How The OTC modernised its rental, tuition & event operations with Sailia

About The OTC

The Official Test Centre (OTC) is a premier watersports centre located at Osprey Quay, Portland, Dorset (within the grounds of the National Sailing Academy). It offers windsurfing, wing-foiling, SUP, kiteboarding and e-foiling (Fliteboard) across tuition, hire and testing of the latest equipment. The OTC works with cutting-edge kit, hosts events and instructor training, and delivers highly flexible customer experiences.

The Challenge

The OTC’s operations presented several complexity layers:

• Tuition, hire and sales blending together: customers may want kit hire, tuition, demos and purchases in one visit.

• Innovative sports (wing-foiling, e-foiling) requiring clear participant info, specific equipment tracking, risk consents and dynamic availability.

• Large group sessions, corporate days, demo events requiring registration flows, payments, kit management, staffing and tracking.

• The need for a unified system that handled bookings, payments, staffing registers and equipment hire in one platform, reducing manual effort and ensuring a professional experience.

The Solution

By implementing Sailia, The OTC achieved:

• Single Platform for Tuition & Hire: Whether a booking is for a wing-foil taster, SUP hire or corporate group session, everything runs through Sailia—booking, payment, participant info, equipment allocation.

• Dynamic Equipment & Session Management: Real-time availability tracking of boards, wings and foils; automated registration including consents and liability forms.

• Staffing & Registers: Instructors’ availability and qualifications managed within the same system, ensuring coaching sessions are correctly staffed and logged.

• Event & Group Flows: Corporate bookings and group sessions handled seamlessly, including booking multiple participants, split payments, customised upsells and kit hire options.

• Reporting & Insights: Usage metrics per kit type, per session, hire vs tuition revenue, all visible in one dashboard for the leadership team.

• Shop integration: The OTC have been able to upsell items from their sister business Surf Doctor through automated pre and post course emails.

The Results

• Seamless integration of hire, tuition and events, reducing friction for customers and staff.

• Better equipment utilisation and clearer visibility of kit availability.

• Time savings on admin and smoother staff coordination.

• Improved customer experience, clear flows, less manual correction, higher uptake of group and corporate sessions.

• A more scalable model for continuing to expand into new watersports and event types.

Testimonial

“Sailia continues to progress and has been tailored to meet our needs. The team communicate well and are constantly improving the platform. It’s been a pleasure working with them.”
— Tris, Director, The OTC

Why The OTC chose Sailia

• High-Complexity Capability: Handles tuition, hire, events and equipment flows in one system.

• Flexibility for Emerging Sports: Supports dynamic new sports (wing-foiling, e-foiling) easily.

• Unified Experience: For customers, hire and training flows feel integrated and professional.

• Insight & Scale: Allows growing business model without multiplying admin.