Venue Valet LLC to Provide Service Call Button Systems and Operations Management Solutions for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Corporate and Franchise Locations with CallConnect
Press Release – August 23, 2021
Austin, TX
Venue Valet, a leading provider of Guest Service Call Button Systems and Operations Management Solutions for the cinema industry, has been awarded a contract from Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to provide services with their CallConnect family of products for Alamo corporate and franchise theatre locations nationwide.
The award follows a recent Service Call Button System and Operations Management Solution installation at one of the Alamo Drafthouse’s newest franchisee locations in El Paso, TX. The installation included dedicated “Press For Service” call buttons installed on each recliner, allowing guests to immediately alert cinema staff to a request for service with no disruption to the cinema experience – an experience that the Alamo Drafthouse has been known for over the past several decades. The service call buttons, in combination with the operations management solution, have resulted in more satisfied customers while also optimizing labor efforts and costs.
“In planning our newest location in El Paso, TX, we wanted to make a change to our existing service model,” says Neil Billingsley-Michaelsen, franchise owner of Alamo Drafthouse El Paso. “We wanted to help our team members in knowing when a guest needed something, and did not want them solely relying on looking for the paper orders placed on their table. With the new Venue Valet Service Call Button System and Operations Management Solution, our staff doesn’t even need to be in the auditorium to know when a guest requires service. Guests write down their order and press the service call button and CallConnect does the rest. Our staff now knows which guest needs attention, how long they’ve been waiting, and what they’ve previously ordered just by looking at the CallConnect screens throughout our cinema. We, as management, now truly manage our staff to a very simple metric ‘Get to service call button requests quickly!’ This system has made our team members’ jobs easier and made a much more satisfied guest.”
Along with the service call buttons that are installed at each seat, CallConnect by Venue Valet also provides a full operations management solution that provides real time data and historical reporting so cinemas can make timely decisions that improve customer service and maximize operational efficiency.
“We rely on the data that CallConnect provides to help us efficiently run our operations, which involves multiple Point of Sale systems and multiple employees at each of our locations doing a wide range of tasks simultaneously,” said Vivek Abichandani, Vice President of Facilities, Energy, and Sustainability for Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. “CallConnect combines data from multiple systems, along with service call button data, giving us the power to make operational decisions in real-time.”
“Venue Valet is excited to help Alamo Drafthouse welcome back customers into their theatres and take the Alamo Drafthouse experience that was started here in Austin, TX back in 1997 to a new level of efficiency, guest satisfaction, and profitability for Alamo Drafthouse and its guests,” said Matt Mader, President, and Founder of Venue Valet. “Adding Alamo Drafthouse corporate and Franchise owners to our list of dine-in cinema customers is another milestone for our business and we look forward to working with Alamo Drafthouse to help revive and grow the dine-in cinema industry in the years to come.”
About Venue Valet LLC
Venue Valet, LLC is a privately held technology company headquartered in Austin, TX that provides a wide range of products and services for the dine in cinema industry, as well as other types of entertainment venues such as stadiums, arenas and multi-purpose family entertainment centers. CallConnect by Venue Valet specializes in bringing better data visibility to the venue owner/operator to increase operational efficiency and a better experience to the venue guest. Visit www.venue-valet.com for more information.
About ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was founded in 1997 as a single-screen mom and pop repertory theater in Austin, TX. Twenty-four years later, with 38 locations and counting, Alamo Drafthouse has been called “the best theater in America” by Entertainment Weekly and “the best theater in the world” by Wired. Alamo Drafthouse has built a reputation as a movie lover’s oasis not only by combining food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also introducing unique programming and high-profile, star-studded special events. Alamo Drafthouse created Fantastic Fest, a world-renowned film festival dubbed “The Geek Telluride” by Variety. Fantastic Fest showcases eight days of genre cinema from independents, international filmmakers, and major Hollywood studios. Alamo Drafthouse’s collectible art gallery, Mondo, offers breathtaking, original products featuring designs from world-famous artists based on licenses for popular TV and movie properties including Star Wars, Star Trek & Universal Monsters. Alamo Drafthouse continues to expand its brand in new and exciting ways, including the American Genre Film Archive, a non-profit film archive dedicated to preserving, restoring and sharing film, and Alamo On Demand, a new VOD platform boasting a growing and carefully curated library of entertainment for rental or purchase.
Venue Valet Launches Movie Theater Mobile App with Star Cinema Grill
Press Release – December 10, 2019
Austin, TX
Venue Valet, LLC, an industry leader providing software solutions, digital signage and call button systems to cinemas, announce the Star Cinema Grill VIP mobile application for iOS and Android, now available for download in the Apple App and Google Play Stores.
“We recognize that purchasing movie tickets with your mobile phone has often been a confusing and frustrating experience. Our mobile application starts by taking the guesswork out of the guests hands and gets them through the ticket purchase process fast by allowing them to search for seats based on availability, quality of seats, or time frame that meets their preferences.” said Matthew Mader, President of Venue Valet. “We worked directly with Star Cinema Grill to provide them an application that truly changes the way guests can purchase tickets with their phone because that’s where the guest experience starts. In addition, the mobile app is the start of bringing a true VIP experience to the cinema industry that will open up several new lines of revenue for the cinema.”
Complimenting the Star Cinema Grill VIP loyalty program, the Star VIP mobile application will understand the uniqueness of each guest and personalizes the mobile experience just for them.
“We didn’t just want another way for our guests to purchase a ticket online, they can already do that by going to our website using their smart phone ,” said Jason Ostrow, Vice President of Development of Star Cinema Grill. “We wanted to simplify and enhance the guest experience, from ticketing to offers to loyalty, with many more future features to come. The app will become a one-stop shop for all things Star Cinema Grill.”
The Star Cinema Grill VIP mobile application will soon allow the guest to request refills, participate in trivia contests, receive customized food and beverage as well as third party offers and pre-select their food and beverage order based on recommendations from their previous purchases stored in their VIP profile. “This is not just a convenience for the guest because it reduces disruptions when they arrive, it also allows us to plan ahead and be much more efficient with our labor. On a busy Friday night, knowing a portion of the food orders in advance will help our kitchen to ensure guest’s food orders are prepared and delivered in a timely and accurate manner and will enable our servers to focus on providing an even better experience to our guests.”, said John Walsh, Vice President, Operations from Star Cinema Grill.
Venue Valet has developed the mobile application so it can be customized for other cinema exhibitors so they can benefit from the additional revenue streams and not just have a generic white-label mobile app, but a truly customized mobile app for their business and brand. “Because we are the leading provider of call button systems for dine in cinemas, Venue Valet is in a unique position because much of the software integration into the cinemas critical theater management systems such as ticket and food and beverage point of sale has already been done. We are taking advantage of years of software development and experience with our cinema partners to define the future of the cinema experience by giving the guest exactly what they want, when they want it in addition to enabling the cinema to engage with their guests 365 days a year through creative features and value built into the mobile app.” says Mader from Venue Valet.
The Star Cinema Grill VIP Mobile Application is just one of many products that Venue Valet uses to help cinema operators increase guest satisfaction, improve operational efficiency, and increase revenue. For more information about developing a mobile application for your cinema, please visit www.venue-valet.com or email [email protected]
About Venue Valet LLC
Venue Valet, LLC is a technology company headquartered in Austin, TX that provides a wide range of products and services for dine in theatres that bring better data visibility to the venue owner and a better experience to the venue customer. Visit www.venue-valet.com for more information.
About Star Cinema Grill
Star Cinema Grill is a Houston based dine-in-theater concept that offers our guests first run film releases, an extensive menu, and a full service bar with a wide selection of beer, wine and spirits. Their goal is ”To provide every guest with an unforgettable experience through unmatched service, the highest quality food and beverages, and a flawless film presentation”. Visit www.starcinemagrill.net for more information.
First Dine-In Cinema Interactive Summit to be held November 12-14
Press Release – September 27, 2018
Austin, TX
Organizers invite the dine-in cinemas industry to a summit from Nov 12-14 in Austin TX, which is the first of its kind tailored specifically to the dine-in cinema market.
Organizers expect a diverse group of dine-in cinemas leaders and suppliers to this Dine-in Cinema Interactive Two-Day Summit scheduled for November 12-14 in Austin TX. This gathering will be the first of its kind tailored specifically to the dine-in cinema market.
Attendees in this summit will participate in interactive educational sessions, showcasing industry leaders who provide value to the dine in experience. There will be opportunities to learn, interact, and provide feedback to leading exhibitors and suppliers, all in interest of making the dine-in cinema segment more successful. Organizers hope that everyone will leave with a fresh outlook, innovative ideas, new partnerships, different perspectives and an excitement to continue or begin new dine-in theatre projects
“Traditional movie theatres have been around for over 100 years, but the most talked about shift in this industry is the growth of dine-in theatres.”, said Matthew Mader of Venue Valet, who is organizing the event. ”Everyone involved in the cinema industry has numerous questions regarding successes and pitfalls the dine-in market is experiencing, and this will be an opportunity for us to discuss in a focused setting.”
Anyone involved in cinema industry recognizes Austin TX as one of the birthplaces of the dine-in theatre concept. Unlike other cinema conferences, the event will be held at a variety of active dine-in cinemas in the Austin area, all while soaking up the uniqueness of the city. “Movie-going is evolving and guests have spoken: dine-in cinema is growing at an incredible rate because guests want an experience they cannot recreate at home. The team at Flix Brewhouse welcomes the coopetition and opportunity to collaborate at the interactive summit.”, says Greg Johnson from Flix Brewhouse.
For more information about the first annual dine-in cinema interactive summit, go to www.dineincinemasummit.com.
About Venue Valet, LLC
Venue Valet, LLC is a technology company headquartered in Austin, TX that provides a wide range of products and services for dine in theatres that bring better data visibility to the venue owner and a better experience to the venue customer. Visit www.venue-valet.com for more information.
About Flix Brewhouse
Flix Brewhouse® is both an emerging national craft brewer and a cutting edge cinema-eatery that serves upscale, nouvelle pub cuisine while guests enjoy the best entertainment Hollywood offers. Texas-based Flix Brewhouse® has plans to expand to at least 15 units over the next several years. More information can be found at www.flixbrewhouse.com.
Press Contact
Name: John Holstrom
Phone: 512.270.9198
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.dineincinemasummit.com
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3956538#ixzz5SmlR9Uls
Venue Valet Lights the Pathway with Backlit Call Button and Row Indicators
Press Release – March 22, 2017
Las Vegas, NV
Among other products being showcased at CinemaCon 2017 this year, Venue Valet has introduced a new product that combines form and function with an illuminated call button, back-lit row & seat number and a down-light and back-lit row markers for customer convenience and aisle safety.
“Dine in cinemas have unique lighting considerations that non-dine in cinemas don’t have to contend with.”, says Matthew Mader, President of Venue Valet. “Pathway lighting used to be just for stairways. But with food runners constantly going across dark rows throughout the movie to service customers, it can be a safety issue for theater staff.” The down-light also doubles as a task light for patrons to read menus or review their checks.
The Venue Valet Call Button with Integrated Downlighting has an illuminated row & seat number indicator that clearly tells which seat to deliver the customers food order and can be configured to light a different color when the call button is activated, alerting the staff when the customer requires service.
The matching back-lit row indicators not only provides stairway lighting, but will also change color when a call button is pressed anywhere on that row.
“We have solved multiple problems with a single solution.”, said Mader. “While in the auditorium, service personnel can now identify if a call button is active anywhere on that row by just looking at the row marker. It also provides a light source for the stairway.”
Available for installation in any brand recliner or wall partition, because it has its own power supply with dimming capabilities that can be tuned to the exact brightness which matches lighting requirements. It can be configured in multiple color options and sizes to match the theaters style.
Contact Venue Valet today for more information about this and other solutions for cinemas or visit them at CinemaCon 2017 in booth 1021F in Las Vegas.
Venue Valet Helps Dine In Cinemas Digest Data with CallConnect Reporting & Operations Management Software
Press Release – March 8, 2017
Austin, TX
Venue Valet, LLC, an industry leader providing call buttons, seat lighting and digital signage to dine in cinemas, announces CallConnect Reporting & Operations Management Software now available and being highlighted at CinemaCon 2017 in Las Vegas, NV.
“During a typical night, a dine in cinema manager tries to make sense of dozens of bits and pieces of data coming from multiple theatre systems such as ticket, food & beverage point of sale to time clock and customer response times. Our reporting and operations management software consolidates data from all these systems and presents it on an easy to read dashboard.”, said Matthew Mader, President of Venue Valet. “When designing our system, we spent a great deal of time working directly with dine-in theater management and server staff to understand exactly what information they use to make timely decisions that improve customer service and maximize operational efficiency”.
Real time metrics such as ticket, food & beverage sales, current and future occupancy, clocked in employees and service quality are all automatically pulled in from various point of sale and operations systems throughout the theater and presented on an easy to read operations dashboard.
“At any given point, we can have over 100 employees clocked in and serving hundreds of guests an hour.”, said John Walsh, VP of Operations at Star Cinema Grill. “Prior to using this system from Venue Valet, we would have to log into several different systems and manually calculate the information which Venue Valet now provides to us on a single dashboard. It gives us all the information we need to keep our operations running smoothly and efficiently.”
Providing accurate and timely data is only a part of what Venue Valet offers with their theatre software. For cinemas that have multiple locations, the CallConnect Reporting & Operations Management Software also consolidates data across all of their sites. “Many of our customers want to see how their entire chain is doing at any given point, not just one store”, said Mader from Venue Valet. “Or, they use our software to compare different stores side by side and see how each are performing against one other. Cinemas will then spot trends and make tweaks to its operations that can help all their sites.”
The system can also be used to identify key sales or service trends that would otherwise not be evident by logging into a single system. Cinemas can use the Venue Valet software as a planning tool to help optimize employee coverage for upcoming shows or predict future sales. It not only provides a snapshot of current information to help theatre operations in real time, but also taps into historical data from their theatre systems to help them plan in advance. For example, a manager or cinema owner can compare current week’s ticket sales against a previous week. Or if they want to focus on one movie timeslot across all sites, they will have visibility to ticket sales, food & beverage, occupancy rates, service response times and other analytics across sites all on a single screen.
The CallConnect Reporting & Operations Management Software is just one of many products that Venue Valet uses to help cinema operators increase customer satisfaction, improve operational efficiency, and increase revenue. This and other products from Venue Valet are being highlighted at CinemaCon 2017 in Las Vegas on March 27. For more information, please visit www.venue-valet.com for more information.
Press Release – March 11, 2015
Austin, TX
Join us at CinemaCon 2015 this year where Venue Valet will be showcasing our call button system and introducing our new digital signage products!
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About Venue Valet, LLC
Venue Valet, LLC is a technology company headquartered in Austin, TX that provides a wide range of products and services specializing in transaction-based venue management systems that bring better data visibility to the venue owner and a better experience to the venue customer. Visit www.venue-valet.com for more information.
About Entertainment Supply & Technology, LLC
Entertainment Supply & Technologies, LLC (ES&T) corporate headquarters is based in Tampa, FL. ES&T is a full service digital projection and sound system integrator in North America for existing and new construction theatres representing all manufacturing brands in the cinema industry. ES&T is also a manufacturer of front-end screen systems, large format screen systems and wall draperies as well as an auditorium seating installation firm. ES&T manufactures concession stands and is an authorized distributor for food service equipment. Visit www.ensutec.com for more information.
Press Release – March 24, 2014
Las Vegas, NV
Venue Valet, LLC announces CallConnectTM, a patent-pending venue management system, now available and being showcased this week at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, NV. in collaboration with Entertainment Supply & Technologies, LLC. CallConnectTM benefits a wide variety of entertainment venues such as sports stadiums and arenas. This week’s public launch of CallConnectTM at CinemaCon is directed at the movie theater industry.
“The recent trend of movie theaters focusing their attention to providing a more complete ‘dinner and a movie’ experience has forced the industry to rethink the traditional way of operating a movie theater.” said Matt Mader, President of Venue Valet. “Providing the ultimate customer experience with a full-service wait staff, high quality food menu and a full bar presents a very complex set of issues. A 1000 seat dine-in theater may seat 150 people every 30 minutes on a busy Friday night. To be successful, theater management needs access to data in real time that wasn’t as critical a year ago.”
Developed in conjunction with The Moviehouse & Eatery, a seven auditorium dine-in theater located in Austin, TX, CallConnect is comprised of a hardware and software system that includes call buttons mounted near the customer’s seat that allows them to signal wait staff when they require service. In addition to LED lit call buttons that give a visual indication to service staff, CallConnectTM also offers seat sensors that monitor which seats are occupied at any given time. “Knowing which seats are occupied and which customers require service instantly is an incredible asset to our operation. From a management perspective, being able to view real time information on the CallConnectTM monitor, see ordering data, dollar spend and server interactions makes this an invaluable tool for managing both sides of the guest experience.” said Mark McLaughlin, the Director of Operations at The Moviehouse & Eatery. “The CallConnectTM seat sensors enable us to verify customer purchases of tickets for each show without an usher present which saves labor dollars and creates a more welcoming environment for our guests. This also allows our employees to focus more on providing exceptional service and gives us verifiable data to prevent ticket fraud in our auditoriums.”
The patent-pending CallConnectTM system uses proprietary software and hardware to process call button signals and seat sensor data. The system software also pulls information from the movie management and ticketing system, restaurant food and beverage POS system as well as other systems that may be used by the venue to manage their business. Theater owners, managers and wait staff are able to view the CallConnectTM system screens from anywhere on the internet with any web-enabled device such as a computer, tablet or smartphone. “Being able to get real time data on food, beverage and ticket sales from anywhere is a fantastic convenience for us on the supervisory end of the operation.” added McLaughlin. “CallConnectTM alerts for service or patrons who have snuck into shows allows our entire team to react effectively in real time. These unique features allow operators to ensure the highest level of service while delivering the best financial results.”
Upcoming releases of the CallConnectTM system will give theater venues the option to release their own customized mobile application powered by CallConnectTM. These Android and iOS apps will allow theater owners to create a loyal customer base, drive more revenue, and create an even more inviting and rewarding customer experience. “Using our mobile app technology, theater owners will be able to rely on CallConnectTM to fill empty seats on slow days. Customers will get a personal invitation to view a movie only hours in advance and CallConnectTM will incent them with food and beverage rewards,” explained Mader. “Theater owners have been looking for these sorts of creative and inexpensive ways to fill seats and reward loyal customers.”
CallConnectTM is being displayed at CinemaCon in collaboration with Entertainment Supply & Technologies, LLC (ES&T). “We are very excited to partner with Venue Valet to help bring CallConnectTM to the cinema space. Our 35 plus years of experience in the movie theater industry has allowed us to see many amazing products and we are very confident that CallConnectTM is going to spearhead the newest movement toward dine-in full-service theaters.” said Barney Bailey, President and CEO of ES&T. “We look forward to an exciting year and market launch of CallConnectTM to our existing customers as well as leveraging this technology to grow our business and make new customers successful in a very fast moving, challenging and competitive market.” Both Venue Valet and ES&T can be seen in booth 637F at the CinemaCon convention and trade show on March 25, 26 and 27.
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About Venue Valet, LLC
Venue Valet, LLC is a technology company headquartered in Austin, TX that provides a wide range of products and services specializing in transaction-based venue management systems that bring better data visibility to the venue owner and a better experience to the venue customer. Visit www.venue-valet.com for more information.
About Entertainment Supply & Technology, LLC
Entertainment Supply & Technologies, LLC (ES&T) corporate headquarters is based in Tampa, FL. ES&T is a full service digital projection and sound system integrator in North America for existing and new construction theatres representing all manufacturing brands in the cinema industry. ES&T is also a manufacturer of front-end screen systems, large format screen systems and wall draperies as well as an auditorium seating installation firm. ES&T manufactures concession stands and is an authorized distributor for food service equipment. Visit www.ensutec.com for more information.
