Monterail: helping Seat Unique create an online marketplace for hospitality experiences

Image: Marvin Meyer; Unsplash

Find out how software development agency, Monterail, have helped us build an innovative online marketplace to open up fan access to premium hospitality experiences.

The corporate hospitality market suffers from an ‘image problem’. There is a perception that hospitality packages are reserved for corporate excursions and the ultra-rich only. This is not the case. Furthermore, under-investment in technology means fans who are looking to buy hospitality experiences often face legacy booking systems, which aren’t operating at times when they’re looking to buy tickets. The availability of tickets through unofficial sources also puts fans at risk of missing out on live experiences.

Seat Unique was founded in 2018 with the aim to increase fan access to premium hospitality experiences and to empower sports teams, venues and rights holders by giving them greater flexibility and control over their tickets and live experiences.

At Seat Unique, we had a clear vision to address the industry's key issues by building an innovative online marketplace. We set out to create a platform whereby rights holders can manage their hospitality inventory in one user-friendly interface, all of which can be accessed by fans in real-time, 24 hours a day.

With our brand-new idea for an app, we wanted to reshape the outdated, lengthy booking systems and complicated buyer journeys that dominated the market. To ensure we were the first company to bring our product to market, we needed to recruit a team of dedicated web developers and engineers to create the technology as fast as possible.

We chose to work with software development agency, Monterail, to help to bring our product to life. From a development perspective, their biggest challenge was to build an MVP on a tight deadline, support large-volumes of traffic and implement a bevy of B2C and B2B selling tools.

"What helped us build the MVP so quickly was good prioritizing, knowing where to take a shortcut, what we can deliver, and what value certain features will bring to the users", Mateusz Karbowiak, Tech Lead, Monterail.

From the off, we have been impressed by the team's eagerness and willingness to understand our product and our core business values. Their efficiency, reliability and commitment to the project has meant we've been able to work together effectively to achieve our goals.

"We love the fact that at every stage of project development, we’re perfectly aware of what’s going on. We see the achieved milestones, keep track of the budget and stay updated on the timeline. That transparency gives us a sense of security,” Phillipa Hicks, Sales & Marketing Director & Co-Founder, Seat Unique.

The ongoing success of this project is down to a number of factors, including the quality of work, skill and knowledge Monterail's team of experts have to offer, effective and transparent communication, and their genuine enthusiasm. They have become a part of the Seat Unique team and we look forward to working with them in the future.

“With the help of Monterail, we’re making it possible for fans to purchase hospitality packages direct, at any time of the day, from the official source, the rights holders. This not only opens up fan access to experiences they previously didn’t know were available to them but venues and clubs can now offer hospitality packages up to the day of the event – something we know fans want", Robin Sherry, CEO & Founder, Seat Unique.

Need help with website and app development to get your project off the ground? Check out products and services offered by Monterail here.