Birth of the Booth

HI~Arts has long provided an online guide to arts and cultural events in the region, but now you can buy your tickets online as well from anywhere in the world. FIONA CARR explains the benefits to both customers and sellers of an ambitious new project that will deliver dedicated online ticket sales for the North of Scotland.

COMING SOON to a computer near you: a new and effortless way to book tickets for all your favourite events in the North of Scotland and beyond.  No queues, no long phone calls and no fuss, just switch on your nearest computer, login into www.thebooth.co.uk and simply click to book.  Thebooth is the answer to all your booking needs, a ticketless service where you can book online using your credit or debit card.  Why miss out on all the best events across Scotland when it’s so easy!

Thebooth is the new online ticketing service for the Highlands & Islands and beyond.  Funded by the Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund, European Regional Development Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the project aims to provide a simple and effective channel to buy and sell tickets for a variety of different events.  It will allow cultural organisations across the region and further afield to sell tickets to customers anywhere in the world, either through their own websites or through a central ticketing portal at www.thebooth.co.uk

So what exactly is online ticketing?  E-ticketing, or online ticket sales, was developed as a new avenue for people to buy tickets online for a variety of events, locally, nationally and internationally. Thebooth ticketing system has been designed specifically for small-to-medium scale cultural organisations within the North of Scotland who may not have previously had the opportunity to use online ticketing.

There is no doubt that the digital, computer, telephone and networking revolution that we are living through will touch our lives and change many things, including the way we buy.  The simplicity of online booking is partly responsible for its success, with shops and ticketing agencies increasingly following the online sales trend.  Easyjet, a pioneer of the ticketless operation of online sales, now sells 98% of its tickets online.  But it’s not just the travel industry that’s benefiting from the online sales boom – it seems the arts sector is heading the same way, with the Edinburgh Fringe boasting an impressive 44% of all tickets sold online. 

“The primary aim of the project has been to develop an effective online ticketing system for the North of Scotland, enhancing the audience development and providing a new and efficient way of buying and selling tickets.”

One of the main issues facing visitors to the North of Scotland in the past has been where to buy tickets for events?  What thebooth offers is a centralised ticketing portal which can work alongside an online seller’s existing website or box office system to sell tickets. As a result, access to events of all types, from a local sports event to the Christmas pantomime, will be increased, not only to people in the surrounding area, but also to those further afield.

The system itself will be extremely user friendly, and anyone who has bought a book from Amazon.com or booked a flight on Easyjet.com should find the system straightforward to use.  For those new to the experience, full guidance notes and help screens will be available on the site.  All  you have to do is choose the desired event, date and time, and the appropriate ticket type, then neter details of your name, address and e-mail address.

This information allows the transaction to be processed securely as well as providing contact details should the event be cancelled.  After inputting your credit or debit card details, which are processed in ‘real time’ to detect any fraudulent cards being used, a unique reference number is generated and emailed to you which works in place of a ticket. Simply take this along to the venue and enjoy the event!

From a customer’s point of view, the system offers a number of obvious benefits, the first of which is convenience – the ability to book tickets for a range of different events over a wide geographical area using your credit or debit card, without having to leave the comfort of your own home.  It will be available twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, to customers locally and across the globe.

This is a service that you can use on any computer that is connected to the Internet, for example using the services of local libraries or Tourist Information Centres, or computers at school or work.   As a customer you can also receive information about forthcoming events at your favourite venues or other events that may be of interest to you. This information is gathered by a series of data preference questions which you can then manage yourself and change or add to at any point.

Selling your tickets through thebooth has also been made as simple as possible, allowing the online seller (the person putting the tickets on sale online) to manage their events through an intuitive online seller interface.  All you need to do is write, fax or email us the details of the event you are selling for, specifying the number of tickets to be sold and the date and time you want them to go on sale, and we put them live on the system for you.  You can then log on to your online seller account at any time to check sales and amend ticket allocations.  We’ll even email you when your allocation is running low so you can decide whether you want to add more tickets.

“It is clear that there are a number of benefits for both the customer and the seller, and it is hoped that over 200 arts festivals, venues and promoters stand to benefit from the project across the North of Scotland, as well as high numbers of cultural organisations and visitor attractions.”

Before the event takes place, all you have to do is log on to your online seller account and close the event by taking the tickets off sale.  This will generate a list of all your online customers which you can print out, allowing you to check off the customers as they arrive.

Thebooth will take care of the accounting side of things by transferring all money you have made by online sales, minus commissions, to your bank account within 3 working days.

One of the major benefits to online sellers is the ability to process credit and debit card bookings, which previously many online sellers have not been able to do.  As a result online sellers will be able to secure bookings and payments in advance, and that will allow them to manage the events more effectively, and to react promptly to slow-selling events in an attempt to boost audience figures.

Another major benefit lies with the ability to self-manage the information through controlling the data in the system.  The ticketing software allows the online sellers to monitor sales as often as desired, identifying sales trends and allowing scope for enhanced and cost effective marketing activity.  It also allows them to increase thebooth’s allocation if the event is selling well.

As well as offering the public the ability to book online, it allows the opportunity to offer in-person, or indeed telephone bookings, to customers through organisations such as libraries, local council information shops or Tourist Information Centre’s using this facility.  Online sellers can offer telephone bookings by simply using the internet system to make a booking on behalf of a customer.   Although it will still be possible to handle door sales manually, it will now be possible to process credit/debit card bookings at the door, or use it merely to capture customer data. This will allow for the collection of information on the type and location of those who attend, as well as being able to identify buyer’s trends and target them directly for future events.

It is clear that there are a number of benefits for both the customer and the seller, and it is hoped that over 200 arts festivals, venues and promoters stand to benefit from the project across the North of Scotland, as well as high numbers of cultural organisations and visitor attractions.

The primary aim of the project has been to develop an effective online ticketing system for the North of Scotland, enhancing the audience development and providing a new and efficient way of buying and selling tickets.

With so many benefits for both buying and selling tickets, it seems likely that queuing in the rain for tickets will become a thing of the past and that the online ticketing system will take off and propel the arts industry in the North of Scotland to new heights.

© Fiona Carr, 2004

• Visit the Booth at http://www.thebooth.co.uk