupancy.”
Case Study: How Center Parcs Use Occupancy Data To Drive Better Guest Experiences.
Duncan Mann | Aug 2022
We initially trialled the HoxtonAi solution on a small scale to ‘kick the tyres’ and see if it’s a ...
Read moreCase Study: How Bruntwood Grew Occupant Trust And Operational Confidence By Scaling Up Smart Building Data.
Duncan Mann | Jul 2022
Our retail proposition in Afflecks trades very differently from our core retail proposition and we ...
Read moreCase Study: How Ribble Measure The Impact Of Their Retail Stores Within Their Omnichannel Strategy.
Duncan Mann | Jul 2022
HoxtonAi is an integral part of our omnichannel strategy, and I’m excited to keep building on the ...
Read moreCase Study: How Techniquest use occupancy data to maximise the visitor experience and create positive growth for the company.
Duncan Mann | Mar 2022
Once we saw the graph, we realised we were able to admit 50% more visitors in the first time slot ...
Read moreCase Study: How Tate Modern Improved Timed Ticketing To Admit More Visitors Into Sold Out Exhibitions.
Duncan Mann | Dec 2021
The Challenges Of Timed Entry Ticketing
Read moreCase Study: How the Aquarium of Niagara used an occupancy counting solution with timed entry ticketing to increase visitor numbers.
Duncan Mann | Nov 2021
The aquarium welcomes visitors year-round from a mix of members and non-members. The seasons, ...
Read moreThe Importance Of Data Accuracy In People Counters.
Duncan Mann | Jun 2021
Understanding how people use your spaces, whether that be employees, visitors or customers, ...
Read moreReopen your resorts and attractions, safely and profitably.
Duncan Mann | May 2021
Download this guide to understand how data can help you to understand how visitors use your space. ...
Read moreHow footfall data can prepare your business for when lockdown ends.
Duncan Mann | Apr 2021
Bill, as his friends call him, who shares his birthplace with the iconic British bard, put a smile ...
Read moreOccupancy Data in Visitor Attractions.
Duncan Mann | Apr 2021
An occupancy number is conceptually simple - how many people are in your defined space at a given ...
Read moreWhether you’re interested in pricing, a trial of the solution or a demo of the dashboard, we’d be delighted to open a dialogue.
© 2022 HoxtonAi. All rights reserved.
Privacy policy | Cookie Policy | Site Terms
Hoxton Analytics Limited, 51 Eastcheap, London EC3M 1DT, UK
Registered in England, 08925312