Fun opportunities for festive events abound as the autumnal equinox ushers in a new season. Cooler temperatures, earlier sunsets, and a festive mood provide the perfect atmosphere for special harvest and Halloween-themed events.

You may be considering throwing certain seasonal events including:

• Pumpkin patches
• Hay rides
• Corn mazes
• Costume contests
• Haunted houses
• Ghost tours
• Halloween film festivals
• Farm harvest festivals

Due to the various effects of the pandemic, you may want fewer employees than usual to staff these events. By employing the right ticketing software, running a skeleton event is easier and safer for your employees and guests, leaving everyone to enjoy the seasonal haunts in peace.

Whether you’re creating a new attraction, hosting a special event, or throwing a small festival, ticketing software allows you to run your seasonal event with a skeleton crew in these five ways:

1. Selling tickets online
2. Scan-and-go mobile check-ins
3. Minimizing cash transactions
4. Communicating with customers
5. Staying on top of safety

Don’t be scared – it’s that simple.

Selling Tickets Online

Offering ticket purchases online allows your guests more time for assembling their costumes.

Online ticket sales have increased each year since 2016 and are expected to continue to grow 6% each year. Without long lines at the ticket booth, guests can walk right up to the event, ticket in hand.

Since selling your event’s tickets online allows potential visitors the opportunity to buy tickets at their leisure, you can sell tickets all day, every day without any labor on your team’s behalf. It is not only convenient for your customers, but also provides you with clarity for your upcoming event.

With advance ticket sales, you know just how many visitors to expect at your pumpkin patch or haunted house. This allows you to hire the appropriate number of staff for the event. Plus, you and your staff will be happier knowing how many guests to anticipate.

You’ll also be able to better prepare for your expected visitors. More accurately estimating supplies of apple cider, smores, or slices of pumpkin pie will make your concessions experience run more smoothly. You’re less likely to run out of snacks or overbuy and waste food and money.

Scan-and-go Mobile Check-ins

Check people in more quickly than you can say “monster mash.” Mobile tickets generated upon purchase go straight to your guests’ devices. They can skip the will call line and head straight into the event with their ticket in hand.

Contactless technology continues to grow in popularity because of its speed and convenience. Staff can use their own mobile devices to scan in visitors, keeping contact to a minimum and creating a safe and healthy environment for all.

With scan-and-go mobile check-ins, visitors present their mobile ticket, reducing hand to hand contact. Tickets can even be scanned through plexiglass, so any extra health and safety precautions can easily be accommodated. Because check-in moves so quickly, you can avoid long lines and bottlenecked lobbies without much staff working.

Minimize Cash Transactions

Using Square for ticket sales is no tricks and all treats.

Any ticket purchases made on site should be just as quick, convenient, and safe as online purchases are. Using a payment system integrated with Square provides your guests with the most versatile, convenient, and speedy method to purchase their tickets and get inside the event.

Using ticketing software with a Square partnership allows you to take nearly any form of payment on a mobile device. This is more convenient for your guests as it provides them with tons of options (ApplePay, AndroidPay, or chip, to name a few). The quick payment gateway will allow the line to move more quickly, so you need less staff working the ticket booth.

Square also eliminates the need for a cash drawer on site, which is healthier and requires less time and staff to facilitate. In addition, noncash payments continue to accelerate in popularity each year. People are simply carrying less cash and using more versatile payment methods. Taking advantage of Square to complete these payments benefits both you and your guests.

Using Square also means you’ll receive your ticket money immediately. You won’t have to wait until the event is over. Currently, SimpleTix is the only ticketing software with full Square integration.

Communicate with Customers

Don’t let your visitors get lost before they get to the corn maze. With ticketing software, you can communicate vital information to your guests before your event. Any online purchases will give you each guest’s email and phone number. This is to both your advantages.

You can send customizable confirmation emails or texts to your visitors with important information like directions, parking instructions, and frequently asked questions. Any last-minute notices, event follow-ups, or invitations to next year’s event can also be sent to guests before or after the event.

If inclement weather affects your pumpkin patch or hay ride, you can text or email guests about weather delays or new dates immediately. Guests will have all event information immediately in their hands without wondering the event’s status, scouring social media, or calling the box office. This means you won’t need staff manning the phones for last minute phone calls.

Stay on Top of Safety

Don’t let the pandemic scare away your guests. Ticketing software helps you easily remain compliant, healthy, and safe with any area specific health mandates or precautions you’d like to implement.

You don’t want your haunted house to be overcrowded and your staff to be overwhelmed with visitors. Ticketing software should allow you to set up timed entry slots and capacity limits for your events. This creates a safer atmosphere in your event space.

Seating arrangements can help keep parties close to each other without wasting space in your venue. If you do a drive-in horror film screening, you can create custom seating arrangements online, giving each car ample space to enjoy the show.

Once your event has started, you should be able to monitor attendance with a real-time record of all checked-in attendees to ensure a healthy atmosphere. Ticketing software allows you to run your event with less staff members, fewer complications, and more safety for your guests.

SimpleTix has offered an affordable, premium event ticketing platform that outperforms Eventbrite and similar apps for over 12 years. Compared to the competition, SimpleTix offers better options at a better price point. To learn more, call us at +1 (855) 550-3670 or email us here.