Setting the participation fee

When setting your participation fee, there may be several factors to consider, in addition to the budget.

These may include:

• History of similar/previous events
• A maximum amount set by a co-organiser/contributor.
• A wish to offer early-bird, last-minute or other discounts, e.g. to young participants or students
• Number of non-paying participants, including speakers and organisers
• Special rates for developing countries/the ‘Global South’

You may also wish to consider whether certain elements of the programme – such as dinners, excursions, shuttle buses, etc. – should be listed as optional extras during the registration process, and therefore not included in the basic participation fee.

If your budget is highly vulnerable to large fluctuations, set a participant limit in the individual participant categories. By doing so, you avoid ‘selling’ all your cheap tickets and thus making a loss.

The same applies to early-bird tickets, where it is customary for participants to receive a substantial discount if they sign up before a specified date. But can your budget absorb the cost if all tickets are sold at the early-bird rate? Instead, you may want to set both the date and a maximum number, e.g. 100 tickets.