Hopscotch Sensory Play started when two former colleagues, Emma and Dave, reconnected after years apart and realized their ideas fit together. Emma was relaunching her children’s party hire business after COVID, and Dave had built out a concept for interactive drum circles.
They brought the two ideas under one brand, and Hopscotch now runs as two businesses in one: children’s party hire for families, and interactive drum circles for schools, aged care, community groups, corporate events, and weekly public sessions.
Families book party equipment for birthdays and celebrations, while schools, councils, and organizations book drum circles to bring people together through music. Customers book both sides of the business through the Hopscotch website, which links to a Booqable online store for browsing, booking, and paying. Emma and Dave chose Booqable to run both offerings from one place, using the booking page and inventory management to keep bookings organized as they grow.
The online booking page
Before Booqable, Hopscotch ran on Excel spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls. Public drum circle sessions took payment on the spot with Square. It worked for getting started, but Emma and Dave knew it wouldn’t hold up as the business grew, especially with two different offerings to manage under one roof.
Booqable’s online store solved this by giving them a ready-made booking page they could link directly from their existing website, without needing to build a separate system for each part of the business. Emma said the website integration has probably been her favorite feature, since it creates a simple booking experience for customers while keeping everything organized behind the scenes.
For Hopscotch, this means:
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Customers can browse, book, and pay online whenever suits them, instead of calling or emailing
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Party hire and drum circle bookings run through the same website, even though they’re different offerings
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Admin work that used to eat into their day now happens automatically in the background
As a start-up, every hour matters, and having bookings come in on their own frees up time Emma and Dave used to spend on paperwork. It also means customers get a more convenient way to book, which they see as a win on both sides.
Seamless inventory management
With party equipment going out for birthdays and celebrations, Emma and Dave needed a way to know what was available at a glance, especially as bookings picked up. Manually tracking stock in spreadsheets left room for double bookings, which is a real risk when equipment for one event overlaps with another.
Booqable’s inventory feature tracks availability automatically, so the same item can’t be booked twice for overlapping dates.
For Hopscotch, this means:
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No more manually cross-checking spreadsheets to confirm what’s free
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Confidence that inventory won’t get overbooked as more customers book online
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Bookings, availability, and customer information all sitting in one place instead of scattered across spreadsheets and emails
Emma also pointed to the ability to take credit card payments as a feature that’s made a real difference, letting customers pay online at the time of booking rather than sorting out payment separately. Together, this means Emma and Dave can trust their numbers without double checking them, and spend that saved time with customers instead.
One system, two sides of the business
“Having everything in one place has made a real difference,” Emma said. “It’s reassuring to know our bookings, availability and customer information are all together instead of being spread across different spreadsheets and emails.”
Hopscotch Sensory Play is still early in its journey with Booqable, but Emma and Dave already feel more organized and ready for what’s next. They’re planning to grow both sides of the business, expanding party hire while introducing more schools, community groups, and businesses to their drum circles. For Emma and Dave, it comes down to creating experiences that bring people together, while Booqable handles the bookings behind the scenes.
