TripWorks Operators Have Captured 1.3 Million Signed Waivers

Every attraction and tour operator knows the check-in bottleneck: guests bunched at the desk, filling out a paper form or squinting at someone else's phone to sign a liability waiver before they can start their day. It's the kind of friction that shows up nowhere in a demo and everywhere in a Saturday morning line.

TripWorks operators have already proven the fix is built-in, not bolted on. Across every account that's ever turned the feature on, guests have completed more than 1.3 million signed waivers directly in TripWorks — no separate signing tool, no printed stack of forms to scan later. And because so much of that signing happens before the guest ever reaches the front desk, check-in moves the way it's supposed to: fast.

What a digital waiver actually is

A digital waiver is the same liability release or consent form guests have always signed on a clipboard — read the terms, fill in a few details, sign your name — except it happens on a screen instead of paper, and the signed copy is stored automatically instead of filed away in a drawer. For an operator, that one shift is what makes a waiver something a guest can complete on their own phone before they ever reach you, rather than something that has to happen standing at your counter. TripWorks University walks through the setup end to end in Setting up Waivers.

Where the line actually starts

Most check-in delays aren't about payment or tickets — those are usually settled well before arrival. They're about paperwork: a waiver that has to be read, filled in, and signed by every member of a party, often for the first time, standing at a counter. Multiply that by a full boat or a busy tour and a five-minute form becomes a fifteen-minute line.

Getting a signature before the guest ever shows up

TripWorks gives operators five ways to put a waiver in front of a guest, and most rely on the one that works before arrival: a personal signing link, dropped straight into a confirmation or pre-arrival email or text. Every recipient gets their own link to the waivers on their booking, so there's nothing to print, scan, or chase down separately. Guests can also sign anytime from their customer portal, where a "Complete your waivers" banner walks them through it — no link required from the operator at all.

For the moments that still happen in person, the same system covers them too: a paired tablet at the check-in table, a QR code a guest scans on their own phone, or a self-service kiosk for walk-ups who don't have a booking yet. It's one waiver system across every channel, not a pre-arrival tool bolted onto a separate in-person one. TripWorks University covers the full guest-facing flow in How Customers Sign Waivers.

What signing actually looks like

A guest who opens the link or portal fills in the fields the waiver asks for, then signs by typing their name or drawing a signature on their phone or the operator's tablet. One person can sign for their whole party in a single pass, then share the remaining waivers so the rest of the group signs on their own devices — no one has to huddle around a single screen. A parent or guardian signs on behalf of a minor the same way. Once every waiver on the booking is complete, the guest's portal simply confirms they're all set — there's no repeat prompt on a second visit.

Automatic follow-up for the guests who put it off

Not every guest signs the moment the confirmation email lands, so TripWorks chases the rest automatically. Automated event reminders can prompt a guest to sign as the date approaches, and a confirmation email can carry a "sign your waiver" button that only appears — via a conditional block — for guests who still have something outstanding. Staff can also send a one-off reminder by email or text straight from the day's manifest for anyone who's cutting it close. Guests who've already signed simply don't see any of it again.

What the adoption numbers actually show

TripWorks operators have collectively captured more than 1.3 million signed waivers to date, all inside the same system that runs their bookings — no separate signing tool required. That all-time figure includes accounts that have since moved on from TripWorks, so it's worth separating from a live-adoption view: of TripWorks' currently active accounts, 126 of 228 use the waivers feature today.

The pre-arrival number is just as easy to overstate, so here's the honest version: looking at bookings with a fixed scheduled time — about 84% of all signed waivers fall into that category — roughly 70% of guests sign before that scheduled start time. Walk-up and "anytime" bookings, the remaining share, don't have a fixed start to measure against, so they're set aside from that calculation rather than counted either way. The takeaway isn't "70% of everyone" — it's that among guests booking a specific time slot, most are done with their waiver before they're even in the parking lot. If check-in lines are where your team loses time, book a demo and see the same flow running on your own bookings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a digital waiver?

A digital waiver is an electronic version of a liability release or consent form that a guest reads and signs online — by typing or drawing a signature — instead of on paper. TripWorks stores the signed copy automatically, with no separate signing tool required.

Do guests need to download an app or use a third-party tool to sign?

No. Signing happens inside the same link, portal, tablet, QR code, or kiosk flow TripWorks already provides — there's no separate signing product for guests or staff to learn.

Can one person sign for their entire group?

Yes. A single guest can complete and sign for the whole party, then share the remaining waivers so others sign on their own devices.

What happens if a guest still hasn't signed by the time they arrive?

They can sign right at check-in — on a paired tablet, by scanning a QR code, or through their own portal — so an unsigned waiver slows things down rather than stopping them.

Are the signatures legally binding?

TripWorks stores every signed waiver with a timestamp as your record, but whether a given waiver holds up is a legal question for your jurisdiction — the enforceable language should come from your own insurer or attorney, the same as the waiver text itself.

Can a parent sign for a child?

Yes. A parent or guardian completes and signs on the minor's behalf, the same flow as any other guest.

How do digital waivers reduce check-in lines?

Most signing happens before arrival — guests get a personal link in their confirmation email or text, or sign anytime from their customer portal — so the paperwork is already done by the time they reach your counter. What is left in person moves faster too, since a tablet or QR code replaces a clipboard and a pen.

Built for a line at the door, not a filing cabinet

For a single-boat or single-location operator, the win is simple: fewer people standing at the counter with a pen, because most of them already signed from their phone the night before. For a multi-location or franchise operation, it's consistency — the same waiver library, the same signing experience, and the same record-keeping across every site, without reconciling paperwork from a bolted-on third-party signing tool at each one. Either way, the paperwork gets out of the guest's way before they ever reach you. See how digital waivers fit alongside the rest of day-to-day operations tooling in TripWorks.