[MR] Pre-reg only events

[egeorges]

My 2 farthings:

Autocrats have been trying for years to encourage pre-registration by
offering discounted entry fees, etc.  Unfortunately, many people within
driving distance of an event do not pre-register, whether because they are
uncertain of their schedule or the weather, or because they are disorganized
or last minute planners.  You could do a pre-reg only event, but if you did
it, I would publicize it widely and early.  Your break-even point (i.e. the
number of people you have to have at the event to assure expenses are met)
would have to be set fairly low to compensate for the people who will refuse
to come because they can't plan that far in advance, probably around 50% of
what you would normally set a break even point at for an event.  This could
result in a hike in the admission fee.  Consider seriously whether the site
is of a caliber to justify an increased site fee.  (Many people, BTW,
already feel that site fees have gotten too expensive, so I would prepare
for plenty of resistance on that score.)

Another tactic to try would be to provide an opportunity for people to pay
AFTER the event.  Register attendees at the door, and provide them with a
numbered card and an SASE to mail payment to you after the event.  That way,
no one is paying on site, and daytrippers who decide at the last minute may
still attend.  There are a number of obvious drawbacks to this system that
would make it VERY difficult to execute: (1) It places the burden on the
Autocrat or Reservationist to keep track of who has attended, who has paid,
and who hasn't, and to track down individuals who may have attended but did
not pay; (2) The sponsoring group is sustaining a cash drain for a longer
period of time than is usual, since much of the return on the initial
investment on the event will not be had until several days after the event;
and (3) added expense if you want to include postage on the SASE's -- which
is recommended if you want to assure that people will follow through --
return rates go up when you provide a prepaid envelope.

The problem with setting up a payment point offsite is finding one that
makes sense -- people have a hard enough time following directions to sites,
and a set of directions to the payment point added on to the regular site
directions just makes it all more confusing and difficult.  You would also
likely need to double your troll staff, because you would need to staff BOTH
the on site check in for preregistered folks and the off site money
collection point.  Then there is the matter of finding someone close to the
site willing to give you permission to collect cash on their property.  This
adds to your headache and your expenses.

Online payment systems have already been discussed in detail.  Aside from
the obvious problems with maintenance, expense, and SCA policy issues, there
is also the matter of security of payments, vulnerability to hackers and
privacy compliance issues.  Once you start collecting information from
people online, there are legal restrictions on what information you can
collect without having a specific privacy policy in place, particularly with
respect to minors.  Even a tool like PayPal requires that both parties
register with PayPal to execute the transaction, and many people are still
protective enough of their personal information to be uncomfortable with
being forced to register online for something in order to participate.

To sum up, I think it can be done, but with all the added hassles involved,
I'm not sure in the end it is worth it from an administrative or financial
standpoint unless there really is no alternative.  Coming from an area that
is so developed that there are few suitable sites for a camping event, I
sympathize with the fact that it's getting tougher and tougher to find good
sites for events.  It's becoming increasingly necessary to show a little
flexibility and not be so wed to "how we do things" that we exclude
ourselves from viable opportunities.  But the bottom line is still that the
event needs to at least be able to pay for itself -- as a pal of mine who
works at PBS likes to remind me: "Non-Profit is a tax status, not a business
model."  Make sure you make a realistic assessment of what the added costs
will be to your group both in terms of money and manpower before you move
forward with it.

Good Luck!

In Service,
Luce Antony Venus