Accesso

Accesso Technology Group PLC

Accesso booth at IAAPA IAE 2017
Formerly	Lo-Q
Company type	Public
Traded as	LSE:  ACSO
Industry	leisure, cultural, entertainment, theme park, technology
Predecessor	The Tellurian Devices Company, accesso
Founded	August 2000;24 years ago (2000-08) (Lo-Q)
Founder	Leonard Sim
Headquarters	Berkshire , England
Number of locations	4 Offices Worldwide
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Steve Brown (CEO), Andrew Jacobs (CCO), Fern MacDonald (CFO), Bill Russell (Non-Executive Chairman)
Services	ticketing, virtual queuing, guest management, eCommerce, access control, reserved seating, box office ticketing, point of sale ticketing, online ticketing, global ticketing distribution
Revenue	US$118.7 million (2018) [1] : 3 [ dead link ‍][ failed verification ]
Operating income	US$88.2 million (2018) [1] : 3
Net income	US$25.1 million (2018) [1] : 3
Total assets	US$257.5 million (2018) [1] : 55
Total equity	US$181.5 million (2018) [1] : 55
Number of employees	406 Seasonal (2018, avg monthly number) [1] : 79  518 Non-seasonal (2018, avg monthly number) [1] : 79
Divisions	accesso LoQueue accesso Passport accesso ShoWare accesso Siriusware Ingresso The Experience Engine (TE2)
Subsidiaries	Located in Europe and North America and Australia
Website	www.accesso.com

Accesso Technology Group PLC (formerly Lo-Q) is a publicly listed technology company based in Berkshire, England. ^[2] Accesso has 9 offices across the world, and serves 1000 venues globally, providing ticketing, point of sale, virtual queuing, distribution and guest experience management services. ^[3]

History

Accesso was established around 2000, and had entered bankruptcy almost immediately. The company then reemerged in 2007. ^[4]

In 2012, Lo-Q PLC acquired the Lake Mary, Florida-based company, Accesso LLC, for US$22 million. ^{[5] [6]} At the time, Lo-Q focused on developing ride-reservation systems for theme parks, while accesso focused on online and mobile ticket sales software and the management of online ticket stores. ^[5] The merger was seen as a joining of synergistic capabilities and complementary customer sets. ^[5] Tom Burnet was the CEO of Lo-Q and retained this role after the merger. ^{[5] [7]} At the time of the merger, accesso's CEO and owner was former Disney executive Steve Brown; after the merger, Brown joined the board of the new company and became the COO of North American operations. ^[5]

In November 2013, Lo-Q was renamed as accesso to reflect the company's operations. ^[8] In December 2013, accesso acquired for US$12 million the Taos, New Mexico-based ticketing and point-of-sale software provider Siriusware. ^[9] The acquisition provided accesso with a client base that included the ski and snow sports market. On 10 November 2014, accesso acquired VisionOne and their ShoWare ticketing product, a customizable cloud-based ticket sales product, expanding the company's client base into entertainment markets such as theaters, sports stadiums and music festivals. ^[10] On 30 March 2017, accesso acquired Ingresso, ^[10] a global distribution system for entertainment ticketing. Later in 2017, the company acquired The Experience Engine (TE2), ^[11] a guest experience management company, which included customers in venues such as theme parks, ski resorts, hotels, quick service food, healthcare and other hospitality-focused operations. ^[12]

In 2014, penetration of the South Korean market began via a three-year partnership with an in-country consulting firm. ^[6]

Products

A Qbot at Mirabilandia in Italy

Accesso offers products for ticketing, virtual queuing, distribution, guest experience and point of sale.

• accesso LoQueue Virtual Queuing: ^[13]
  • Introduced in 2001, accesso's patented accesso LoQueue virtual queuing product allows guests to wait in virtual lines as opposed to physical ones.
  • Products for virtual queuing include the Qbot (retired), Qband (retired), Qsmart, and Prism. ^[14] Several patents have been registered for their concepts. ^{[15] [16] [17]}
• accesso Passport ticketing suite: ^[18]
  • Used by venues including Cedar Fair, ^[19] Six Flags, ^[20] and Palace Entertainment. ^[21] In 2015, Merlin Entertainments Group signed a long-term agreement with accesso. ^[22]
• accesso Siriusware ticketing & point of sale: ^[23]
  • offers guest management, ticketing, e-commerce and point-of-sale solutions^{[ buzzword ]} for a wide variety of venues and attractions.
• accesso ShoWare live entertainment ticketing: ^[24]
  • The accesso ShoWare live event ticketing suite provides customizable, cloud-based ticket sales software. ^[24]

See also

• Disney's Fastpass

References

1. "2018 Annual report and financial statements". 7 May 2019 – via Companies House Register.
2. Whiterow, Philip (29 March 2012). "Lo-Q in the fast lane as new products come on stream". Proactive Investors Australia. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
3. Accesso Technology Group. "About Us" . Retrieved 23 November 2020.
4. "Insights: Riding a rollercoaster with Accesso". TheTicketingBusiness News. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
5. Garcia, Jason (6 December 2012). "Local park ticketing firm sold for $22M". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. A10 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Pedicini, Sandra (14 August 2014). "Lake Mary firm moves into South Korean theme parks". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. A12 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Pedicini, Sandra (24 November 2014). "Reservation-only rides in the works?". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. D3 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Lo-Q is now "accesso"". The Wall Street Journal (Press release). 12 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
9. Clarke, Sara K.; Garcia, Jason (9 December 2013). "Accesso buys Siriusware". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. D3 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Accesso (31 May 2017). "**accesso** acquires VisionOne, Worldwide, Ltd". accesso Technology Group plc. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
11. "accesso acquire software specialist The Experience Engine TE2". Blooloop. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
12. "**accesso** Announces Plan To Acquire The Experience Engine (TE2)". accesso Technology Group. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
13. "accesso LoQueue Virtual Queuing System". accesso Technology Group. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
14. "Products -accesso LoQueue". Your Guide. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
15. US 6529786,Sim, Leonard,"Queue management system",published 1997-05-22, assigned to Maria N. Von Buhrand Chad Rapp 
16. US 2008080445,Bayne, Christopher; Butler, Christopher; Sim, Leonard,"Reservation Management System and Method",published 2008-04-03 
17. US 2010277276,Bayne, Christopher; Butler, Christopher; Sim, Leonard,"System For Regulating Access to a Resource",published 2010-11-04 
18. "accesso Passport Online Ticketing System". accesso Technology Group. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
19. "Cedar Fair chooses accesso to drive e-commerce platform". Amusement Today. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
20. "Mission Admission". Park World Magazine. 28 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
21. "Kernels – September 2012". Park World Magazine. 7 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
22. accesso (31 May 2017). "Merlin Entertainments Selects **accesso** as its Exclusive Global..." accesso Technology Group. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
23. "accesso Siriusware Point of Sale Ticketing…". accesso Technology Group. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
24. "accesso ShoWare Box Office Event Ticketing…". accesso Technology Group. Retrieved 2 December 2022.