(All figures current as of July 2025.)
On the hills of East Kelowna, Michael was at his desk and quite well had enough. For two seasons he had tested booking apps on and off Shopify. His team were battling rigid time-slot appointments, double bookings, and soaring subscription costs. After all, he ran an operation to ensure bookings were smooth experiences at Tantalus Vineyards. They welcomed hundreds of visitors for vineyard walks and seated tastings every day of the week, a popular hotspot for wine country visitors. Customers loved them and always had a blast. Michael loved that too, but he didn't quite love the tools to help him.
In 2023 Michael moved to Easy Appointment Booking he hasn't looked back. Here's a breakdown of what they needed, what they tried and recommended, and where they're at today.
Michael needed weekday-only tours for exclusive slots, while daily tastings had to accommodate different group sizes. Previous apps forced one-size-fits-all schedules that either double-booked staff or left revenue on the table. There has got to be a way. (Spoiler: he found a way!)
Tour operators and sommeliers wanted bespoke reservations with variable party sizes and deposit rules. These are features other booking apps couldn’t handle or were not willing to consider. If they had it, it was clunky or didn't quite fit the bill.
Competitor winery platforms charged steep percentage fees on every tasting. For a boutique operation, that meant giving up profit on each pour.
“We didn’t expect to tick every box, but the limitations were holding us back.”
— Michael Green, Tantalus Hospitality Manager
Michael found the app, one of the recent entrants and Shopify App Challenge winners in Easy Appointment Booking. Trying it out, he found what he needed but wanted a few tweaks like custom table setups. Luckily, one of the founder's parents lived in Kelowna and Michael had the ear of the technical wiz who writes hundred of lines of code per week.
Easy Appointments, at that time, had no strategic plan - they simply liked Michael's ideas and made it happen. Table setups was a big one, and the future improvements of colour-coding calendars and price variations made it even easier. In summary, his wishlist won out.
“The value offered by Easy Appointments is incredible...we have been able to grow steadily, and on our own terms. The team’s quick tweaks like colour-coding and early-bird pricing—save us time and let us focus on guests.”
Ah, more time in the day to focus on what Michael loves - hospitality. Here's what came of his bookings experience with Easy Appointments:
By opening up morning slots and expanding to tour operators, Tantalus captured 73 extra reservations in Q2 2025.
Built-in quantity fields and leveraging Shopify variant pricing meant the cellar door knows exactly how many glasses to polish, reducing pre-shift guesswork. Saved 30+ admin minutes per day thanks to the upgraded Google Calendar sync, where guest counts and titles auto-populate.
Flat-rate EAB pricing saves $200–$400 per month compared with rival winery apps—money now reinvested in guest experiences.
"Their team is so collaborative that working with Easy Appointments feels like a partnership"
The numbers aren’t just encouraging, they uncork a whole new vintage of possibilities. With Easy Appointment Booking running the cellar door, Michael and the Tantalus team can now imagine experiences and actually bring them to life. Next on the list: explore on-device check ins with Point of Sale (POS) and even deeper calendar syncs that keep operations running smooth. With EAB’s flexible toolkit, Tantalus can craft guest journeys as refined and memorable as each bottle they serve. They let the wine (and the bookings) flow effortlessly.
