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Location: Cleveland, OH
Capacity: Tavern (150) & Ballroom (500)
Interviewee: David Ellmers, Operations Manager
Opendate Customer Since: Fall 2023
For over two decades, Beachland Ballroom & Tavern has been a cornerstone of Cleveland’s independent music scene. Known for its intimate rooms and career-launching stages, Beachland had built its internal systems the old-school way: by hand. It worked for a long time, but it was time to evolve beyond disconnected tools.
“We have maybe 15 cabinets that are completely full of data from every band that has ever played at Beachland - they each get a manila folder where we store the offer, settlement, and other show details. And every time they visit, the show date is written on the manila folder. Now I have a digital version of that.”
This analog process worked, for a time. But as the venue scaled up booking, events, and communication with artists and partners, the limitations of disconnected tools started to show. Beachland is now phasing out their physical filing system in favor of a centralized, modern system with Opendate.
“There’s no software in the world that’s as flexible.”
David discovered Opendate through conversations at NIVA.
“When I saw it, it just made sense. It’s flexible, it fits how we work, and I’ve never had customer service like this.”
He keeps it simple:
“We fish for a living - throwing lines every day. Now we have the right tackle box, with everything we need in one place.”
“We can review offers, close the show, and prep settlements on our phones on a moment’s notice, even while we’re enjoying the show.”
Before Opendate, reconciling a show meant spreadsheets, door bags, and guesswork. Now it’s real-time clarity:
“Cindy and I will be at the bar watching the show and ask, ‘What are we paying these guys?’ I pull up the offer, and we walk through it right there.”
Beachland’s transition to Opendate included email marketing integration, which had an immediate financial impact. With open and click rates from their fan base at well above standard, they’re finding it easier and more lucrative than ever to stay connected with fans through email marketing. They can now even see what ticket revenue is directly attributed to sales from email campaigns.
“The format for our newsletter is now encapsulated into Opendate. It’s saving the marketing team a ton of time versus typing an email, describing all the events, gathering all those assets. Having dynamic content plus all the assets in one place that’s connected to our ticketing detail has been a huge advantage.”
Though add-ons were not a major revenue driver before, Opendate is helping Beachland explore new opportunities.
"I’m starting to think about ways to use Opendate to offer VIP tables or selling a parking spot as an add-on to a ticket. We could have never dreamed of executing something like that. It’s so easy. It’s just right there.”
David acknowledged that change is gradual, especially for a team that’s operated one way for decades. But Opendate is helping Beachland evolve, at its own pace. Like many venue teams, there’s a mix of die-hard pen and paper people and early-adopter tech users, plus every combination in between.
Still, the shift is happening.
“We’re probably 60% of the way in, and I never want to go back.”
Change takes time. Beachland’s team blends old-school and early adopters. But the benefits are clear:
“The visibility alone is transformative. Instead of six systems, now everything, from plots to contracts, is in one place.”
It’s changed their meetings, too:
“Someone says, ‘We lost $2K on the band,’ and I can pull it up: Sure, but we did $3.5K at the bar."
And importantly, the bottom line. Beachland is on track for a 12.5% jump in ticket sales this year compared to pre-Opendate numbers, with 2025 already pacing ahead of 2024.
"It’s awesome. It’s bizarre to have this tool that’s going to grow faster than we will… and that’s great.”
For a venue built on legacy and community, the right tech wasn’t about reinventing the wheel. It was about finally getting it to spin smoother.