How to grow your payments app with hot air balloon ride operators
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
Hot air balloon ride operators fly small groups of passengers at sunrise or sunset, over countryside, vineyards and famous sights. Many flights are bought as gift vouchers for birthdays and anniversaries, and many are moved because of the wind or rain, sometimes more than once. Passengers often add photos, a toast after landing or a private basket for a proposal. A payments app that sells vouchers and takes bookings by link, keeps a clear record through date changes and takes payment for extras can win these operators, and every passenger who pays sees your app.
Talk to balloon ride operators
Ask local hot air balloon ride operators:
- How many flights are bought as gift vouchers, and how do people pay for them?
- How do you keep track of who has paid when flights are moved?
- Do passengers pay for photos, private flights or other extras?
- Do you take bookings through hotels, tour desks or travel agents?
Sell vouchers and bookings by payment link
A payment link for a gift voucher or a flight gets money in at once, and a clear record of who has paid makes rebooking after bad weather simple.
Take payment for extras
Letting passengers pay for photos, private baskets and other extras by phone makes it easy to say yes on the day.
Grow through hotels and tour desks
Balloon operators get many bookings from hotels, guesthouses and tour desks. One operator on your app can bring the businesses that sell its flights.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
What about tour guides?
The tour guides guide covers taking bookings from visitors from many countries and taking deposits, payments and tips.
Tour guides →What about guesthouses?
The guesthouses guide covers small guesthouses, B&Bs and holiday lets taking deposits and payments from guests near and far.
Guesthouses →Can I call it a bank?
In most countries "bank" is a protected word you can only use with a banking licence. Call it an account, a wallet, an app or a platform. The accounts and payments behind a SendPay Business platform are powered by licensed partners.
Is there a step-by-step plan I can follow?
Yes. The free launch checklist takes you from picking your people and naming your app to setting fees, going live and winning your first ten customers.
Digital bank app launch checklist →How do I start?
Pick a template, name it and preview every page before you pay. Your platform can be live on your own domain within 24 hours of confirmation.
Build my platform →Read next
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.