Richard Godfrey runs Arran Active on the Isle of Arran, a scenic and easily accessible Scottish island off the west coast of Scotland. The business is part of Scotland’s largest independent family-run outdoor store, which has long been a hub for visitors and locals seeking outdoor gear. Four years ago, they responded to growing interest by expanding into equipment hire.
“Being based right on the shoreline, it was an obvious step to take and something that visitors coming to Arran have really taken to,” Richard explains. Today, their paddle board rental and kayak rental services attract a wide mix of users, from complete novices to seasoned professionals, and even island residents looking for an easy weekend activity.
Before switching to Booqable, Arran Active faced serious hurdles managing their rentals. “We used another competitor before Booqable. However, their cost and complex platform made it difficult for our team,” Richard says. The software was over-complicated, overpriced, and hard for staff to use. These challenges added friction to daily operations, making it harder to keep up with growing rental demand.
In 2025, they began looking for a better solution. They needed a system that didn’t just work, but made running a rental business easier. That’s where Booqable came in. With its ease of use, cost-effective inventory management, and flexible mobile app, the platform has helped Arran Active launch and grow their rental offering with far fewer headaches.
Cost-effective and stronger ease-of-use.
Booqable’s Starter Plan stood out to Richard for its affordability. Unlike their previous rental platform, which was “complex, overpriced and [made] it difficult for our team,” Booqable’s pricing model includes monthly subscriptions and no lock-in contracts. It was a much-needed shift from the expensive and inflexible setup they were used to.
Once they joined, the Arran Active team found the dashboard intuitive and quick to learn. Inventory is managed centrally, and equipment, pricing, availability, and customer records are all organized in one place. Booqable is designed for non-technical users to navigate easily, making it ideal for teams who just want a straightforward way to manage rentals.
This new setup has allowed them to:
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Reduce time spent managing inventory and bookings
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Train seasonal and part-time staff with minimal effort
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Avoid overbookings thanks to real-time product availability
With Booqable in place, the pain of using expensive and confusing software disappeared. “A more simple and cost effective solution,” Richard says, was exactly what they needed.
Accepting online bookings through their existing website
Before using Booqable, Arran Active primarily handled rentals through walk-ins, with no easy way to take online bookings. That made it difficult to capture early interest from tourists and plan inventory ahead of time. Booqable’s rental website plugin gave them the tools to solve that.
The Booqable website plugin is quick to integrate and provides product cards, live availability and pricing display, a date picker, shopping cart, and secure Stripe-powered checkout. These components can be added directly to their existing website, so customers can see live availability, choose their gear, select a time, and make payment without needing to call or visit the store.
With this plugin, they can now:
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Accept bookings 24/7 through their website
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Collect payments instantly and securely online
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Automatically block out dates and inventory to prevent double bookings
The process is smooth for both the business and the customer. “Time saving and ease of use has helped us focus on the customer,” Richard notes. It’s made planning ahead and managing demand significantly easier.
Rental management on the go
For many rental businesses, being stuck behind a desk or computer makes daily management harder than it should be. That was a challenge for Arran Active too, until they started using the Booqable mobile app. Downloadable on both iOS and Android, the app syncs with your rental inventory and customer orders in real time, and it connects with your phone’s camera for barcode scanning.
Using the app, Richard and his team can handle the entire rental process without needing to return to a computer. “Processing the bookings, issuing out equipment and returning,” all happens from their phones.
Here’s how the daily process works:
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Online bookings and payments come in automatically
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Confirmation emails are sent to the customer instantly
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The dashboard shows each day’s pickups and returns
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Packing slips are printed and equipment is prepped
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Staff scan items out using the mobile app and track order status updates
Using the app has allowed them to move rentals faster by scanning barcodes from their phones, stay up to date with live inventory availability, and quickly respond to changes or customer needs in the field. With the app, the team isn’t tethered to a front desk. Everything they need is in their pocket, and everything stays in sync.
Confidence for future growth
Arran Active has grown its paddle board rental and kayak rental services with confidence since adopting Booqable. By solving the core challenges of software complexity, pricing, and daily rental management, the team has gained back time and focus.
“The biggest change with Booqable has been the running of our business,” Richard says. With Booqable powering their bookings, website, and mobile workflows, they’re in a strong position to keep growing their rental services in the years ahead.
