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Key Result #1 Achieved busiest weekend in 18 years, thanks to ROLLER's booking flexibility. |
Key Result #2 Eliminated dead sessions with smart scheduling and availability logic. |
Key Result #3 Improved return on investment, with lower payment fees offsetting monthly costs. |
Gridline Racing, based in the heart of Lincoln, UK, began as a family-run business born out of a passion for karting. Director Jason Frost started the journey 19 years ago, transforming a go-kart hobby into a thriving indoor racing destination. What began with just three people, Jason, his brother, and his partner, has grown into a full-fledged business employing 19 staff and serving adrenaline-seeking guests year-round.
With growth came complexity. As demand surged and online bookings became more critical, Jason knew they needed a system that could keep up, not just in day-to-day operations but in enabling smarter, more scalable sales.
The problem: Missed revenue from booking gaps
As demand grew, so did the need for smarter systems. After an early start with Clubspeed, Jason was initially impressed with its features until the pricing model changed. Jason explains, “Clubspeed wanted five percent of each transaction, and that was a no-go for us.”
From there, Gridline moved to TuriTop, a simple fix that offered basic online booking. But a critical flaw emerged: the system didn’t intelligently handle non-sequential session bookings.
With TuriTop, if a guest booked multiple sessions that weren’t directly back-to-back (for example, sessions at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM), the session in between (2:00 PM) would be blocked from online booking.
That gap might still be technically available, but the system wouldn’t release it for others to book.
We were relying on customers to call in, and on our staff to spot those gaps and fill them manually. But most customers just saw ‘no availability’ online and never bothered calling.
Jason Frost
Director
As a result, weekends were riddled with “dead sessions”, slots that could have been sold but weren’t.
Jason said, “We had dead sessions at the weekend. It wasn’t until we switched to ROLLER and made every kart in every session bookable online that we saw an instant difference.”
That result? The busiest weekend Gridline had seen in nearly two decades.
We made ROLLER live on a Thursday, and that weekend was the busiest we’d had in 18 years. That wasn’t a coincidence.
Jason Frost
Director
ROLLER’s intelligent session scheduling immediately unlocked every available kart and time slot for online bookings, even between staggered guest reservations. The ability to sell every seat in every session, without manual intervention, was a game-changer, and the return on investment was immediate.
A seamless transition, a smarter system
Though there were initial hesitations about cost, Jason quickly realized the value ROLLER delivered outweighed the higher monthly fee, particularly given the savings on transaction fees through ROLLER’s integrated payments.
“It looked like a big jump from TuriTop,” Jason admitted, “but once I factored in how much I was spending on Stripe fees, ROLLER paid for itself.”
ROLLER also streamlined Gridline’s daily operations, particularly around safety protocols. Before the venue opens each day, track marshals are required to complete safety checks on every kart and the track itself. These checks are logged directly in ROLLER. The system won’t allow karts to be assigned to guests until the checks are completed and signed off, helping the team stay accountable and ensuring the venue is safe and compliant.
From booking to track, the guest experience is smoother too. “Customers get a confirmation, turn up, give their name, and they’re automatically assigned a kart. It all flows.”
Advice for other venue operators
Jason’s advice to other operators? Don’t let short-term cost concerns limit long-term growth. Jason explained, “Sometimes you’ve just got to invest. I was paying four or five times more with ROLLER, but we saw the return overnight.”
And when it comes to staying competitive in the evolving karting industry, Jason believes technology is key.
You can’t compete with big venues unless you level up your systems. ROLLER helped us do that.
Jason Frost
Director
To learn more about how ROLLER could help you reach your growth goals, book a chat.
About Gridline Raceway
- Founded: 2006
- Location: Lincoln, UK
- Number of locations: 1
- Venue type: Karting
- Website: https://www.gridlineracing.com
- ROLLER customer since: 2023
- Favorite features:
