The SaaS platform, Wix.com, has released a new builder for business owners, planners and venue operators to create customized seating maps. Users can also assign ticket pricing based on the location of individual seats, and any variation of seating can be mapped, including tables, rows of seats, areas with general seating (e.g., a standing-room-only area), reserved VIP sections, or a combination of options. When customers want to purchase tickets, they can see the available seating, hover over the seat to see the price, and click to select the seats they would like to purchase.
“This release has opened the door for businesses and venues to manage ticketing of their events on their own, when they previously had to hire developers to build these complex systems. We’re proud to deliver this exciting builder to our existing users and look forward to working with new businesses and venues, and to help them grow their businesses,” said Donatas Dautartas, head of Wix Events, in a statement.
Wix Events is an event management platform for tickets and RSVPs. Business owners can host and showcase their events on their website, connect online conferencing solutions (Wix Live or Zoom), send invites, and accept secure online payments. The platform offers networking and social tools for event attendees, and businesses can utilize Wix Owner App to check-in guests, sell tickets, and manage their events on the go. In the past year, Wix Events has witnessed an influx of new users as businesses and venues return to in-person events. Wix Events' gross payments volume (GPV) increased by 88% year over year, with 75% more tickets sold online in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2022.
The Seating Map builder is available to all Wix premium users at no additional cost.
On May 4, Knowland, a provider of meetings and events intelligence data, released its monthly report for April 2022. The data showed a significant increase in meetings activity, with a 323% increase over April 2021, including a 3.7% recovery of events from March to April 2022.
Additional information included:
• In April 2022, the average number of attendees per event was 118, compared to 63 in April 2021 and 74 in April 2019.
Meetings & Events Pulse Survey also reveals that a majority of companies are currently hiring.
If the early registration numbers for IPW, the annual international trade show of the U.S. Travel Association, are an indication, global hospitality professionals are ready to return to the United States. By the end of March, more than two months ahead of the June 4-8 gathering in Orlando, Florida, registrations by international buyers and media had nearly doubled last year’s delegate count.