I led a product initiative at Open Stalls to solve a recurring event-day operations problem for rodeo venues. Renters were arriving at large rural venues, parking far away, and relying on venue staff to manually direct them to stalls and RV spots. I introduced a geospatial wayfinding workflow using Google My Maps and KML-based venue maps so renters, admins, and operations teams could use direct location links. The result was full adoption, zero support calls and complaints for wayfinding, and more than $1,000 saved per event per venue in staffing effort.
Role and scope
I began product management for Open Stalls in November 2020.
Open Stalls is a reservation booking and management platform for rodeo events and arenas. A lot of the pain points in the product were operational, especially on event days when staffing is tight and small issues turn into support bottlenecks quickly.
This project started as a mapping issue, but the real problem was event-day workflow and support load.
The problem
Renters often arrived at venues without a clear way to find their assigned stalls, barns, or RV spaces. They would park and walk toward the stall office, then venue staff had to verbally guide them or physically help them get to the right location.
That created friction on both sides:
- renters had a confusing first experience
- venue staff spent time on manual directions instead of other tasks
- support teams handled avoidable questions
- operations teams had no consistent way to locate stalls for lock or cleaning workflows
The map inputs were also inconsistent. Some venues had PDFs, some had brochure-style images, some had rough grids. There was no standard format and no dependable coordinate-based system.
In 2020, this had real cost implications. Many venues were in rural areas, budgets were tight, and staffing was limited.
How we did it
1) Choose a fast, familiar mapping approach
I proposed using Google My Maps to create venue maps with real coordinates and structured layers. The goal was to solve the wayfinding problem quickly with a tool people already understood, instead of building a custom mapping product.
This gave us a path to:
- send direct location links to renters
- send direct links to operations users for lock and cleaning tasks
- standardize venue maps
- generate reusable KML files for future workflows
2) Build a repeatable implementation process
I worked with implementations and integrations on a process for outlining venues, checking map quality, and producing KML outputs we could reuse.
The setup time depended on venue size, but most venues could be mapped in under an hour. That made the solution practical to scale across customers.
3) Use the map as an operational tool, not just a visual feature
The value of this work came from how the maps were used in the workflow:
- renters received direct Google Maps links to assigned locations
- operations users received direct coordinates for tasks
- venue admins had a cleaner and more consistent wayfinding model
The KML output also created a geospatial asset we could build on later.
Evaluating success
This was an operations-heavy feature, so I evaluated it through adoption, support load, and customer friction signals.
Adoption
We tracked whether customers adopted the new wayfinding workflow and used it consistently.
Support and complaint reduction
Wayfinding quality is hard to measure directly, so support outcomes were a key signal:
- app support hours for this workflow
- support calls
- customer complaints tied to finding locations
Operational efficiency
We also looked at venue staff time saved during check-in and event operations.
Outcomes
This project delivered clear operational and business value.
- 100% customer adoption of the new wayfinding tool
- 0 hours of app support needed for the workflow after rollout
- 0 customer complaints related to wayfinding
- $1,000+ saved per event, per venue from reduced manual check-in handling
- Most venue maps completed in under 1 hour during implementation, depending on venue size
Leadership and org capability impact
This project is a good example of how I make product decisions under real constraints.
I chose the right solution shape for the moment
I made a buy/partner decision instead of pushing for a custom build. That got value to customers quickly and preserved engineering capacity.
I turned a one-off idea into an operational capability
I worked with implementations and integrations to make map creation repeatable and supportable. That was the difference between a good demo and a usable product workflow.
I helped the team frame the problem correctly
The request could have been treated as “we need better maps.” The real opportunity was reducing event-day ambiguity and support burden. Framing it that way led to a better solution.
What I’d build on next
I would build on the same geospatial foundation with:
- admin-side editing tools for faster updates
- stronger QA workflows for temporary venue changes
- ADA and accessibility overlays
- location-based operational workflows tied to check-in and stall status