STAR AGM and Seminar 2024

STAR members can register up to three representatives from their organisation, free of charge, for the AGM, members' lunch and the afternoon seminar. (Please note that bookings for lunch have now closed.)

The content of the afternoon seminar can be seen below.  The afternoon will finish with a social/networking opportunity over a drink.

The cost of the seminar for non-STAR members is £150. Members of UK Theatre, Society of London Theatre, Ticketing Industry Social Committee, National Arenas Association, Concert Promoters Association or LIVE pay only £75. If you are a member of one of these organisations and do not have the appropriate discount code, please contact info@star.org.uk Use the link above to buy tickets for the seminar.

12.15pm - 1.00pm

STAR AGM (STAR members only)

1.00pm - 2.00pm

Light Lunch for STAR members

2.00pm - 3.25pm

SEMINAR - Part 1

2.00pm Customer Experience: Flexibility and Protection
Have we got better at helping customers that can no longer attend an event? Resale is constantly evolving and getting more consumer friendly. Many theatres have taken their exchange policies out from under the counter and made them more explicitly available to customers. Some ticket agents offer pre-event flexibility and there are also products that can be sold to provide ticket holders with ticket protection right up to the performance. With such a variety of options now available to ticket buyers and the fact that they may or may not be available depending on who they are buying from, are we setting a course for customers that’s getting too complex to navigate, or have we got it right? What are the obstacles to more widespread flexibility and in what direction should we, could we, all be heading?

2.30pm Customer Experience: Technology
The pandemic spurred on several advances and changes. Mobile tickets became universal, almost overnight, and redundancies and cost savings led to a reduction in phone support for customers. Some events and venues are now cashless. We’ve also seen an increase in account and venue-app based tickets, AI chat assistants, dynamic pricing and virtual queuing. This discussion will aim to critically assess how progress in technologies benefit the industry, and the risks faced of potentially alienating consumers. Does streamlining operations and enhancing security complicate access for less tech-savvy or economically disadvantaged individuals? How are our customers coping and adapting to the changes in the ticketing landscape? How do we maintain customer loyalty and expand market reach without sacrificing the benefits of innovation in a rapidly evolving digital landscape?

3.00pm Artificial Intelligence: How AI is being used in ticketing
Dive into an engaging world where AI meets ticketing and live entertainment. This session is a gateway to discovering the impactful role of AI in transforming the ticketing industry. It showcases real-world applications of AI, illustrating how it’s enhancing customer experiences and streamlining operational processes.

3.25pm - 3.45pm

Tea Break

3.45pm - 5.30pm

SEMINAR - Part 2

3.45pm Dispute Roulette
The return of this popular quick-fire round where the STAR team talk through a number of challenging dispute scenarios that STAR has dealt with and, using the sli.do app for your responses, finds out how you think it might be best to resolve them.

4.15pm Customer Experience: Theatre/Music
The experience for ticket buyers for live music can be different to the experience when buying for theatre. Why aren’t they the same? This session will explore where and why music and theatre ticketing diverge, who benefits from those differences and how do customers feel about that? Are we expecting consumers to understand more about the workings of our businesses than we should? Why does one say ‘doors’ and the other give the actual start time for the performance? Why can’t a customer exchange between dates? Why are some customers unlikely to get a full refund for a cancelled music event? What are all these presales, how do I get the best tickets? And who is making the decisions? Our panel of music promoters, theatre producers and venues will try to explain.

5.00pm Finding a Balance
We all live in a world of constant notifications on our phones. For those of us managing teams that work out of hours, working for demanding clients on ticketing for evening and weekend events, or just dealing with a workload that exceeds our available time, how can we hope to find a balance between our work and our life? Claire Walker is Co-CEO of SOLT/UK Theatre, the third role she has shared with Hannah Essex. Claire will share with us her journey, together with practical tips for how to make work and life fit together in 2024.

5.30pm - 7.00pm

The bar will be open for delegates to socialise and network.

Please note that photography and video recording will be taking place throughout the day for promotional and archival purposes. By attending this event, you consent to your image, likeness and voice being used in such content and you waive any rights you may have for payment or royalties in connection with its use. Please notify a member of the STAR team if you do not want your image to be used.