Booking Fees Made Simple: Clear Pricing for Organisers and Customers
Clear pricing helps build trust with your customers. Hidden fees revealed at checkout, known as drip pricing, or charges applied to specific payment methods, known as surcharging, can confuse or frustrate bookers. Regulations in some regions, including the UK and parts of the EEA, aim to prevent this.
To keep pricing consistent and easy to understand, Bookwhen has updated how additional fees, such as Booking fees, are applied and shown to customers.
Why pricing transparency matters 💎
- Customers should know the full cost upfront, without surprises at checkout.
- Transparent pricing builds trust, encourages bookings, and reduces abandoned transactions.
- Many regions, including the UK, EU, and parts of the US, have rules to prevent hidden fees or inconsistent surcharges.
By ensuring fees are applied consistently across all bookings, we help Event Organisers meet these standards.
Understanding Drip Pricing 💡
Drip pricing occurs when the advertised price excludes mandatory fees, such as booking fees, which are added later in the booking process.
- This can confuse customers and may break regional regulations.
- Bookwhen avoids this by applying one booking fee across all payment types, so the full cost is clear from the start.
Understanding Surcharging 💳
Surcharging is when extra fees are added based on a payment method, such as card payments or digital wallets.
- Rules vary by country, but fees must usually be clear, fair, transparent and consistent.
- Bookwhen simplifies compliance by using one consistent booking fee, applied to all payments, rather than separate surcharges for different methods.
What’s changing in Bookwhen 💭
To support pricing transparency and legislation changes, we’ve made the following updates:
- Clear pricing: Mandatory fees are reflected across pricing displays in Bookwhen.
- Updated UI: Pricing updates appear across:
- Public booking pages, including basket and checkout
- Passes, vouchers, and memberships pages
- Customer portal, including order details
- Simpler booking fee structure: One consistent setting applies to all payment methods.
Exemptions
Booking fees do not apply to: Free or no-cost tickets, free pass tickets and free exclusive membership tickets.
Tips for organisers ✅
- Be clear: Simple, upfront and transparent pricing builds trust with your customers.
- Review your pricing and marketing: Drip-pricing applies to anywhere you show pricing. This includes your website, social media, and marketing materials. The full cost should be clear from the first interaction.
- Check local regulations: Rules vary by region, so make sure your setup aligns with local requirements.
Bookwhen Resources for Organisers 📚
Our aim is to keep managing bookings simple while making pricing clear for everyone. These updates support a more consistent approach and help you manage costs with confidence.
Any questions?
Don't hesitate to reach out to our friendly support team via live chat or email.