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Customer Stories
Sunset Ranch Hollywood: Quieting the Phones Without Losing the Personal Touch
Admin
Perched above the Hollywood Hills, Sunset Ranch Hollywood has been welcoming riders for over a century. Trail rides with sweeping views of the LA Basin, sunset horseback tours through Griffith Park, and private events on a working ranch — it's the kind of experience that draws calls from all directions, all day long.
But with a lean team focused on the horses, the trails, and the guests in front of them, answering every inbound question — what to wear, how to book, where to park, whether there's availability — was pulling staff away from the work that matters most.
When Yonder's AI Voice Agent became available, Sunset Ranch didn't need much convincing.
The problem: repetitive calls, not enough hands
Like most experience operators, Sunset Ranch had relied on traditional phone solutions to manage inbound volume — but nothing that could truly handle the variety and pace of customer questions. The team had already experimented with a ChatGPT-based chat agent built in-house, which gave them an early appetite for what AI could do. What they were looking for was a voice solution that could go further: one that connected directly to their booking flow.
When Yonder offered a voice system that integrated with their Peek reservation system, it was an easy decision. Sunset Ranch runs its bookings through Peek, and Yonder's integration means the AI Voice Agent can reference live availability and point callers directly into the Peek booking flow — no double-handling, no disconnect between the phone conversation and the reservation system the team already trusts.
"We had tried phone trees before, but never AI. When Yonder offered a voice system that could also connect in some way to our booking system, that was the hook for us."
— Eric Ancker, Sunset Ranch Hollywood
What June looked like
In June 2026 — Sunset Ranch Hollywood's first full month with Yonder fully optimized — the AI Voice Agent handled 1,037 inbound calls. Nearly half, 49%, were resolved entirely by AI with no human handoff needed. The rest were smoothly routed to the team when a caller specifically requested it.
The timing tells the story: the busiest call windows fall in the late afternoon and evening, when staff are most likely to be out on the trails with guests. That's exactly when AI coverage delivers the most value — every question answered, every caller taken care of, without pulling a single team member away from the experience they're delivering on the ground.
The bottom line: bookings driven by AI Voice in June generated a 14x return on the monthly Yonder subscription.
The feature that changed the workflow
Ask Eric what he values most about Yonder, and the answer isn't the call volume or the ROI — it's control.
"The most valuable feature for me is being able to add knowledge to the AI myself. If the AI gives an answer that's not quite right, or if a customer asks something we hadn't thought to include, I can go in, add the information, and improve the system without needing a full support request."
— Eric Ancker, Sunset Ranch Hollywood
That self-serve knowledge base means the system gets sharper over time. The moment a new question comes up or an answer needs refining, the team can update the AI directly and move on — no delays, no tickets, no waiting. It's a feedback loop that keeps the agent improving alongside the business.
An unexpected win: SMS booking links
The SMS feature wasn't top of mind when Sunset Ranch signed on. It turned out to matter more than expected. After every call, Yonder's agent automatically sends the caller a direct booking link via text — giving them a clear next step without having to navigate a website on their own. The SMS link drops callers straight into Sunset Ranch's Peek checkout, so the handoff from AI conversation to confirmed reservation is seamless.
In June, 130 links went out and 71% of recipients clicked through. That's nearly 3 in 4 people receiving a personalized message at exactly the right moment and acting on it — a conversion signal that turns answered calls into real booking intent.
What the team thinks
"Our team loves it. For them, the value is very clear — it cuts down on the repetitive calls and gives them more time to focus on other work."
— Eric Ancker, Sunset Ranch Hollywood
Customer response has been equally positive — reflected in the quieter phones and the steady stream of booking link click-throughs. When guests are getting the answers they need without friction, it shows up in the numbers.
Sunset Ranch Hollywood is a working ranch with over a century of history. The operation runs on trust — trust between riders and horses, between guests and guides, and between a small team and the tools they rely on. Yonder's AI Voice Agent has earned its place in that picture: answering the questions, freeing the team, and turning every inbound call into an opportunity.
