ROLLER Streamlines Payments and Operations for the Attractions Industry Through a Unified Platform

In a Nutshell:  ROLLER provides software solutions to help attractions venues save money and increase efficiency. The company offers an array of services to suit various types of attractions businesses. Its online ticketing system allows guests to purchase admittance tickets and ancillary items before arriving at a venue. ROLLER’s commitment to being a leading financial service solution for attractions operators has earned it our Editor’s Choice™ Award.

Visits to amusement parks, bowling alleys, and roller rinks can allow people to experience new activities and leave their cares behind for a while. Indoor climbing facilities and axe-throwing centers can be ideal settings for teams and colleagues to build camaraderie and get to know one another in a new environment.

ROLLER is a business that produces software for leisure and attractions businesses to help them save money and increase efficiency. We spoke with Chris Rich, ROLLER’s Director of Financial Services, to learn more about the company’s unique products and services.

Rich said ROLLER’s founders started the company based on the idea that many of the service providers in the leisure and attractions industry aren’t innovative. Rich said attractions venues, such as trampoline centers and water parks, have complex operations but don’t have access to modern technology systems that can help them organize ticketing and ride-management services.

Rich said ROLLER’s solutions can help modernize the operations of leisure and attractions businesses. 

“A lot of operators in the industry told us that legacy providers in this space used really old and inefficient systems,” Rich said. “Once we got up and running, we focused on learning, iterating, and taking feedback to try to design something better that could help these operators streamline their operations. We want to help them move out of the old world and into something based in the cloud. And that’s something that’ll help them provide a great experience for their guests.”

The company started in Australia, and its first customer operated its business out of Melbourne. Rich said ROLLER did not have many competitors when it first opened its doors for business, but competitors have since entered the space. Although some competitors offer services comparable to ROLLER’s, Rich said ROLLER stands out for its ability to integrate numerous solutions within one platform.

Leisure and attractions businesses offer their customers many amenities. Rich said managers of leisure and attractions businesses shouldn’t have to manage separate systems for food and beverage, merchandising, and ticketing services.

“ROLLER offers all of those services under one roof,” Rich said. “I think of our platform as the operating system for a venue or attractions business. We literally provide everything from start to finish, and it’s all managed and tightly integrated. That’s the biggest point of differentiation for us.”

Rich said ROLLER is a pioneer in its industry regarding its capability to offer digital waivers. Many venues require guests to sign waivers for insurance purposes, and some venues will present a piece of paper for guests to sign to satisfy their waiver requirements, Rich said. ROLLER’s digital waiver service allows customers to access and complete waivers before they arrive at a venue.

Rich said digital waivers are particularly valuable to parents supervising a children’s party with invited guests at an attractions business. Guests who complete digital waivers before arriving at an attractions venue can save time, and digital waivers can also reduce manual paperwork for venue administrators.

ROLLER’s online ticketing system allows guests to purchase tickets to a venue as well as additional items such as socks for trampoline parks or meals. Rich said ROLLER’s online ticketing system integrates with its payment platform. ROLLER offers more than 38 payment methods, Rich said.

“We take pride in making sure that every payment method we offer isn’t losing customers when they get to the final checkout phase,” Rich said. “We’ve found that the average basket sizes are much higher with our online checkout. And we’re constantly building out our checkout services with features that increase conversion rates. That’s a big win for our customers. They love it because, typically, legacy service providers don’t offer anything like that.”

Rich said ROLLER’s payment platform streamlines a venue’s refund and reconciliation process. Guests mistakenly charged for an item don’t have to present their payment card to receive a refund, Rich said, because venue managers can issue refunds through ROLLER’s online platform.

Rich said ROLLER maintains contact with customers and industry experts to keep abreast of new solutions customers may need.

“We value having an open line of communication with our partners and clients,” Rich said. “A good way to do that is simply by getting out and talking with them. We want to stay in touch with our operators so we can learn about the issues they’re seeing and emerging trends in the industry. If we can anticipate those, that will help our business maintain a competitive edge.”

Rich said ROLLER gathers feedback within its app, where customers can view ROLLER’s product road map and submit ideas for product enhancements they’d like the company to consider. ROLLER’s sales team also converses with customers and gathers their feedback to inform product and service enhancements.

ROLLER measures its success by tracking customer acquisition and growth metrics. Rich said ROLLER’s growth allows it to reinvest money into its products and services, which ultimately helps its customers grow as well.

“We want to be in the hearts and minds of as many venue operators as possible,” Rich said. “We also value our Net Promoter Score, which is something we regularly track. We get really great feedback from our customers. If something isn’t going right or a feature isn’t performing as it should, we want to hear about it. Then we can either release a new product update to rectify an issue or work with the customer to solve any problems they’re experiencing.”

ROLLER’s customer support team operates out of the U.S., but Rich said ROLLER employs customer support agents around the world. Customers can get in touch with ROLLER by phone or online.

Rich said ROLLER’s team is relatively small, and customers can speak directly to product managers, engineers, and business unit leaders if needed. ROLLER assigns dedicated account managers to provide escalated assistance to customers, Rich said.

“Our guys are super knowledgeable,” Rich said. “We take customer support very seriously. We know our customers are busy — they’ve got a lot of people coming through their doors. If something isn’t working, our customers need to get in touch with us quickly. It’s extremely important to us that we make a customer’s path to contact us as free from friction as possible.”

Watch on

ROLLER’s training and implementation team onboards new customers. Rich said the team sets up the products a customer purchases from ROLLER and invests time in training venue staff to use its products. 

Rich said ROLLER’s products are highly customizable and can support complex use cases. Ensuring customers are comfortable using ROLLER’s products positions them for long-term success, Rich said.

As Rich looks toward the future, he said he envisions ROLLER continuing to grow and expand its services in markets such as the U.S. and Europe.

“Our aim is to automate processes and reduce as much of the manual work as possible for venue operators,” Rich said. “That allows operators to get back to focusing on their guests. The reason they’re in this business in the first place is that they love what they’re doing. If we can help them be more efficient and reduce their expenses, that’s a big win.”