School Hire Management Options
As a school who wants to generate more income by using the sport facilities and spaces you have, you may have found yourself trying to navigate through a myriad of options and suppliers – it’s easy to be unsure which school hire management option or partner is best for your school.
Whether it’s a bustling secondary school with several facilities or a community centre dedicated to its local residents, the essence remains the same – efficient management of facilities while maximising revenue and community engagement is going to be key to your success.
Luckily, you’ve got options and we want to help you explore them, making the right choice for your school or MAT. Let’s delve into the three distinct options available – Software Only, Bookings Management, and Fully Managed – shedding light on their benefits and the scenarios where they shine brightest.
Software only
The Software Only option is best for schools who already have a team who are accountable to managing lettings and operating their facilities.
For schools seeking a streamlined approach to managing their lettings without the complexities of hands-on assistance, the Software Only option stands as a beacon of efficiency. This solution empowers institutions with a robust online platform equipped with intuitive tools for managing bookings, tracking usage, and facilitating payments.
How does it work?
- Your in-house team manage all elements of the bookings and day-to-day operations, powered by a booking system.
- Your booking system should make taking and managing bookings, payments and enquiries much easier, reducing the administrative burden on your team.
Benefits:
- Cost-Effective: With no need for additional staffing or management services, schools can enjoy the benefits of digitalisation without significant overheads.
- Autonomy: Institutions retain full control over their lettings process, from manually setting availability to configuring pricing structures, ensuring alignment with their specific needs.
- Scalability: As the school’s lettings portfolio evolves, the software can adapt to accommodate growing demands, offering scalability without the hassle of restructuring.
Features to look for:
- Online bookings
- Self-service
- Secure payment and bookings management
- Reporting and dashboards
- The ability to market your facilities to your local community
Bookings management
Ideal for schools equipped with an existing lettings team poised to handle day-to-day operations and facility maintenance, but want to remove the headache of managing bookings, financials, renewals and debtors. The Bookings Management option serves as a catalyst for driving your lettings and enhancing efficiency through great customer support and technology.
This solution integrates seamlessly with your existing operations whilst taking away the weight of heavy bookings management tasks. A Bookings Management support service should feel like an extension of your existing team, working with your in-house team to make sure your hirers have an excellent experience.
How does it work?
- Your Bookings Management partner should manage all elements of the bookings, financials, renewals, debtors as well as customer service and communication.
- Your in house team will need to provide access to the facilities for the customers’ bookings and then clear down the facilities at the end of the day, making sure it’s in ship-shape for school to resume the next day.
Benefits:
- Efficiency augmentation: By having a Bookings Management partner, you’ll harness the power of digital tools for scheduling, invoicing, and reporting without having to lift a finger. Resulting in significantly reduced workload for the lettings team, allowing them to focus on delivering exceptional school services.
- Enhanced customer service: With a dedicated satellite support team, your hirers can get support and have their queries answers via phone, email and chat 7-days a week with no extra work for your in-house team.
- Full time financial support: Remove the headache of money management, renewals and debtors. Your partner should be support you for your one-off and block bookings, including issuing invoices, chasing debtors and collecting payments via bank transfer or online. They should also take on your long-term booking management and renewals processes.
- Flexibility: Schools can tailor the level of support according to their needs, whether it’s assistance with technical troubleshooting or strategic guidance for optimising lettings revenue.
Fully managed
For schools seeking a comprehensive solution encompassing both cutting-edge technology and expert support, the Fully Managed option emerges as the epitome of convenience and effectiveness. From initial setup to ongoing optimisation, this holistic approach provides schools with a dedicated team of professionals committed to maximising the potential of their facilities.
This option is ideal for schools who are looking for an all-encompassing solution to school lettings, where you can take a ‘hand-off’ approach, knowing your trusting School Lettings Operator is going to manage everything on your behalf.
How does it work?
- Your fully managed partner will manage all elements of your school lettings. They’ll look after bookings management, customer service, marketing and financials as well as the day-to-day operations, including setting up, clearing down and locking up the facilities ready for the next school day.
- You can structure updates in line with your goals, we see some partners having informal catch-ups every week, some meet formally on a monthly basis or some just send through automated reports and updates. You’ll need to establish this structure with your partner, depending on how you want to be involved.
Benefits:
- Hands-Free Operation: With a dedicated team overseeing every aspect of the lettings process, schools can relinquish the burden of administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on their core mission of education.
- Optimisation Expertise: Leveraging industry insights and best practices, the managed service team continuously fine-tunes strategies to optimise revenue streams, capitalise on market trends, and foster community engagement.
- Peace of Mind: Entrusting the management of lettings to seasoned professionals instills confidence, knowing that every aspect, from customer support to compliance, is handled with meticulous care and expertise.
If you’re looking at working with a fully managed partner, but you’re not sure where to begin, start by exploring school hire experts on our fully managed partner page.
We understand the importance of providing school with versatile solutions that align with your unique requirements. Whether it’s the autonomy of Software Only, the efficiencies of Bookings Management, or the comprehensive support of Fully Managed, you’ve got options.
We’re ready to empower schools with the tools and expertise needed to unlock the full potential of your facilities. Speak to one of our school hire experts to discuss which option would be most suitable for your school.
