Member Article

TIBCO Proves Hot Ticket for London Theatre Direct

TIBCO Software Inc., a global leader in integration and analytics has announced that its TIBCO Mashery® Enterprise API solution is powering a digital future for online ticketing business London Theatre Direct.

The solution has enabled selected partners to access the company’s booking platform via APIs to drive a more seamless booking experience for the customer. London Theatre Direct has seen a quarterly rise in sales at API partner venues of more than 600%.

With tickets still available to buy just half an hour before the performance and the full range of seats and prices easier to see and access, a greater choice and flexibility has increased ticket sales and broadened the demographic of theatre goers. Currently, 30% of tickets in the West End remain unsold, mainly due to the siloed and restrictive nature of the traditional booking process.

The move is helping to attract a wider audience to the capital’s theatres and in turn addresses long-term criticism over the cost of West End theatre tickets being prohibitive to young people.

“As a business, we’ve always tried to be the first to innovate with cutting-edge technology and be the very best, so it was crucial to us that we worked with an API partner who is the very best in its field, with the best technical support in the business,” said Francis Hellyer, chief executive of London Theatre Direct.

“We needed the solution to be as simple as possible, but fast and reliable, which is what we have. The fact that the TIBCO Mashery platform’s existing client base includes a major airline that we want to work with was another factor—if they’d put faith in the Mashery solution, then that was good enough for us.”

London Theatre Direct will be working with airlines and the broader travel industry as ticketing and other auxiliary services become an increasingly important part of their customer offering to boost revenues as margins become slimmer.

Steve Hurn, senior vice president, EMEA, at TIBCO Software said: “Introducing technology-driven innovation to this sector has traditionally been a hard sell, but it’s clear from London Theatre Direct’s success that allowing open access to their inventory means far more tickets sold and a wider choice, which is a win-win for producers, theatres, and customers.”

He continued: “Those resistant to change and new technology can perceive APIs as a loss of control, but this is a clear example of how they do in fact drive integration, collaboration, and flexibility resulting in greater opportunities with the ability to sell tickets at the last minute, which is the ultimate game changer.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Pete Jackson .