The first step to smarter ticketing is to have a robust refund policy in place of the traditional “no refund” associated with ticketing and registration. Today’s retail buying experience comes with the understanding refunds are available and (unless you are in the event industry) this is built into the brand and retailers business model.

Ticket Guardian is one company looking to change the status quo. Their technology effortlessly assist's events to incorporate ticket insurance into the buyer's journey. When communicated correctly this can drive early bird sales, improve customer confidence and reduce friction. This removes both the opportunity or requirement to go to resale should a customer genuinely not be able to go to an event. In addition, any refunded stock for a sold out event can be reallocated back into inventory and sold again, maximizing onsite revenue spend.

As well as the ability to refund a ticket in the event of a change of circumstance the owner of a ticket should have the right to resale. However, this right to resale should not extend to selling at disgraceful prices!

The smart move is to allow controlled resale. By using PEER 2 PEER technology the customers right to resale can be facilitated in controlled circumstances. Sites like Twickets & EVOPASS allow a small mark up but the parameters are restricted.

BLOCKCHAIN ticketing technology also promises the right to controlled resale.  Blockchain driven ticketing companies like GUTS from the Netherlands & the Russian CRYPTO TICKETS are now making their first steps to market.

As this technology is largely based on open source software it will be possible for any ticketing company, venue, promoter or artist to access and integrate with one of the protocols being developed. However, there are issues to consider when it comes to redeeming the tickets and the speed and availability of the network. 

Ticket personalization takes place by directly associating a ticket with a person's identity. Blockchain holds the promise of this, but the technology is still young and widely untested. The speed of transaction can be perilously slow if using a blockchain to redeem a ticket let alone a beer at a busy bar!

RFID is the perfect technology recommended for personalization of tickets and is already widely available. RFID can be used to not only personalize the ticket buying experience but it can carry the data collection beyond the gate and through into cashless and access control modules. This gives promoters the complete picture of their event.

This tried and heavily deployed robust technology offers transactions that occur at lightning speed. The most robust RFID systems can transact offline - essential for greenfield sites! Many festivals now adopt a system of mailing out personalized wristbands in advance to defeat scalpers.  On entry, registered wristbands can be matched with customers iDs meaning that fake e-tickets are a thing of the past.