Paying in advance for Taylor Swift, not for your restaurant reservation
Leonie van Spronsen blogs about how we find paying in advance completely normal (a year in advance!) for a ticket for Taylor Swift and prefer not to do so for a restaurant reservation.
This blog was previously published in Dutch at the website of Van Spronsen & Partners hospitality consultancy.
Double standard | Paying in advance for Taylor Swift, not for your restaurant of hotel reservation
A few weeks ago, we were finally able to buy tickets for music icon Taylor Swift’s visit to the Netherlands next year. A fan had to jump through quite a few hoops to get the tickets, register, get raffled in, use code & link to log in, wait with 19,000 fans in front of you in line and then pay good money. But did we do it en masse? Yes. Did I do that too? I did.
It got me thinking though. Apart from being a lifelong fan of the hospitality industry, I am also quite fond of going to the theatre, and for some artists like Elton John or, like now, Taylor Swift, I also like to go to their concerts. In all cases, I have to pay in advance. For a great comedy show in a beautiful theatre, the financial damage is limited but for a ticket at Taylor’s or Elton’s concert, it’s not! Also, this is always far in advance and when I buy the ticket I know I’ll never get the money back if, unexpectedly, I can’t go. I fully accept that.
So how is it that we as an industry (hospitality) are totally denied this right? As mentioned, I am just as guilty of this, I also like to book a hotel that I don’t have to pay for in advance and still frown briefly when I have to pay a deposit for a restaurant. That’s a very strange double standard, isn’t it? In both situations, you get a show, a service that is heavily rehearsed beforehand, for which costs are incurred and both are in place to ensure that we, as guests, have a fantastic time.
Almost a decade ago, we ate at Alinea in Chicago, where we had to “just buy” tickets for the show. The cost of the ticket was equivalent to the menu price, drinks and extras had to be paid for on the spot. In the culinary world, this happened occasionally at the absolute best but we liked the idea that Alinea actually called it tickets. This has never really caught on in the restaurant world (broadly speaking) but it’s a good idea, good for your liquidity as restaurateur and a fair exchange for your creative talents.
Although I am definitely a fan of Taylor Swift, I let go of my double standard. I am, in fact, a bigger fan of our hospitality industry.
Contact
Leonie van Spronsen, advisor at Van Spronsen & Partners horeca – advies. If you wish to get in touch, you can contact her via email at leonievanspronsen@spronsen.com, by phone at 071 541 88 67, or through LinkedIn.
Van Spronsen & Partners hospitality consultants is a hospitality consulting firm for the Dutch hospitality and leisure industry with more than 35 years of experience. Our activities include feasibility studies, performance improvements for restaurants and hotels, developing new catering concepts, marketing & communication, consultancy for municipalities and management support.
Website: Van Spronsen & Partners hospitality consultancy
