Ticket Waiting List Schemes for Sold Out Music Festivals.

Popular music festivals always have limited capacities dictated by the venue size; this can often lead to a sold-out event. A small percentage of ticket buyers will request refunds and those tickets become available for resale. How do festival organisers manage the resale and reissuing of these tickets.

A well-run music festival will certainly operate a ticket registration and waiting list scheme and forms a key part of their ticket inventory management. The waiting list scheme offers an opportunity for interested festival-goers to obtain a ticket well after the event is sold out. For organisers waiting list schemes ensure that ticket sales revenue is maximised with the added benefit of helping to combat ticket scalping and fraudulent ticket sales. How do festival organisers operate their ticket waiting list schemes.

What is a Ticket Waiting List.
Most festival organisers operate a ticket registration system that enables them to capture festival-goer data which can be used for the sale of early bird ticket offers and other marketing activity or promotions. Once an event is sold out, organisers often offer a waiting list registration scheme which is usually part of the same generic festival-goer registration system. The waiting list scheme offers festival-goers a fair chance at obtaining tickets once they become available at face value. The same system can also be used to operate an official re-sale scheme which combats ticket scalping. Most waiting list schemes operate on a first come first served basis although some run as lotteries; the allocation method must be transparent, and all data collection and use processes must comply with any prevailing GDPR regulations. Organisers can get great insight into festival-goer behaviour by analysing registration data enabling them to plan future ticketing sales and pricing strategies or venue capacities.

Ticket Inventory Management.
Festival organisers have a finite number of tickets depending on the venue's capacity, and they are often allocated for different purposes. Tickets can be used as a currency to help with sponsor, vendor, and artist negotiations because of the perceived face value. Organisers allocate tickets into different categories which typically include early bird, general sale, VIP, sponsors, contractors, vendors, and artists. The bulk of tickets will fall into the general sale category and once this sells out, the inventory management of a waiting list scheme becomes critical to maximising sales revenue. Ticket buyers can request refunds or default on payments and organisers need to re allocate these back into the system as available usually straight to the waiting list where availability is offered via an email or SMS message. Tickets offered to waiting list members will usually be time limited to motivate a quick sale, if the time limit expires the offer should go to the next person on the waiting list (pass-on).

Ticket Sources.
The tickets in the inventory can come from a variety of sources with the most common being when a ticket buyer returns their ticket at roughly face value. With many organisers offering ticket payment schemes it is not unusual for a small percentage to have defaults which will void that ticket and put it back into the inventory system for re-allocation. In some cases, the organisers may hold back a tranche of tickets for promotional purposes but if plans change or not all are used, they can release these back into the system allocating them straight into the waiting list scheme.

Ticketing Platform Systems.
Festival organisers either operate their own ticketing systems or use a third-party ticketing platform like Ticketmaster, for example. If they are operating their own system, this could be a bespoke platform that is unique to that entity or a standalone ticketing software platform. Each system offers different price points and fee structures for organisers with as much or as little involvement as necessary. Whatever ticketing platform organisers opt for the chosen solution should allow for ticket registration and issuance with a robust process for ticket inventory management. The inclusion of resale functionality and the ability to create a waiting list are an essential part of the overall inventory management to maximise revenue sales.

For festival organisers planning their next event using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

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