Formats Should All Match for Event, Tickets, and Sessions
When creating your event, you will need to select its format, whether in-person, online, or hybrid. Similar to your event format, tickets and sessions will also have formats, and they should always be the same as your event format, especially if it's in-person or virtual. In this article, you'll learn the different formats and how to ensure that your attendees can access sessions without issues based on the ticket and sessions formats.
Important Note
Event, ticket, and session formats must match to ensure attendees can access sessions.
When creating your event, it's important to set your Event Format before adding ticket types and sessions.
Ticket types and sessions follow the event format at the time they are created. If the event format is changed after ticket types and sessions are created, the ticket type and session format do not change for the existing ticket types and sessions. If the formats are mismatched, attendees will not be able to join sessions, and they may see an error message that their ticket type does not have access to sessions.
An in-person event must have all in-person tickets and sessions.
A virtual event must have all virtual tickets and sessions.
A hybrid event can have any ticket format, but the sessions must be hybrid.
You may contact our support to check and update the ticket and session formats if you forgot to set the Event Format at the start of building your event.
Event Format
Your event format can be selected in the Event Details tab in your admin console. When you select in-person or online, the tickets and sessions you create after selecting the event format will also be in the same format. When you select hybrid, you will be able to select the ticket type format in the ticket settings. If you change your event format, the format on existing tickets and sessions will remain the same. Only new tickets and new sessions will follow the new session format.
Note: You can no longer change the event format if the event is already open or if the event is published
In-Person
An in-person event takes place in a physical venue. Examples include trade expos and car shows. When attendees arrive at your venue, they can enter by providing their information, such as their name or QR code, at the entrance. Then, your staff can check them in through the admin console, staff portal, or app. Attendees can also check in on their own through the kiosk. When you create tickets and sessions while the event format is in-person, the tickets and sessions will automatically be in the in-person format. If the event format is changed after the tickets and sessions are created, the ticket and session formats will not change.
Virtual / Online
A virtual event is one that takes place online. Examples include online conferences, webinars, and product launches. Attendees can join the event by logging in to the event to access the virtual event hub or through the attendee app. When you create tickets and sessions while the event format is virtual, the tickets and sessions will automatically be in a virtual format. If the event format is changed after the tickets and sessions are created, the ticket and session formats will not change.
Hybrid
A hybrid event is an event that is a combination of in-person and virtual. An example would be conducting a concert in a physical venue; attendees from home can also watch the show online. When you create tickets while the event format is hybrid, you'll have the option to select the ticket format, and sessions will automatically be in a hybrid format. If the event format is changed after the tickets and sessions are created, the ticket and session formats will not change.
Ticket Format
As mentioned earlier, the ticket format is determined by the type of event format you selected for in-person or virtual event. You can only change the ticket format in the ticket settings if your event is hybrid, you'll have the option to select whether the ticket holder has access to only the in-person event, virtual only, or both (hybrid).
In-person - attendees can enter the physical venue but not log in to the virtual event.
Hybrid - attendees can enter the physical venue and log in to the virtual event.
Virtual - attendees cannot enter the physical venue but can log in to the virtual event.
Note: You can still change the ticket type access even after you have sold tickets or if the event has already ended.
Session Format
When sessions are created, they follow the same format as the event. If the event format is changed, it does not change the format of the existing sessions. The new format will only apply to new sessions.
To check if your session type is correct, you can export the sessions through the Actions button in the agenda. The report will have a column for "Session Type," which will indicate if your session is in-person, virtual, or hybrid.
