Upcoming changes to VillaGaiety’s ticket booking fee – Information and Frequently Asked Questions for customers
VillaGaiety will soon be making some changes to the ticket booking fee structure that applies to live performances that take place in our venues. The booking fee will move outside of the ticket price and sit alongside a fee which will support the development and improvement of the venues long term. These changes will come into effect for all live events on Friday 10th January, 2025.
We understand that this change will raise some questions, so we’ve put together the following information to explain the background, our current position as well as a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to provide our customers and the wider Island community with as much clarity as possible.
Background
Since August 2013 VillaGaiety have incorporated a 2% booking fee as part of each ticket price which goes towards the hosted system charges applied by our ticketing service provider, Ticketsolve. To comply with the Consumer Protection Act 1991 and to avoid misleading price indications, the face value of all ticket prices is declared and advertised as being inclusive of this 2% booking fee. This information is also included on all ticket purchase confirmations.
Current position
VillaGaiety are the Island’s national venues for arts and entertainment and collectively represent the largest performance spaces for our community. Over the last five years our programme of events has grown considerably and consequently in 2023-24 we were able to welcome 213,399 attendances as audiences, visitors and participants to our venues, lots of whom came to your shows and events.
Our aim is to continually improve VillaGaiety as a place where our Island community can engage with live performance and access creativity throughout their lifetime. To achieve this, we want to fund improvements that customers can see and feel when visiting the venues alongside our responsibility to achieve sustainable operations of the buildings.
VillaGaiety is supported by an annual Minor Capital budget of £200,000 a year as stated in the Treasury Pink Book and managed by our colleagues at Department of Infrastructure and this is designed for the annual compliance and safe operations of the site. The support that Friends of the Gaiety donate to the theatre is designated to support the accurate restoration of the fabric of the Gaiety Theatre. In addition to this, VillaGaiety retain a modest maintenance budget within revenue operations to enable essential items such as fridges to be replaced, or the correction of acts of vandalism or damage to our public and high traffic site.
What is changing with VillaGaiety’s booking fee and how the current booking fee is administered?
There’s always been a booking fee applied for tickets sold through Ticketsolve. Prior to this change the existing 2% booking fee was inclusive to each ticket price and forms part of the final advertised ticket price for customers. The 2% goes towards covering hosting and service charges for our ticketing system.
To help future-proof and sustain the venue’s facilities, on moving the booking fee to external of the ticket price, it will be increased from 2% inclusive to 5% exclusive of ticket price, which is/will be set by hirers and producers. The newly set 5% booking fee will still cover the 2% costs outlined above, with the additional 3% being ring-fenced to create the VillaGaiety Development Fund to be invested back into the Complex on a rolling basis.
The 5% will be applied on all tickets purchased, both online and in-person at our Box Office for live performances only and will exclude Broadway Cinema tickets and bookings for the Dragon’s Castle Play Area.
When will these changes take effect?
These changes are scheduled to take effect on Friday 10th January. Work will be undertaken on the ticketing system to enable the required changes during the hours of 7 to 9.30pm approx. on Thursday 9th January, disruption to the booking system will be mitigated and monitored during this time. All bookings made prior to the 10th January will still use the current ticket and booking fee structure whereby all ticket prices are inclusive of a 2% booking fee.
Why are VillaGaiety changing and increasing the current booking fee?
The additional 3% from the booking fee increase will be allocated to the newly established VillaGaiety Development Fund. This fund will be used to enhance venue facilities, upgrade equipment to future-proof the sustainability of the buildings and ultimately improve the overall customer experience in the coming years.
What research has VillaGaiety undertaken to support this decision?
The VillaGaiety team undertook extensive research into the ticketing processes of other theatres, concert halls and arts centres across the UK, Jersey and Guernsey.
Research demonstrated that it is commonplace for venues, in particular large heritage buildings which are costly to maintain, to apply external booking fees, transaction fees and restoration levies that are in addition to any standard booking fees they charge to cover hosting charges to their ticketing software suppliers. VillaGaiety also liaised with representatives from Ticketsolve to discuss booking fees trends and their experiences with the numerous other venues who utilise their systems. We learned that VillaGaiety are the exception compared with the other venues Ticketsolve work with in not applying an additional venue fee (in addition to 2% for Ticketsolve’s charge). Ticketsolve work with 372 organisations across the UK and Ireland.
How will this increase affect ticket prices for customers?
Yes, as a live event ticket will now be plus a 5% ticketing fee applied at point of sale. Whilst this will lead to an increase in the total cost to the customer, the ticket price will remain set by the hirer or producer. This new structure will allow for more transparent pricing for audiences and customers.
Please see the table below which includes nine example ticket prices to illustrate the current ticket price and booking fee structure compared with the new structure which will come into effect on Friday 10th January.
|
CURRENT BOOKING FEE AND TICKET PRICE STRUCTURE |
NEW BOOKING FEE AND TICKET PRICE STRUCTURE |
||
|
Ticket price inclusive of 2% booking fee |
Income per ticket - with 2% stripped out |
Face value ticket price set by hirer/ producer |
Ticket price with 5% booking fee added to final price |
|
£5.00 |
£4.90 |
£5.00 |
£5.25 |
|
£10.00 |
£9.80 |
£10.00 |
£10.50 |
|
£15.00 |
£14.70 |
£15.00 |
£15.75 |
|
£20.00 |
£19.60 |
£20.00 |
£21.00 |
|
£25.00 |
£24.50 |
£25.00 |
£26.25 |
|
£30.00 |
£30.60 |
£30.00 |
£31.50 |
|
£40.00 |
£39.20 |
£40.00 |
£42.00 |
|
£50.00 |
£49.00 |
£50.00 |
£52.50 |
|
£60.00 |
£58.80 |
£60.00 |
£63.00 |
What are the benefits of increasing and moving the booking fee outside the ticket price for the venues and community?
The increased booking fee will directly be allocated to the VillaGaiety Development Fund, which exists to maintain and enhance the venues for use by our community and to enable the continuing staging of a variety of shows and events.
Upgrades to our facilities will ultimately benefit all users and help to create a more sustainable and enjoyable experience for both performers and audiences.
What is the VillaGaiety Development Fund?
The Villa Marina and Gaiety Theatre are proud flagship venues for arts and entertainment for the Island’s community. Steeped in history and culture, they are a vital part of the Island’s cultural identity and are a continued source of enjoyment and inspiration for many members of our community. As custodians of these venues, we are committed to ensuring their legacy is preserved but also improved and enhanced to evolve with the needs of our community and stand the test of time. The 3% booking fee accrued from each live performance ticket transaction will wholly form VillaGaiety Development Fund and be ringfenced to improve and enhance facilities to positively impact the audience experience and safeguard them as cultural assets for future generations of audiences and performers yet to come.
The fund has been created after substantial research into the wider arts and entertainment sector and focussed on how similar live performance organisations manage the ongoing costs of sustaining and developing their venues. Often called a venue or restoration ‘levy’ the additional booking fee goes directly towards the upkeep, maintenance and refurbishment of the venues.
The fund will be dedicated to investing in the venues to improve our audience offering and impact. It is separate from the Department of Infrastructure’s Minor Capital Budget and the accurate restoration support offered by the Friends of Gaiety charity.
How will the money raised for the VillaGaiety Development Fund be spent?
The fund will be managed carefully in line with an annual plan of priorities aligned with the maintenance and refurbishment needs of the building. Examples of works include improving the public seating in the Villa Marina gallery and foyer, improvements to the hospitality areas across the venues and introducing a rolling scheme of replacement on our sound and lighting equipment long-term following the phased upgrade programme of technical infrastructure funded by Treasury in December 2023.
Our aim is to be transparent with how we spend this 3% of the booking fee that is allocated to the fund. To do so VillaGaiety will produce a short annual report (via our website) which outlines how and what the funds have been used for and
Are booking fees included in a refund?
If a performance has been cancelled, the booking fees will be included in your refund.