![]() ![]() Secret Seats also addresses the challenge from those who want airline-style pricing, where ticket prices start low well in advance and usually rise nearer the date of travel (though some airlines still discount on late availability). ![]() Secret Seats attenders are showing a slightly higher frequency of attendance than other customers and the scheme has generated good publicity. The Secret Seats scheme has been equally successful at attracting new attenders as it has been used by existing ENO audiences. ![]() Launched in 2013, Secret Seats has been a success at ENO and started its route away from discounting towards more dynamic pricing. The key here is that Secret Seats are not seen as simply a discount, because the price has been reduced in return for the removal of seat choice what we call a ‘value fence’. Secret Seats means that the rest of the tickets in the house are kept available at full price to meet demand, while ENO can manage the allocation of secret seats to meet latent demand for low price seats and dress the house for each performance. They have proved very good at stimulating demand for performances not selling as well as others, where other pricing mechanisms have not proved as successful. In practice, the Secret Seats effectively sell out quite quickly. ![]() This could of course give them a top price seat in the best part of the house. There is an element of a lottery here, with a randomised selection from the Secret Seats customers to the available seats. Photo: Guilliame de LaubierĪt ENO, when the scheme first began customers paid £20 for an unallocated seat, with the guarantee that three days before the performance they would be allocated at least a £25 seat, but could be allocated a better seat for that performance. The concept of Secret Seats was developed. Working with Baker Richards, they decided to develop a strategy for their pricing which would accommodate the discount hunters, provided they committed to booking well in advance. So, how do you respond to the appetite for discounting, encourage early booking in advance, and of course, increase ticket yield and hence revenue?Įnglish National Opera at the Coliseum in London with its 2,400 seating capacity had fallen into a pattern of using discounts to encourage late sales.There were the usual issues: available capacity was usually at the beginning of the run price promotions were needed to fill seats at specific performances and help dress the house appropriately their Standby Ticket scheme actively discouraged early booking and led to last-minute sales, often without customer data being captured. Even more so the propensity for customers to wait until the last minute to purchase those discounted tickets (often a self-inflicted problem!). Many venue managers express concern about the public’s appetite for discounted tickets. So, how do you respond to bargain hunters, encourage advance booking and make sure you don’t lose income from those willing and able to pay face value prices? The answer is Secret Seats. Many managers express concern about customers waiting until the last minute to purchase discounted tickets. Note: In response to changing audience development priorities, this programme was discontinued by the ENO in 2021 after many successful years of operation. ![]()
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