Timed Ticketing with VIP Upgrades?

[SteveR]

Howdy -

We're considering doing timed-ticketing this year. With timed ticketing, how would we do VIP (RIP) upgrades? We make quite a bit off VIP tix and don't want to loose that revenue stream.

For us, "VIP" means that our victims get in quicker, less wait in line, etc. But same show inside. Thanx!

[twohlgemuth]

We have been using timed tickets for 5 years now and our VIP is puchased only onsite and very limited. We upcharge for the timed ticket $3.00 over general admission. You will make more money selling Reservatoin / Timed ticketing than VIP.

Our General Admission is $22.00 and Reservation is $25.00 and it sells out the last 3 weeks of October.

We sell 50 reservations every 15 mintues in time slots. This works out great and does not hold up our general admission line to long.

Clear Cut Operations offers a complete solutions for onsite and online POS or you can check out Interactive Ticketing or Click N Print for just the online timed solution.

[SteveR]

Thanx twohlgemuth, but I don't understand. For your timed ticketing scenario, what does buying a VIP ticket get the victims that a regular timed ticket does not? Does timed ticket == VIP ticket?

Thanx for the company references. I had planned to talk to Interactive Ticketing at TW to see if they could help us get a completely integrated online+onsite POS solution. We also plan to engage Vendini to see what they can offer. I hadn't heard of Clear Cut Operations, so I'll check with them too.

Thanx!

[twohlgemuth]

Timed tickets are very limited, only 50 tickets available per 15 minute time slot. They sell out very fast, so the VIP ticket is the only other option to go to the front of the line. However, we limit the VIP for sale only if the Reservation queue line is empty. We do not offer VIP online, so when someone asks to purchase a VIP the ticket box office has to radio and ask if the Reservation line is empty.

Interactive is only for online or phone sales. I used them last year and the service was great. I have been talking to clearcutoperations.com owners and they can do both onsite and online in one system. They will be at Transworld, so look them up.

[Don_OfThe_Dead]

I'm curious as to how you explain a VIP (RIP) ticket to your customers. We get very long lines and I assume a VIP sends you to the front right away? We've thought about timed reservations but thought it might be too much to handle at the moment. So with a VIP do they just go to the front of the line, or a separate line set up for them which gets sent in faster than the other?

[twohlgemuth]

Reservations - Time Slots - Work Smarter not Harder

Don,

Our VIP is priced $13.00 higher than general admission and is not sold online at all, it is listed as Sold Out. The problem with VIP tickets is you have no control over when those VIP customers are showing up. That is where Reservations makes 100% sense, now you can control the flow and still have an upcharge. You can make more money with Reservations and keep the peace with your general admssion guests.

We explain to our guests wanting a VIP that it is very limited and only sold when there is room in our Reservation line. Reservations are not available onsite, so these guests have to plan their night ahead.

We have a separate line that hold about 100 guests for Rerservations and a VIP line that holds about 20 guests.

I have experienced over the past 5 years that our general admission customers opinion is much more understanding when they see Reservations guest going in in front of them than VIP guests. In the years past before Reservations were used our general admission guests would heckle our VIPS and get upset that just because they paid more money they got to front. It is a total different attitude when they understand they could have planned ahead and made a reservation. In fact the general admission guests will see what a deal it is and each year the demand is stronger for Reservations. We allow 50 per 15 minute time slot, that is 200 guest per hour that pay $3.00 more over general admission. You are making more money for no more work. We plan on increasing the 50 to 75 this year.

We use the VIP for true VIP guests like our sponsors and we do sell a few dozen a year, but very limited.

Don't stress over the setup, it is very easy. Just use Interactive Ticketing to sell your Reservation Time Slots and make a separate line for those tickets. Place an employee with a big clock at the front of that queue area and don't let anyone in until it is the time. For example; the first time slot is 8:00 to 8:15. The guest are not allowed to enter until 8:00. The next time slot is not allowed to enter until 8:15 and so forth. Trust me, it works like clock work. Your Reservatin guests will love the experience and your general admission guest will be kicking themselves and will purchase that next time. In the end you have increased your guest experience and made more money doing it.