Cruise booking & live seats
Departures, vessels, ticket types and add-ons with one live seat count across every channel.
Whale watching booking software: cruises & rebooks
Whale watching: full boats, no paper rebook lists. More breaches, less admin.
The phone rings all morning, no-sighting rebooks live on a clipboard, weather calls go out by text one guest at a time and half the boat came through agents who all count seats differently. We build booking, guarantee, weather and boarding systems for whale watching operators that all talk to each other, then we host them and look after them.
Looking for whale watching software that handles the season, the swell and the sighting guarantee?
Whale watching is a short, flat-out season stacked on top of things you can't control. The humpbacks turn up when they turn up. The swell decides whether you go out at all. And the sighting guarantee you advertise means every quiet trip creates a pile of free rebooks that someone has to track for months. Meanwhile seats are being sold through your website, Viator, the visitor centre, three hotel desks and a coach company, all at the same time.
Wollopit builds custom whale watching software around how your boats actually run. One live seat count across every channel. Sighting credits issued from the deck the minute the skipper calls it, with guests rebooking themselves online. Weather calls sent to every passenger in one tap. Boarding manifests on a tablet at the gangway. We connect the booking platform you already use, fill in what it can't do and look after the lot on our own servers.
01The problems
What we hear from whale watching operators
Does your whale watching operator have these problems? Here's how we'd fix them.
Most operators we talk to are brilliant on the water and running the office on a booking platform, a clipboard and a lot of phone calls. It holds together until the first big week of the season.
- The problemThe phone never stops in peak seasonEvery second call is 'are there seats on the 10am?' or 'did you see whales yesterday?' while the queue at the counter grows.How we fix itLive online booking with real seat counts, today's sightings on the website and answers to the common questions before they ring.
- The problemNo-whale rebooks tracked on a clipboardA quiet trip means 80 free rebooks written on paper. Half get lost and the other half turn up in October with no record.How we fix itThe skipper marks the trip as no sighting and every passenger gets a credit automatically, with a link to rebook themselves.
- The problemWeather calls by text, one by oneThe swell picks up at 6am and someone is texting and ringing 120 guests while also trying to load the boat.How we fix itCancel or reschedule a cruise in one tap. Every passenger gets an SMS and email with options to move, take a credit or refund.
- The problemAgents oversell your boatViator, the hotel desk and the visitor centre all sell the same seats and you find out at the wharf there are 14 too many.How we fix itOne live inventory shared with your booking platform, OTAs and agent logins, so a seat sold anywhere disappears everywhere.
- The problemBoarding is a paper manifestTicking names on a printout in the wind, chasing no-shows and guessing the headcount for the safety brief.How we fix itA boarding app on a tablet: scan or tap guests on, live headcount for the skipper and the manifest saved for your records.
- The problemSeasons and timetables change constantlyExtra afternoon runs in September, a second boat on weekends, school holiday pricing and nobody's sure what's live online.How we fix itSeason templates with set departures, pricing and vessels. Add a run or swap a boat once and every channel updates.
- The problemGroups and schools by email chainSchool excursions, coach tours and corporate charters sorted over dozens of emails with deposits chased by hand.How we fix itGroup booking requests with quotes, deposits, name lists and invoices to Xero all in one place.
- The problemGuests want their photosYour crew took amazing breach shots and they sit on a phone. Guests email for weeks asking for them.How we fix itTrip galleries sent to every passenger after the cruise, with a print and USB upsell and shareable posts that tag you.
- The problemHotel pickups are a guessing gamePickup lists written up the night before, a driver ringing guests from outside the wrong resort.How we fix itPickup points chosen at booking, a run sheet for the driver with times and guest counts and texts when the bus is close.
- The problemReviews and sightings never make it onlineTripadvisor and Google reviews pile up unanswered and the website still says 'season starting soon' in August.How we fix itA daily sightings log that posts to your website and socials, plus every review in one inbox with review requests sent after each trip.
02What we build
Solutions
What we build for whale watching operators. Usually all talking to each other.
Pick the one that's hurting most or join the whole lot up. Everything is built around how your team works, not the other way round.
Sighting guarantee credits
Credits issued per trip from the deck, expiry rules, self-serve rebooking and a full history for every guest.
Weather call centre
Cancel, delay or move a departure in one tap with SMS and email notices and one-click guest responses.
Boarding & manifests
Tablet check-in at the gangway, live headcount, no-show flags and saved manifests for every trip.
Season scheduler
Season templates, peak runs, extra boats and holiday pricing set once and pushed everywhere.
Agent & OTA portal
Hotel desks, visitor centres and tour desks book at their own rates with commission statements done for them.
Group & school bookings
Quotes, deposits, name lists, risk documents for teachers and invoices straight into Xero.
Private charters
Whole-boat hire for weddings, ash scatterings and corporate trips with run sheets and catering.
Pickups & transfers
Pickup points at booking, driver run sheets and 'bus is nearly there' texts.
Trip photo galleries
Crew photos uploaded on the way back in, sent to each passenger with prints and USB packs to buy.
Daily sightings log
What the skipper saw today, posted to the website and socials, with season counts for your records.
Gift vouchers
Online vouchers with your branding, balances tracked and redeemed against any cruise.
Reviews & messages inbox
Tripadvisor, Google and Facebook reviews and messages in one place, with review requests after each trip.
A website that books
Fast on phones, live availability and today's sightings, built to rank for 'whale watching near me'.
03The systems
The big ones
Your whole season, on one system.
These are the systems whale watching operators ask us about most. Each one works on its own and they get properly useful once they're joined up.
Cruise bookings
Every seat, every channel, one count.
Departures, vessels and ticket types live in one place and every channel sells from the same seat count. Book on your website, through Viator or at the hotel desk and the boat never fills twice.
- Live seats across web, OTAs and agents
- Adult, child, family and concession tickets
- Add-ons like lunch, photos and pickups
- Season templates and extra runs
- Peak and school holiday pricing
- Works alongside Rezdy or FareHarbor
- Waitlists for sold-out cruises
- Gift vouchers and promo codes
- Payments through Stripe
- Daily takings into Xero
Sighting guarantees
No whales? The rebooks sort themselves.
When the skipper calls a no-sighting trip, every passenger on it gets a credit straight away. Guests rebook themselves online and you can see every outstanding credit for the season without digging through a clipboard.
- Mark a trip 'no sighting' from the deck
- Credits issued to every passenger
- SMS and email with a rebook link
- Guests pick a new cruise themselves
- Credits honoured on any channel
- Expiry dates and season rules
- Agent and OTA bookings covered too
- Outstanding credits report
- Seats held back for rebooks on busy days
- Full history per guest
Weather calls
Swell's up. One tap and everyone knows.
Cancel, delay or move a departure from your phone and every passenger hears about it by SMS and email within a minute. They choose to move, take a credit or get a refund from one link, so the phone stays quiet.
- Cancel or delay a run in one tap
- SMS and email to every passenger
- Agents and pickup drivers told too
- Guests choose move, credit or refund
- Suggests the next cruise with seats
- Website banner updates itself
- Refunds processed through Stripe
- Notes on why each trip was called
- Response tracker for who's replied
- Templates for common call-offs
Boarding & manifests
A headcount the skipper can trust.
Crew check guests on with a tablet at the gangway, not a soggy printout. The skipper sees a live headcount before the safety brief and every manifest is saved against the trip.
- Scan or tap guests on board
- Live headcount for the wheelhouse
- No-shows flagged before departure
- Medical and mobility notes for crew
- Swim tour waivers checked at boarding
- Works offline at the wharf
- Late bookings appear instantly
- Manifests saved per trip
- Crew on board recorded
- Pickup counts matched to boarding
Agents & groups
Hotel desks and schools, off the email chain.
Agents, visitor centres and tour desks get their own login to book at their rates, with commission statements worked out for them. Schools and coach groups request a quote, pay a deposit and upload their name list in one place.
- Agent logins with their own rates
- Seat allocations per agent
- Commission statements each month
- OTA bookings matched to payouts
- Group quotes and deposits online
- Name lists uploaded by the group
- Teacher info packs and risk documents
- Charter enquiries and run sheets
- Invoices straight into Xero or MYOB
- Which agents sell the most seats
04How it changes
Before and after
A no-whale day, wolloped.
Here's how a quiet trip could change. Every operator runs the guarantee a little differently, so we map yours first.
Before
- Boat comes back in without a sighting
- Crew write 'rebook' on the paper manifest
- Office types up a list later if there's time
- Guests ring weeks later asking how to use it
- Agent bookings get missed entirely
- Nobody knows how many free seats are owed
After
- Skipper taps 'no sighting' on the way in
- Every passenger gets a credit on the spot
- An SMS with a rebook link lands before they're off the boat
- Guests pick a new cruise themselves
- Agent and OTA guests are covered too
- Outstanding credits for the season on one screen
05Services
Everything under one roof
Software, websites and systems for whale watching operators.
Whether you're starting fresh or upgrading what you've got, it's one team from the first sketch to the support call.
Custom software for whale watching operators
Built around how your whale watching operator actually runs: cruise booking & live seats, sighting guarantee credits and the admin in between, in one system you own.
Websites for whale watching operators
Fast, hand-built websites that rank for the searches your customers make and turn visits into enquiries, bookings or orders.
Whale watching operator system upgrades
Running on spreadsheets, old software or a platform you've outgrown? We move your data across and upgrade in stages so the business never stops.
Apps and portals for whale watching operators
Weather call centre and boarding & manifests: customer and staff portals that work on any phone without an app store.
Integrations and automation
We connect Rezdy, FareHarbor and Bókun so information moves on its own and nobody retypes it.
Hosting, support and care
Managed hosting, updates, backups and security for your whale watching operator, looked after by the people who built it.
06Integrations
Connections
Plays nicely with what you already use.
We connect to the booking platforms, agents and accounting you already use. Keep the ones you're happy with and we fill the gaps around them.
- Rezdy
- FareHarbor
- Bókun
- Checkfront
- Viator
- GetYourGuide
- Klook
- Expedia
- Stripe
- Square
- Xero
- MYOB
- Tripadvisor
- Google Business Profile
- Google Maps
- Mailchimp
- Twilio SMS
- Deputy
07How we work
The process
Some people dip their toe in. We turn up in a rebreather.
We get properly below the surface of your whale watching operator: the systems, the busy days and the jobs everyone hates. Then we fix the bits that matter most first.
- 01
Think
We spend time in the booking office, at the wharf and on a cruise to see where the season actually gets messy.
- 02
Archi-tech
We plan it before writing code: your departures, vessels, channels, guarantee rules, weather calls, hosting and cost.
- 03
Build
Real engineering, shown to you early and often. Usually the guarantee or weather calls first, so you get a win before the next season starts.
- 04
Look after
We host it, maintain it and keep improving it between seasons. When something breaks you call the people who built it.
08Questions
FAQ
Things whale watching operators ask us.
Something else on your mind? Ring 0423 011 252 and ask the people who'd build it.
Can guests rebook themselves with their sighting credit?
Yes. They get a link by SMS and email, pick a new cruise with seats and the credit is applied automatically. You can set expiry dates and hold seats back for rebooks on busy days.
Does it work for guests who booked through Viator or a hotel desk?
Yes. Credits are tied to the passenger on the trip, not the channel they booked through, so agent and OTA guests are covered too.
We already use Rezdy or FareHarbor. Do we have to switch?
No. If your booking platform is doing its job we build around it: guarantees, weather calls, boarding, agent logins and photos on top. If it's holding you back we'll show you what replacing it would involve before anything changes.
Can we cancel a cruise for weather from a phone?
Yes. One tap from your phone and every passenger, agent and pickup driver is told. Guests choose to move, take a credit or get a refund from the same message.
Does the boarding app work without reception at the wharf?
Yes. It works offline and syncs when it's back in range, so the headcount is right even when the signal isn't.
How much does a whale watching system cost?
It depends on what you need, so we quote up front once we understand it. No surprise invoices, no lock-in and you own what we build.
How long does it take?
Smaller pieces like sighting credits or weather calls can be quick. Bigger systems are planned in stages so you get the first win early, ideally before the whales arrive.
Who looks after it once it's built?
We do. We host it on our own managed servers and keep it updated and secure, including through the off-season. When you need something you ring the people who built it.
We already have systems. Can you upgrade them instead of starting again?
Usually, yes. Most whale watching operators we work with keep what's working and upgrade the rest in stages. We move your data across, connect the old and new while we switch and retire the old system only when the new one is proven.
Contact
Got a whale watching operator problem? Consider it wolloped.
Tell us what's slow, broken, manual or missing. You don't need a spec, just describe what's going on.