Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council serves communities across Hampshire, providing a wide range of local services, including the management of leisure facilities and community spaces that support residents’ health and wellbeing. The council is committed to making these facilities accessible, encouraging greater community participation and maximising the value of its public assets.
Having joined Bookteq in December 2022, the council has embraced digital bookings to improve the way it manages its facilities and serves the local community.
In this case study, we’ll explore the challenges Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council faced before implementing Bookteq, the solutions introduced, and the impact they’ve had on reducing administrative pressure, improving venue utilisation and delivering a better booking experience.
“Bookteq has transformed the way we manage bookings across our facilities. The self-service platform has significantly reduced administration, improved the customer experience and helped increase utilisation of our venues. The reporting tools also provide valuable insight that supports our wider objectives around community participation, physical activity and maximising the value of our public assets. Combined with Playfinder, the platform has enabled us to reach new users and make our facilities more accessible to residents across the borough.” – David Carroll, Sport and Wellness Support Officer, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
The challenge
For local councils, managing bookings across multiple community facilities can be both complex and time-consuming. With enquiries coming from sports clubs, community groups, fitness providers and residents, staff are often required to manage bookings manually, respond to availability requests, process payments and handle booking amendments across a variety of venues.
As demand grows, these administrative tasks can place increasing pressure on council teams, making it more difficult to deliver a fast, efficient service while ensuring facilities are being used to their full potential. At the same time, customers increasingly expect a simple online booking experience that allows them to view availability, make bookings and complete payments at a time that suits them.
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council wanted a more efficient way to manage its facilities—one that would reduce administrative workload, improve the customer experience and help maximise the utilisation of its community spaces.
Supporting Health, Wellbeing and Physical Activity
“One of the key benefits of Bookteq has been its potential to support the council’s wider Active Wellbeing ambitions. By making facilities easier to discover, book and access online, the platform helps reduce barriers to participation in physical activity.
The flexibility of the booking system enables sports clubs, community organisations and wellbeing providers to secure facilities more efficiently, creating greater opportunities for residents to take part in sport, exercise and community activity. This supports the council’s ongoing commitment to promoting healthier lifestyles, increasing participation and ensuring that community spaces are accessible to a broad range of users.
As the council continues to develop programmes aimed at children and young people, older adults, people living with disabilities and residents who are currently less active, Bookteq provides a scalable digital platform to support future growth and community engagement.” – David Carroll, Sport and Wellness Support Officer, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
The solution
Our Solution
To help simplify the management of bookings across its community facilities, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council implemented Bookteq in December 2022. The platform provides a centralised online booking system where customers can view live availability, make bookings and complete payments through a self-service portal, reducing the need for manual administration across multiple venues.
By moving the booking journey online, the council has been able to streamline many of the time-consuming tasks associated with managing community lettings, including responding to enquiries, checking availability, processing payments and managing repeat bookings. This has helped reduce pressure on staff while giving local residents, sports clubs and community groups a faster, more convenient way to access facilities.
Alongside Bookteq, the council has also increased the visibility of its venues through the Playfinder marketplace, helping more people discover and book its facilities online. Together, Bookteq and Playfinder have enabled Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to improve the day-to-day management of bookings, expand access to its facilities and make better use of its community spaces.
The results
1. Engaging the Local Community
Bookteq provided Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council with a modern online booking platform that makes it easier for local residents, sports clubs and community groups to access council facilities. Customers can browse live availability, book venues and make payments online at any time, creating a simple and convenient booking experience.
By removing barriers to booking and offering a self-service platform, the council has been able to make its facilities more accessible, encouraging greater community participation and helping more people make use of local spaces.
2. Expanding Reach with Playfinder
To complement its online booking platform, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council also listed its facilities on the Playfinder marketplace, increasing visibility to thousands of people actively searching for sports venues.
By showcasing available facilities to a wider audience, the council has been able to attract new customers and maximise the use of its venues. This additional exposure has become an important driver of bookings, with 12.3% of all bookings coming directly through the Playfinder marketplace, demonstrating the value of combining online bookings with targeted venue promotion.
3. Increased Venue Utilisation by 145.28%
One of the most significant outcomes of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s partnership with Bookteq has been the increase in venue utilisation. In its first year on the platform, one of the council’s venues achieved 17.07% utilisation. As the council continued to build awareness of its facilities, simplify the booking process and attract more customers, that figure rose to 41.87% over a full year.
This substantial increase highlights the impact of making facilities easier to find, book and pay for online. By combining a streamlined self-service booking experience with additional exposure through Playfinder, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has been able to maximise the use of its venues and create more opportunities for the local community to access high-quality spaces.
Better Data for Strategic Decision-Making
“Bookteq has provided valuable utilisation and booking data that helps the council better understand how facilities are being used across the borough.
Access to real-time reporting allows teams to identify periods of unused capacity, understand booking trends and make informed decisions about pricing, programming and investment. This insight supports the council’s wider objective of maximising the value of community assets while ensuring facilities remain responsive to local demand.
This reflects one of Bookteq’s strongest features, namely utilisation and revenue reporting across venues.” – David Carroll, Sport and Wellness Support Officer, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
To wrap up
Since partnering with Bookteq, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has transformed the way it manages community facility bookings. By introducing a self-service online booking system and increasing visibility through the Playfinder marketplace, the council has made it easier for local residents, sports clubs and community groups to access its venues.
The results speak for themselves: stronger community engagement, additional bookings driven through Playfinder and a significant increase in venue utilisation. Together, these improvements have helped the council maximise the value of its facilities, reduce barriers to booking and create a more efficient, accessible experience for both staff and customers.
Looking Ahead
“As Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council continues to deliver its Active Wellbeing Strategy, Bookteq will play an important role in helping broaden access to physical activity opportunities across the borough. Future opportunities include supporting community wellbeing programmes, social prescribing initiatives, low-cost physical activity sessions, disability sport provision, holiday activities for young people and increased utilisation of community spaces outside traditional peak periods.
By combining digital self-service bookings with robust utilisation data, the council is well positioned to connect more residents with local opportunities that improve health, wellbeing and community participation. Utilizing the data from the booking information as our communities change over time we can quickly adjust our offerings to better serve our communities changing needs.” – David Carroll, Sport and Wellness Support Officer, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
Ready to Transform Your Council Lettings?
If you’re still managing facility bookings through emails, phone calls or manual processes, there’s a better way.
Bookteq helps councils simplify bookings, payments and customer management through a user-friendly self-service platform, reducing administrative pressure while increasing utilisation and community access. Combined with the additional reach of the Playfinder marketplace, it’s a powerful way to make your facilities easier to manage, easier to book and more visible to the people who want to use them.
Book a free demo with our team today and discover how Bookteq can help your council unlock more value from its facilities.
