Help required.. Best event booking companies to sell event spaces?

[James M 1975]

Hi all,
I'm hoping someone can help point in me in the right direction. I'm currently in the process of looking for the best event booking site to use. I will be running a variety of half/full day workshops, both in person and online. I want to find the best place for customers to book and pay for spaces on these workshops. Ideally one that includes website integration and sends out personalised booking confirmation emails and reminders etc.
I have so far looked at Eventbrite and Bookwhen. Both of these tick a number of boxes but also have their down sides. Bookwhen is limited on its payment options and requires a monthly subscription. Whereas Eventbrite is on a booking fee basis (which is preferred), however there are reports that they have been very poor when it comes to refunding, if events are cancelled etc. Also they appear to work mostly with USD, which isn't ideal. However I may be overlooking something here.
Does anyone have any experience with either of the above and if so, what have your experiences been like? Would you recommend them?
Also, if there is anyone that knows of alternative companies that are worth a look I am all ears and would appreciate any advice and help with this.
Many thanks in advance.

 

[ethical PR]

I've used Eventbrite lots. They charge in Sterling not US dollars in the UK.

What you need to factor in. Is that you will need to invest in marketing to your target audience to drive bookings so your success will depend on how well you market your events as well as supply and demand for the events you want to host .

you can also promote your events through FB if consumer facing.

 

[James M 1975]

I've used Eventbrite lots. They charge in Sterling not US dollars in the UK.

What you need to factor in. Is that you will need to invest in marketing to your target audience to drive bookings so your success will depend on how well you market your events as well as supply and demand for the events you want to host .

you can also promote your events through FB if consumer facing.

Thank you so much for your reply and advice.
Our marketing strategy is well under way and we already have many clients ready to sign up to more of our workshops. However, to date we have been booking these through email and phone and then invoicing each client. As you can imagine, it's an unnecessary amount of extra work and a pain for the customer.
We do like the look of Eventbrite, however I was slightly put off by reports that over the past year they have made a mess of cancellations and refunds. Have you had to cancel any events and if so, how has your experience been? When I referred to using USD, it seems that when refunds are made they are done in USD, which seems unnecessary, but I could be getting this wrong.
Also, when it comes to payments, are these automatically paid to you, at the time the customer pays? Or do you have to wait until a certain date?
Any extra advice you can give about your experience with Eventbrite would be very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[James M 1975]

On further research, I have discovered TicketTailor, who are ticking most of my boxes. Aside from limited payment options and a slightly frustrating cancelation process, they are covering all other areas really well and appear to be very well reviewed. I haven't signed up with them just yet but it's likely that I will. if I do, I will post my experiences in here for the benefit of others who may be looking for something similar. In the mean time I'm still happy to hear other recommendations if anyone has any.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Use several of them to increase your reach.... and your own website.