How do I give someone a free ticket?

The short answer

There are two good ways. For a handful of people, add them to the guest list yourself as a complimentary ticket, often called a comp. For a group you will not name in advance, like volunteers or sponsors' guests, make a free ticket type that only people with a code can see, and send them the code.

Either way, they get a proper ticket and count toward your numbers, so the door and the caterer know they are coming.

Who usually gets a free ticket

• volunteers and helpers
• speakers, performers and their plus-ones
• sponsors and their guests
• media or reviewers
• a prize winner, or someone you want to thank

Decide your list early. Free tickets still take a seat, a meal and a name badge.

Adding people yourself

For a few named people, add them straight to the list. You enter their name and, ideally, their email, and they get a ticket like everyone else. Mark it as complimentary so your sales numbers stay honest, and so nobody wonders later why a ticket shows no payment.

A hidden free ticket with a code

For a group, make a separate ticket type called “Volunteer” or “Sponsor guest” at $0, hide it from the public, and give it an access code. Send the code to the people it is for. They book themselves, answer your questions, and you do not have to type in anyone’s details.

Give the ticket its own cap, so a code that gets forwarded cannot eat up the room.

Keep track

At the end of the night you want to know how many came free and how many paid. Keep comps on their own ticket type or marked as comps, so your sales figures and break-even sums are right.

On One Ticket

From the box office you can add anyone yourself and record it as a comp. Box office orders carry no booking fee and count against the same capacity as online tickets. The person can be sent their ticket by email, or you can untick the email and hand over the code yourself.

For a group, make a ticket type at $0 and turn on secret ticket with an access code. Only people with the code see it on the event page. Free tickets carry no booking fee and need no Stripe account. Give the type its own capacity, and it closes when the places are gone.

Everyone appears in the same attendee list and checks in the same way at the door.

Related: Can I take cash at the door and online bookings together?, Member and non-member pricing for events and Sponsored networking event with free entry.