Festival ticketing involves more than selling admission. Organizers need to manage multiple event days, ticket types, access levels and capacity limits while coordinating attendee information, merchandise, on-site sales and efficient entry across multiple entrances.

FooEvents brings this workflow into WooCommerce, allowing tickets, merchandise and other products to be sold directly from your WordPress website using your preferred WooCommerce payment gateways. At the venue, the FooEvents Check-ins app can be used to validate tickets and manage attendee access.

In this guide, we will walk through a recommended configuration for a three-day festival. It covers ticket structure, weekend and day passes, General Admission and VIP access, capacity, attendee information, merchandise, multi-entrance check-ins and on-site sales based on the following requirements:

• General Admission and VIP tickets
• Weekend and single-day passes
• Limited daily and VIP capacity
• Individual attendee information
• Check-ins at multiple entrances
• Merchandise, parking and other add-ons
• On-site ticket and merchandise sales

If you are new to FooEvents, we recommend reading the Getting Started guide before continuing.

Plan your festival ticket setup

Products used

The following products and extensions can be used for this setup:

• WooCommerce
• FooEvents for WooCommerce
• FooEvents Multi-day
• FooEvents Custom Attendee Fields
• FooEvents PDF Tickets, if PDF tickets are required
• FooEvents Ticket Themes
• Free FooEvents Check-ins apps for iOS and Android
• FooEvents POS, if tickets or merchandise will be sold at the venue

Recommended festival product structure

The most important decision is how the festival’s tickets should be divided into WooCommerce products.

A Multi-day event ticket gives an attendee access to every configured event day. It does not allow the purchaser to select only some of those days. Therefore, weekend passes and individual day passes should be created as separate event products. Learn more about Multi-day events.

Do not create Friday, Saturday and Sunday as variations of the Weekend Pass. Event dates and Multi-day behavior are configured at product level, so a day-specific variation would still inherit the full event schedule.

Configure tickets, capacity and attendee data

Setting up the Weekend Pass

Create the Weekend Pass as a Multi-day event product:

1. Go to Products > Add New in the WordPress dashboard.
2. Enter the festival name, description, imagery and other customer-facing information.
3. Select Variable product in the Product Data panel if you will offer General Admission and VIP options.
4. Open the Event Settings tab.
5. Enable the option that identifies the product as an event.
6. Select the appropriate Multi-day configuration:
   • Use Sequential days when the festival takes place on consecutive days.
   • Use Specific Days when the festival dates are not consecutive.
7. Set the number of days and configure the date and time for each day.
8. Enter the venue, organizer, contact and event information.
9. Configure the attendee fields, ticket appearance and ticket email settings.
10. Publish the event.

A single Weekend Pass ticket will be valid for all configured days. FooEvents stores a separate check-in status for each day, allowing the same ticket to be checked in on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Creating General Admission and VIP tickets

WooCommerce attributes and variations can be used to offer different ticket types for the same event.

For example, create an attribute called Ticket Type with the following values:

• General Admission
• VIP

Use the attribute to generate product variations, then configure a price, SKU and stock quantity for each variation. This allows the General Admission and VIP allocations to be managed independently. Learn more about event product variations.

VIP benefits could include:

• Access to a dedicated entrance
• Access to a VIP viewing area or lounge
• Premium parking
• A merchandise pack
• Complimentary food or drink vouchers
• Priority entry

Clearly describe these benefits on the product page and ticket.

If many ticket variations are offered, you can display them in a table to make comparison and selection easier. This can be enabled globally under FooEvents > Settings > General or for an individual event under its display settings.

Early Bird and other pricing phases

Early Bird, Standard and Last Chance pricing can also be handled using WooCommerce pricing and variations.

Take care not to create multiple unrestricted stock pools for pricing phases that consume the same festival capacity. Either:

• Allocate a fixed portion of capacity to each pricing phase and release the phases sequentially; or
• Change the variation price or scheduled sale price when the next phase begins.

The total stock across all pricing phases must remain within the relevant General Admission or VIP allocation.

Creating the day passes

Create a separate Single-day event product for each day of the festival.

A quick way to do this is to duplicate a completed day-pass product and update:

• Product name and permalink
• SKU
• Event date and time
• General Admission and VIP prices
• Variation stock
• Product description
• Ticket text
• Event expiration settings

Each day pass should use the same General Admission and VIP variation structure where applicable.

Using separate products ensures that each ticket has the correct event date and can be validated against that date at the entrance.

Managing festival capacity

FooEvents uses WooCommerce stock management to determine how many tickets are available. Each stock item represents one ticket, and stock can be managed at product or variation level. Learn more about stock management.

When Weekend Passes and day passes are separate products, their stock quantities are also separate. They do not automatically draw from a shared daily capacity.

For example, consider a festival with a total capacity of 10,000 people per day, including a VIP capacity of 500:

In this example, the same Weekend Pass allocation consumes capacity on all three days. The Friday, Saturday and Sunday products each receive their own day-pass allocation.

Use the following calculation for every festival day:

Weekend passes sold + day passes sold for that day ≤ daily venue capacity

The same calculation should be performed separately for areas with their own capacity, such as a VIP enclosure.

Because these products do not use a single shared stock pool, the organizer should:

• Decide how much capacity to reserve for Weekend Passes and day passes before opening sales.
• Monitor sales across all festival products.
• Reduce or increase remaining allocations carefully.
• Only release unused Weekend Pass capacity to day tickets when it is safe to do so.
• Disable backorders unless overselling is intentionally permitted.

Capturing attendee information

FooEvents can capture information for each attendee rather than only collecting the purchaser’s billing details.

The standard attendee fields can include:

• First and last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Company
• Designation

FooEvents Custom Attendee Fields can be used to collect festival-specific information. Fields are configured per event, can be required or optional and are recorded separately for each attendee. Learn more about Custom Attendee Fields.

Useful festival fields might include:

• Emergency contact name
• Emergency contact phone number
• Accessibility requirements
• Dietary requirements
• Age confirmation
• Parent or guardian information
• T-shirt size when merchandise is included with the ticket
• Acceptance of event terms or a waiver
• Optional marketing consent

Only collect information that is genuinely required. Keep optional marketing consent separate from required event terms, and restrict access to sensitive attendee information.

If Email attendee rather than purchaser is enabled, make the attendee email address required. Otherwise, the purchaser can receive and distribute all tickets in the order.

Merchandise and add-ons

Since FooEvents runs on WooCommerce, festival tickets and standard products can be sold through the same online store.

Typical products could include:

• T-shirts and hoodies
• Festival merchandise bundles
• Parking passes
• Camping passes
• Locker rental
• Meal or drink vouchers
• Shuttle tickets
• Souvenir programs

Use standard WooCommerce products when the item is fulfilled or collected like merchandise. Use variable products for options such as size or color and manage stock for each variation.

Custom attendee fields should not be used for paid or stock-controlled merchandise. A T-shirt size field is suitable when a shirt is included with every VIP ticket, but a separately purchased T-shirt should be created as a WooCommerce product so that its price and inventory can be managed correctly.

If an add-on requires its own scannable ticket—for example, a separately controlled camping area—it can be configured as its own event product. It will then have a separate ticket and check-in record.

Ticket generation and delivery

By default, FooEvents generates and sends tickets when the WooCommerce order reaches Completed status. This can be changed using FooEvents > Settings > General > Send on order status. Learn more about ticket sending and order statuses.

For ticket-only products, setting the product as Virtual and Downloadable can allow WooCommerce to complete the order after successful payment.

Special consideration is required when tickets and physical merchandise are purchased in the same order. WooCommerce may leave an order containing physical products in Processing until the merchandise is fulfilled, which can delay ticket generation.

If mixed orders are allowed:

• Configure the Send on order status setting to match your paid-order workflow.
• Only select statuses that reliably indicate successful payment.
• Never generate valid tickets for unpaid or failed orders.
• Test ticket-only, merchandise-only and mixed orders using every supported payment method.

Use an authenticated SMTP email service to improve ticket email delivery. Complete delivery tests to several email providers before ticket sales open.

PDF tickets can be enabled when attendees need a downloadable attachment, while the HTML ticket can still be viewed directly in the email or on the website.

Prepare and manage festival entry

Preparing for check-ins

The free FooEvents Check-ins app can scan ticket barcodes or QR codes and update attendee check-in statuses. It can also search for attendees manually when a ticket cannot be scanned. View the Check-ins app guide.

Before the festival:

• Update FooEvents and the Check-ins apps to the latest live versions.
• Create dedicated WordPress accounts for check-in staff with only the permissions they require.
• Restrict the events shown in the app to the current festival products where appropriate.
• Sign in on every device and load the festival events and tickets.
• Test Weekend, day, VIP, canceled, unpaid and already checked-in tickets.
• Fully charge every device and provide power banks or charging stations.
• Test scanning under the actual lighting conditions expected at the entrances.
• Consider Bluetooth barcode scanners for high-volume or low-light entrances. View ticket scanning recommendations.

For large ticket databases, the events and historical tickets made available to app users can be limited under FooEvents > Settings > Check-ins App. Ensure the selected ticket date range still includes customers who purchased far in advance. Learn how to limit tickets loaded in the app.

Check-ins across multiple entrances

All entrance devices should remain online wherever possible. This allows check-in updates to be sent to the WooCommerce store so that other devices can see the latest ticket status.

A recommended entrance configuration might include:

• General Admission lanes
• VIP or priority lanes
• A customer service lane for missing, invalid or transferred tickets
• A box office for new ticket purchases
• A separate merchandise collection or sales area

The current Check-ins app can scan tickets from the event listing, which is useful when an entrance accepts both Weekend Passes and that day’s passes. Alternatively, devices or lanes can be assigned to a specific event product.

Enable Auto Check-in to return directly to the scanner after a successful scan and increase throughput. By default, the app refreshes ticket information after scans to keep multiple entrances up to date; Auto Check-in reduces this extra navigation while retaining the server-side check-in. Learn more about Auto Check-ins.

Checking in Weekend Passes

Weekend Passes have a separate check-in status for each configured event day.

At the start of each day:

• Confirm that the correct Multi-day check-in day is selected.
• Use the automatic current-date option where appropriate.
• Scan a real test ticket.
• Confirm that the correct day was updated.
• Confirm that the ticket remains available for later festival days.

Checking in day passes

Enable Restrict attendee check-ins to the current day in the Check-ins app settings. If a ticket’s valid date does not match the date on the check-in device, the app displays a warning and allows the operator to cancel or override the check-in. Learn more about current-day restrictions.

This is an operational safeguard rather than a completely automatic hard lock, so entrance staff should be trained when an override is permitted.

Managing VIP access

The General Admission or VIP variation is available as part of the ticket information and can be used to confirm the attendee’s access level.

For a practical festival workflow:

1. Scan the VIP ticket at the main entrance.
2. Confirm that it is valid for the current day.
3. Issue a clearly identifiable VIP wristband or credential.
4. Use the wristband for repeated access to VIP areas.

A ticket has one check-in state per event day. Using a wristband after the initial validation avoids repeatedly changing the same ticket’s check-in state when the attendee moves between the main festival and VIP areas.

Group arrivals

FooEvents normally creates and checks in an individual ticket for each attendee. If groups commonly arrive together, the Check-ins app can be configured to check in tickets from the same order simultaneously.

This option only applies to tickets from the same order and the same event product. It will not combine Weekend Pass and day-pass products from the same order. Learn more about checking in tickets from the same order.

Re-entry

Decide on a re-entry policy before the festival and communicate it to attendees and entrance staff.

For festivals that allow attendees to leave and return on the same day, a wristband or another physical credential is generally easier to operate after the ticket’s first successful scan. This keeps the electronic check-in record focused on initial admission and avoids confusion at different entrances.

Handling unreliable connectivity

Offline Mode in the FooEvents Check-ins app can process check-ins without an active internet connection, but it should be treated as an emergency fallback rather than the primary multi-gate setup.

Before Offline Mode can be used, the device must first sign in and download the relevant event and attendee data. Offline changes are stored on the device and synchronized when it reconnects. Learn more about Check-ins app Offline Mode.

The main limitation is that offline devices operate independently. If the same ticket is presented at two entrances while both devices are offline, neither device will know that the other has accepted it.

Recommended precautions include:

• Provide dedicated event Wi-Fi with coverage at every entrance.
• Use a secondary internet connection or cellular failover.
• Provide backup power for networking equipment.
• Download all required attendee data before gates open.
• Keep Offline Mode for connectivity failures.
• If several devices must operate offline, divide attendees or ticket types between entrances where practical.
• Reconnect and synchronize devices as soon as connectivity returns.
• Export offline changes before clearing local data if a device experiences synchronization problems.

Sell tickets and merchandise on-site

Selling tickets and merchandise with FooEvents POS

FooEvents POS can be used at a festival box office, merchandise stand or customer service desk. It connects to the same WooCommerce store and supports both event and non-event products, including variable products with their own prices, SKUs and stock levels. Learn more about managing products in FooEvents POS.

A festival POS setup can be used to:

• Sell day passes at the entrance
• Sell ticket upgrades where capacity permits
• Capture attendee information
• Print tickets and receipts
• Sell merchandise
• Sell parking, camping or meal products
• Apply coupons
• Keep online and on-site sales in the same WooCommerce order system

Create clear product categories, hide products that should not appear in the POS and pin frequently sold products for faster access.

If tickets sold at the entrance should immediately admit the customer, FooEvents POS can automatically set the new ticket’s status to Checked In after the order is completed. Learn how to enable automatic POS check-ins.

Keep the box office separate from the scanning lanes so payment problems and attendee data entry do not slow down pre-purchased ticket holders.

POS connectivity limitation

FooEvents POS supports most sales functions in Offline Mode, but event ticket generation and ticket printing are not available while offline. Offline ticket orders are stored on the device, and tickets are only generated and sent after the POS reconnects and synchronizes. Stock values also cannot be modified while offline. Learn more about FooEvents POS Offline Mode.

For this reason, on-site ticket sales should remain online wherever possible. Prepare a documented contingency process if connectivity at the box office fails.

Reporting and final checks

Reporting and attendee exports

FooEvents Reports provides a summary of revenue, tickets sold, available tickets and attendee check-ins for each event product. Reports are available under FooEvents > Reports. Learn more about Event Reports.

Because Weekend and day passes are separate event products, their FooEvents reports are also separate. WooCommerce reporting can be used for wider store-level sales analysis.

A CSV attendee export can be downloaded from the Event Export tab of each event product. The export can include:

• Ticket numbers
• Purchaser and attendee details
• Ticket variations
• Custom attendee fields
• Check-in information
• Billing details, when selected

Export each festival product separately and combine the files if a single festival-wide attendee list is required. Store attendee exports securely because they may contain personal information. Learn how to export attendee information.

Final checks before ticket sales open

Complete a full purchase and check-in test before opening ticket sales.

Online sales

• Confirm all festival dates, times and time zones.
• Confirm General Admission and VIP prices.
• Confirm Weekend and day-pass stock allocations.
• Confirm backorders are disabled.
• Purchase more than one ticket in a test order.
• Confirm attendee fields repeat correctly for each attendee.
• Confirm required fields cannot be skipped.
• Test discount codes and each payment gateway.
• Test ticket-only and ticket-plus-merchandise orders.
• Confirm tickets are generated at the intended order status.
• Confirm ticket emails and PDF attachments are delivered.
• Confirm ticket information is readable on a mobile device.

Entrance operations

• Scan every ticket and pass type.
• Scan a Weekend Pass for each event day.
• Confirm day-pass date warnings.
• Test VIP identification.
• Test canceled, unpaid and already checked-in tickets.
• Test scanning from the event listing where multiple pass products are accepted.
• Test manual attendee search.
• Test multiple entrance devices simultaneously.
• Test Offline Mode and reconnection.
• Confirm staff know when overrides are permitted.

Point of sale

• Sell a ticket and capture attendee information.
• Print the ticket and receipt.
• Confirm stock is reduced.
• Confirm the ticket appears in the Check-ins app.
• Test automatic check-in if enabled.
• Sell and refund merchandise.
• Test payment terminals and printers.
• Confirm the offline contingency process.

A complete rehearsal using the same devices, network, printers and payment hardware that will be used at the festival is the best way to identify operational problems before attendees arrive.