Case Study: How Harpoon Brewery Streamlines Event Operations with Tripleseat

Founded in 1986, Harpoon Brewery is a prominent American craft brewery based on Boston’s waterfront that has played a vital role in the American craft beer revolution. The brewery produces a diverse range of beers, boasts a large distribution business, and frequently hosts events and festivals. Famous for its vibrant atmosphere and community-driven events, Harpoon Brewery serves as both a beer hall and an event destination, offering tours, tastings, and private gatherings. With a dedicated team managing a growing number of events each month, Harpoon Brewery has become a beloved social hub for beer enthusiasts.

Prior to partnering with Tripleseat, Harpoon’s team faced challenges balancing its dual identity as both a beer hall and an event venue. Their existing systems lacked flexibility, visibility, and efficiency—forcing event coordinators to spend excessive time managing leads, communication, and client requests.

The Challenge: Managing Complex Event Operations Without a Centralized System

Running a beer hall and an active event space required Harpoon Brewery to maintain full control over operations while staying responsive to customers. Unfortunately, without an adaptable event management platform, their team struggled to maintain organization, consistency, and visibility across all functions.

Disjointed Event Management

Harpoon Brewery’s event coordination process was fragmented, with details scattered across emails, spreadsheets, and manual notes. It was difficult to maintain a unified view of bookings, client communication, and upcoming events. Coordinators often had to dig through messages to confirm event details, causing delays and confusion.

Limited Data & Visibility

The team lacked a reliable way to track lead sources, conversion rates, and event performance. Without reporting tools, leadership couldn’t easily identify which event types or packages generated the most revenue, which limited their ability to make data-driven decisions and improve their sales process.

Time-Consuming Communication

Coordinating events required countless back-and-forth emails. Harpoon Brewery’s event team spent a large portion of their time responding to inquiries and manually following up with clients. This approach slowed down response times and made it difficult to scale event operations efficiently.

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  • “Tripleseat is the best!”

    Lily Scearbo, Event Supervisor at Harpoon Brewery

Why Harpoon Brewery Chose Tripleseat

When evaluating solutions, Harpoon Brewery looked for a platform that could integrate seamlessly with their unique operations as both a brewery and an event venue. They needed flexibility without sacrificing structure and a system that would allow their team to work faster and smarter.

After researching multiple event management tools, Tripleseat stood out for its adaptability, intuitive design, and brewery-friendly features. The platform offered a combination of customization, communication tools, and reporting capabilities that fit perfectly with Harpoon’s event model.

Key reasons Harpoon chose Tripleseat:

  • Customizable lead forms, contracts, and picklists to fit brewery-specific workflows
  • Unified dashboard for managing 20–40 monthly events
  • Real-time data insights into event performance and lead conversion
  • Built-in discussion threads for team collaboration
  • Email templates for consistent and efficient client communication
  • Centralized calendar view for all upcoming events
  • Easy access to sales reports and goal tracking
  • Flexibility to accommodate both private and public event needs

The Solution: A Customizable, All-in-One Event Platform

Tripleseat provided Harpoon Brewery with the flexibility and control they needed to run their event operations efficiently. With customizable templates, automated communications, and centralized reporting, Harpoon’s team could now manage every aspect of their events from one platform.

Customization That Fits the Brewery Business

Because Harpoon Brewery’s operations differ from traditional event venues, Tripleseat’s customization options were critical. The team tailored lead forms, contracts, and picklists to match their unique workflows. The additional flexibility within the tool allows Harpoon Brewery to run events the way they want.

Real-Time Data & Reporting

Tripleseat’s reporting tools gave Harpoon Brewery visibility into lead conversion rates, event performance, and sales trends. The team regularly uses the sales report to monitor goals and identify areas for improvement, allowing them to make data-driven decisions that support business growth.

Streamlined Communications & Collaboration

With Tripleseat’s discussion feature and email templates, they reduced manual communication time significantly. Internal updates, client emails, and event discussions now live in one place, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. “It’s great to be able to monitor what’s going on with all of the events and make sure everything’s in place,” added Scearbo.

Tripleseat isn’t an event management software just for traditional event spaces. With portal customization and flexibility, the Tripleseat software allows Harpoon Brewery to be a successful beer hall and an event space with one tool. 

With a growing team of event coordinators and hosting between 20-40 events per month, Scearbo can stay in the loop on all things with discussion boards and comprehensive reporting tools that can assist in meeting monthly goals and improving lead conversion rates. 

The Results: Improved Efficiency, Visibility, & Control

Since adopting Tripleseat, Harpoon Brewery has optimized its event operations from end to end. The platform not only saved the team valuable time but also gave them full visibility into performance metrics and communication workflows.

  • Improved efficiency and saved time weekly through automated communication and templates
  • Increased lead conversion rates through better data insights
  • Managed 20–40 monthly events with complete visibility in one platform
  • Improved coordination between event coordinators and management
  • Maintained consistent client communication and faster response times
  • Gained real-time access to reports for tracking performance and meeting goals
ipad showing TripleseatDirect calendar for streamlining group reservations

Lessons for Other Breweries & Event Venues

Breweries and event venues operating with hybrid models can learn from Harpoon Brewery’s approach to streamlining operations with Tripleseat. A flexible, centralized platform makes managing multiple event types simpler and more profitable.

  • Choose a platform that adapts to your venue’s unique structure, not the other way around.
  • Use data insights to identify high-performing event types and optimize sales.
  • Centralize communication to keep every team member aligned.
  • Automate repetitive tasks like email responses and follow-ups.
  • Track performance metrics regularly to guide decisions and growth.

Ready to Optimize Your Event Management Process?

If your team is juggling multiple spreadsheets, emails, and calendars to manage events, it might be time for a change. Tripleseat helps venues like Harpoon Brewery streamline event operations, improve visibility, and save time.

Request a demo today to see how Tripleseat can help your venue work smarter and grow faster.

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