Valas Pumpkin Patch: How a Farm Attraction Became a SimpleTix Super-User
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Riley Manning has worked as a travel and entertainment writer for more than 10 years. Today, he writes about unique events and the technology that helps make them happen.
Situated outside of Omaha, Nebraska, Vala’s Pumpkin Patch and Apple Orchard is a 400-acre farm that has been in operation for 38 years. A agro-tourism powerhouse, Valas sells over 80,000 event tickets each season and hosts a myriad of ticketed special events, from apple picking, horse rides, and gem mining to the crowd favorite, the Pigtucky Derby Pig Races.
Valas also hosts and caters large group events like corporate retreats and family reunions, providing a robust menu of concessions and food packages.
Their ticketing needs are complex, but Vala’s used a host of SimpleTix features to drive revenue and deliver fantastic guest experiences.
Online Ticket Purchasing & Ticket Types
Vala’s needed to offer several types of tickets, as well as season passes. SimpleTix helped enable this variety to ensure Vala’s achieve the most value from each customer.
- General Admissions can be purchased as peak tickets (which can be used any day of the week), off-peak tickets(which can only be used Monday through Thursday), Friday-only tickets, Summer Season Tickets (which can only be used on Summer Festival weekends), and Halloween tickets.
- Season Passes can be used during the entirety of the fall season
Season passes are a fantastic option, as attendees are required to upload a selfie to accompany their season pass, removing the opportunity for purchasers to loan their pass out to someone else. Both General Admissions and Season Tickets are available online and can be delivered as a text message at checkout, making the purchasing experience as easy as possible.
Season Pass and General Admission Upsells
Valas didn’t want the hassle of jumping between several different software providers for ticketing, merch sales, and concessions. SimpleTix rolled all of these functions into one streamlined platform that all flows into one account. This makes it easy to report attendee count, ticket sales, catering orders, and more. With SimpleTix data, Vala’s targeted ticket purchasers with small upsells at just the right time in the purchase process.
- Adventure tickets – 10 apple shots, a paintball coupon for 30 shots, and $5.00 off a pumpkin coupon
- Orchard Experience Coupon – this memorable upsell includes a 1/2 peck of apples, 1/2 gallon of sweet cider
- Taste of Vala’s Food Coupon: Caramel Apple, Large Kettle Corn Dozen Apple Cider Doughnuts
- Vala’s Souvenir Mug – All mugs purchased online are at the single mug purchase price of $14.99. Mugs purchased at the farm come with a discount on multiple mug purchases in the same purchase. Refills cost $1.99 for fountain drinks and $2.99 for specialty drinks (hot cocoa, coffee, cider slushie, cold cider, hot cider)
Campfire and Party Barn Experience Tickets and Upsells
Group events are a huge revenue driver for Vala’s. SimpleTix worked with the farm to create an interactive map of the farm that shows the available camp sites and barns, along with their reservation prices. Once the campsite is selected, the purchaser is prompted with several upsells, such as smores kits, beverages, other catering selections, and merchandise. Square upsells are added to the initial reservation invoice, and once the customer checks out, everything is included in one transaction — the guest could enjoy all of Vala’s offering without ever reaching for their wallet, all because they could purchase everything in advance.
Vala’s operates so many attractions and serves so many guests that it would be impractical to go into each day with no idea of how many visitors to expect. With SimpleTix, Vala’s could predict the crowd in advance, allowing them to allocate their staff, concessions, and other resources efficiently and save money while delivering a stellar experience. Plus, SimpleTix charges zero extra fees for concessions and merch transactions.
Any organization can become a SimpleTix super-user and leverage its ticketing processes to increase sales, streamline operations, simplify reconciliation, and more. In fact, the vast majority of our features come from real user feedback. See how easy it is by setting up a free SimpleTix event page for your event or attraction. You won’t pay a penny until you sell a ticket.
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.
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