Category Archives: Operations

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

7 Ways to Run a More Productive Nightclub

Running a successful nightclub isn’t easy. You have several different areas doing several different things, not to mention an array of staff members to account for. That’s why it’s more important than ever to stay connected, both from a personnel and an operations standpoint. When everything and everyone is connected, you’re able to run a productive, more profitable nightclub.

Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to stay connected in today’s landscape, especially with efficient technology solutions. Here are 7 ways technology can improve your nightclub’s results.

1. Integrate one platform that handles all areas

There are technology platforms out there specific to the nightclub industry that streamlines operations into one centralized spot. This solution increases efficiency across the board by aggregating information from multiple sources while also uncovering key statistics about your business.

2. Use a combination of pre-sales, upsales, and cross-sales to boost your club

A goal of any business is to drive revenue and translate it to money in the bank. With a combination of pre-sales, upsales, and cross-sales, you’re able to not only drive revenue, but also increase the amount of revenue you’re already driving without adding any extra work to your daily operations.

3. Partner with a digital ticketing system

Digital ticketing platforms aren’t anything new, but the way in which you manage them is. Most third-party ticketing vendors don’t give you access to manage a ticketing page, to view sales before the event, to view data after the event, or even to collect money during the whole process. Put that power back in your hands, and work with ticketing vendors that:

  1. Give you your own event page without competing venues or advertisements from which your guests can purchase tickets
  2. Ensures payment goes directly through your own merchant services provider and into your bank account right when a guest buys a ticket online
  3. Has the ability for your promoters to sell tickets on the streets through an integrated mobile app
  4. Will give you full access to your data

4. Manage the flow of tables and servers in one window view

Using pen and paper or even email to manage reservations results in many errors, including double-booked tables. Instead, use a reservation management system that uses an interactive table map that displays reservations, guest information, and servers all in one window view. This streamlines your processes to make sure what’s getting marked down is true to what’s actually happening during the night, all while maximizing efficiency and accuracy.

5. Get insight on guests to give them an even better experience

A robust customer relationship management (CRM) system that’s tied to your point of sale and integrated into your one main platform allows you to give your guests a great experience. With your CRM system, you’re able to better identify guests in line, upsell guests before they walk through your door, provide personalized service, and improve marketing efforts. After all, nobody, especially your VIP guests, wants to be treated like a number. Tracking and understanding guest data allows you to treat every guest as a valuable guest.

6. Review important data on how your club is performing to optimize it for future success

The key to measuring the success of your club is by analyzing critical data – something a fully integrated technology solution can achieve. This system collects data from any area of your club, analyzes it, and presents it in easy-to-read charts in one central spot so you get a better understanding of:

  • How much money you made or lost over a given time period
  • Which days of the week are your busiest
  • What type of liquor you sell the most on a given day
  • How many tables are reserved a night
  • Which promoters are bringing in the most and best guests
  • Which servers are upselling the most and making the most tips
  • What types of promotions or events bring in the most traffic

7. Better manage operations and employees to run the most successful club

Continuing on the integrated system bandwagon, this same system has the capability to provide individual logins to each member of your team for them to better manage their job functionality. Plus, depending on that person’s role in your club, you get to choose what they can and can’t access, helping to keep your data more secure. Giving staff access (even if it’s limited access) to a technology solution that combines information in one spot is an effective way to get everyone on the same page and working together. This interconnectivity between operations and employees is what makes your club a well-run, highly enjoyable, and highly profitable venue.

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

Throw a Great Party in Just 9 Steps

A great party = an audience. And an audience = revenue generation. In just 9 steps, learn how to throw a good party for your guests while also generating profit.

1. Know your audience

The people you are throwing the party for should define your business model. This means you need to know your customers inside and out. It’s not enough to have a basic understanding of only demographics. You need to discover their idea of a good party, the music they like to hear, the alcohol they like to drink, and even the servers they prefer. Work with a partner who can offer these valuable insights.

2. Plan your event

Planning is one of the most important aspects of throwing an event. First you need to identify what you want to get out of the event, and plan accordingly to achieve it. The best questions to answer during this step are:

  • What is your goal?
  • What is your budget, and how much can you spend in each area of the event?
  • Is this going to be an event tied to a holiday or time of year?
  • How will you get the word out about this event?

Once you answer these questions, you have a better way of moving forward. You know exactly how may promoters you need, what staff members are responsible for, how much money you can spend on talent, what type of talent you need to hire, if you can offer drink specials – the list goes on.

3. Hire the right talent

Talent is a big portion of what lures people into your venue. But you need to make sure you hire the right talent. Do your guests prefer a headlining DJ or a local band? What type of lighting and sound equipment do you need to enhance the experience for your guests? Stay within your budget and plan for your audience to maximize profits and achieve your goal.

4. Price tickets accordingly

When it comes to a good party, it’s the experience – not the deal – that attracts guests. It’s critical to understand what your customers will pay in return for a good party. Make sure you don’t sell yourself short and maximize your revenue when at all possible. People understand and have been programmed to pay top dollar for major events, within reason. Take note, not advantage, of these opportunities if you seek long-term success.

5. Get the word out

You can’t spread the word until you’ve defined your audience. After all, it’s much easier to market and promote your party when you know exactly whom you’re trying to reach. The best strategy is to always keep your customers informed while maintaining a clear and consistent message in all your efforts. Use a multi-channel strategy to get the word out, such as text-message marketing, printed collateral, email updates, and social media. Just using one channel – such as printing flyers – will not do. Diversify your efforts, track returns, and adjust focus based on results.

6. Generate revenue, even before the day of the event

Pre-sales, pre-sales, pre-sales.. Every event or venue, regardless of size, benefits from the pre-sale of tickets and inventory. The best way to sell tickets in advance is to get everyone on board with a single platform. There are platforms available that allow you to create and manage an online event page, publish the page for consumers to purchase tickets, have the page integrate with a mobile app for promoters to sell directly from their devices, and track ticket sales and results along the way. This type of platform syncs all promoters and marketing efforts together to maximize ticket sales and revenue.

7. Avoid double-booked VIP tables

The best way to keep track of reservations to mitigate double-booked table is through a central technology platform to which everyone has access. This means any of your employees or partners can log into the system with their personal username and password, add a guest reservation for a specific night, identify remaining tables for the night and select the most appropriate one. Tables that are already reserved won’t show up in the system, which means they’re never double-booked. Not only that, but the person who refers a guest for a reservation (ex: a promoters) is the person who makes the reservation. They don’t need to email anybody to make it happen or jot it down on a piece of paper to hand to the hostess. It’s all streamlined and centralized to maximize efficiency, accuracy, and customer satisfaction.

8. Be a good host

Your event efforts must continue, and perhaps even spike, during the night of the event. Treat everyone like VIPs, from the bottle buyer to the general admission guest. Focus on service levels and make them feel appreciated no matter what. Your guests will not only continually come back, but they’ll also tell everyone they know about their experience. This sets you up for success for the long run.

9. Analyze results to better prepare for the next event

The only way to know whether your event was a success is to analyze the data. If you got on board with the aforementioned platform, your life will be significantly easier since it will all be in one spot – not to mention the data will be broken down by individual guests and staff members to truly identify areas of strength and weakness. Once you know how well you did, you’re able to better set yourself up for success for your next event.

At the end of the day, revenue is a byproduct of the value of your party Make sure you first and foremost throw a good party, then be constantly aware of your guests, surprise them from time to time, and treat them with the service they deserve to keep them coming back.

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

The 3 Things Every Bar Needs at its Core to Thrive

Running a bar or nightclub isn’t easy. There are a lot of areas that need to work together to ensure your success. Yet, our industry still operates in silos, using different systems for different sections – oftentimes leading to missed data and opportunities. Meanwhile, online industries like Amazon have gotten so savvy they’re able to send recommendations based on past habits and send reminders based on timing. As a result, this is the level of service your guests have come to expect.


That’s why in today’s digitally-driven environment, it’s no longer sufficient to make assumptions on how your venue is performing and who your guests are. It’s also no longer sufficient to just focus on the data from one area of your business. This may have worked in years past, but it’s an outdated practice that cold cost you your venue.

So while we understand there are many things you need to run your venue, the following three are the core of what you need to be successful in 2019 and beyond.

ID Scanning

You already ID and verify each person that walks through your door. Take this a step further with license scanning technology that not only scans and verifies each person, but also collects data on each person to build your guest database. This is the best way to know exactly who came into your venue each and every night, complete with your gender breakdown, where your customers are coming from, your age breakdown, and which customers are repeat vs first-time customers. You also have access to your digital 86 list as well as a city-wide ban list to keep your venue safe. This tool acts as your guide in better decision making for a process that was already mandatory. And with a solution like Vēmos, all of this is combined with your CRM system and analytics section to truly have that understanding of your whole business.

POS Integration

Speaking of uncovering your true performance, having your point of sale integrated into your operations system is an extremely powerful move. Now, not only do you have the ability to track your VIP table spend automatically, but you also gain insight on your entire bar. “But I can already do that,” you say? Sort of. The reality is POS systems are not in the business of providing their customers with great analytics; they focus on providing a great user experience for your bartenders during the night. Integrating your POS system takes that data and provides you with true analytics that allow you to better understand how your entire venue did rather just a segment. It can also tie to your CRM system to give insight on personalized spending. Now, you’re able to know who contributed to your $15,000 bar sales — was it one person who spent $15k? Did everyone who walked in make a purchase? This information matter so you’re able to replicate that night with a similar set of guests.

CRM System

All of this comes back to individualized data. After all, the new name of the game is experience, and personalized experience at that. You can’t provide your guests with personalized experiences if you don’t know who they are. Sure, you may know your top regulars who always come in. And while they’re important, the other hundreds of guests are equally as important to your business. The only way to capture this information is to have all your data tied back to your CRM system. This is what allows you to know each of your customers on a personal level — from how often hey come, to how much they spend, to their specific preferences. You can then use this data to filter your guests into like-minded groups to send targeted messages specifically to them. Now you’re able to provide a complete circle of personalized service both online and in-person.

These three tools are the core of what accelerates your capabilities. Having technology a part of your venue is no longer just about a reservation management system. It’s about a comprehensive appraoch that provides insight into your venue as a whole. With a combination of ID Scanning, POS integration, and a CRM system at your core, you now have the capabilities of providing that personalized service previously only available to the likes of Amazon. Safeguard your venue, target sharper, spend smarter, and create an unbelievable experience for every person walking through your door.

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

ID Scanner: 3 Ways it Helps Your Bar

Checking IDs is commonly considered a necessary evil of serving alcohol. It’s not sexy. It’s not exciting. It’s a nuisance. But this nuisance is actually a huge asset to your nightclub, especially with the right technology. It’s no longer a matter of crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s. Using advanced technology to check IDs is the new way to protect your club while driving profit.

The Legal Aspect

More than 250 ID changes are made annually in the United States alone, and the creation of fraudulent IDs will continue to advance. This is a deadly combination. It’s neither smart nor fair to leave the burden of identifying outdated or fraudulent IDs with your doormen. Once a minor is approved and served, litigation may be right around the corner.

While legal repercussions vary by state and circumstances, the license holder found in violation of alcohol furnishing laws can receive anything from a fine to a suspension to a revocation of the liquor license. This liability begins with the first drink. It doesn’t matter whether or not a minor exhibits signs of intoxication, if there’s alcohol in the blood system, then your nightclub is liable. And should your license get revoked, you’ll have to wait at least six months before you can apply for another, which will likely be more difficult and costly due to the revocation on your record.

Maintain a Secure Environment

Not only can electronic ID scanning systems deter minors from entering your club, but they can also mitigate risks associated with unlawful incidents. Advanced ID scanning systems have the functionality to:

  • Keep track of people who might become too intoxicated, start fights or commit other crimes
  • Identify involved parties, including staff, when an incident occurs
  • Provide past incident information to help make more educated decisions on who does and doesn’t get into your club

Maintaining a secure environment minimizes costs associated with insurance, repairs, fines, and enforcement. What’s more is it provides an enjoyable atmosphere for your patrons, which translates to a more profitable establishment.

Improve Customer Relationships

Better data means better business, and better business starts with great customer service. The more you know about your customers, the better you can communicate with them and develop lasting relationships. Electronic ID scanners allow you to collect information in the blink of an eye, such as customer demographics, frequency of visits, male to female ratio, and customer contact information. This information leads to better communication, management and, ultimately, profit.


​Whitney Larson is the president at Vēmos. Contact her at whitney.larson@vemos.io.

Author Whitney Larson Posted on

4 Tips to Maximize VIP Bottle Service

Bottle service is a crucial component of many top nightclubs’ business. It transforms standard clubs into elite, highly desirable clubs. It’s a way to attract high-status patrons and, above all else, make revenue faster than ever before.

But just because you offer bottle service doesn’t mean you’re doing it well. Here are 4 tips to improve your bottle service offering and maximize your club’s results.

1. Know where and how VIP guests are being booked

It’s common for nightclubs to get inundated with reservation requests from promoters, staff, agents, and guests themselves. The more organized you are with tracking reservations, the better your entire VIP service will be. Have a central location where all reservations are documented to make sure nothing gets lost in the process. Give your bouncers access to these VIPs so they are never stopped at the door or have to wait in line.

2. Know your clients and give them a customized experience

VIP guests don’t want to be treated like a number. They should be greeted at the door, walked to their table, offered their personal top-purchased liquors, and attended to by their favorite server Having a customer relationship management system in place helps track this information to give seamless VIP service from all staff members.

3. Manage inventory accordingly

It’s hard to predict the type and amount of liquors to purchase, but you can’t afford to run out of a top client’s favorite bottle before he even arrives. Take time to analyze history and trends of the bottles that are being purchased in your club, especially by your regular guests. Having a system like this in place not only helps you to better plan, but it also strengthens customer experience.

4. Interact and engage clients on a personal level

Promoting your nightclub in general and promoting your VIP tables won’t be the exact same. It’s no longer about summoning the masses for VIP. These clients demand a personal touch. Send personalized emails, texts and phone calls to past clients and keep them up-to-date with what’s happening at your club. While doing so, make sure you’re giving them information that’s specifically relevant to their interests and habits. A client won’t be impressed if you inform them of a new tequila brand if they’re solely vodka drinkers.


Amplify your ambiance. Make your clients feel exclusive by offering comfortable seating, elegant tables, and sexy mobile tablets. These factors will not only get your clients to stay longer (and order more), but will make you the state-of-the-art club.


​Whitney Larson is the president at Vēmos. Contact her at whitney.larson@vemos.io.

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