It’s easy for attraction teams to get caught up in the panic of, "How do we sell more tickets?" Especially when visitor numbers dip, budgets tighten, or leadership is looking for quick wins.
But often, the better question, and one that can lead to sustainable growth, is:
How can we remove friction?
There applies to all areas of your marketing and guest experience:
- Understanding your brand
- Understanding the value proposition
- Making it easy to find prices and the right packages
- Making sure packages and offers are relevant to specific guest types
- Making it easy to plan a trip
- Having a streamlined booking process
- Making it easy to pay you!
- Having clear consistent visitor comms throughout their experience
Why Removing Friction Works
Friction is the hidden enemy of online sales. It’s every extra click, every confusing message, every hesitation point that makes a guest stop, second-guess, or give up.
Think of it like walking into a shop or a car showroom. You know what you want to buy, but:
- The layout is confusing.
- The signs aren’t clear.
- The salesperson keeps asking for unnecessary details before letting you check out.
You’d likely get frustrated and walk out.
Your website experience works exactly the same way. Guests want a smooth, straightforward path to purchase that’s fast, reliable and easy for them to use. If there are obstacles, delays or distractions then you’ll risk them giving up and going somewhere else.
Removing friction creates a smoother, faster, and more enjoyable guest journey. You also have the bonus that delivering a great guest experience online helps a guest create a positive impression of your brand. That doesn’t just drive more bookings—it builds trust and increases the likelihood of repeat visits.
Here’s how you can remove friction at each stage of the digital journey:
📱 1. Your Digital Shop Window (Website)
Once guests land on your site, ask:
- Can they immediately understand what your attraction offers?
- Is the value proposition clear and relevant to their needs?
- Is it clear what’s included in a ticket—and what’s not?
- Do they see the different ticket types, upsells, and pricing options without hunting around?
Simplify, clarify, and guide them to what they’re looking for. Your website is often their first impression—make sure it’s friction-free.
🎟️ 2. The Booking Process
This is where most friction happens, and it’s easy for attractions to overthink pricing or get carried away with upsells or distracting offers. Guests are ready to buy—but even small points of confusion can derail the sale.
- How many clicks does it take to complete a booking?
- Are you collecting only essential information, or asking for too much too soon?
- Is the payment process smooth, especially on mobile devices?
- Have you enabled mobile payment options (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.)?
- Offering high-value experiences? Integrate Buy Now Pay Later services to reduce price hesitation.
Your booking funnel should feel effortless, not like filling out paperwork. Plus, why not experiment by enabling a live chat in the booking flow. If there was someone on hand to resolve queries LIVE in the process, could that help more of your customers convert or potentially upgrade - this is a 15 minute task to setup, and easy to have a customer success team managing enquiries.
🔁 3. Post-Purchase Upsells & Comms
The transaction shouldn’t end when a guest hits 'Book Now.'
Make it easy for them to:
- Upgrade their tickets
- Add extras like meal deals, behind-the-scenes experiences, or memberships
- Buy or pay for memberships
- Auto renewing membership options and recurring payments
- Tokenised payments to remember their details and avoid guests having to re-enter the same info
Don’t bury these options or make guests dig to find them. The easier it is to buy more, the more likely they will.
Think Like Your Guests
The best-performing attractions aren’t necessarily the ones shouting the loudest. They’re the ones quietly removing friction at every step—making the digital journey so smooth that guests barely notice how easy it was to buy.
Want to see where you can improve?
Challenge
Block out 10 minutes today (ideally with your team). Walk through your entire booking process on your phone, just like a first-time visitor. Where could you remove hesitation, confusion, or unnecessary steps?
Small tweaks can deliver big results.
Need help identifying friction points on your site? We're happy to help - get in touch for a free discovery session.
