Magnolia Plantation & Gardens guides guests and frees up staff resources

A mobile guide that reduces queues and supports sustainable operations

With thousands of guests arriving on busy days, staff were spending significant time answering repeat questions about locations, tour times and what was in bloom. Queues at the entrance stretched as each family needed individual guidance, and handing out printed maps created unnecessary waste.

Magnolia needed an all-in-one digital solution that handled orientation, ticketing, messaging and seasonal horticultural information, without adding pressure to staff.

Working with Attractions.io, the team launched a mobile app with interactive wayfinding, digital ticketing, self-guided tours, push notifications and a dynamic “What’s in Bloom” feature.

Adoption and usage was immediate:

60,000

App downloads

93%

Users reporting a positive experience post-visit

“Previously, our staff tried to move guests through quickly, but there was a lot of information to share. Wait times ranged from two to five minutes per family, and if someone was purchasing a membership, it could take up to 12 minutes.”

Ivey Gibbs,
Sales Operations Manager at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

How Magnolia uses its mobile app to guide guests and free up staff resources

The Magnolia team integrated the app into their operations from day one, providing staff training and internal promotional videos to ensure everyone could support guests using the new tools.

“Our leadership team has been great at promoting the app, and the buy-in from the top levels of management has trickled down quickly. Staff now use it at every opportunity to enhance guest interactions. Whether it’s self-guided tours, integrated ticketing with Gateway’s Galaxy® solution or push notifications, the app has become essential.”– Ivey Gibbs

Push notifications now highlight daily activities, weather alerts and membership promotions. Mobile ticketing helps reduce queues, and interactive wayfinding ensures guests feel confident exploring the vast gardens — especially in areas where natural features limit visibility. With 60% of users opting in to ongoing communication, the team can reach guests with timely, relevant updates that enhance their visit.

“As a romantic garden in the English style, we let nature run its course and work our pathways around that. It’s easy to end up somewhere unexpected, and the app helps guests orient themselves, especially when it’s hard to see landmarks like the river from the centre of the gardens.” – Ivey Gibbs

The dynamic “What’s in Bloom” feature allows the horticulture team to rotate plant information seasonally, guiding guests toward camellias, azaleas and other seasonal highlights.

“It’s not the same as a full archival cataloguing system, but for the public, it’s incredible because we can easily rotate what we share with guests. Our horticulture team is very excited about this feature.” – Ivey Gibbs

Smoother operations with more helpful data and improved sustainability

The app’s success has significantly reduced pressure on staff. With more than half of arriving guests downloading the app, staff now direct guests to digital resources instead of handling long queues at the welcome centre.

“On busy days, staff can direct guests to the app for information, reducing the time spent at the window. And for our staff who aren’t public-facing, it reduces the interruptions to their workday because guests now have the information they need in their pocket.” – Ivey Gibbs

Magnolia has also drastically reduced printing, no longer handing out paper maps thanks to wayfinding inside the app.

Native purchasing is still lightly promoted, yet already delivers up to 40% mobile ticket sales — a strong foundation for future growth.

And, beyond operations, the app has become a powerful insight tool. Heat maps reveal where guests spend the most time, which points of interest they visit and opportunities for future enhancements.

“The more guests that download the app, the more data we’re capturing, and those guests are going to have a better experience from the moment they step out of their car. We know there’s more data we can dig into, and we’re looking forward to exploring that further.”

Ivey Gibbs,
Sales Operations Manager, Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

Helping Magnolia create a calmer, more sustainable guest experience

For Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, the Attractions.io mobile app has become an essential part of their guest journey — reducing queues, improving navigation, supporting sustainability and giving staff the time and space to focus on what they do best.

With strong adoption, high satisfaction and better insights into guest behaviour, Magnolia is building a more efficient, eco-friendly and engaging experience for every visitor.

“Attractions.io hits it out of the park with responsiveness. The team wants to hear about what we need and the struggles we’re facing, and they’ve really championed us to help make our guest experience better.” - Ivey Gibbs