The problem at this venue
Guests report a loss in more than one place: the app, the hotel, guest relations, a phone line, a form. A Hollywood theme park partner was running several of those at once, and matching and storage could not keep up, including moving hundreds of items between locations.
A UK theme park averaged a 9% return rate, with some months under 1%. Claims arrived from many sources and overloaded the call center. Guests got a single email after they submitted.
A Fortune 50 theme park resort (5 parks, 1,300 acres) had used the same provider for a decade. Guests faced excessive shipping fees, with FedEx usage adding 25 to 50% markups, and the matching engine produced more possible matches than the team could review.
Bag check is its own pile. Items that cannot come into the park need a path home, or they are thrown away.
How Boomerang works here
01Guest claim
Guests file a claim in under 45 seconds from any device, through the link on your website or a QR code. No app download. Staff can file for a guest who calls or walks up, and that guest gets the same updates.
02AI matching
Matching runs when an item is logged and when a claim comes in. It reads photos, descriptions, dates, locations, follow-up answers and venue context. Your team confirms every match before the guest is notified. The guest then sees the same details and approves or denies the match. At the Hollywood theme park partner, AI matching scaled the return rate by 2x+ to about 40%.
03Shipping and pickup
The guest pays for shipping. They choose a carrier and service level at checkout, at discounted rates. Guests typically pay under $15 for a standard return. Pickup is there too, with a signature for the handover. At the Fortune 50 resort, returns grew until the team shipped five days a week, up from two or three.
04KeepSafe at bag check
KeepSafe is a separate product in the same portal for items stopped at security. Staff bag the item and the guest keeps half a ticket, so there are no forms in the line. The guest scans their half later. Your team marks ship, hold or discard, and unshippable items are told up front.
Results and partners
Figures below are the ones already published on the Impact page. Partners named on this page work with Boomerang. A result stays with its venue descriptor unless the Impact page already names that partner.
- 17x
- improvement in matching accuracy at a Fortune 50 theme park resort after a full rebuild of the matching engine
- 130,000+
- items logged in year one at that resort, then expanded across its full US theme park portfolio within the first year
- 3x
- return rate in the first 3 months at a UK theme park, up from a 9% average
“We're returning so many items that we keep running out of shipping supplies. We've dedicated staff to manage inventory, overhauled our mailroom, and increased shipping from 2 to 3 days a week to 5. The team even coined a phrase: 'Peace, Love, Boomerang.'”
Partners
Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Kids Resort, Universal Horror Unleashed, Alton Towers Resort, Thorpe Park Resort, Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland Windsor Resort, Luna Park in Coney Island, Navy Pier.
More stories, including the anonymized ones, are on Impact.
Integrations
- Single sign-on: SAML or OIDC with major provider support such as Microsoft, Google, Okta and more.
- Shipping carriers including USPS, FedEx, UPS and Royal Mail, domestic and international.
- Apple Find My links on guest claims.
- A single claim link and QR signage that drop into any venue website or app.
Boomerang runs in the browser, with nothing to install, and works alongside the systems your team already uses. Lost and found features are on the product page. Matching has its own page. KeepSafe, for items stopped at a gate or bag check, is on the KeepSafe page.
Questions
Do guests need to download an app?
No. Guests file a claim in under 45 seconds from any device, through the link on your website or a QR code. No app download.
How does matching work across a resort?
Matching checks the claim against what your parks have logged, and multi-location accounts keep each park's storage, branding and reporting separate. Matching runs when an item is logged and when a claim comes in. It reads photos, descriptions, dates, locations, follow-up answers and venue context. Your team confirms every match before the guest is notified. The guest then sees the same details and approves or denies the match.
Who pays for shipping?
The guest. The venue pays for the software, which is how guest shipping stays at discounted carrier rates instead of a markup. The guest pays for shipping. They choose a carrier and service level at checkout, at discounted rates. Guests typically pay under $15 for a standard return. Pickup is there too, with a signature for the handover.
Does KeepSafe slow bag check?
No. Staff tear a ticket and bag the item. The guest scans their half later, so there are no forms at the checkpoint.
Can we bring over the items already in the back room?
Yes. We bulk import your existing inventory, so go-live does not start with an empty shelf.
How long does it take to go live?
Sign the agreement, join a 30-minute kick-off call, add the claim link to your website, and you are taking digital claims. We bulk import your existing inventory, so the back room is searchable from day one.
Will this replace our lost and found phone line?
It has, where guests stopped needing it. The Hollywood theme park partner removed its lost and found phone number and left guest communication to Boomerang, about 130,000 emails a year. The UK theme park ended manual phone intake of claims. Your team can still file a claim for a guest who calls.
How is it priced?
An annual platform subscription sized to your venues and volume. Book a demo and we will scope a quote with you. Guests pay fair shipping. Boomerang offers revenue share opportunities. What fits depends on your venues and volume.