Best Western Boulder Falls Inn grows revenue by 43% with iVvy

The Best Western Premier Boulder Falls Inn in Lebanon, Oregon, is a casually elegant hotel renowned for its one-acre Japanese garden. This serene setting complements 84 well-appointed guest rooms and suites, alongside amenities such as an outdoor heated pool, hot tub, and fitness centre, with dining available at 1847 Bar and Grill.  

For functions and events, Boulder Falls Inn offers versatile venue spaces including a spacious Conference Center capable of hosting up to 600 people, the Club Room overlooking the garden for smaller gatherings, the Board Room for up to 12 attendees, and other flexible rooms to suit various event needs. 

Background 

Before making the switch to iVvy Event & Venue Management Software, Boulder Falls Inn managed its property and venue spaces with an older system that caused several operational challenges. Event staff found themselves bound to the office, unable to manage events remotely unless they set up complicated access beforehand. Tasks like updating menus were laborious, sometimes taking over a week for special events like Christmas, and customising essential documents like Banquet Event Orders (BEOs) was difficult beyond basic templates.  

Crucially, the system lacked important features, including built-in reporting to track revenue per event space and a central venue function diary, leading to separate, manual event tracking. These inefficiencies led to significant time wastage and missed opportunities, as highlighted by Andi Newcomer, Event Center Manager: "It was clear we were just wasting time and money trying to make an old system work." 

Boulder Falls Inn's decision to switch to iVvy venue software, alongside a new property management system, Jonas Chorum, proved to be a game-changer. They chose iVvy for its user-friendly design, flexible event document customisation, and online accessibility. Andi Newcomer explained, "iVvy stood out because it was so easy to use, offered flexible event documents, and was completely online, meaning we could manage events from anywhere." 
 

iVvy solution  

 
The team at Boulder Falls Inn quickly found iVvy software to be exceptionally intuitive. "iVvy is incredibly user-friendly," Andi shared.  

"The interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, even with minimal training. That said, the training itself was outstanding. We trained on two systems around the same time, and the difference was night and day.”  

"Don’t be afraid to reach out to the iVvy team for help. If you’re coming from an outdated system, it’s easy to fall into the habit of creating workarounds, but with iVvy, that’s often unnecessary. I quickly discovered that many of the solutions I was trying to piece together were already built into the system—I just needed someone to point them out. Even if iVvy doesn’t currently have exactly what you’re looking for, they’re constantly updating and adding features. If you share your needs, there’s a good chance they’ll incorporate them into future updates,” Andi advised.  

Implementing iVvy Event & Venue Management Software led to significant positive changes and clear improvements for Boulder Falls Inn, including: 

• 43% more revenue from event spaces: iVvy's detailed reporting tools showed Boulder Falls Inn exactly how well each function space was performing. By identifying two function rooms weren't being utilised to their full potential, Boulder Falls Inn were able to adjust their venue management strategies. As a result, they experienced an impressive 43% increase in revenue from those specific function spaces over a period of eight months. 

• 15 hours of reduced work time: updating and changing menus, which previously took hours or even days, can now be done quickly with iVvy. As a result of time saving features and automation, Andi's workweek has been shortened from about 60 hours to around 45 hours, significantly improving both her work-life balance, as well as that of Boulder Falls Inn’s Director of Sales. 

• Greater flexibility and quicker responses: being able to access the system remotely has been a huge advantage, allowing the team to quickly handle urgent issues and manage venue tasks effectively, even when away from the office. Their events coordinator is now using iVvy via an iPad during events to communicate live updates. 

• Better client experience: The implementation of e-signatures within iVvy made the venue booking process simpler and streamlined for clients. The hotel was also able to create its own catering contract within the system, which clients can sign electronically, making the venue booking process faster and more convenient. 

• Empowered team: with iVvy's user friendly platform, Andi's team now requires much less assistance from her for daily tasks. This allows her to focus on long-term planning and collaborating more closely with clients. 
  

Quote 

“With iVvy’s reporting capabilities, we gained visibility into the performance of individual event spaces. This allowed us to identify two underutilized rooms and adjust our marketing strategy to focus on them. As a result, we’ve seen a 43% increase in revenue from those spaces over the past eight months.”