Cellhire was founded almost 40 years ago when a car rental business in York, England, started offering cell phone services alongside cars and pivoted to solely renting out cell phones as they proved more profitable. They ran into an issue where many customers sent repeat messages about the cost of rentals, which took up a lot of the team’s time. So, they started using Booqable to add an online booking calendar to their website so customers could see exactly how much they would be charged.
Cellhire
Tim Williams, a lawyer in York, England, purchased a car rental business in 1987. Many of his customers were Americans traveling to visit the historical city. He soon discovered that they needed not only transport but also cell phones, as US networks were not compatible with European networks. So, he added cell phones to his inventory and found he was renting more cell phones than vehicles, and Cellhire was born.
Now, they offer over 50 internal cellular network options, such as SIM only or device and SIM card options. In addition, they rent out satellite devices for communication where cellular is not available. Recently, they have started offering fixed wireless bundles to compete with high-speed fiber and cable fixed services. This allows construction and retail companies to have their network up in less than a day rather than waiting for a cable line to be installed.
While they have recently started working with these kinds of operations, their general customers are people traveling for work and business. They have also done a lot of work in the event space, working with huge organizations to accommodate cell requirements at events like the Olympics and the World Cup. Cellhire has its headquarters in the UK but has satellite offices across the US, France, Japan, and Germany.
Less chats, more bookings
For a long time, Cellhire operated on a communication-based model for customers making bookings. They would receive bookings through phone, email, and chat, which led to a lot of time spent repeating the same information to customers. This was no longer working, and the company sought to modernize its operations. They hoped to reduce the time spent on these conversations and increase the time available to provide support.
To achieve this goal, they wanted to implement an online booking system that would allow customers to book cell services in a similar way to how they would book a hotel. This required an online booking system that they could integrate with their website, which allowed for online bookings and showed availability in a calendar. The solution for this quest was Booqable, and the availability calendar proved to be the game-changer for Cellhire.
Additionally, they liked the fact that they could update product information, create custom pricing structures, and modify listings from within the Booqable dashboard. Their developer simply integrated it with their existing website, and the sales staff can make updates without involving the developer any further. Finally, they were able to integrate Stripe for credit card processing, which has given them many more payment options than they had in the past.
Growing wireless
Cellhire is still in the early days of adopting Booqable, but they have also seen an increase in orders after hours as the booking calendar is so intuitive. This means they are getting bookings while their support team is not available to answer questions. They are now focusing on expanding their fixed wireless business and the traditional IOT business from moving small amounts of data to larger data bundles.
