"Knowing which seats are occupied and which customers require service instantly is an incredible asset to our operation." said Mark McLaughlin, Director of Operations at The Moviehouse & Eatery.
AUSTIN, TX, March 26, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Venue Valet, LLC announces CallConnect(TM), 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. CallConnect benefits a wide variety of entertainment venues such as sports stadiums and arenas. This week's public launch of CallConnect 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, CallConnect 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 CallConnect 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 CallConnect 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 CallConnect 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 CallConnect 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. "Call Connect 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 CallConnect system will give theater venues the option to release their own customized mobile application powered by CallConnect. 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 CallConnect to fill empty seats on slow days. Customers will get a personal invitation to view a movie only hours in advance and CallConnect 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."
CallConnect 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 CallConnect 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 CallConnect 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 CallConnect 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.
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.
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