Consult a Broker
If the box office or regular ticket service is out of tickets, your first calls should probably be to ticketreselling agencies, if you’re willing to pay a little more. The reselling of event tickets is legal in the U.S., although some state legislatures limit the legal price of resold tickets for events in their states. Ticket brokers in the state of New York are bound by law to charge no more than 120 percent of face value for any event ticket, or $5 more than face value, whichever is greater. Certainly some planners admit they resort to using brokers who charge more than the legal amount—when you’re desperate, you’re desperate—as the crime is rarely prosecuted. Outlets like WebTickets.com and TicketsNow.com are legal options; you can check a Web site’s record on the Better Business Bureau’s online reliability program if you’re unsure. You can also try an auction Web site like eBay, which often has inventory, and has firm, clearly stated guidelines in place to regulate sales for legal compliance. People sell tickets on less-policed sites like Craigslist, too, but there’s no guarantee the seller is legit. In addition, some hotels—like Midtown’s Hilton New York and the Marriott Marquis in Times Square—have their own ticket brokerage offices, often with great seats available, since they buy in huge volume. In general, hotel concierges are helpful resources too.
Purchase a Premium Package
If you’re willing to spend a high markup on the ticket price, some companies offer premium packages with extra courtesies or opportunities that escape the limits of the reselling laws. Because they offer hospitality packages in addition to tickets, these companies free to charge what they wish. Broadway Inner Circle or Times Square’s Americana Tickets are a couple of options. Among Broadway Inner Circle’s extra offerings: opportunities to meet producers or cast members, learn stage makeup secrets from professional theater makeup artists, or get dancing lessons from a choreographer.
Give and Receive
Many charities buy blocks of tickets and sell them above face value, to include a tax-deductible donation; this route can be convenient for obtaining tickets, while promoting—and demonstrating to clients—good corporate citizenship. In March, Save the Children bought out the house for Monty Python’s Spamalot and sold orchestra tickets, regularly $101, for $250; the price included a post-show party and a donation to the association. Sometimes you can also get tickets from the performers themselves. For the run of a Broadway show, its actors and designers are promised a number of seats (typically two or four) for their friends or family that they may choose to donate to charities like the Actors’ Fund and Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS, which can resell them. Shows also occasionally plan extra performances on their dark nights, with the actors performing without pay, and the ticket proceeds going to nonprofits. “Everyone’s happy,” says Tony Napoli, president of destination management company Briggs Red Carpet. “The charities get the money, and the businesses get the tickets and the tax deduction.” If you check the special performance schedules on those organizations’ Web sites, you may be able to secure tickets for hot shows about a month in advance.
Tweak Your Timing
For events that last longer than a night or two, consider getting tickets for a less popular performance. “At Christmastime, every tourist who comes into the city wants to leave having seen a great Broadway show,” so tickets can be harder to come by in winter than in spring, says Tobak-Dantchik Events and Promotions partner Suzanne Tobak, whose company specializes in opening-night theater events. Waiting until the last minute—although not necessarily the coolest-looking option for planning an outing with a client— can help. Some theaters hold lotteries for lastminute ticket cancellations, which can be more plentiful during severe weather conditions, when out-of-towners can’t get into the city. In addition, an organization may release an unexpected block of last-minute tickets—for instance, if a team or theater company reserves more seats for its own use than it ultimately needs. This happens most frequently on the first night of a multinight engagement, when many tickets are reserved for common no-show categories like V.I.P.s and press. The best strategy: keep checking back. Box offices rarely announce when tickets are rereleased, but being persistent—making frequent phone calls or regularly checking Web sites like Tickets.com or TicketMaster.com—can reap results.
Build Relationships
For all the other ticket-getting options out there, nothing beats industry access and partnerships. “The two things you need to obtain good tickets are relationships and networking,” says ESPN director of events marketing Peter Rosenberger. “You have to not be afraid to call someone [at a sports or theater organization], ask the right questions, and find your way to the gatekeeper who can get you what you need.” He’s lucky to have tickets to ESPN’s events as bartering material; if a client wants tickets to an event in Los Angeles, he can offer X Games or Espy tickets with additional hospitality perks like pre- and post-event parties in exchange. But many businesses can offer the products or services their companies provide; the person who has the tickets you want might like V.I.P. admission to the next movie premiere or product launch you’re planning—or even a gift of that luxury product. After all, Rosenberger says, “What goes around comes around.”
—Alesandra Dubin
Posted 05.31.05
This story originally appeared in the April/May 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
If the box office or regular ticket service is out of tickets, your first calls should probably be to ticketreselling agencies, if you’re willing to pay a little more. The reselling of event tickets is legal in the U.S., although some state legislatures limit the legal price of resold tickets for events in their states. Ticket brokers in the state of New York are bound by law to charge no more than 120 percent of face value for any event ticket, or $5 more than face value, whichever is greater. Certainly some planners admit they resort to using brokers who charge more than the legal amount—when you’re desperate, you’re desperate—as the crime is rarely prosecuted. Outlets like WebTickets.com and TicketsNow.com are legal options; you can check a Web site’s record on the Better Business Bureau’s online reliability program if you’re unsure. You can also try an auction Web site like eBay, which often has inventory, and has firm, clearly stated guidelines in place to regulate sales for legal compliance. People sell tickets on less-policed sites like Craigslist, too, but there’s no guarantee the seller is legit. In addition, some hotels—like Midtown’s Hilton New York and the Marriott Marquis in Times Square—have their own ticket brokerage offices, often with great seats available, since they buy in huge volume. In general, hotel concierges are helpful resources too.
Purchase a Premium Package
If you’re willing to spend a high markup on the ticket price, some companies offer premium packages with extra courtesies or opportunities that escape the limits of the reselling laws. Because they offer hospitality packages in addition to tickets, these companies free to charge what they wish. Broadway Inner Circle or Times Square’s Americana Tickets are a couple of options. Among Broadway Inner Circle’s extra offerings: opportunities to meet producers or cast members, learn stage makeup secrets from professional theater makeup artists, or get dancing lessons from a choreographer.
Give and Receive
Many charities buy blocks of tickets and sell them above face value, to include a tax-deductible donation; this route can be convenient for obtaining tickets, while promoting—and demonstrating to clients—good corporate citizenship. In March, Save the Children bought out the house for Monty Python’s Spamalot and sold orchestra tickets, regularly $101, for $250; the price included a post-show party and a donation to the association. Sometimes you can also get tickets from the performers themselves. For the run of a Broadway show, its actors and designers are promised a number of seats (typically two or four) for their friends or family that they may choose to donate to charities like the Actors’ Fund and Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS, which can resell them. Shows also occasionally plan extra performances on their dark nights, with the actors performing without pay, and the ticket proceeds going to nonprofits. “Everyone’s happy,” says Tony Napoli, president of destination management company Briggs Red Carpet. “The charities get the money, and the businesses get the tickets and the tax deduction.” If you check the special performance schedules on those organizations’ Web sites, you may be able to secure tickets for hot shows about a month in advance.
Tweak Your Timing
For events that last longer than a night or two, consider getting tickets for a less popular performance. “At Christmastime, every tourist who comes into the city wants to leave having seen a great Broadway show,” so tickets can be harder to come by in winter than in spring, says Tobak-Dantchik Events and Promotions partner Suzanne Tobak, whose company specializes in opening-night theater events. Waiting until the last minute—although not necessarily the coolest-looking option for planning an outing with a client— can help. Some theaters hold lotteries for lastminute ticket cancellations, which can be more plentiful during severe weather conditions, when out-of-towners can’t get into the city. In addition, an organization may release an unexpected block of last-minute tickets—for instance, if a team or theater company reserves more seats for its own use than it ultimately needs. This happens most frequently on the first night of a multinight engagement, when many tickets are reserved for common no-show categories like V.I.P.s and press. The best strategy: keep checking back. Box offices rarely announce when tickets are rereleased, but being persistent—making frequent phone calls or regularly checking Web sites like Tickets.com or TicketMaster.com—can reap results.
Build Relationships
For all the other ticket-getting options out there, nothing beats industry access and partnerships. “The two things you need to obtain good tickets are relationships and networking,” says ESPN director of events marketing Peter Rosenberger. “You have to not be afraid to call someone [at a sports or theater organization], ask the right questions, and find your way to the gatekeeper who can get you what you need.” He’s lucky to have tickets to ESPN’s events as bartering material; if a client wants tickets to an event in Los Angeles, he can offer X Games or Espy tickets with additional hospitality perks like pre- and post-event parties in exchange. But many businesses can offer the products or services their companies provide; the person who has the tickets you want might like V.I.P. admission to the next movie premiere or product launch you’re planning—or even a gift of that luxury product. After all, Rosenberger says, “What goes around comes around.”
—Alesandra Dubin
Posted 05.31.05
This story originally appeared in the April/May 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
