Residents who book one of our venues in Eynsham are now enjoying a far quicker, easier experience, courtesy of our new Hallmaster booking system.
This platform, which is used by lots of community venues across the country, was originally trialled for our Sports Pavilion bookings online. It proved so successful it’s now available for the Village Hall, too.
Eynsham Parish Council is confident that regular hirers and those using the system for the first time will be impressed by the functions and ease of this platform.
What is Hallmaster and why do we need it?
Hallmaster started life as a website created by Bernard Hammick for his campsite in the late 1990s. It has developed into a booking platform used by over 3,000 venues in the UK and abroad, many of which are local councils like us.
This platform replaces four different systems we were juggling with a single, simpler one. It’s able to handle bookings and process invoices, and generally ease the process for both hirers and venue managers.
For residents, our Hallmaster platform provides visibility of real-time availability – you can view the full week schedule and see the gaps. The platform can also be accessed and bookings made at any time of the day or night, without needing to contact us.
For Parish Council staff, Hallmaster helps us create invoices and monitor usage, which in turn directs our efforts more efficiently when making improvements and upgrades to our facilities. The system also saves us time and paperwork, and we have reduced the hours of the Bookings and Accounts Clerk to reflect this.
We’re still here to help
When we initially introduced this new system for the Sports Pavilion bookings, our Bookings and Accounts Clerk worked closely with our regular hirers to support them through the transition, ensuring they now feel comfortable using the new platform.
Some comments they shared with us include: “it is very easy to use and provides you with complete control over bookings”. We have shared a ‘how-to’ video on our venue page that introduces hirers to the system, and one hirer said this video “really helped, as I am not the quickest with IT.”
Hallmaster is available to all online – and is the easiest way to book the Sports Pavilion or the Village Hall – but you can still contact a person if you want to. Our Bookings and Accounts Clerk can be reached by emailing bookings@eynsham-pc.gov.uk or calling 07935 832 702.
If residents have any general questions or feedback about the new Hallmaster system, please contact the Parish Council via epc.comms@eynsham-pc.gov.uk. We hope you all enjoy this new approach to securing one of our super spaces.