Prison Island went from one activity to a multi-experience venue. ROLLER scaled with every step.

Key Result #1

7 years as a ROLLER customer.

Key Result #2

4 activities managed in a single platform.

Key Result #3

Revenue lift driven by bundles and upsell add-ons.

Prison Island Belfast has been with ROLLER since day one, and it shows. What started as a single escape-room-style attraction has grown into a thriving multi-activity venue, with a second location in Leeds on the way. Owner Ryan Lyttle credits ROLLER's flexibility, all-in-one platform, and continuous product development as key contributors to the venue's growth.

Ryan didn't come from the leisure industry. For over 20 years, he'd worked as an account manager: building relationships, understanding businesses, and quietly harbouring an ambition to run his own.

Inspiration for Prison Island came from a chance encounter while Ryan was on holiday in Spain. A conversation with a family about an unusual new concept - Prison Island, a multi-cell, team-based escape experience was all it took. Ryan came home, did his research, and decided to go all in.

Nearly seven years later, Prison Island Belfast has become one of the city's most distinctive entertainment venues. What began as a single anchor activity has grown into a full multi-activity destination, adding axe throwing, quiz rooms, and puzzle boxes along the way. And with a second venue opening in Leeds before the end of the year, the growth story is far from over.

The challenge

Growing complexity needs a flexible foundation

Adding activities sounds exciting. Behind the scenes, it multiplies complexity fast.

Every new experience brings its own resources, time slots, pricing structures, capacity rules, and booking logic. For Ryan, the challenge wasn't just attracting guests, it was making sure the platform underneath the business could keep up.

When Ryan first launched Prison Island, he evaluated several booking systems. Most felt rigid. Time slots had to fall on the hour. Customisation was limited. The systems were built for simplicity, not for a venue that was already planning to grow.

"There was much less restriction with ROLLER. It seemed more flexible, and the investment was worth it if we were going to see a benefit on the other side."

Ryan Lyttle

Owner

That instinct proved right.

The solution

One platform, built to grow with you

Ryan chose ROLLER before Prison Island opened, and has never left.

Over seven years, the platform has evolved alongside the business. When Prison Island needed to sell bundled experiences across multiple resources, ROLLER built it. When Ryan wanted to introduce service fees to manage rising card costs without raising ticket prices, ROLLER had the feature. When the team needed a cleaner way to manage capacity for walk-ins and cross-check availability in real time, it was already there.

"You can link two products together with two different resources and sell it as a bundle and that's something you couldn't do before. There's continuous development and improvement, which is really great to see."

Ryan Lyttle

Owner

For Ryan, the all-in-one nature of the platform has been just as important as its individual features. ROLLER Payments keeps the financial picture clean and removes a third-party dependency. The capacity view lets staff cross-reference live bookings against available resources at a glance and is a critical tool when walk-ins arrive at peak times. And daily sales reports give Ryan the operational visibility he relies on to manage the business day to day.

"It's pretty easy to identify peak times, what resource we need, and how we need to staff. You can just flick through the report on ROLLER."

Ryan Lyttle

Owner

Revenue growth through upsells and bundles

Prison Island doesn't rely on the headline experience alone. Ryan has built a layered upsell strategy using ROLLER's add-ons and bundle features – from summer family passes that include free ice cream or pizza, to a popular "Axe and Eats" date night package combining axe throwing with food and drinks.

"We ran a promotion in the summer where family passes included free ice cream or pizza. And we've done date night packages likes axe throwing for two, plus pizza and drinks at a reduced price. We've definitely seen a revenue lift from that."

Ryan Lyttle

Owner

Seamless checkout, fewer drop-offs

With a complex product catalogue spanning multiple activities, time slots, durations, and price points, the online checkout experience matters. Prison Island guests move through it without friction and without calling the venue to complete a booking.

"We don't have anybody really complaining that they can't check out properly. For me, it all seems to flow pretty well."

Ryan Lyttle

Owner

Smarter capacity management

For a multi-activity venue running to tight schedules, the ability to quickly cross-check real availability against system parameters has been a practical time-saver, particularly when walk-ins arrive and a fast, accurate answer is needed.

"We can cross-reference how many teams are playing, quickly check whether we can actually fit more people in, and then take extra bookings. That's really useful."

Ryan Lyttle

Owner

A platform that keeps getting better

Seven years in, Ryan still notices new features landing that change how he runs the business. Bundles, booking fees, customer accounts, AI tools, progressive checkout and each one has opened a new opportunity.

"There are features I’m excited to be using more of this next year. Customer accounts, for example. If a guest sets up their account, they can amend their own bookings, which gives us admin time back. That's something I want to tap into more."

Ryan Lyttle

Owner

What's next

Prison Island's second venue in Leeds is set to open before the end of 2026: a multi-activity site informed by everything Ryan has learned in Belfast. The plan is deliberate - lower entry-price activities to reduce the barrier to a second or third upsell, a stronger food and beverage offering, and a guest journey designed to drive higher average spend from the first visit.

ROLLER will be there from day one.