Client work · Clarksville, Indiana
The Bay Cigar Lounge
From a first look at the lounge to a membership inquiry, with staff deciding what happens next.
Website + membership operations
Project notes
A welcoming first look.
A clear handoff to the team.
Problem
The lounge needed a welcoming public presence and a connected way for staff to handle membership inquiries.
Solution
I built the public website alongside private member tools and a staff workspace. A visitor can request a tour or contact the team. Staff review the inquiry and decide what happens next.
Operational benefit
Staff create each approved membership. That record connects private access and check-in. Events maintained by staff can also appear on the public website.
- 01 / Public websiteRequest a tour or contact the team
- 02 / Staff workspaceReview the inquiry
- 03 / Staff approvalCreate membership
- 04 / Member portalAccess and check in
A tour is one way in, not a requirement. Staff control membership approval. The public website does not create a membership automatically.
One system, three experiences
Public, member, and staff experiences in one system.
01
Public site
The lounge experience, membership, events, gallery, private-event requests, tours, Rare Finds, and virtual humidor share one responsive public home. The October 1 public redesign was built around my September 21 photographs.
02
Member portal
Members can review their membership, secure pass, visits, rewards, locker, benefits, and room requests. Corporate accounts have a separate private workspace for seats and room access.
03
Staff portal
Role-based workspaces cover inquiries, tours, memberships, check-in, corporate accounts, events, rooms, lockers, cigars, inventory, content, reports, and follow-up.
Public inquiries become staff work. Authorized staff create each membership, with or without a tour, and approved members receive private access without a separate disconnected system.
Connected operations
The operational handoffs stay connected.
01
Inquiry to membership
Inquiry review, an optional tour, and staff-controlled member creation follow the lounge’s real sales process. A tour request is one way in, and staff still create every membership.
02
Inside the lounge
QR check-in, member recognition, events, room requests, rewards, lockers, humidor tools, and operational reporting stay connected to the membership record.
03
Union integration
An hourly, auditable export pipeline imports approved Union customer and retail reports, updates matched inventory, and sends unmatched items or stock issues to staff review.
Union remains the retail point of sale and source of truth. This controlled export integration does not claim a direct Union API or sell cigars and alcohol online.
Custom operational platform
The public site and the back office share one system.
Staff-managed events can appear on the public site. Tour and contact requests enter the CRM. Membership records power private member tools and lounge check-in.
Want a front door like this?
Start with the website. Connect the operation when you are ready.
The Bay began as a public website and grew into portals, check-in, and lounge operations. Yours can start the same way: a custom website at a clear fixed price, built in New Albany, Indiana.
Not sure whether to start with the website or the work behind it? A free workflow review takes 20 minutes and ends with a plain recommendation.