In this article you will learn about Ticket Subscriptions, which enable you to create flexible passes or ticket bundles, through which your customers can 'pre-purchase' a set number of tickets across a range of events for a fixed price, and redeem them against specific instances either at the time they purchase or at a later date.
VIDEO: If you're new to Ticket Subscriptions, take a look at our Audience Loyalty concept video.
What are Subscription Models?
The term ‘subscription’ is often used as a generic title for a variety of advance-sales ticketing models. These vary, but generally have one common feature, which is that they offer the customer a benefit (most commonly a price reduction) for buying a series of tickets and paying in advance. They also benefit the venue by helping to build customer loyalty and drive revenue. Subscription models are known by many different names including: season pass, subscription, flex pass, smart pass, multibuy etc.
While the specifics of individual schemes vary, we can broadly divide these models into two categories: fixed or flexible. In Spektrix, we call a fixed subscription a Fixed Series and a flexible subscription a Ticket Subscription.
What are Fixed Series?
A Fixed Series or fixed subscriptions allow a customer to purchase a ticket to a series of Instances and retain the same seat for each Event. For further information on these, see our articles on Fixed Series.
What are Ticket Subscriptions?
Ticket Subscriptions, often known as flexible subscriptions, flex passes or smart passes, are a prepaid set of ticket vouchers that a customer can use to purchase a range of events across a season, at their own convenience. Events can be selected at the point of purchase or after having bought the subscription, and can range in flexibility from a “fully flexible” set of tickets that can be used to see any show in a season in any combination, to a seasonal pass that contains exactly one ticket to each event in a season.
Why use Ticket Subscriptions?
Ticket Subscriptions in Spektrix are designed to deepen relationships by offering increased flexibility and a better user experience. This will help drive customer loyalty and increased revenue at your organization. Spektrix Ticket Subscriptions are also designed to be intuitive and efficient to set up and operate, saving time for staff and system administrators.
Ticket Subscriptions allow users to create flexible passes or ticket bundles, through which a customer can ‘pre-purchase’ a set number of Ticket Vouchers across a range of events for a fixed price. These can then be redeemed against specific Instances at the time they purchase the Ticket Subscription or at a later date, even up until the day of the show. Ticket Vouchers can be redeemed for Events with both reserved and unreserved Seating Plans. Once a Ticket Voucher is redeemed, revenue will be recognized against the instance selected, and users will be able to track Ticket Subscriptions, redemptions and remaining Ticket Vouchers against a Customer Record.
What can I use Ticket Subscriptions for?
Ticket Subscriptions can be used in a variety of ways. Some examples include:
- A fully flexible pass with any number of ticket vouchers redeemable for any show. For example, a customer can purchase a flex pass with five ticket vouchers that can be redeemed for any ticket to any show at a discounted price in the current season. These five ticket vouchers could be redeemed for one ticket to five shows or five tickets to one show.
- A season pass with one ticket voucher for each show in a season. For example, a customer can buy a ticket subscription at the beginning of the 2022-2023 season, which allows them exactly one ticket voucher for every show in the entire season.
- A pass for a festival that has a range of experiences that can be booked at different price points, depending on the customer’s demographic. For example, a customer can buy multiple passes for the Annual Family Festival where they can redeem the same number of ticket vouchers for the same number of shows but with each pass at a different price point for Adult and Child ticket types.
- A multishow pass with ticket vouchers that allow for attending multiple Instances for the same Event. For example, a customer can get a discount when buying tickets to both the Saturday night and Sunday matinee performances for the Spring Dance Recital.
Ticket Subscriptions in Spektrix
Ticket Subscriptions along with Memberships and Fixed Series will be found in the Subscriptions tab in the Admin and Sales Interfaces. In order for Ticket Subscriptions to appear in the Sales Interface, make sure the “Show Ticket Subscriptions tab in Sales Interface” tick box has been selected.
Once this has been selected you will be able to see any active Ticket Subscriptions under the Subscriptions tab in the Sales Interface between Memberships and Fixed Series.
Selling Ticket Subscriptions Online
Ticket Subscriptions can be sold online. In addition, a customer can redeem Ticket Vouchers online and even view how many tickets have been redeemed or are still available in their profile. For guidance on integrating Ticket Subscriptions on your website, please check our Web Integrations Guidance.
REMINDER: Ticket Subscriptions can be sold and redeemed using Express Checkout, but not with Classic Checkout.
Displaying Ticket Subscriptions in a Customer's online account
Customers can view their Ticket Subscriptions when they log in online and see vouchers available for redemption. To activate Ticket Subscriptions in the My Account area of a Customer’s online account, follow these steps:
- Click on the control panel icon in the bottom left corner of Spektrix:
- Click Settings:
- Click Configuration > System Setup from the top menu:
- Click Website from the left menu:
- Toggle the switch for Display the Ticket Subscriptions section on your website's "My Account" page:
- You’ll see a Custom Header for Ticket Subscriptions section. You can choose what you want to name the page. Enter a name and click Save Configuration:
If you leave this field blank, the name of the page will default to Ticket Subscriptions
Ticket Subscriptions and Invoicing in Spektrix
For Ticket Subscription purchases, please note that you will not be billed on the subscription revenue until the subscriber has redeemed their issued ticket vouchers for tickets. Much like with Account Credit and Gift Vouchers, the money should be seen as part of your liability account until the vouchers are used to purchase tickets, or until the subscription expires. You can view which Ticket Vouchers have been redeemed, which are available, how much is part of your liability account, and more through various Standard Reports.
Further Reading
To continue learning about Ticket Subscriptions or Reports in Spektrix, take a look at the following articles:
- How to Create and Edit Ticket Subscriptions
- How to Sell Ticket Subscriptions and Redeem Ticket Vouchers
- Reporting for Ticket Subscriptions
For more training on Ticket Subscriptions, please see our Ticket Subscriptions training page.