Bespoke Event Management System for The New Club
In Montpellier, the heart of Cheltenham, you will find the Regency house which is the home of The New Club Cheltenham. Private but friendly, the New Club offers its members, who include among many others lawyers, musicians, artists, senior military figures, academics, accountants, architects, surveyors, entrepreneurs, business people and farmers, everything you expect from a club – elegant surroundings, exemplary service, outstanding cuisine, a wide variety of daytime activities and a varied and exciting events calendar.
The Challenge
The client manages a busy programme of events for an established membership community and needed an event booking system that was simple, intuitive and easy to manage for both their administrative team and members.
As the number and variety of events grew, they needed a solution that would make it straightforward to create and update events, manage bookings and attendees, and provide members with a clear and simple way to find and book events.
The system also needed to accommodate the client’s specific requirements, including different ticket options, member and guest bookings, plus-ones, waiting lists and individual booking notes.
The aim was to create a streamlined solution that would reduce administration, make event management easier for the client team and provide members with a much more straightforward booking experience.
The Solution
We developed a bespoke event and reservation management platform, built specifically around the client's requirements. Rather than relying on a generic events plugin, we created a standalone application that integrates with the client's existing WordPress website and membership system. The platform was designed with simplicity at its core, creating an easy-to-use experience for both administrators and members.
Simple event management
- The management interface makes it easy for the client team to create and update events.
- When creating an event, administrators can add:
- Event information and imagery
- Start and end dates and times
- Maximum capacity
- Booking deadlines
- Custom ticket types and pricing
- Food options and other requirements
- Waiting lists
- Once an event has been created, much of the administration is automated. Events are automatically archived once their date has passed, removing the need for the team to manually manage completed events.
- The management area also provides an overview of recent activity, upcoming events, archived events and attendee information.
A straightforward experience for members
- The front-end experience was designed to make finding and booking events as simple as possible.
- Members can view upcoming events, select an event and see all the relevant information before booking.
- They can book themselves, add another member or guest, and include additional notes or requirements as part of their booking.
- Members can also return to their bookings to make changes or add additional attendees where appropriate.
- The platform is fully responsive, so it can also be accessed from mobile devices.
Built around the client's unique requirements
- One of the key benefits of developing a bespoke platform was the ability to build functionality around the way the client actually runs its events.
- For example, the system allows administrators to create custom ticket types and pricing options. An event could offer a ticket with food or without food, with the relevant price set within the system.
- The platform also supports:
- Member bookings
- Guest bookings
- Plus-ones
- Custom ticket options
- Waiting lists
- Booking cut-off times
- Individual attendee notes
- Attendance management
- Printing and emailing attendee information
- This flexibility means the client can manage a wide variety of events without needing to find workarounds or manually manage information elsewhere.
Seamless sign-in
- The system is also connected to the client's main website using single sign-on.
- This means that once a member has logged into the main website, they can access the events area without needing to log in again or remember a separate set of credentials.
- The result is a much more seamless experience, removing unnecessary steps from the booking process.
- Automated communications
- The booking process also includes automated email notifications.
- Once a member books an event, they receive a branded confirmation email with their booking information.
- This provides members with an immediate record of their booking while reducing the amount of manual communication required from the client team.
The Technology
- The application operates as a standalone system while integrating with the client's existing WordPress website and membership infrastructure.
- The initial core platform was developed very quickly, with the main functionality created in approximately four hours.
- This was followed by around two weeks of testing, refinement and development to ensure the system worked smoothly in real-world use.
- The platform has continued to be refined based on feedback and new requirements, allowing functionality to be adapted as the client's needs evolve.
The Brace Team
Want Results Like These?
Your success is our success.
Related Case Studies
Allstone Group
+99.6%
Speedy Skips organic revenue
+104%
Speedy Skips Google Ads value
Ashstep Surveys
Ashstep needed a website that would establish credibility quickly, communicate the breadth of its expertise and give property owners, investors and developers the confidence to get in touch. The site also needed to make an experienced surveyor easy to find, easy to understand and simple to instruct.
View Case Study
Eleven Builders
Eleven Builders operates at the premium end of the residential construction market. Its clients are making significant investments in their homes, while referring architects need to know that the contractor they recommend will protect the quality of their design and the trust of their client. The website needed to meet those expectations. It had to reflect the quality of Eleven Builders' work, showcase completed projects properly and communicate the care behind every build. Most importantly, it needed to give both homeowners and architects the confidence to begin a conversation.
View Case Study
ElecMech
ElecMech had a substantial body of work across multiple sectors and some of the UK's best-known sites. Its experience included projects connected to Battersea Power Station, Waitrose and Sky TV, but the scale and variety of that work needed to be organised into a clear digital story. The website had to explain ElecMech's fully integrated approach, demonstrate its experience across specialist sectors and make a complex service offering easier to understand. It also needed to give prospective clients confidence that ElecMech had the experience, people and technical capability to deliver larger and more demanding projects.
View Case Study