When we first launched Vennerz, we had a vision: make it easy for venues to accept online bookings for interactive darts. What we didn't anticipate was how one early adopter—Darts 59—would fundamentally shape the product's evolution through their real-world needs and honest feedback.
This is the story of how a partnership between a venue and a platform led to rapid iteration, feature development, and ultimately, a product that works better for everyone.
The Beginning: A Simple Booking System
Darts 59 came to us in the early days of Vennerz. They were looking for a way to accept online bookings for their interactive dartboards, and our initial offering was straightforward: a booking form, payment processing via Stripe, and basic availability management.
It worked. They started taking bookings. But as they used the system day-to-day, challenges emerged that we hadn't anticipated.
Challenge 1: Manual Session Management
The Problem: Darts 59 uses 501Fun for their dartboard management system. When a customer booked through Vennerz, they wanted to avoid bar staff having to manually create sessions in the 501fun system—a time-consuming process, which could be prone to errors, especially during busy periods.
The Feedback: "Can't you just create the session automatically when someone books? Our staff are spending too much time on admin instead of serving customers."
The Solution: We built the 501Fun integration—a seamless connection between Vennerz and 501fun that transforms the booking experience. 501Fun have an API we were able to use to automate this process, and do in milliseconds, what would take a member of staff up to a couple of minutes.
Now, when a customer books online through Vennerz:
Automatic Session Creation: The moment payment is confirmed, Vennerz automatically creates a session in the 501fun system with the correct board slot, start time, duration, and customer details.
The Impact: This integration eliminated a significant operational bottleneck. What used to take 3-5 minutes of staff time per booking now takes seconds—just handing over a PIN. During busy periods, this saves hours of staff time that can be redirected to serving customers, taking orders, and improving the overall customer experience.
For Darts 59, this meant:
- Reduced friction: Customers get started faster
- Less wasted time: Staff focus on service, not admin
- Fewer errors: No manual data entry means no typos or incorrect times
- Better customer experience: Smooth, seamless process from booking to play
This wasn't just a convenience feature—it became a core differentiator that sets Vennerz apart for venues using 501fun. The integration demonstrates how technology can eliminate friction and let venues focus on what they do best: providing great experiences for their customers.
Challenge 2: Managing Multiple Boards
The Problem: Darts 59 has multiple dartboards, each with different pricing, capacity, and availability. The initial system treated all hardware the same.
The Feedback: "We need different prices for different boards. Our VIP board should cost more, and we need to set different time slots."
The Solution: We developed a comprehensive hardware management system:
- Individual pricing per board
- Customizable time slot durations
- Capacity limits (min/max people)
- Display ordering for the booking page
- Per-board availability management
This gave venues like Darts 59 complete control over their inventory, allowing them to optimize pricing and maximize revenue.
Challenge 3: Flexible Pricing Strategies
The Problem: Darts 59 wanted to charge differently on weekends, offer special rates for certain times, and adjust pricing for holidays. The flat-rate pricing model wasn't flexible enough.
The Feedback: "We need to charge more on Friday nights and less during weekday afternoons. Can we set different prices for different days?"
The Solution: We built a flexible pricing system:
- Day-of-week pricing overrides
- Date-specific pricing for holidays and special events
- Per-board or per-person pricing options
- Time slot duration flexibility
This allowed Darts 59 to implement dynamic pricing strategies that maximized revenue during peak times while remaining competitive during slower periods.
Challenge 4: Branding and Customization
The Problem: The generic Vennerz booking page didn't match Darts 59's brand. They wanted their own look and feel, and ideally, their own domain.
The Feedback: "Can we use our own domain? And can we match our brand colors?"
The Solution: We added extensive customization options:
- Custom domain support with DNS verification
- Brand color customization (primary and secondary)
- Logo upload
- Custom descriptions and content
- Iframe embedding for integration into existing websites
Darts 59 now has a booking experience that feels like their own, strengthening their brand and customer trust.
Challenge 5: Analytics and Insights
The Problem: Darts 59 wanted to understand their booking patterns, revenue trends, and customer behavior to make data-driven decisions.
The Feedback: "We need to see which times are busiest, how much revenue we're making, and which boards are most popular."
The Solution: We built comprehensive analytics:
- Booking volume trends
- Revenue analytics
- Peak time analysis
- Hardware utilization reports
- Customer insights
This data helped Darts 59 optimize their pricing, staffing, and marketing efforts based on real patterns rather than assumptions.
Challenge 6: Streamlined Operations
The Problem: Managing bookings, cancellations, and customer communications was becoming complex as volume grew.
The Feedback: "We need better tools to manage bookings, handle cancellations, and communicate with customers."
The Solution: We enhanced the booking management system:
- Centralized booking dashboard
- One-click cancellation with automatic refunds
- Automated email notifications
- Booking status tracking
- Customer communication tools
Operations became smoother, allowing Darts 59 to scale without proportionally increasing administrative overhead.
The Results: Measurable Impact
The iterative development process driven by Darts 59's needs has delivered tangible results:
For Darts 59:
- Reduced operational overhead: Automated session creation saves hours per week
- Increased bookings: Better user experience and flexible pricing led to more conversions
- Higher revenue: Dynamic pricing optimized for peak times
- Improved customer experience: Seamless booking process with automatic session management
- Better insights: Data-driven decisions on pricing and operations
For Vennerz:
- Product-market fit: Features built for real needs, not assumptions
- Competitive advantage: Integrations and features competitors don't offer
- Scalability: Architecture that supports diverse venue needs
- Customer satisfaction: Venues see their feedback reflected in the product
The Development Philosophy: Build, Measure, Learn
Working with Darts 59 taught us an important lesson: the best features come from real problems, not theoretical ones. Our development process became:
- Listen: Regular check-ins to understand pain points
- Prioritize: Focus on features that solve real problems
- Build quickly: Rapid iteration to get features into use
- Measure: Track how features are used and their impact
- Refine: Continuous improvement based on feedback
This approach meant that every feature we built had immediate value, and Darts 59 could see their input directly shaping the product.
What's Next: Continuous Evolution
The partnership continues. As Darts 59 grows and their needs evolve, we continue to iterate:
- Dartsee integration: Adding support for another dartboard system
- Advanced analytics: Deeper insights into customer behavior
- Marketing tools: Features to help venues attract more customers
- Mobile app: On-the-go booking management
The key is maintaining that feedback loop—listening to what venues actually need, not what we think they need.
Lessons Learned
For Venues: Your feedback is invaluable. The best products are built in partnership with users who aren't afraid to say what's not working and what they need.
For Product Builders: Real-world usage reveals problems you can't anticipate. Early adopters who give honest feedback are worth their weight in gold.
For the Industry: The future of venue management software is in flexibility, integrations, and listening to customer needs. One-size-fits-all solutions don't work in a diverse industry.
Conclusion
Darts 59 didn't just use Vennerz — they helped build it. Their feedback, challenges, and needs drove feature after feature, transforming Vennerz from a simple booking system into a comprehensive platform that works for venues of all sizes.
This case study isn't just about Darts 59 or Vennerz — it's about the power of customer-driven development. When you listen to your users, prioritize their needs, and iterate quickly, you don't just build a product. You build a partnership.
Ready to see how Vennerz can transform your venue's booking operations? Get started today and join venues like Darts 59 who are using technology to streamline operations and grow their business.