The introduction of Priava has transformed how the theatre books and manages its events. “The events sheet is brilliant” says Freya, “We have all the information we need in one place, showing us a rundown of what’s happening and we simply click a button and we can email a report to everyone involved. The whole team has real-time access to up-todate information from any location and they can see at a glance what is going on across all the spaces in the theatre from the grand circle foyer right through to main stage. So whether it is a performance, a small fringe theatre production, a corporate function, wedding, party or gig, everything is recorded in one system.”

“With everyone being fully informed, this makes our internal communications much stronger as the team is now acting collectively and because we know who has logged which events, we can eliminate the possibility of double bookings and have more accountability over who is responsible for what. Tasks can easily be assigned and you can see clearly what you have left to do on any event at any one time.”

With less time spent on administration the new system frees up more time to nurture client relationships. Freya explains, “Whether we are talking with promoters, corporates or members of the public, the service they receive starts before they walk in the door. As an example, for touring companies that are booking dates across the whole country, we can see clearly on Priava what spaces or dates are available and then make the necessary provisional or confirmed bookings.

This makes life easier both for us and prospective clients. The feedback from performance teams when they arrive is that they feel they already know us, so they are simply left to enjoy what they enjoy doing. With access to all the necessary information such as technical details, venue inventory, hospitality, timings, merchandising and what’s on the artist and crew rider, we can always be one step ahead, so clients are assured we have already attended to everything.”

In 2016, the theatre was recognised by the Champion Canterbury Business Awards 2016 winning ‘Retail/Hospitality Small Enterprise’ Supreme Award for ‘dynamic professionals providing a phenomenal customer experience’ and also took the ‘Supreme Venue of the Year’ at the 2016 Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand (EVANZ) Awards.

The fact that Priava is cloud-based means that the management users can access the system when they are not in the office, or travelling overseas. “You don’t realise how reliant you are on instant access to data, and Priava fully supports this need” adds Freya.

The system also helps us to give additional hand-holding for those that may not have had experience of events too, with the function sheet acting as checklist for all parties. So if the venue is staging a wedding or corporate function they can share the timetable of the event with the bride and groom/ CEO and if necessary make any last-minute tweaks, such as when the speeches take place.

Freya says, “With Priava you follow a clearly defined and structured process, from logging an initial interest or opportunity through to a slick delivery of the event itself. The team has the resources to work together, as well as autonomously, as they have everything they need to run their own event.”

Now that the re-built theatre has been open for over 2 years, it can begin to measure how the venue’s occupancy and events bookings have grown and build up historical data that can be used to encourage repeat bookings. As Freya explains, “We are privileged in that we are the only theatre venue of this size in the area so we find that much of our business comes to us. But as more venues open in the city the biggest challenge is to ensure we make best use of the timeslots and spaces we have available so we can sell any spare days. Whilst we can’t alter what is on stage, we have found that by using Priava the system can identify spaces that have spare capacity.”

With better scrutiny and analysis of when the theatre’s different facilities are free, it has been possible to spot new opportunities. Freya says, “We’ve realised that we have more opportunities than we realised, especially if we think creatively. For example, during ‘dark days’ when the cast is having a rest period or on ‘pack-in/out days’ when the stage is being prepared or the show is being dismantled, these days still represent opportunities for hiring out spaces, either in front of the curtain or in other adjoining areas. So with the theatre curtain pulled down there is still the ability to hire out the space for say a business seminar, public tours or even school workshops, which allows us to engage our community as well.

With more visibility of spare capacity, not only is the theatre able to optimise and maximise use of their venue spaces more effectively, they are also using Priava to boost the revenue from its advertising vehicles such as window display spaces and poster boxes. “Using Priava’s unique functionality we can also maximise additional income from spaces for promotion, so a touring company might want to reserve a decal for the front of the theatre for a number of weeks. So essentially we use Priava to book this, quote this and can store all the associated details such as imagery, costs, mark-ups and so on. And then ultimately bill it…!”

The reporting capabilities of Priava are also used to produce in-depth analysis for senior management so they can review the type of clients and where business is coming from. “We use Priava for overall business intelligence as well as specifics. For instance, we have a flexible fringe theatre space that is linked with sponsorship for local community groups, so we can see which performances are successful, who attended and which ones are subsidised with grants from the sponsorship. We can also report on what technical equipment is being hired for different spaces.

All this information is essential towards the future planning, investment and overall strategy for the theatre.” The theatre also uses reporting to measure how third party contractors have helped to refer business, the number of enquiries that have completed and the number that have cancelled.

With the help of Priava, the theatre has linked its online enquiries with the ‘opportunities tab’ within the system, so in the future the team will closely analyse those that didn’t go on to confirm and will contact them to see what happened. The theatre also plans to become more proactive too, by looking at other trends such as Christmas party and school holiday bookings and making contact with those companies and organisations that perhaps had made an enquiry previously.

The theatre is also excited about taking advantage of the planned integration between Priava and their accounting solution, Xero. Freya says, “The integration will be fantastic as it will link all the specific event invoices up and make it even easier for the team to split between performance and non performance revenue streams.”