New Year’s Eve isn’t just any party, and party-goers don’t want to treat it like one. To capitalize on that, convince attendees to do what they’re already inclined to do on New Year’s — splurge.
Revelers spend three times more on tickets to New Year’s Eve parties than on events other nights of the year. But why should their splurging be limited to tickets? Even those who normally don’t buy VIP packages might consider upgrading to reserved tables and bottle service on this holiday.
Your chance to give party-goers this experience only comes once a year, so you’ll need to make the most of it. Luckily for you, there are a lot of ways to do that. Based on recent research, here are tips for enticing party-goers to make the jump to VIP and an unforgettable night:
Offer the right VIP experiences
We surveyed music festival attendees to see which kinds of VIP packages attract them the most. A good deal of these insights apply to New Year’s Eve parties.
The biggest takeaway was that festival-goers were willing to pay more for access to VIP-only areas and free drinks. These preferences likely hold true across events, so keep in mind that the exclusivity of a VIP lounge and the convenience of an open bar are the biggest draws to your potential VIPs.
But to really capitalize on party-goers’ urge to splurge on NYE, it’s important to offer a range of VIP options.
One option is to offer discounted early-bird VIP packages. You can also sell multiple rounds of tickets, increasing prices the closer you get to the end of the year. Both strategies are effective ways to get early commitments — taking stress off of you and your attendees.
You can also offer different packages at different price tiers: one bottle or more, VIP-only room or premium location in the main room, a reserved table but no bottle service, no table but access to a dedicated VIP bar, etc. Just be careful not to offer so many options that ticket-buyers are overwhelmed, or you risk losing sales.
Even though survey respondents said they were less willing to pay more for expedited or dedicated entry, it depends on the size and venue of your event. If you’re expecting massive crowds and anticipate wait times for those with general admission tickets, then offer potential VIP attendees a solution. Let them know they don’t have to wait outside — in late December — with everyone else.
Think carefully about price
Pricing these VIP options is a tricky balancing act. You want them to price them high enough to make as much money as possible, but not so high that you can’t sell enough and end up losing money.
We visualized this conundrum with a chart. Ideally, your VIP prices will fall in what we’re calling the “sweet spot.” That means you’ve sold just the right amount of VIP packages at just the right price to make a profit off of your up-front investment. But how to hit that sweet spot?
First, you’ll need to understand who you’re trying to attract. Who has attended similar events in the past, and what does that target audience typically pay for similar VIP packages?
Another consideration is how high above general admission to price your packages, as well as what extras the packages include. You can use the results from our survey of music festival-goers, at right, as a rough guide — keeping in mind that people are typically much more willing to splurge on a once-a-year New Year’s bash.
Charging a substantial premium for an experience that isn’t substantially different than general admission obviously won’t work. Whereas a price point not that far above general admission means you’re either not including enough perks, or could be charging much, much more. To find out the best way to set your ticket prices, check out this guide on using value-based pricing strategies.
Sway the undecideds
Once you’ve landed on a basic range of options and price points, you’ll need to think about sweetening the deal. What’s the kicker that’s going to take someone considering a VIP package from on the fence to all-in?
How about throwing in a complimentary bottle of champagne in addition to their purchased bottle of alcohol? No beverage is more appropriate for a midnight toast, after all. Or, you could offer specialty mocktails for those going alcohol free.
You could also throw in a plate of appetizers or desserts to keep the party-goers fueled. Or even party favors so that they have some token to take home and remember the night by.
Other small questions to consider are whether or not to include tax and gratuity or the price of admission in your VIP ticket price — all add-ins that could sway the discerning party-goer.
Tickets are already going on sale for New Year’s Eve parties, and early-bird deals typically end in October or early November. So the time to be upselling party-goers to VIP packages is now.
For everything else you need to know to pull off an unforgettable New Year’s Eve event, check out our article on marketing your NYE event.
