Accesso

accesso
Public
Traded as LSE: ACSO
Industry leisure [cultural]] [entertainment]] [theme park]]
Predecessor The Tellurian Devices Company, accesso
Founded August 2000 (2000-08) (Lo-Q)
Founder Leonard Sim
Headquarters Berkshire, England
Number of locations
 7 Offices Worldwide
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Tom Burnet (Executive Chairman), Steve Brown (CEO) John Alder (CFO)
Services ticketing, virtual queuing, guest management, eCommerce, access control, reserved seating, box office ticketing, online ticketing, global ticketing distribution
Revenue Increase £102.5 million (2016)[1]
Profit Increase £10.1 million (2016)[1]
Total equity Increase £7.5 million (2011)[2]
Number of employees
 362 Worldwide (2017)
Divisions accesso LoQueue
accesso Passport
accesso Siriusware
Ingresso
Subsidiaries Located in Europe and North America
Website www.accesso.com

accesso (formerly Lo-Q) is a publicly listed technology company based in Berkshire, England.[3]

History

The concept of virtual queuing for amusement rides dates back to several World's fairs in the 20th century where time tickets were printed for attractions.[4] In 1998, the first system specifically for amusement parks was developed and prototyped at Thorpe Park.[5] In August 2000, Lo-Q was formed.[6] The company has since developed products such as the Qbot, Qtxt, Qband and Qsmart which operate at various locations across the world.[7]

On 5 December 2012, Lo-Q announced its acquisition of the US ticketing and eCommerce company, accesso, for £13.7 million. In November 2013, Lo-Q repositioned their overall brand as accesso to reflect the company's operations.[8] On 5 December 2013,[9] accesso acquired the North American ticketing and point-of-sale provider, Siriusware.[10] On 10 November 2014, accesso acquired ShoWare,[11] a provider of casino, sporting events, fairs and performing arts ticketing. On 30 March 2017, accesso acquired Ingresso,[11] a global distribution system for entertainment ticketing. The company now operates with five products: accesso LoQueue, accesso Passport and accesso Siriusware, accesso ShoWare and Ingresso.

accesso LoQueue

A Qbot at Mirabilandia in Italy

The accesso LoQueue solution's primary industry is in virtual queuing devices for amusement parks, water parks and attractions. Products include the Qbot, Qband, Qsmart. and Prism[7] Several patents have been registered for their concepts.[12][13][14]

The 'Qbot' is a handheld device which park guests can rent for the day. On the device, users can select an amusement ride they wish to queue for and the device will add them to a virtual queue. The Qbot device will notify users once their virtual queue time has elapsed through vibration and beeping.[15] In 2011, the 'Qband' was introduced for use at water parks. The device, which is similar in size and shape to a watch, functions similarly to the Qbot.[16] Currently the Qband is used at waterparks around the world including: Six Flags Hurricane Harbor,[17] Splish Splash,[18] Wet'nWild Sydney,[19] Raging Waters San Dimas.[20] The Qsmart requires users to have a smartphone which they can use to join virtual queues in a similar method to the Qbot.[21] It replaced the Q-txt product which allowed any mobile phone to register a spot in virtual queues.[15]

The company has also entered into a memorandum of understanding with MasterCard to develop a contactless payment system, similar to PayPass, where users can pay for items with their Qbot.[22]

accesso Prism wristband

The newest accesso's queuing product is accesso Prism.[23]

accesso Passport ticketing suite

The accesso Passport ticketing suite is a fully hosted eCommerce ticketing solution, as well as streamlined onsite ticket sales, season pass processing and access control. The eCommerce solution is used by some of the leading attraction venues around the world including Cedar Fair,[24] Six Flags,[25] and Palace Entertainment.[26] In 2015, Merlin Entertainments Group signed a long term agreement with accesso[27] to provide its fully hosted onsite ticketing and eCommerce solutions across the operator’s global portfolio.

accesso Siriusware solutions

Previously an independent company, Siriusware was acquired by accesso in December 2013[28] and rebranded as accesso Siriusware in April 2015 ([29]). The suite offers guest management, ticketing, eCommerce and point-of-sale solutions for a wide variety of venues and attractions.

accesso ShoWare

In November 2014, accesso acquired VisionOne Worldwide Lt[11] d, a provider of ticketing solutions for casinos, fairs, sporting events, arenas, theaters, performing arts centers, and tours. Rebranded as accesso ShoWare in May 2016,[30] the customizable cloud-based Software-as-a-Service ticket sales and distribution solution is used by more than 475 venues and leisure organizations throughout North and South America, and processes more than 19 million tickets annually.[31]

See also

Notes

    References

    1. 1 2 2017 "April 2017 preliminary announcement" Check |url= value (help) (PDF).
    2. ↑ "October 2011 preliminary announcement" (PDF). Lo-Q. October 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
    3. ↑ Whiterow, Philip (29 March 2012). "Lo-Q in the fast lane as new products come on stream". Proactive Investors Australia. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
    4. ↑ Wiess, Will. "The Waiting Game". Themed Attractions. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
    5. ↑ Pritchard, Phill (3 October 2011). "Virtual Queuing in the UK". UK Park News. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
    6. ↑ "Flamingo Land Resort eases the queuing pain for visitors with Text-Q ride reservation system from Lo-Q". Source Wire. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
    7. 1 2 "Products -accesso LoQueue". Your Guide. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
    8. ↑ "Lo-Q is now "accesso"" (Press release). Wall Street Journal. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
    9. ↑ Accesso (2017-05-31). "**accesso** acquires Siriusware". accesso Technology Group plc. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
    10. ↑ "accesso acquires Siriusware". accesso. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
    11. 1 2 3 Accesso (2017-05-31). "**accesso** acquires VisionOne, Worldwide, Ltd.". accesso Technology Group plc. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
    12. ↑ US 6529786, Sim, Leonard, "Queue management system", published 1997-05-22, assigned to Maria N. Von Buhr and Chad Rapp
    13. ↑ US 2008080445, Bayne, Christopher; Butler, Christopher; Sim, Leonard, "Reservation Management System and Method", published 2008-04-03
    14. ↑ US 2010277276, Bayne, Christopher; Butler, Christopher; Sim, Leonard, "System For Regulating Access To A Resource", published 2010-11-04
    15. 1 2 "Lo-Q wins Queen's Award for International Trade". Proactive Investors USA & Canada. 21 April 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
    16. ↑ "Lo-Q signs new deal with Six Flags". International Business Times. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
    17. ↑ "Hurricane Harbor (Los Angeles)". Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
    18. ↑ "Splish Splash - Home". Splish Splash. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
    19. ↑ "Wet'n'Wild Sydney". wetnwildsydney.com.au. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
    20. ↑ "Raging Waters San Dimas". Raging Waters San Dimas. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
    21. ↑ "Lo-Q to power smartphone ticketing pilot at London Eye". International Business Times. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
    22. ↑ "Lo-Q, MasterCard partner for contactless payments in theme parks". ContactlessNews. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
    23. ↑ Accesso (2017-05-31). "**accesso** Unveils Revolutionary Smart Park Wearable". accesso Technology Group plc. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
    24. ↑ "Cedar Fair chooses accesso to drive e-commerce platform". Amusement Today. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
    25. ↑ "Mission Admission". Park World Magazine. 28 January 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
    26. ↑ "Kernels – September 2012". Park World Magazine. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
    27. ↑ accesso (2017-05-31). "Merlin Entertainments Selects **accesso** as its Exclusive Global…". accesso Technology Group. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
    28. ↑ "accesso". accesso.com. accesso. Retrieved Dec 5, 2013.
    29. ↑ "Siriusware Salespoint Solutions Rebrand to accesso Siriusware". blooloop. April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
    30. ↑ Accesso (2017-05-31). "ShoWare Rebrand Leverages **accesso** Name". accesso Technology Group plc. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
    31. ↑ "accesso acquires VisionOne, Worldwide, Ltd.". accesso. accesso. Retrieved Nov 10, 2014.
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