Hospitality at Live Events in 2024
What I've learned and seen at the hospitality offerings of the biggest annual sporting events
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech, and Live Events
The "Hospitality" Conundrum
The ticketing market has come a long way since I started at the LA Dodgers in 2001. Back then, tickets were dramatically underpriced and sold to season ticket holders for teams and "insiders" (read: brokers) for major events.
In the mid-2000s, the NFL caught on to the price vs market disparity and created a program called "On-Location," where consumers could buy tickets bundled with a room and hospitality for a price exponentially higher than face value.
Simply: They could charge the actual market price for the tickets and hide the difference in the package. Nobody could break out what costs what.
Since then, hospitality has exploded with private equity stroking huge checks to get in the game (Sixth Street & Legends, Arctos & Elevate, Endeavor-via-Bruin Capital & On-Location, Liberty and Quint, and so on)
Three things I've learned from being in/seeing all the hospitality over the past year at all the biggest events:
1. Skimping on F&B is a killer
I've been to hospitality which cost $500-$2000 on top of the ticket only to have cold sandwiches, a pasta bar, and middle to low shelf booze with only a handful of choices.
I was at an event that was a $10k ticket where there were the same four food options available multiple days. It was essentially buffet style. And the drinks were worse. Four liquors and three mixers. That's all.
It's a bad experience and customers will not return.
The best examples I've seen of F&B done right?
✅ The NFL House. Exceptional from start to finish. Full bars. Top shelf booze. Dozens of food options switched out regularly.
✅ LIV Golf is very close. The experience is exceptional. The food is unique, there are plenty of options, and the attention to detail is meticulous in all of the hospitality areas.
✅ Legends House. We had the privilege of attending a few of these thanks to terrific friends. Every detail is attended to and it feels VIP
✅ 1968 Room at the US Open
✅ NFL Tailgate: Yes, a tailgate. The food is terrific, the drinks are okay, but the entertainment and the early access through security is worth every penny.
2. Any inconvenience is too inconvenient
Providers are pushing the limits on where the hospitality is. A short-walk is understandable. Or the center of a busy center. Too often, the hospitality is more than a quarter-mile from the event in a temporary structure in a parking lot. What's supposed to be a benefit is now a hassle.
3. Access vs Luxury
Perhaps the most important point.
Many customers are fine paying more for the ticket with the understanding that's what they're paying for. The hospitality is a throw in which doesn't matter.
If the hospitality, however, is marketed as "VIP," but has worse food and fewer drink options than a local chain restaurant, it hurts the event. I have a feeling a sizeable number of customers have bought hospitality which they won't consider again which will make the consumers more wary in future events.