How do I set up adult, child and family tickets?

The short answer

Make one ticket type for each price: Adult, Child, Concession, and a Family ticket if you offer one. Each type has its own price and, if you need it, its own cap. The tricky part is the family ticket, because one ticket covers several people, so decide how it counts toward your room limit before you open sales.

Set the ages and say them

“Child” means different things at different events. Write the ages into the ticket name or description: “Child (5 to 15)”, “Under 5s free”. Say whether children need their own ticket at all, and whether they must come with an adult.

For a free under-5 ticket, it is still worth asking people to book one if space or catering is tight. A toddler still takes a seat on a crowded floor.

Price the family ticket fairly

A family ticket should be cheaper than buying the tickets separately, or nobody will choose it. Define what it covers: “2 adults and up to 3 children” is clear. “A family” is not.

Count the people, not the tickets

This is where events get caught out. If your hall holds 120 people, and a family ticket covers five, then 24 family tickets fill the room. If the family ticket only counts as one place, you could oversell badly.

Two ways to handle it:

• Count it properly. Use a ticket that counts as more than one place, if your platform supports it. One Ticket’s does, up to eight people a ticket.
• Leave headroom. Cap the family tickets separately and keep spare room for the extra people.

Either way, ask how many are in the group at checkout, so you know the real number.

Ask what you need for each person

For children’s events, the useful questions are often:

• the child’s name and age
• allergies or medical needs
• a parent or guardian’s phone number for the day

Keep it short. Parents are booking on a phone with a child on their lap.

Concessions

Concession tickets for seniors, students and health care card holders are common in Australia. Say what counts, and whether people need to show a card at the door. Most small events take people at their word.

On One Ticket

Each event can have as many ticket types as you need, each with its own price, capacity, sales window and description. Capacity counts people.

A ticket type can admit up to eight people for one price: set People per ticket on it. A family ticket for five is one price and five tickets, one for each person with its own QR code, and it counts five against capacity. At checkout the buyer can name each of them, or leave their names blank and get those tickets to hand out.

A family ticket admits a set number. If yours covers “up to three children”, set it to the most it covers, so capacity never runs short, and add a question asking how many are really coming.

Questions can be asked of everyone or only of one ticket type, so the Child ticket can ask for an age and an allergy note while the Adult ticket does not. Free tickets, like Under 5s, carry no booking fee.

Related: How to sell tickets for a school fundraiser, How do I set a capacity for my event? and How do I collect information from attendees at checkout?