"I would highly recommend Cool Code Company to anyone looking for a reliable, knowledgeable, and customer‑focused partner with exceptional technical skills and capabilities."
Overview
Sports Tours Limited is a UK-based company specialising in organising youth sports tours and tournaments. Established in 1989, it is now part of the Rayburn Group, a family-run travel brand. The company focuses on creating memorable sporting experiences for football, rugby, and netball teams across the UK and Europe. Their services include arranging matches, accommodation, and full event logistics, with an emphasis on safety, customer service, and value for money. Following their acquisition by Rayburn, Sports Tours sought to strengthen their digital infrastructure and align with the wider group’s strategic direction. Having already worked with Rayburn for 12 years, partnering with Cool Code Company was the logical choice based on the strong working relationship already in place between the companies.
The challenge
Before partnering with us, Sports Tours relied on a legacy Tour Management System (TMS) that no longer suited either the scale or complexity of their events. The platform was difficult to maintain, relied heavily on manual workarounds and created operational headaches for staff managing large group bookings.
Key challenges:
- An outdated system that could not be easily changed or expanded to meet new business requirements
- Inefficient manual processes and spreadsheets used to get around gaps in functionality
- Limited self service capabilities for customers
- A lack of integration with core business platforms such as Salesforce
- The urgent need to improve security standards with future Cyber Essentials accreditation being a top priority
- No centralised digital process for booking management, group assignments, payments or tour visibility
Sports Tours needed a complete overhaul of their TMS system to support end to end booking management and all of the processes involved, improve efficiency and deliver a more engaging and straight forward experience for clubs, teams and internal staff members alike.
The solution
After a full technical review it became clear that the existing system could not be adapted to the extent it needed to be in a cost effective manner. We recommended a full rebuild using a modern technology stack to provide flexibility, strong performance and long term growth adaptability.
Working closely with the internal team at Sports Tours International, we delivered an entirely new Tour Management System that was designed to streamline their complete operational workflow.
The new solution provides:
- A fully modernised TMS built with Angular, .NET, Azure and Azure SQL
- Comprehensive automation replacing manual processes and spreadsheets
- A configurable customer portal that enables self service for bookings, team information, accommodation details and communication
- Full visibility for tour managers through a centralised dashboard
- A bookings model that supports multiple teams or groups under a single booking
- Integrated payment management including installments, allocations and approvals
- Role based access ensuring the right information reaches the right participants
- A flexible architecture that can support Sports Tour’s insatiable ambitions
The result
Sports Tours now runs on a powerful, efficient platform that has reshaped their entire event management process for the better.
Key outcomes achieved:
- A brand new TMS that automates the end to end booking journey
- A significant reduction in manual administrative tasks
- Improved engagement through the enhanced, user friendly customer portal
- Real time visibility of bookings, group compositions, payments and tour status
- Integrations with:
- Salesforce CRM
- NatWest Payit (Open Banking)
- Axcess for credit card processing
- Intacct for Sage accounting
- Straight forward processes from initial booking through to post tournament closure
- Strong foundations for future Cyber Essentials certification
The new system gives sales, operations and customer support teams the ability to work more efficiently, manage tours with total visibility and deliver a much improved experience to the clubs and families who attend.
The future
Our partnership with Sports Tours is ongoing. They have an extensive list of additions and enhancements in the pipeline that will further refine their service offering and allow them to continue to wow their clientele.
Together, we are shaping their digital foundations that will support thousands of young athletes and their families for years to come.
Technologies used:
Angular
Azure
.NET
Azure SQL
A word from Lucy James, Finance Director at Sports Tours Limited
Lucy James, Finance Director at Sports Tours and Rayburn Tours had this to say about her experience of working with Cool Code Company on this exciting project:
'We have enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Cool Code Company, and working with Tony and the team has always been a pleasure. They consistently go above and beyond, demonstrating an excellent understanding of our business and proposing the right solutions every time. Their ability to discuss and grasp all aspects of the organisation, while explaining technical details clearly to non‑technical staff, sets them apart.
Our most recent project—the new Sports Tours (TMS) solution—enabled us to deliver an integrated customer portal and back‑office system that not only enhances the support we offer to our customers, but also introduces more efficient, time‑saving processes to unlock our organisation’s growth potential.
During the challenges of COVID, they truly went the extra mile to support us, ensuring continuity and delivering exceptional service. I would highly recommend Cool Code Company to anyone looking for a reliable, knowledgeable, and customer‑focused partner with exceptional technical skills and capabilities.'
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