Station Kiosk App and Self Check-In

The station kiosk is where the digital experience meets the physical venue. A tablet mounted at each simulator bay serves as the guest's control center throughout their session, handling check-in, sport selection, session timing, food and beverage orders, session extensions, and more. The SimulatorOps kiosk app reduces the workload on your front desk staff, speeds up guest turnover, and puts control directly in the hands of the people using your simulators.

Self Check-In and Session Start

When a guest arrives at their assigned station, the kiosk displays a welcome screen with your venue branding and a prompt to check in. Check-in options include entering a booking confirmation code, scanning a QR code from their confirmation email, tapping a membership card via NFC, or simply tapping their name from a list of upcoming bookings for that station. The entire check-in process takes seconds and requires no interaction with front desk staff.

After check-in, the kiosk presents the sport selection screen. If the guest booked a specific sport, it is pre-selected and the guest can proceed directly. If the station supports multiple sports and the guest did not specify during booking, they choose from the available options. Each sport is presented with a clear icon, name, and brief description. Once selected, the kiosk triggers the station hardware to load the appropriate simulation environment, calibrate the launch monitor for the chosen sport, and adjust any sport-specific settings like screen layout or target configurations.

The session timer starts as soon as the guest confirms their sport selection and the station is ready. A persistent timer display on the kiosk shows the remaining session time, giving guests a clear sense of how long they have. Configurable alerts appear at intervals you define, such as 15 minutes remaining and 5 minutes remaining, so guests are never caught off guard when their time is up.

In-Session Controls and Food Ordering

During the session, the kiosk provides a set of controls that the guest can access without leaving the bay. The sport switcher allows guests to change sports mid-session if their station supports it. A guest might start with 30 minutes of golf and switch to baseball for the remaining 30 minutes, and the kiosk handles the transition seamlessly, saving the golf session data and initializing the baseball environment.

The session mode selector lets guests switch between different modes within a sport. In golf, they might switch from a full 18-hole round to a driving range session or a closest-to-the-pin challenge. In baseball, they might switch from batting practice to a home run derby game. These mode switches happen without restarting the session or losing any accumulated data.

Food and beverage ordering is integrated directly into the kiosk interface. Guests tap the menu icon to browse your food and drink offerings, add items to their order, and submit it. The order flows to your kitchen display system with the station number clearly identified, so servers know exactly where to deliver. Guests can run a tab throughout their session and settle at checkout, or pay for each order individually. This in-bay ordering capability significantly increases food and beverage revenue because it eliminates the friction of walking to a counter and standing in line.

The kiosk also provides access to session data in real time. A compact stats panel shows running averages, recent shot data, and personal bests achieved during the current session. Guests who want a deeper look can expand the stats view to see shot-by-shot detail, trend charts, and comparison to their historical averages.

Session Extension, Checkout, and Idle Screen

As the session timer counts down, the kiosk presents extension options if the next time slot on that station is available. The guest sees the cost for an additional 30 minutes or hour, with any applicable member discounts already applied. A single tap extends the session, processes the payment, and resets the timer. This seamless extension flow captures revenue that would otherwise walk out the door and keeps satisfied guests playing longer.

When the session ends, the kiosk displays a session summary with key metrics, personal bests, and a prompt to share results via email or social media. If the guest has a food and beverage tab, the checkout screen shows the balance and processes payment. After checkout, the kiosk transitions back to the branded idle screen, ready for the next guest.

The idle screen serves double duty as a marketing surface. When no session is active, the kiosk displays your venue branding along with rotating promotional content: upcoming league registrations, new menu items, membership specials, or event announcements. This turns every inactive station into a digital sign that promotes your business to anyone walking past. The content is managed centrally from the admin dashboard, so you can update promotions across all kiosks simultaneously with a few clicks.

The kiosk is not just a convenience feature. It is the single most effective tool for reducing front desk bottlenecks during peak hours. When guests can check in, order food, extend sessions, and check out at their bay, your staff is freed up to focus on hospitality rather than transaction processing.

What's Next

Guests ordering food from the kiosk is only half the story. In the next post, we dive into the food, beverage, and retail pro shop system in SimulatorOps, covering POS operations, tab management, kitchen display integration, pro shop inventory, and bundled packages that combine simulator time with dining.