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Tennessee Renfest 2023
Case Study
PROBLEM
The Tennessee Renaissance Festival recently transitioned from private ownership to local government management. The new city administration aimed to modernize the ticketing process by shifting from cash-only transactions to online advance ticket sales.
Additionally, they planned to install automated kiosks at the entrance for on-site ticket purchases and set up 12 automated ticket scanning stations to minimize staffing costs at the gates.
However, the city faced a significant challenge: with just six weeks remaining before ticket sales commenced, they lacked the necessary digital and physical infrastructure to implement these ambitious changes.
SOLUTION
The Tennessee Renaissance Festival sought a comprehensive solution for their ticketing needs, including fully customized kiosk checkout flows, automated scanning for 12 stations, and a robust online ticketing platform.
After reaching out to over a dozen ticketing platforms without success, the festival contracted ShowSlinger to develop the customized kiosk software. ShowSlinger completed the project in just four weeks, delivering the solution on time and at no cost to the customer, despite the software development costing over $30,000.
ShowSlinger's ready-to-use online platform and automated scanning system were ideal for reducing on-site staffing expenses. Instead of needing 12 attendants for the scanning stations, the festival only required one attendant, resulting in savings of over $10,000 in staffing costs.
ShowSlinger also provided free hardware, including touch screens, thermal ticket printers, and tablets, to ensure a seamless experience for attendees. While the hardware cost $11,700, the customer again paid nothing.
Additionally, ShowSlinger sent two Account Managers to the festival site in Franklin, Tennessee, for all 11 days of the event. They trained the staff and ensured everything ran smoothly, all at no cost to the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.
RESULTS
Thanks to ShowSlinger's hard work and investment, the Tennessee Renaissance Festival enjoyed a completely successful series of events in May 2023. Despite the tight timetable, the festival incurred no costs, as ShowSlinger covered all expenses.
The 86,000 attendees had a fantastic time, benefiting from a seamless purchase and entry experience. The introduction of automated scanning and self-serve kiosks drastically reduced average entry wait times, from 16 minutes and 35 seconds in 2022 to just 1 minute and 38 seconds in 2023. The reduction in wait times also boosted overall spending by 7%.
Total Attendance: 86,000
Total Cost to ShowSlinger to supply hardware & custom kiosk coding and 2 ShowSlinger employees on site: $56,900
Total Cost to TN Renfest: $0
Total Savings: $56,900
Increased Spending by Attendees: $625,000
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