On 3/22/2014 4:21 PM, Samuel Klein wrote:
Proposed prices for Wikimania tickets continue to seem artificially low. I'm not sure what the benefit to this is. Could people who have run events in other contexts comment on how you set ticket prices?
In my experience, tickets are set at roughly what it costs for each person to attend. Then there may be different sorts of tickets: for local supporters & volunteers, for school groups, for students & community members, presenters, VIPs & sponsors. Sponsorship helps ensure how many tickets of each type there are. Last-minute tickets are more expensive.
This could be a reasonable approach, but it would need significant effort to ensure awareness of the different options, particularly low-cost tickets for attendees with limited resources. I know part of the reason for keeping them low in the past is that we have wanted to avoid Wikimania becoming the kind of high-priced conference attended exclusively by people with institutional support (corporate or academic types), so that it's still feasible for individuals wanting to attend at their own expense.
For people who are price-sensitive, either because the money is coming out of their own pocket or because they simply don't have the resources, listing higher ticket prices is a major deterrent to attending. They may not even get as far as investigating options to reduce the cost, such as scholarships, because the initial amount seems out of reach. This is particularly true if they are looking at significant travel expenses beyond just the cost of entry to the conference.
--Michael Snow