As live events, cultural attractions and restaurants closed their doors over a year ago due to COVID-19, the entire industry all the way down the chain took a hit.
For many it was a death sentence, but for others, it was an opportunity to find a new way to support their customers amid an international crisis.
For Ten Lifestyle Group, a leading lifestyle management and concierge service, it “worked swiftly” to change its strategy to bring entertainment to its members’ homes.
The London-headquartered concierge company has 22 global offices and serves more than two million High Net Worth members worldwide.
Ten, which helps its members to organise travel, dining reservations and live entertainment ticketing, has introduced a variety of new initiatives in response to the pandemic to keep its member base engaged, and the entertainment industry supported. These include virtual events, streaming platform discounts, reduced capacity events, a new preference feature, as well as continuing ticket sales where suitable.
Since the government roadmap in the UK was announced last month Ten has seen a huge influx in members wanting to attend the Wimbledon tennis grand slam events, as this is one of the first major sporting events to take place after restriction easing on June 21.
With a year since the shutdown began, Lucy Chillingworth (pictured), global director of dining & entertainment proposition at Ten, told TheTicketingBusiness she is “really proud of the team” and the creative offerings they have developed and delivered over the past 12 months.
She said: “Pretty much straight away, as a global business, we saw the impacts of COVID-19 in some of our APAC markets before it hit some of our larger live entertainment markets, which meant we were able to plan alternative ways to support our member’s needs including entertainment.”
Ten said its ticketing teams spent the first weeks of the crisis assisting members with rescheduled dates and refunds. It found that 80 per cent of its members opted to keep their tickets rather than request a refund.
It also noticed that its members in EMEA and Americas enjoy virtual events and attending socially distanced events over its members in Asia.
Chillingworth said some of Ten’s most successful ideas to have come out of the crisis have included Q&A sessions with cast members of Hamilton across multiple markets, as well as dance and singing masterclasses with stars of West End and Broadway from the shows Frozen and Aladdin.
Ten also introduced a series of music events where members meet music industry professionals and learn about their careers, with the most recent being Alan McGee – the man who signed Oasis.
For the sports fan, it widened the inventory of golf courses members could play at, as well as created a series of editorial content from golfing professionals that members could learn from.
Meanwhile, the concierge service has introduced a new preference feature as part of its general sales service. The goal is to ensure that members get access to the events of their choice and are able to access tickets at face value.
“We ask our members to let us know what artists, teams, shows and events they would like to attend should they announce a tour or dates to improve our success in securing their prized tickets,” Chillingworth said. “We are hopeful for a boom of new events once restrictions and lockdowns ease. As soon as these are announced, we will engage our members to purchase tickets through Ten’s ticketing partners. We also use this information to show our partners that fans are desperate to get back to events.”
Ten has maintained good levels of engagement across all of its markets since last year, though Chillingworth said: “Whilst it is a challenge to keep up with changes to restrictions in different markets, we have been decisive in how we utilise the changes, for example, when travel corridors opened, members were eager to book last-minute holidays.”
The group also focused more on domestic products to arrange staycations for members. It also provided members with grocery deliveries right at the beginning of the pandemic when supermarkets were left bare, through to restaurant meal kits, chef masterclasses and offered dining alfresco or inside at reduced capacities whenever possible.
“We really have flexed our propositions to ensure we have remained relevant and meaningful to members,” she said.
Ten hopes to help kick start the live entertainment industry once it begins to open up through its ‘Life Unlocked’ campaign. It is working with its partners to produce a series of videos, experiences and opportunities to “re-ignite the spark and passion of our members and to help them attend live events again.”
Ten will support its partners through this campaign to drive bookings from its closed user group to help the industry and its partners recover by promoting events, selling tickets and having shows sold out once again.
Ten’s services are available either through private membership or complimentary membership, paid for by a bank. In the UK, Ten have partnerships with Coutts, HSBC and Natwest. Visit Ten Lifestyle Group’s website to find out more.
Share this