CellarPass Platform Update Completed | 4/25/23

We have completed the scheduled platform update that introduced many enhancements, improved features and bug fixes throughout the ecosystem.

These release notes are designed to alert you of these changes and help you understand that some of benefits of the new features and improvements included in this release.

As with all release notes we distribute, we strongly recommend that you take a moment to review them and share them with your fellow team members.

Updated 5/3/23 3:41PM

NEW FEATURES
Today's update includes many new features designed to help you grow your business that we know you are going to be excited about.

1. NEW! Cellar Scout Renamed as CellarPass' The Vault Membership Program
   The feedback about Cellar Scout from business partners and consumer members has been fantastic. Everyone loved our Adult Easter Egg Hunt in early April and we have many more events lined up for the rest of 2023. We have renamed the Cellar Scout program as CellarPass' The Vault to reduce confusion between what CellarPass is and our consumer membership program. No other changes have been made.
   
   
2. NEW! Chelan Wine Region Officially Launched
   After months of research and 3 days touring the area, we're pleased to officially launch the Chelan wine region as a featured area of coverage of our platform.
   
   
3. NEW! Interactive Regional Map
   After months of programming and testing, we have officially launched our new interactive map system on CellarPass.com. This will allow visitors to view availability for a specific region by selecitng date, time, number of guests and price range.
   
   
4. NEW! Migration of Images to Webp Formats
   We are continuing our quest for delivering the fastest website possible and to do so, we are changing all of our image formats from .png and .jpg to .webp formats. You can continue to upload .jpg and .png formats through the various image uploaders, but these are now converted to the .webp format saving on average 22% file size, allowing webpages and images to be loaded faster, especially on mobile devices.
   
   
5. CellarPass Payments Credit Card Processing Fees
   Many credit card processing companies are no longer refunding their credit card processing fees which requires CellarPass to follow suit. Starting April 25, 2023, CellarPass will no longer refund any credit card processing fees on ticketed events, no matter if the guest pays or you as an event organizer.
   
   If you choose to pass on credit card processing fees on ticketed events and then subsequently cancel the order or process a refund, you have the option to either not refund the guest or refund the guest the cc processing fees, which will then be deducted from your payout. This configuration follows the "Refund Service Fees" setting in the Fees section while editing your ticketed event.

ADMIN PANEL
Today's update includes some new features and bug fixes.

1. UPDATED! Apps & Integrations
   We have redesigned how you gain access to the QR Code for both TablePro and Guest LInk Pro apps. You simply now go to Business, Apps & Integrations and click the App Credentials button and the QR Code will be displayed on screen.
   
   
2. REMINDER! Sharing of User Accounts
   We have come across many cases recently where Admin accounts are being shared across the entire tasting room staff. This is not only not following PCI requirements and best practices, but is not condoned during our training sessions for security reasons. Every User that access the CellarPass admin panel must have their own login credentials as this not only helps us identify technical support issues, but Users can personalize their settings that may not work for all. There is no additional charge nor any limits to the number of Users, so follow best practices and invite others to use their own account to login.
   
   
3. MOVED! Communication Manager
   We have moved the Communication Manager from within Ticketing to Marketing as to prepare for the expanded role this feature will play in the system in general.
   
   
4. UPDATED! Credentials for TablePro and Guest Link Pro
   We've redesigned the interface for displaying the QR Code to gain access to TablePro and Guest Link Pro. Instead of showing the way to download the app first, we now show the login QR Code. Download buttons give you quick access to download either app.

RESERVATIONS
Today's update includes some new features and bug fixes.

1. NEW! Guest Tags versus Visit Tags
   We have introduced a new Tag format called Guest Tags and have renamed the existing "Guest Tags" as "Visit Tags". Visit Tags are saved with the Reservation, whereas Guest Tags are saved on the customer's profile which are unique to each business.
2. NEW! Pre-Visit Questions
   We've expanded the number of questions that can be asked of guests during their reservation booking to from two to three.
   
   
3. NEW! Cancellation Reason on Cancellation Emails
   We have updated the Cancellation email sent to guests and admins to include the Cancellation Reason. If no reason is provided, it will simply note "Not provided".
   
   
4. IMPROVED! Private Booking Links
   We're redesigned the "Copy URL" when it comes to copying links to Experiences that are set as Active-Private. This will now redirect you to the Access Codes page.
   
   
5. IMPROVED! Changing Reservations Schedule Limits
   We've redesigned the Schedule page so that it's easier to make changes to the "Max Orders" and "Limit By Capacity".

TICKETING
Today's update includes some new features and bug fixes.

1. NEW! Ticketholder Details
   When selling tickets through the admin panel, the forms will now be automatically populated with all the details from the ticket buyer.
   
   
2. NEW! Email Activity Log
   This update adds the Email Activity log to the bottom of the order details page for a ticket purchase, allowing you to see when emails are being delivered, clicked, opened, etc.
   
   
3. NEW! Ticketholder Info
   When selling tickets via the admin panel, once you have completed the main ticketholder form, this data will be automatically copied into all the other ticketholder details on tickets #2 and on.
   
   
4. IMPROVED! Ticketed Event Images
   We have converted all existing ticketed event images to the WebP format. All new images uploaded will use this file format that helps reduce file sizes by around 25%, allowing them to load faster on slower networks.
   
   
5. FIXED! Ticketed Event Display on CP.com
   We found some rare occurrences when a ticketed event would be removed from our search an hour before the end of the event. This has been fixed.
   
   
6. FIXED! Trailing "Space" Issue
   We found some rare occurrences when a "space" was saved as part of a guest's Last Name and have fixed this issue on 4/19/23
   
   
7. FIXED! Ticket Level Saving Issues in Draft Mode
   We've corrected the issue when required details are missing in other tabs while editing a ticketed event in Draft mode.
   
   
8. FIXED! Accepting Cash for Ticket Sales
   We found some rare occurrences when cash was accepted for a ticket sale and have fixed this issue on 4/13/23.
   
   

CELLARPASS.COM
This release includes many improvements to our website.

1. NEW! Interactive Regional Map
   We have completed the initial work of the beta for our interactive regional map and now working on where to link it up for visitors to explore. Check out the Napa and Sonoma demos.
   
   
2. UPDATED! Business Pages
   We have completed the upgrade to all code related to our business pages which take advantage of our new network's speed and Google Page Speed scores of 100 for Accessibility, 100 for Best Practices and 100 for SEO.
   
   
3. Pre-Paid Reservations
   We have updated the widget and anywhere an experience is listed on CellarPass.com to denote whether a reservation is pre-paid or not by including an icon. Pre-paid denotes any reservation experiences that would required a credit card and would be pre-paid prior to the guest's arrival.
   
   

COMING SOON
We've got some other projects in the works that we will be sharing with you in the coming weeks.

1. IMPROVED! New Admin Panel Booking Interface
   We are about 50% through the programming of our resigned interface that we expect to have available in beta in mid May. The new interface follows more of a cart-stepped approach allowing you to save your work along the way, which is helpful when a guest's cellphone cuts out or you have to call them back.
   
   
2. UPDATED! Concierge Bookings
   We are completely re-writing the user experience when booking on behalf of a guest, which is typically done by Tour Guides, Tour Operators, Hoteliers and personal assistance. We are renaming these features and will be sharing the details in upcoming release notes.