How to Automate Modern Thermal Facility

Customer: Baden-Baden Uktus Thermae

Location: Yekaterinburg

Solution provided: BARS Payment and Access System for thermal complexes and water parks

Result obtained: The payment and access system ensures the sale of sessions at the ticket office at the entrance, final settlement with clients at the exit and payment for purchases in the café on the territory of the thermae. A customer loyalty programme is integrated into the BARS system

TASK AT HAND

Baden-Baden Company has been involved in thermal complexes in different regions of the Urals Federal District for many years – Baden-Baden has facilities in the Kurgan, Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk Regions. In 2018, the company was preparing to open a resort in Yekaterinburg. This facility was conceived as a year-round resort with an open-air thermal pool, pools with water amusements, a bathhouse with a font, a café and an entertainment room for children.

The management of Baden-Baden is well versed in the peculiarities of various payment and access systems. For the automation of the thermal complex at Uktus, Customer chose the BARS payment and access system. In it it was necessary to integrate checkpoints, cashiers' workplaces (and combine each of them with a turnstile), payment for meals in the cafe on the territory of the complex; in the lockers for clothes it was necessary to install electronic locks, which are opened by applying an RFID-wristband – the main means of payment in the thermae.

It was crucial for Customer that the BARS developer could make the necessary updates and additions, constantly developing the product based on the Customer's needs.

SOLUTION

As the thermae were being built, Bars IT installed all ordered elements of the payment and access system. Customer chose CAME turnstiles (Italy) and DK CL terminal-readers for 4 checkpoints. The turnstiles were combined with the workstations of 3 cashiers, so that they could operate the turnstiles by putting the client's wristband to the reader on their desk.

The thermae have a credit payment system – at the entrance, guests pay for a one hour or two hour's session, for example. They can spend this time in the pools and baths, use the children's room, café, showers and recreation areas. Clients pay 10 rubles for each additional minute on the territory of the thermae over the prepaid time. For those who want to spend more than four hours in the thermae and not worry about any extra fees, there is an unlimited tariff.

Visitors are extended a small credit so that they can use paid services on the territory of the thermae. At the exit, customers pay at the cash desk if they have used the credit. The turnstile is then opened to exit.

Electronic Locks in Lockers

When the furniture lockers were assembled, the Bars IT team installed Pocketkey electronic locks in them. They open when the client puts an RFID wristband to the lock. This way, guests' clothes and other personal belongings are safely stored in the free lockers for the duration of their stay in the thermae.

There are safe deposit boxes next to one of the pools for small valuables –smartphones, for example.

Buying Meals In Café On the Thermae Territory

You can also pay for your meals in the café with a contactless wristband, which is very convenient for visitors – no need to take cash or a bank card out of the safe deposit box or locker.

Loyalty Programme Integration

The automation of a thermal complex in Yekaterinburg involved the integration of the BARS system with the Customer's existing loyalty programme. This was necessary so that a client with a loyalty card purchased, for example, at Baden-Baden Kurgan Thermae could also use it at Uktus.

Batch Exit From Thermae

Initially, the BARS payment and access system stipulated that at the exit, any guest's wristband would be attached to a reader and each visitor would pay for himself or herself. This was inconvenient for families, because usually one of the parents pays for all members of the family.

The BARS software had to be modified to provide Customer with a batch exit of its clients from the thermae. After the software upgrade, cashiers were able to read information from several wristbands simultaneously, so that one person could pay for the whole family and parents and children could leave the thermae together.

RESULT

Uktus Thermae can accommodate up to 350 guests at a time. The thermal complex has been successfully operating for 4 years and is popular among Yekaterinburg residents. The management of the thermae constantly analyses how visitors use the services of the complex, what is convenient for them and what is not, and how to improve the Uktus operation. Based on the conclusions made, Customer requests updates and additions to the BARS payment and access system.

Development of BARS System Functionality For Uktus Thermae

Soon the sessions of the thermal complex will be available for purchase on its website. The customer used the online sales module developed by Bars IT and is integrating it with the website of the Uktus thermal complex.

In the future, there may be a large screen by the outdoor pool that will show the wristband numbers of those guests who are running out of their prepaid session. This will make it easier for visitors to meet their prepaid time.

The management of the thermae is considering installing a self-service cash desk. It would be convenient for those clients who do not want to queue at a regular ticket office on the way out. Such visitors will be able to put a wristband to the terminal-reader to check if they have debts. If there is, clients will pay the required amount with a bank card at the ticket office, and the turnstile will open for exit. A staff member will take the wristbands from the exiting guests.

The BARS system now allows Customer to control access to the thermae, payment for sessions at the entrance and the final payment at the exit. Visitors to the thermal complex feel comfortable using the wristband to enter the territory of the thermae, to open lockers in the changing room, to pay for the purchase of additional services in the thermal complex.

Watch a presentation video about Uktus Thermae on the Baden Baden YouTube channel.

Bars IT is pleased to help Customer make the thermae's customer service even better and simplify its management.