The day of the event
Nearly every event problem is a door problem, and the door is decided weeks earlier.
The Events module handles registration, ticket types, capacity, check-in and the attendee list. Most of what follows is about the half hour that decides whether the rest went well.
Ticket types: three is usually one too many
Every extra ticket type is a question somebody has to answer about themselves before they can register, and each question loses people. Standard and one concession — student, member, early — covers most events. If you are tempted to add a fourth, ask what decision it changes for the attendee. If the answer is only "it changes what we charge", make it a discount code instead.
Name types by who buys them, not by what they cost. "Member" tells someone whether it applies to them; "Tier 2" does not.
Capacity is not the room size
Set capacity below what the room holds, because free registrations do not all show up and paid ones mostly do. For a free event, expect somewhere between half and two thirds to attend; for a paid one, expect nearly everyone. Selling to the exact room size on a free event means an empty-looking room, and doing it on a paid event means people standing.
If you are unsure, open fewer places and add more. Adding capacity is a nice announcement. Removing it is an apology.
Check-in that works when the wifi does not
The venue wifi will be bad at exactly the moment forty people arrive at once. Two habits make this a non-event.
Open the attendee list on the door device before anyone arrives, while you still have a connection, and leave it open. And have a paper or downloaded copy of the list — not to use, but so that a dead connection costs you nothing but a slower queue.
Put two people on the door for anything over fifty. One person scanning is a queue; two is a flow. The second person does not need any training, only the list.
The two numbers worth looking at
Attendance rate against registrations tells you whether your reminders work. If it drops below half on a free event, the problem is almost never the content — it is that nobody was reminded the morning of.
Where registrations came from tells you where to spend effort next time. Read it once, a week after, and write the number down somewhere you will find it before the next event. Nobody remembers this correctly six months later, and everyone thinks they do.
Questions people actually ask
How many ticket types should I offer?
Two in most cases: standard and one concession. Every extra type is a question the attendee has to answer about themselves, and each one loses people. If a fourth type only changes the price, make it a discount code.
How much capacity should I open?
Less than the room holds. Free events see roughly half to two thirds attend; paid events see nearly everyone. Open fewer places and add more — adding capacity is an announcement, removing it is an apology.
What if the venue wifi fails at check-in?
Open the attendee list on the door device before people arrive and leave it open, and keep a downloaded or printed copy. A dead connection then costs you a slower queue instead of a blocked door.
