Fees frenzy

Beth Aplin’s answer to the question of extra box office charges per ticket (AP212) raised interesting debate, but missed some key points. She referred to commercial companies like Easyjet and IKEA charging customers extra fees, but failed to mention that there is usually a way to avoid them. With theatres that add transaction fees, it’s generally impossible to do the same. Booking in-person at a box office can often be the only solution, but if a theatre is more than a few miles away it’s impractical.
Adding ticketing charges in this way is a socially regressive policy. A transaction charge of £1 or £2 on top of a £40 ticket to see a West End play or musical is a relatively small increase. On top of a child or other concessionary ticket, priced under £10, it’s a much higher mark-up. Why should those on low incomes take this disproportionate hit? Audiences for family theatre are often new attenders – those much sought-after customers – and should be encouraged, not penalised. An increasing number of theatres also add a refurbishment levy – again at a flat rate and often invisible to the purchaser, irrespective of the underlying price. If theatres need those strands of extra income, surely they can come up with a fairer, more sophisticated solution.
Significantly, there is also an impact on producers staging work specifically for family audiences. It’s not unknown for them to drop ticket prices to compensate for the additional expense of transaction fees to customers, aware that families can find the increasing ticket price off-putting. The venue still keep their charges, but the producers receive their share of a lower ticket price for work that costs just as much as an adult production.
As proven by the debate at the recent Theatrical Management Agency Touring Symposium, there is considerable dissatisfaction from producers. Adding levies and charges to standard ticket prices isn’t a happy solution; it will be interesting to see if any far-sighted theatre managers can find a better way forward.