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Insights and updates from the Swellbase team about running a successful watersports or adventure activities business.
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Case Study
👨💻 founder's notes
How South Shields Surf School went from a daily struggle to a modern booking system their whole team can use
South Shields Surf School switched from Bloowatch to Swellbase and cut the day-to-day admin around hire and refunds, putting their whole team of 15 on a modern system that's easy to use and keeps improving.
Case Study
July 17, 2026
5 min read
How Progression Bikes took bike hire self-serve, cut daily admin, and reduced staffing costs with Swellbase
Progression Bikes replaced a manual enquiry form and a Google Calendar with self-serve online booking — saving around half an hour at its busiest periods each day, allowing them to run on fewer staff and removing the risk of double booking.
Case Study
July 16, 2026
6 min read
How Fistral Beach Surf School cut two systems down to one and grew online booking share from 30% to 55%
Fistral switched from Checkfront to Swellbase and dropped their second rota system, Connecteam, getting rid of hours of admin per week, while also seeing a huge ~70% increase in online bookings.
Case Study
July 15, 2026
7 min read
The Swellbase Build: Update 11
Voice-to-text training logs, deposits, calendar app integration
👨💻 founder's notes
July 14, 2026
2 min read
The Swellbase Build: Update 10
£100k+ processed, 15 centres, 5 new features
👨💻 founder's notes
June 15, 2026
3 min read
The Swellbase Build: Update 9
One for the mobile operations 🚐
👨💻 founder's notes
May 25, 2026
2 min read
The Swellbase Build: Update 8
Unique problems solved for surf schools, outdoor centres, and bike hire shops
👨💻 founder's notes
May 12, 2026
2 min read
How Blue Coast cut admin time and increased online bookings after switching to Swellbase
Blue Coast switched from FareHarbor to Swellbase and cut manager admin time by 6.5 hours a week while online booking revenue rose 40% year-on-year in April.
Case Study
May 6, 2026
6 min read
The Swellbase Build: Update 7
Payment links & internal calendar improvements
👨💻 founder's notes
April 14, 2026
3 min read