The online booking and reservation software provider is making their free call and email deflector tool available to local government across the UK to signpost users faster and more efficiently to the pages and information they most need during the Covid-19 crisis.
BookingLive, a Software-as-a-Service company, recently launched its new HQ in Cardiff’s dynamic tech hub after securing £1.31m in new investment from Blackfinch Ventures and the Development Bank of Wales to fund future expansion.
The firm provides software systems for firms across sectors to manage online bookings, scheduling, reservations, registrar systems, payments and wider digital customer interactions.
BookingLive will now offer a free solution to help local authorities and their populations deal with the unprecedented call and email volumes with a COVID-19 Bot that they will place on their website to immediately signpost the public directly to the valuable info they seek.
It is hoped that this will reduce the number of calls and emails received by providing accurate, real-time and specific information to citizens across the local authority. To date, local authorities have used the AI-bot to provide information on bin collection, appointment times, green space access and council tax payments, whilst noticing a reduction of citizen enquiries by over 40%.
BookingLive are also working on a next phase solution, using the Bot to push users directly to the booking, cancellation and re-scheduling pages they need from councils’ booking systems.
BookingLive’s Welsh Founder and CEO Vinnie Morgan said: “I think all businesses are looking for ways to help out in the crisis. We’re using our innovation to release pressure from the local authorities, saving their time and resources, and helping the public get the critical information they most need faster and more efficiently.”
BookingLive was set up in 2014 and now provides online booking and reservation software to over 700 private and public sector customers. Its Enterprise system clients include Microsoft, BMW, Universal Music Group, the BBC, CAPITA, The City of Westminster, and numerous other public sector agencies across the UK. The firm plans to more than double revenues during 2020 – and a recruitment drive is now underway to hire at least seven new employees for the new Cardiff office.
Results from BookingLive’s Online Scheduling and Booking system for Charnwood Borough Council, for example, have been hugely impressive, with large reductions in calls and administrative tasks, and a big rise in relevant web page hits by the public.
The Development Bank of Wales was set up by the Welsh Government to support the economy of Wales by making it easier for businesses to get the finance needed to start up, strengthen and grow.
The Development Bank of Wales announced an investment of £500,000 in BookingLive in January 2020. Alexander Leigh, Investment Executive with the Development Bank of Wales, said: “These are challenging times. Businesses up and down the country are pulling together to help others and support each other. As equity funders of BookingLive, we’re really pleased to see Vinnie and the team using their expertise and technology to help share critical information at a time when it is most needed.”
Wales’ tech sector is worth an estimated £8.5bn to the Welsh economy, it is one of the fastest digital economies outside London and continues to grow. We are recognised for our highly skilled workforce, world class universities and robust digital infrastructure, with the UK’s first 5G network launched in Cardiff.
Around 45,000 people are actively employed within the Digital Economy in Wales, and we are home to over 3,500 home-grown and multinational technology operations.
Interested local authorities can contact [email protected] or +1 (0)117 933 8632.
