Securing and paying for events at Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards used to require paper checks, making the process cumbersome for customers and inefficient for the property’s team members. Implementing ROH allowed Pippin Hill to revolutionize how customers sign and pay for everything, leading to a 4.5x ROI and a 15% increase in event revenue. Read the full case study below to see how the property transformed its business with our platform.
Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards is Charlottesville's most comprehensive winery and vineyard, located in an authentic environment that is distinguished by purpose-designed event venues, a sustainable viticulture program, and landscaped gardens and courtyards overlooking a pristine valley. Founded by Lynn Easton and Dean Andrews (the co-founders behind the award-winning hospitality portfolio Easton Porter Group), Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards embodies the duo’s unparalleled commitment to providing an unforgettable guest experience.
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Pippin Hill Farm imparts a stunning, serene ambiance to every guest that walks through its doors. Customers can feel the property’s thoughtfully-crafted five-star hospitality as soon as they arrive, whether they’re visiting for a wedding, wine tasting, corporate retreat, or another event.
But Pippin Hill’s payment experience wasn’t matching its otherwise magical atmosphere. Before working with ROH, Pippin Hill was a check-reliant business. Securing and paying for an event was a cumbersome and timely process, which meant the team was spending more time invoicing and chasing payments rather than cultivating a relationship that could generate more revenue throughout the planning process. Instead of taking care of guests or focusing on the next event sale, team members were forced to focus on invoices and contracts.
What’s more, guests needed to pay with a physical check, creating a burdensome customer experience that didn’t match the property’s forward-thinking focus. Changes needed to occur.
Pippin Hill started using ROH’s platform to create branded, digital invoices and send them to guests in minutes. In turn, customers can lock in bookings and pay deposits faster than ever. “Now with ROH, it’s a one-click system—our sales managers send out the invoice, and within days we are paid ahead of time than what we normally would have been paid in our old system," said Ellen Christie, Director of Sales, Easton Porter Group.
And with ROH’s modern payment methods, guests can choose to pay in four interest-free installments over time while the property is paid in full upfront. As a result, Pippin Hill increased its upfront deposits and raised overall prices without impacting its customer conversion drop-off rate.
And while implementing a new process can be overwhelming, our customer success experts helped Pippin Hill’s team integrate ROH’s platform into their day-to-day operations to make the transition headache-free. “Not only are they experts in the industry, but it's the fact that they personalized the plan to our particular venue,” Christie said. Plus, ROH offers the property peace of mind if any unexpected payment hassles were to arise, as our team of experts takes burdens like chargebacks or cancellations off Pippin Hill’s plate.
Plus, the property can now access at-a-glance data and insights and easy-to-read financial reports about their event business. Rather than needing to keep a manual tally of everything, ROH’s dashboard delivers status updates and key financial information to ensure Pippin Hill is maximizing revenue and staying on track.
“What ROH has done is completely come in and streamline the process. It simplifies everything, which is something that gives us the time back to take care of our guests and to continue selling," Christie noted.
With the help of ROH’s end-to-end revenue optimization software, Pippin Hill empowers its sales managers with the tools they need to get paid days ahead of time while increasing revenue. This smooth, simple process has not only led to much quicker payments for Pippin Hill, but it’s also allowed the property to realize a 15% increase in event revenue.
What’s more, it’s easier and more convenient for guests to book events and complete invoices now—giving customers one more reason to pick Pippin Hill over another venue for their event. “I think the best part about our partnership with ROH is that it makes our booking process so much more seamless—not only for us but also for our guests," Christie said.
The benefits are more than just financial, though. As a result of using ROH, Pippin Hill’s team members have strengthened their efficiency and collaboration. Since valuable time no longer needs to be spent tracking down guest payments or emailing one another for updates, the team can focus on what they love: making guests happy and booking more events.
Meanwhile, customers appreciate that they can now complete event payments how they’d like: on their phone or on their laptop, with a credit card or via ACH, all at once or in four interest-free payments. Suffice it to say, Pippin Hill’s customer experience has improved tenfold, all in all leading to a 4.5x return on investment.
“We really wouldn't trust our business with anyone else," Christie said.
