A setup for 400 guests is pleasingly simple: one entrance, one till, one person who keeps track of everything. At 4,000 guests, it is exactly this simplicity that breaks down first, and in four predictable places.
What changes when an event grows from 400 to 4,000 guests?
Four things, and all four can be planned in advance. None of these points is expensive if it is settled early; all four are if they only come to light on the day of the event. Instead of one lane, the entrance needs several and, for the first time, a person who does nothing but coordinate. A till you can keep track of in your head becomes a system with the same prices, the same product names and a joint settlement per stand and shift. Staff no longer work on shouted instructions, but in fixed roles with their own login per device, so that every transaction remains attributable. And network and power go from a side issue to a prerequisite: as soon as the programme starts, the mobile cell above the site is full, and sales only carry on if the terminals can also process transactions without a connection. What must not change is the process for the guest: buy a ticket, arrive, get scanned, put on the wristband, pay. Scaling belongs behind the scenes, not in the queue.
The entrance becomes the bottleneck
Work out the entry peak in advance and plan the area in front of the gate as well, not just the technology on it. Side entrances for crew, press and VIPs run separately from the public, with their own permissions per ticket type.
The till becomes a system
Six tills at four stands can no longer be kept track of in your head. From this point on, cashless pays off not because of the speed, but because of the traceability: you see per stand and per shift what was sold, instead of adding up six till balances at the end.
Staff need roles instead of shouted instructions
- fixed roles with a name and a task, in writing
- a separate login per device and role in the system
- one person who does nothing but solve problems and has no fixed position
Network and power become an issue
At 400 guests, the guest Wi-Fi works. At 4,000, offline capability is no longer a nice extra feature, but the prerequisite for sales to carry on. The same applies to power: every terminal needs a charging option within reach.
We have supported events from 50 to over 50,000 attendees. If you are about to make that leap, we will go through your setup together in 30 minutes.