The holiday season is the single most profitable time of year for event organizers, venue operators, bar owners, and pop up hosts. From high budget corporate holiday parties and festive night markets to immersive Christmas themed bars and citywide Santa bar crawls, people are eager to go out, celebrate, and spend.

However, if you wait until December to start planning and selling, you are already too late. Consumer calendars fill up fast, corporate event budgets are locked in early, and competition for prime dates is high. To guarantee ultimate success you need an early start strategy that builds urgency, maximizes ticket value and delivers a frictionless guest experience from checkout to the door. 

The ultimate guide to selling out your event early

Lock in sales early with tiered presales

The holiday season is the busiest time of the year and people fill up their holiday schedules quickly. Corporate budgets are typically finalized in October, and families coordinate travel long before December arrives. 

• Launch presales early: Open ticket sales by late October or early November. Give your loyal customers or past attendees exclusive early access before opening sales to the public, this will ensure sales as customers feel special and recognized. 
• Offer an “Early Elf” incentive: Create an exclusive, time limited discount tier for early planners. This secures cash flow early and builds immediate event momentum. Cap the number of “Early Elf” tickets to trigger the fear of missing out (FOMO) and drive hesitant customers to purchase tickets immediately rather than waiting until the last minute. 
• Create tiered pricing: As time goes on, increase your ticket prices. Starting off with the “Early Elf” ticket tier being the cheapest, then move on to “Early Bird”, “General Admission”, and “Last Chance” ticket tiers. This will force customers to buy tickets early before prices go up. 
• Have Group Packages: Offer discounted bundle rates for larger groups, this way you are securing a large amount of customers within a single transaction.

Maximize order value

Your ticket checkout page is your best opportunity to sell holiday perks to guests before they even step inside your venue. Offer some irresistible event upgrades. 

• VIP perks: Offer skip the line passes, reserved seating, or access to an exclusive VIP lounge directly at checkout
• Festive merchandise bundles: Sell branded items such as festive hats, collectible holiday mugs, or custom T-shirts as optional add ons during the purchase process. 
• Drink & Food tokens: Allow guests to pre purchase drink tokens or specialty holiday platters at checkout. This will guarantee bar and concession sales way before the event has even started, all while shortening bar wait times during the event. 
• Photo passes: The holidays are all about family and friends. Offer guests the ability to reserve photo sessions with Santa or holiday backdrops. 
• Charity donation add ons: Give attendees the option to round up their total or add a small donation to a holiday charity. The holidays are all about giving back, so partner up with local charities and generate a strong community. 

Ensure guests have a wonderful experience with crowd management

You’ve sold out your event, which is great, however now you’ve got a larger crowd to manage on site. Making sure guests have a smooth experience in the venue is important. A sold out event only leaves a positive impression on guests if entry, movement, and the overall experience runs smoothly. Implement timed entry slots. Each ticket should have a designated time entry slot (5:00 PM, 7:00PM) for holiday night markets or pop up bars to manage capacity, reduce queue times, and maximize revenue. Spacing out arrivals will spread out traffic and keep the atmosphere lively without it feeling overcrowded and unenjoyable. 

AdmitONE Tools Built to Make your Event Merry and Bright

To run a high converting, stress free holiday event, you need an event ticketing platform that handles all the heavy lifting. AdmitONE gives event planners all the tools needed to drive early sales, maximize revenue, and run seamless operations: 

• Seamless Ticketing and Custom Event Pages
• Unlimited Ticket Types and Timed Entry Controls
• Merchandise and Upgrade Add Ons
• Marketplace Visibility and Integrated Marketing Tools
• On Site Support and a Dedicated Ticketing Expert
• Promo Codes and Referral Link Tracking

Ready to sell out your holiday event?

Whether you are hosting an intimate 30 person gathering or managing a multi-day holiday festival, having the right ticketing strategy makes all the difference. Don’t wait until December to discover your event’s potential. 

Book a demo with AdmitONE today to set up your holiday events for ultimate success.