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Let ticket holders pick the conference sessions they attend

Conference and convention event teams need to know how many people will come to each talk and workshop before the day, so each room fits its crowd. Letting delegates pick their sessions after they buy gives you those numbers, and gives every delegate a personal agenda they can add to their calendar.

Turn the talks and workshops on your agenda into sessions ticket holders pick on their order page, with a place for each person, a waiting list when a room is full and a warning before two picks clash. Your team can add anyone to a session or give a place back.

For
Letting delegates choose their talks and workshops
Takes
7 minutes

Before you start

  • You are an owner, admin or producer on the event. The event's Operations page opens for those roles only.
  • The event is a conference, convention or business event, and Ticket Fairy has switched sessions on for it.

  1. Open the Sessions view

    Open the event, select Operations, select Agenda, then select Sessions at the top.

    Note: On a convention the section is called Schedule, and on a business event Programme. It lists each day's sessions with how many places are picked, and From your agenda lists the talks and workshops people cannot pick yet.

    Ticket Fairy Sessions view of a design conference, with totals, a workshop from the agenda to let people pick, and each day's talks with their places picked
    The Sessions view of Schedule.

  2. Choose a talk or workshop from your agenda

    Under From your agenda, select Let people pick this on the item.

    Note: Its title, time, room and places come from the agenda. Change anything you need in the dialog.

    Ticket Fairy dialog to let people pick a sponsor deck workshop, with its kind, time, places, room, track and the waiting list switch
    A workshop from the agenda, ready for people to pick.

  3. Set the places

    Enter how many people the room holds in Places.

    Note: Each ticket holder takes one place. Turn on Keep a waiting list when it is full to email the next person when a place comes back.

  4. Add the session

    Select Add session.

    Note: Turn on Open for picking now first to let ticket holders pick it straight away. Otherwise it waits as Not open yet.

  5. Open the session for picking

    Select Open for picking on the session, then select Open for picking again to confirm.

    Note: It stays open until you mark it as finished or cancel it.

    Ticket Fairy question to open a panel on running events across time zones for picking
    Opening a session for picking.

A ticket holder's order page

When a session is open, a ticket holder who signs in to their account finds a Your sessions section on their order page. Each session shows its day, time, room and places left with a Pick button, a picked one has a Drop button, and a full one lets them join its waiting list. A session that clashes with one they picked says which, and they drop the other one first. A calendar button adds all their picks to their own calendar.

  1. Check who picked each session

    Read the line under each session in Sessions, such as 32 of 40 places picked.

    Note: The totals at the top count the places picked across every session and the people let in at the doors.

Or have it done for you

Fai lists the sessions and the agenda items people cannot pick yet, makes a session from an agenda item or from scratch, and opens it for picking. She shows you each change and waits for your yes first.

In your dashboard, with Fai

Let ticket holders at <EVENT NAME> pick the sponsor deck workshop, with 40 places and a waiting list

Let Fai do it for you

Fai works inside your Ticket Fairy dashboard. Create your account, open Fai and paste the prompt above.

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Add a session that is not on your agenda

  1. Add it

    Select Add a session, enter the title, kind, time, places and room, then select Add session.

    Note: Add rooms as stages in Stages to choose one here. A session lasts at most 24 hours, so add one session for each day.

    Ticket Fairy Add a session dialog with the title, kind of session, start and end, places, room, track and description
    Adding a session that is not on the agenda.

Fai adds a session with the details you give and can open it for picking, after you confirm.

In your dashboard, with Fai

Add a 45 minute pricing clinic at 2pm on day two of <EVENT NAME> in Room B for 25 people

Add a ticket holder to a session or give their place back

  1. Find the ticket holder

    Select Ticket holders, enter the code on their ticket or the email the tickets were bought with, then select Find.

    Note: Each ticket shows what its holder picked. Each look-up is recorded with your name.

    Ticket Fairy ticket holder look-up with a full conference pass, the two sessions its holder picked and Add to a session
    A ticket holder and their sessions.

  2. Add them to a session

    Under Add to a session, choose the session, then select Add.

    Note: A clash with another of their picks, or a full session, stops the add and says why.

  3. Give a place back

    Select Give the place back beside the session, then confirm.

    Note: Someone else can then take the place. A place they already used at the door cannot be given back.

Fai looks up a ticket holder's picks by ticket code or email, adds them to a session and gives a place back, after you confirm each change.

In your dashboard, with Fai

Add the delegate with ticket code TF8841QX to the sponsor deck workshop at <EVENT NAME>

Change a session

  1. Edit it

    Select Edit on the session, change the details, then select Save changes.

    Note: Once people pick a session, its time and places stay as they are. Add a new session to move it to a bigger room.

    Ticket Fairy dialog to change a talk people have picked, saying its time and places stay as they are
    A session people have picked.

Fai changes a session's title, track, room, description or waiting list, and its time and places while nobody has picked it, after you confirm.

In your dashboard, with Fai

Move the design panel at <EVENT NAME> to the Design track

Finish or cancel a session

  1. Mark it as finished

    After the session ends, select Mark as finished, then confirm.

    Note: Nobody can pick it any more, and who picked it and who came in stay in the attendance report.

  2. Cancel it

    Select Cancel session, then confirm.

    Warning: Cancelling cannot be undone. Give back every place people hold in Ticket holders first.

Fai marks a session as finished or cancels it, after you confirm.

In your dashboard, with Fai

Cancel the Friday morning yoga session at <EVENT NAME>

Questions you might have

Can I charge for a session?
Not here. The sessions ticket holders pick come with any ticket. Sell a paid workshop as an add-on with the number of places in the room as its stock.
Can someone pick two sessions at the same time?
No. Nobody can hold two places at the same time, so their order page names the session they picked and asks them to drop it first.
What if a buyer bought tickets for friends?
The tickets stay on the buyer's order, so the buyer picks for them and chooses which ticket each place is for. Your team can also add any ticket holder from Ticket holders.
What happens when a session is full?
The order page shows it as full. With a waiting list, people join it, and the next person gets an email to take a place when one comes back.
Why is the Sessions view missing?
It shows on conference, convention and business events. If it says Sessions are not switched on for this event, ask Ticket Fairy to switch them on.
What if the agenda item moves?
The session shows Agenda time changed. Edit the session to match while nobody has picked it, or add a new session.

Still have a question?

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