NEW OPENING
around 300 people an hour through the attraction. All our tickets are timed so we have an obligation to people to deliver the experience at the booked time. That’ll be an ongoing challenge. If we have a problem with the lift, it’ll cut down our capability dramatically.
Who will the visitor be? We think we’ll start off with 60 per cent domestic visitors, which will swing to 60 per cent tourists over the course of two or three years. Tens of thousands of tick- ets have been sold since July 2012. We have space for 400 people an
hour, but at any one time we only expect to have between 250 and 300 peo- ple up there, staying for an average of 45-minutes on the top fl oors. It’ll be three-quarters of our capacity and will be comfortable. We’re very confi dent that it won’t be crowded. Annually, we’re forecasting a million people. There’s a great deal of local inter-
est, as there isn’t anywhere like this and people have watched the building’s progress as it’s risen from the ground. We had a press launch in late October and the press we got was phenomenal.
ABOUT THE SHARD
The Shard is a landmark building on the London skyline, designed by master architect Renzo Piano (see interview on p44). At a height of 310 m (1,016 ft), the building is in the historic London Bridge Quarter in the heart of London. The Shard is a vertical city with high- quality offi ces, international restaurants,
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the fi ve-star Shangri-La hotel, exclusive residences and visitor attraction The View from The Shard. The View from the Shard is operated
by Shard Viewing Gallery Management Ltd. The company was formed out of the ownership entity of London Bridge Quarter and The Shard.
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital
The View will operate a timed ticket system to help eliminate queues. Up to a million visitors are expected annually
My favourite quote was: “If you think you can’t afford it, sell something.”
How many staff are there? We’ve recruited 75 people who are part of the customer facing team. Staff are called guest ambassadors. They help with tickets, guest access and answering questions in the viewing gallery. They’d had very extensive training
in health and safety, technical training on ticketing and retail systems, human management training and grooming. The training structure is probably akin to a fi ve-star hotel.
How is ticketing handled? An average of 54 million people go through London Bridge a year. At the main entrance to The View from The Shard, there are large screen boxes
offering views from the top and digital signage tied in with our ticketing sys- tem inventory, so people can see what’s available before they come in, to set their expectations. We’ve done everything we can to elimi-
nate queuing. All tickets are dated and timed. There’s a price differential if you buy in advance. The ticketing is print at home, so many people will have an e-ticket. Those who don’t can collect their pre-booked tickets at pick-up stations. The system has been supplied by Omni Ticket and the tickets are read at speed gates.
What security is there? People are more aware of security since 9/11. Now we have metal detectors and scanning machines. It’s a fact of life. We have several fl oors of corporate offi ce, restaurants, a fi ve-star hotel and high- end residences, so we have an obligation to keep all of that secure.
How was the ticket price decided? We’ve done extensive market research. We’re creating a premium, up-market experience, with virtually no queues and we’re operating below capacity to ensure everyone has a great experience. All those things led to our market research audience pegging the price between £25 and £30, so we’re charging £24.99.
AM 1 2013 ©cybertrek 2013
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