An oversubscribed event should be a cause for celebration. But failure to manage event crowds can lead to congestion, bottlenecks and long queues, jeopardising the event experience for your attendees and causing unnecessary delays to your event schedule significantly. Here are a few steps to ensure that you keep event crowds in check and have control over the registration process from start to end.
1. Require online registration
Requiring your event attendees to register will help you keep track of the number of event attendees to expect. However, using the right tools to track is just as important. Facebook event invites, for instance, are not as accurate in indicating actual attendance. At the same time, you don’t want to overcomplicate the registration process.
A simple but reliable solution would be to create an online event registration website for RSVPs, which can be easily shared on all social media platforms and through emails.
Try a free and convenient way to create event registration webpages here: https://www.eventnook.com/member/login?ReturnUrl=%2fmanage%2fcreate_event
2. Seat your attendees early
Make sure there is more than enough time for registration to take place (if on-site registration is absolutely necessary). Many event attendees would love to arrive early if they can get better seats or just beat the crowd, so opening registration early can help distribute the arrivals in a more manageable way for you.
3. Maximise venue entrances
Make sure you fully maximise all entrances at the venue. This doesn’t just mean finding all possible entries, but also ensuring the movement of your attendees and any potential queues are strategically planned.
Potential queues should not be blocking the main walking paths or cutting into other queues. Have a good idea of where your event attendees will be entering from and make sure there are clear directions from there. This will ensure that people move efficiently to where they should be rather than block up the entrances asking where they should go.
But make sure people don’t have to criss-cross queues to get to the other side of the venue just to join their queue. Know how to align potential queues in a way that is least disruptive.
You may wish to have queues according to where the ticket-holder is sitting so that congestions inside the venue itself can be avoided.
4. Coordinate with venue and hospitality staff
It is important to communicate with venue and hospitality staff prior to the event to ensure they remain up to date about all event details.
The tone they set through their service is also extremely important for the image of your event. Be it for an informal or formal event, an event for VIPs or non-VIPs, a young or old audience, the team of ushers, helpers and security should understand how to adapt their service to the people they are serving (and dressing as well)
Briefing the staff about logistical procedures clearly is basic protocol. Here are some things that you should bring up in your briefing:
- Make sure to alert the team about any expected surges in arrivals
- Make sure that emergency procedures are communicated properly.
- Take note of parking arrangements which can lead to traffic congestion as well.
- Acquaint them with any event tech they are using to check-in and register.
5. Use latest event tech for efficient check-in
There are various event tools out there to help you cope with event needs. For larger events, event tech tools such as EventNook’s iPad QR code check-in app not only helps you quickly check-in and track the arrival of event attendees (down to their names and designations) in real-time, it also provides a flexible ticketing system whereby you can conveniently check-in people who buy tickets on the spot. It is also extremely convenient for your event attendees, who can choose to just show their tickets on their smartphones without having to print it out.
The app has proven itself capable of checking in groups of above 3000 within a couple of hours, and is ideal for small and big events (read about it here: https://blog.eventnook.com/post/ipad-qr-code-check-in-and-registration-solution-smu-ho-rih-hwa-leadership-in-asia-public-lecture-series/).
Using the latest event tech at your event also helps boost the professional look of the event and leaves a good impression on event attendees.
There is also no problem reviewing the check-in and registration process after the event as everything is properly updated in your account.
Need help with onsite registration and check-in for your next huge event?
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