Success Story
The HIM and the switch to SEM
Out of a desire to professionalize the organization, we looked at reservation systems that were not only more user-friendly, but also provided more structure within the various departments. In addition, we wanted to use it for our own exhibitions and public events as well as for corporate rentals. So the desired system had to provide good frameworks for possibilities and impossibilities to organize different events side by side. Not only by displaying availability of rooms, but also keeping track of what equipment is in the house, what is already in use and what is still available.
Our search
Furthermore, we felt it was important that the creation of a script would go a lot faster and that the organization’s insight into the status of events and agreements with third parties would be increased. Standardization of processes was also an important consideration in our search.
Switching to a system also meant that we had to look for a new ticketing system. Again, we juxtaposed providers of both booking programs and ticketing systems and compared offerings and costs to arrive at a good choice.
How do we take care of the organization of events?
We processed internal and external events through separate documents for quotes, confirmations and scripts. Statements for business rentals were maintained in Excel. Requests and bookings for both our own program and corporate events were processed in a ticketing program that included staff scheduling, but could not include financial arrangements.
Scheduling multi-day bookings in this system was also time-consuming, as it had to be done on a day-by-day basis (not exactly a user-friendly set-up for a 3-month exhibition).
The switch to smart event manager
Then in early 2021, we made the switch and chose Smart Event Manager and Global Ticket. In our choice of SEM, the following elements were decisive:
- no longer have to perform the same actions over and over again but put programs as standard reservations in the system, thus saving time
- Further standardization of processes such as preparing quotes, creating rental agreements, sending emails and billing are also automatically generated
- Quality improvement
- link with our accounting program
- all information about all events can be found in one place for the entire organization, even if they are still under option
- good crm system
- extensive reporting possibilities
- overall: time-saving and a lot less error-prone!
Guidance
The implementation process of SEM went very well and smoothly. With several short sessions a week remotely and in between continuing to work in and fill the system ourselves, we managed to be operable within two months. The very good accessibility of the help desk and follow-up on questions or problems we run into certainly helps in this as well.
Who we are
Right next to the North Sea Canal, opposite Amsterdam’s Westpoort, lies the monumental Hembrug industrial estate. This used to be a military site closed to the outside world, where weapons and ammunition were produced until after World War II. Military functions have long since ceased at the site. Today it is a residential and recreational area, with 35 national and 22 municipal monuments.
One of these properties, a 1956 bullet factory with an underground shooting range, was purchased by our parent company Amerborgh in 2017, and we made it into what it is today in 2018: a “House” as a meeting place for contemporary culture. The 200-meter-long, snow-white building consists of several open spaces where art is experienced and made, and where visitors are free to explore different art forms at their own pace.
The Living Room on the first floor is the heart of The HIM. This free-to-enter space is set up as a place to feel “at home” (the name “HIM” comes from the Germanic word “haima,” meaning home). A fine recharge spot with a library, a movie and podcast corner (The Couch), a music bar, two restaurants and a lovely terrace on the North Sea Canal.
The HIM hosts a public art program, collaborations with educational institutions, an artist-in-residence space (where artists can live and work temporarily) and six studios. In addition to cultural interpretation, the building is also used for business events and film and photography shoots. The HIM opened in the summer of 2019 with a flying start with “Chapter 1NE,” the first exhibition and, at the same time, the world’s first introduction to The HIM.
On behalf of The HIM, Miquel Scholtens Moreira & Nora Schuit
