Premium seating brings significant benefits to any event. Of course, premium seats are typically sold at a higher price than general admission or other ticket options, but the benefits of offering premium seating options go far beyond revenue.
What is Premium Seating?
Premium seating can refer to a variety of ticket types. For example, if yours is a seated event, you can offer general admission tickets and reserved seating (premium) tickets with higher prices for the best seats.
In addition, you can offer VIP tickets that include add-ons beyond reserved seating, such as food, drinks, merchandise, performer meet and greets, and more. Premium seating can also be offered as a special group ticket type – similar to how sporting events offer box seats and lounges to corporations and other groups.
Today, premium seating options and ticket types can get very creative and depend on the event, the venue, and the target audience. The key to success is to create premium seating tickets that provide the added value and experiences attendees want.
How Does Premium Seating Boost Ticket Sales and Event Success?
If you’re using a ticketing software that allows you to create a variety of ticket types at different price points, it’s important to do some testing to learn which sales strategies work the best to sell more event tickets.
For example, when you choose AttendStar as your ticketing platform, you can set up multiple tests, track sales data in real-time, directly integrate data from your advertising and marketing investments, and make critical ticketing and pricing decisions to maximize ticket sales, revenue, and profits.
With that said, let’s take a look at the top three ways premium seating effectively increases ticket sales and the overall success of your events.
1. Added Value
When you offer premium seating tickets for your event, you create added value for ticket buyers by giving them something more than standard ticket buyers receive. The added value could be reserved seats, buffets, dedicated restrooms, drinks, better viewing, and more. The list of possible premium features and benefits you can offer to people who purchase upgraded tickets goes on and on.
To create premium seat tickets for your events, think about the extras that you can offer. These extras can be tangible (like food, drinks, and merchandise), or they can be intangible (like access to an exclusive area – think red ropes that make a specific area seem more important, luxurious, or better than other areas.
In other words, added value could be provided through something physical, or it could be a perceived added value.
2. Customer Experience
A common reason that many event attendees purchase premium seating is to improve their experiences at an event. However, not every ticket buyer wants the same experience, and they don’t all buy premium seats for the same reasons.
Therefore, you need to understand your target audiences and the kinds of experiences they want to have at your events in order to create the best premium seat ticket offers. Primarily, decisions to purchase premium seats are driven by one of three factors: convenience, comfort, and confidence – all of which directly affect customer experience.
For example, many people simply don’t want to have to rush to get a good seat or place to stand for a concert or show. Paying more for premium seats (even if those seats aren’t directly in front of the stage) is much more convenient for them, causes less confusion, and gives them confidence that their entire family or group will be able to sit together.
Other people want the comforts that come with spending more for premium seats. Those comforts could include more luxurious seats, covered seats (for outdoor events), food and drinks, and so on. Again, the comforts ticket buyers value the most and are willing to pay more for vary, so you need to do your research, understand your ticket buyers, and match your premium seating ticket options to their needs.
3. Psychology
Psychology plays a big role when it comes to understanding why ticket buyers are willing to spend more money on premium seating – even if that seating isn’t much better than what standard or general admission tickets offer.
A key part comes from a human being’s fear of missing out (FOMO). When premium seating availability is limited, ticket buyers are not only more likely to buy those tickets, but they’re also more likely to buy them early.
The reason is based on psychology and FOMO. They fear that if they don’t get the premium seat tickets soon, those tickets will sell out. For this reason, offering premium seating is a great way to boost early ticket sales.
To learn more about the psychology of ticket pricing, read the Secrets to Setting Event Ticket Prices to Maximize Sales.
What’s Next for Premium Seating?
Over the past decade, audiences have changed, and premium seating is changing too. Today, Millennials and Generation Z are buying more event tickets, and they’re looking for different experiences at events than previous generations did.
This is a new reality that sports organizations and large venues have been watching closely, and all event organizers need to understand how to adapt their ticket offerings to meet audience’s changing wants, needs, and expectations for premium seating.
Millennials and Generation Z ticket buyers don’t necessarily want the best seats in the house or the fancy luxury suite separated from other attendees. There is a growing number of event goers who are willing to buy premium tickets, and they’re looking for different experiences at a variety of price points. Event organizers need to respond by offering flexible ticket options.
As reported by Bret McCormick of Sports Business Journal, “An experiential economy starving for Instagram-worthy moments is making premium more important to regular fans, not just deep-pocketed donors or corporations entertaining clients. Premium’s share of total seating capacities is steadily increasing.”
As a result of new generations of ticket buyers increasing their share of event audiences, venues and event organizers are already making changes. McCormick explains, “Many of these changes are driven by the influx of younger demographics who are transforming premium into something unrecognizable compared with the shoebox-sized corporate suite and stodgy food of 20 years ago.” Furthermore, “These demographics demand more flexibility in buying and more transparency in pricing and purchasing of premium experiences, including options to buy online.”
Bottom-line, there is a growing market for diverse premium seating options and a rapidly increasing demand to buy event tickets online, including premium tickets. Make sure your event website and ticket sales page are well-designed, and use the best ticketing software.
Key Takeaways about Premium Seating, Ticket Sales, and Event Success
If you’re not selling premium seating tickets to your events, then you’re missing out on delivering experiences that ticket buyers want and are willing to pay for. Remember, premium seating doesn’t have to just include reserved seats or “better” seats. Today, even seats that simply create Instagram-worthy moments could sell for a premium price.
With that in mind, create flexible premium ticket options and offer them at multiple pricing tiers. By doing so, you’ll end up selling more tickets, and you’ll sell them early. The AttendStar ticketing platform includes all of the features and integrations you need to sell premium seating tickets for your events. Contact us at (615) 223-1973 or schedule a call to learn more.
