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TicketSpice Setup Guide for Prem Rawat Events

Overview

This guide outlines best practices for regional event sponsoring organizations that choose to use TicketSpice to manage ticketing and seating for Prem Rawat speaking events worldwide. TicketSpice has proved to be a useful platform for this purpose, and expertise is available to support organizations that select this approach.

Organizational Structure

Words of Peace Global (WOPG): Provides global event planning, sets global standards, and offers expertise and coaching in various operational areas to support consistent event execution worldwide.

Regional Event Sponsoring Organizations: Prem Rawat speaks under the auspices of various local or regional organizations that form an informal network of affiliated organizations with a shared purpose. Each organization operates independently but follows consistent practices guided by global standards.

Global Front Seating Team: Handles seat assignments for the designated front seating area and operates ticket pickup for those invited to the front seating area.

Webconnex Account Setup and Payment Processing

Webconnex Account Creation

Each local organization using TicketSpice must establish its own account with Webconnex (TicketSpice's parent company) to manage their events and fund flow independently.

Payment Processor Selection

  • US and Canada: Use Webconnex's internal payment processor
  • Other Regions: Typically use Stripe as the payment processor

Most local organizations already have established relationships with Stripe, making integration straightforward. The primary task is connecting the existing Stripe account to the new Webconnex account.

Know Your Customer (KYC) Requirements

Important: Webconnex, like all financial service providers, requires completion of Know Your Customer verification processes. Local organizations should be prepared for this mandatory step during account setup.

Account Access Management

Full access to the Webconnex account should be granted to:

  • Account Owner: Usually the finance manager of the regional organization
  • WOPG Global Registration Team Member: One designated member from the global registration team

Additional access levels will be negotiated based on the specific roles involved in the event planning and execution process.

Dual-Page Ticketing System

Our events utilize two distinct TicketSpice pages to serve different attendee categories:

1. Front Seating (Invitation-Only)

  • Format: Standard TicketSpice page
  • Access: Invitation-only for major sponsors and VIPs
  • Management: Global front seating team handles all seat assignments
  • Process: Team maintains comprehensive knowledge of invitees and manages seating arrangements
  • Pickup: Dedicated table operated by the global team for ticket collection

2. General Public Seating

  • Format: Reserved seating TicketSpice page
  • Access: Open to general public
  • Management: Attendees select their own seats from a displayed seat map based on the venue definition

Venue Setup Process

Venue setup in TicketSpice is a requirement for the General Public seating page that uses TicketSpice Reserved Seating functionality. Any Reserved Seating page requires a venue definition, while Standard pages do not require venue setup.

Setting up the venue requires two foundational documents, usually created by the WOPG global event team, and three main configuration steps within TicketSpice:

Required Documents

1. Seating Layout Drawing

A detailed visual representation showing:

  • Every individual seat with full designation
  • Section identifiers
  • Row numbers
  • Seat numbers
  • Complete venue map

2. Seating Breakdown Document

A comprehensive specification defining:

  • Pricing Tiers: Different price points for various seating areas
  • Reserved Areas: Front seating section designated for invited guests
  • Accessibility: Locations and designations of wheelchair-accessible seats

TicketSpice Configuration

TicketSpice provides a Venue Builder tool that is used to capture the information from the foundational documents within the TicketSpice framework. Using the provided documents, venue setup involves three main steps within TicketSpice using the Venue Builder tool:

Step 1: Basic Plan Setup

The Basic Plan Setup essentially replicates the Seating Layout Drawing within the TicketSpice framework.

Step 2: Pricing Tiers Configuration

The Pricing Tiers setup captures the pricing structure information from the Seating Breakdown document within the TicketSpice framework.

Step 3: Hold Areas Setup

The Hold Areas setup captures the reserved sections and accessibility information from the Seating Breakdown document within the TicketSpice framework.

Completing these three steps equips TicketSpice to present a venue map from which people can choose seats at the price point of their choice and, when appropriate, access seats set aside in hold areas, such as wheelchair seating.

Customer Service Setup

Each event sponsoring organization needs to provide an email address for customer service. This email address becomes part of the page setup in TicketSpice as the "reply-to" address for ticket confirmation emails, ensuring customer inquiries are directed to the appropriate local contact.

Page Setup and Testing

After the venue has been defined, the TicketSpice pages can be set up and tested. Both the Venue Builder configuration and the rest of the TicketSpice page setup are usually done by WOPG specialists. Pages should follow the standard format established for WOPG events with Prem Rawat to maintain consistency across the informal federation of organizations.

Testing Process

Testing occurs in two distinct phases:

Phase 1: Test Mode Verification

Multiple people conduct comprehensive end-to-end testing with the event set up in test mode. This testing verifies that everything in the setup is appropriate, including:

  • Confirmation page functionality
  • Confirmation email content and delivery
  • Format of the actual tickets
  • Automatic reporting systems

Phase 2: Live Mode Financial Testing

After successful test mode verification, the event is put into live mode and a few actual financial transactions are processed to ensure the funds flow is working correctly. At this point, the event is ready for use.

Event Publication Process

Publication of the event follows an indirect process. The direct link to TicketSpice is not made public. Instead, a "purchase tickets" link on wopg.org (and other appropriate locations) is activated with the TicketSpice link at the appropriate time, providing controlled access to the ticketing system.

Reporting and Event Management

Two report sets are provided automatically using the Webconnex API, one for each page:

Front Seating Report

The Front Seating report is primarily for use by the global front seating team to track the responses of their invitees and manage the invitation-only seating area.

Public Page Report

The Public Page report is designed for event management and is especially valuable for use at the onsite Ticketing Assistance desk. Each report provides two lists of every ticket order:

  • One sorted by purchaser name
  • One sorted by seat location

These reports serve as essential onsite tools when attendees need ticketing assistance.

Onsite Ticketing Assistance

While most attendees can use the e-tickets sent by TicketSpice without requiring further onsite assistance, an onsite Ticketing Assistance desk is a necessary function for every event. The reporting tools provide crucial support for this desk.

Important Limitation: Purchaser vs. Ticket Holder Names

Critical Information: TicketSpice reserved seating only captures the name of the purchaser, not the name of each individual ticket holder. This is a current limitation that will hopefully be addressed in future updates.

Onsite Support Protocol: When someone needs onsite ticketing help, the first and most important question is not "What is your name?" but rather "Who purchased the ticket?" This approach ensures efficient problem resolution given the current system limitations.

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