An increasing number museums are aware of the opportunity of implementing dynamic ticket pricing based on expected demand. Consumers have already accepted differentiated prices for flight tickets. They are accustomed to e.g. saving money by buying well in advance or for departures very early in the morning.
Dynamic ticket pricing allow attractions, among other things, to improve earnings and to minimize queues at weekends as guests are motivated to buy tickets from home or to visit the attraction on weekdays.
A lot of attractions already offer differentiated prices to club members who receive e.g. a discounted price for tours or lectures. Several attractions also offer cheaper tickets for guests who purchase in advance sales. With dynamic ticket pricing, prices also depend on factors such as day of the week, season, current demand and weather forecasts.
Dynamic ticket pricing based on expected demand
For example, if controlled by expected demand ticket prices are higher for timeslots most in demand, and conversely lower for timeslots less in demand. In this context, consumers can be divided into two segments:
- For segment A, price is most important and timing is less important.
- For segment B, price is just as important and timing is most important. Typically, these are tourists who have a limited time frame within which to visit the attraction.
A good example of ticket prices guided by expected demand is Chokoversum in Hamburg, which has price differentiation on all tickets. The ticket price depends on time of day and day of the week. Furthermore, tickets are cheaper for timeslots early in the morning or late in the evening. At the same time, ticket prices also depend on general demand, so weekend tickets are generally more expensive than everyday tickets.
Chocoversum has chosen to illustrate their ticket prices using color codes.
The weather forecast determines prices
Ticket prices can also be weather dependent, so attractions that rely heavily on heat and sunshine, may choose to have higher prices on sunny days when people are most likely to visit. And conversely, tickets can be cheaper on rainy days to motivate guests to come and visit the attraction when it is still open anyway.
An example of this is the Indianapolis Zoo, where an adult ticket costs between $ 6.20 and $ 20.95 depending on factors such as day of the week, season, current demand and weather forecast.
Indianapolis Zoo also illustrates the differential prices with a “speedometer”.
Time of purchase, expected demand and weather conditions
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