In the competitive tourism industry, getting your attraction noticed by potential visitors is crucial. Google Things to Do is a powerful tool that connects you with travelers searching for experiences online, allowing you to showcase your attraction at the very moment they’re ready to book. For attraction managers looking to increase sales and bookings, Google Things to Do – combined with Oveit’s advanced booking, ticketing, and payment solutions – can make all the difference. Here’s how you can take advantage of Google Things to Do and Oveit’s suite of features, including the Booking Module, Experiences Module, Operator Booking Module, and Ads Module, to drive more traffic and revenue to your business.

What is Google Things to Do?

Google Things to Do is a feature that displays tours, activities, and attractions directly in Google Search and Google Maps, helping attractions reach travelers where they’re already searching. By making your offerings visible on Google, you can connect with travelers interested in your destination, showcase real-time pricing and availability, and link them directly to book with Oveit.

This tool empowers you to showcase your attraction’s details, images, and booking options, so potential visitors have all the information they need to make a quick decision. With Oveit’s integration, these searchers can book directly, streamlining their experience and making it easy to turn interest into ticketed guests.

Why Google Things to Do is Essential for Attraction Managers

1. Maximized Visibility
   Google is the go-to for travelers researching destinations and experiences. Google Things to Do increases your visibility by displaying your attraction directly in relevant searches and on Google Maps. This visibility makes it easier to reach audiences looking for “things to do in [your city]” or specific searches for your attraction.
2. Simplified Booking Journey
   By allowing visitors to book directly through Oveit from Google Things to Do, you create a smooth, intuitive process that shortens the path from discovery to booking. The more streamlined the process, the more likely people are to complete a booking.
3. Detailed Insights
   By using Google Things to Do and Oveit’s data, you can access valuable insights into customer behavior, booking trends, and peak times, helping you optimize your offerings.

How Oveit’s Modules Supercharge Google Things to Do

1. The Booking Module

The Booking Module is your powerhouse for managing bookings, making it easy to set up ticket options, track sales, and provide a user-friendly experience. This module integrates directly with Google Things to Do, allowing users to book tickets seamlessly from Google Search and Maps. The Booking Module supports multiple ticket types, so you can offer options like general admission, VIP experiences, or special events directly from your listing.

With automated confirmation emails and payment processing, you save time and effort while ensuring a smooth experience for your customers. The Booking Module also allows you to adjust availability and pricing in real-time, so travelers always see the most accurate information, improving trust and boosting conversions.

2. The Experiences Module

The Experiences Module allows you to create unique, customizable offerings that appeal to a range of interests. You can design packages, combine tickets with exclusive experiences, or add special event access, allowing you to attract a broader audience. For example, if you’re managing a museum, you could offer a “Behind-the-Scenes Tour” or an “After-Hours VIP Experience.”

With Google Things to Do, each experience you create can be listed as a unique option, letting you appeal to different visitor segments and drive more bookings. This flexibility can help you cater to both local audiences and international travelers, tailoring offerings to meet the needs of families, adventure seekers, or culture enthusiasts.

3. The Operator Booking Module

The Operator Booking Module streamlines group bookings, travel operator reservations, and third-party bookings. Through this module, you can collaborate with tour operators, travel agencies, and partners, allowing them to reserve tickets or entire experiences for groups. This setup simplifies the booking process for large groups, which is especially useful for popular attractions that cater to school trips, corporate groups, or guided tours.

By linking the Operator Booking Module in Google Things to Do, operators can book directly through your Google listing, reducing friction and increasing group sales. Oveit’s features also provide reporting and tracking for all operator bookings, allowing you to manage and allocate resources effectively while improving partnerships with tour operators and travel agents.

4. The Ads Module

The Ads Module gives you the power to promote specific events, experiences, or ticket packages to increase visibility and drive targeted bookings. With the Google Ads Module, you can run ad campaigns across Google Ads, to reach potential visitors actively searching for experiences in your area. You can promote special offers, highlight seasonal events, or showcase new experiences to catch the eye of potential customers right in their search results.

By using the Ads Module in Google Things to Do, you can make sure your most exciting offers are front and center when visitors search for things to do in your destination. This targeted approach increases the likelihood of attracting high-quality leads and boosts your ROI by reaching travelers with high booking intent.

Step-by-Step: Getting Started with Google Things to Do and Oveit

Here’s a quick guide to setting up your attraction with Google Things to Do and leveraging Oveit’s modules:

1. Partner with Oveit
   As an authorized integration partner for Google Things to Do, Oveit ensures a smooth setup and listing management process. This partnership provides the infrastructure needed to manage your listings, track bookings, and enable direct reservations.
2. Set Up Your Modules
   Once you’re onboarded, use the Booking, Experiences, Operator Booking, and Ads Modules to create an engaging, comprehensive listing that appeals to different types of travelers. These modules provide a range of options to create unique listings, streamline group bookings, and drive targeted ads.
3. Optimize Listings
   Make your listing stand out by using high-quality images, a detailed description, and accurate pricing. Google rewards detailed listings, and a clear, compelling listing improves the chances of bookings. Regularly update information in Oveit so Google Things to Do reflects accurate availability and pricing.
4. Track and Adjust
   Monitor the performance of each module to understand which experiences are driving the most bookings. Oveit’s analytics tools allow you to adjust offerings, launch new ads, or update ticket types based on data insights, keeping your offerings competitive and appealing.

Why Choose Oveit for Your Google Things to Do Integration?

Oveit’s booking, ticketing, and payment solutions give you the tools you need to maximize Google Things to Do’s potential for your attraction:

• Effortless Integration: Oveit integrates directly with Google Things to Do, making it easy to set up and manage your listings, monitor performance, and adjust offerings as needed.
• Real-Time Updates: Oveit’s platform allows you to update availability, pricing, and descriptions instantly, ensuring your Google Things to Do listing is always accurate.
• Flexible Booking Options: With Oveit’s modules, you can create ticket types, unique experiences, group reservations, and promotional ads all in one place, giving you the versatility to meet the needs of any visitor segment.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Oveit provides insights into bookings, customer demographics, and ad performance, allowing you to fine-tune your strategy and optimize your offerings.

Boost Your Attraction’s Sales with Google Things to Do and Oveit

With Google Things to Do and Oveit’s suite of booking, experiences, and advertising tools, you can reach travelers where they search, streamline their booking journey, and increase sales and bookings. Whether you’re looking to promote unique experiences, simplify operator bookings, or run effective ad campaigns, Oveit gives you everything you need to maximize your attraction’s potential and create memorable experiences for guests.

Ready to start driving more bookings and boosting your visibility? Partner with Oveit today and unlock the full power of Google Things to Do for your attraction.

Whether you’re an event marketer, a planner, or someone in the field of marketing, this strategy could be the key to more successful and impactful events.

I’ll walk you through the concept of approval-only events, explain how it works, and, most importantly, how it can benefit you. To make it real, I’ll also share a story comparing two companies that used two very different event strategies. One went with open registration, and the other used an approval-only model. Let’s dive in!

What Is an Approval-Only Event?

First off, what exactly is an approval-only event? Simply put, it’s a type of event where attendees need to be approved by the organizer before they can attend. Unlike open registration events, where anyone can sign up, an approval-only event gives you control over who gets in the door.

This might sound a little restrictive at first, but it’s actually incredibly useful when you want to make sure that only the right people attend your event. Whether you’re launching a new product, hosting a high-profile networking session, or planning an exclusive industry conference, approval-only events ensure that the attendees align with your goals.

Open Registration vs. Approval-Only: A Real-Life Story

Let me give you a real-life example to highlight the difference between these two event models.

We once worked with two companies, both wanting to host high-end events. The first company was a luxury alcoholic drinks brand, and the second was a luxury car manufacturer. They both approached their events very differently.

Company A: The Open Registration Route

The drinks brand decided to go with an open registration event. They used our system at Oveit to allow anyone to sign up and attend their event. As expected, the event attracted a large crowd, which created a lot of buzz and excitement. The party was amazing, and there were plenty of attendees.

However, there was a catch – most of the people who attended were not part of their target audience. The brand was aiming to reach high-end clients and influencers in the industry, but many of the attendees didn’t fit that profile. As a result, while the event was fun, the brand’s message got a little lost, and the follow-up wasn’t as effective as they had hoped.

Company B: The Approval-Only Approach

The second company, the luxury car manufacturer, took a different path. They used an approval-only event model. They promoted the event to a broad audience but only approved attendees who matched their ideal customer profile. They carefully selected individuals based on criteria such as industry relevance, potential business partnerships, and interest in high-end cars.

The result? The event had fewer attendees than the open registration event, but every single person there was highly engaged and relevant to the brand. The conversations were more meaningful, the interactions with the brand were deeper, and the follow-up efforts led to much higher conversion rates. The attendees were exactly the kind of people the brand wanted to connect with.

Why Approval-Only Events Work

So, why did the approval-only event work so well for Company B? It’s simple: approval-only events give you control over your audience. When you control who attends your event, you can create a more personalized, focused experience. This leads to better engagement, more productive conversations, and stronger connections with your brand.

Here are some key scenarios where approval-only events shine:

1. Exclusive Events:
   When you’re hosting a VIP event, you want to make sure only the right people are there. Whether it’s a private dinner, a high-end networking event, or an invitation-only gala, approval-only events help maintain that exclusivity.
2. Product Launches:
   When launching a new product, especially something high-value or niche, it’s important to have an audience that will appreciate and understand it. Approval-only events ensure that you’re showcasing your product to the right people—potential customers, industry experts, and influencers.
3. Industry Conferences and Professional Events:
   In sectors like healthcare, finance, technology, or law, events often require a certain level of expertise. Approval-only events let you verify that attendees have the necessary credentials and background, ensuring that discussions are relevant and high-level.
4. Investor Pitch Events:
   When entrepreneurs pitch their startups to investors, the stakes are high. Both sides—investors and startups—benefit from a curated event where attendees are handpicked for their relevance. Investors meet startups that fit their portfolio, and entrepreneurs present to those who are likely to fund them.

Who Benefits the Most from Approval-Only Events?

So, who stands to gain the most from these types of events? While approval-only events can work for many types of professionals, they are especially beneficial for:

• C-Suite Executives (CEOs, CFOs, etc.):
  Busy executives don’t have time for events that aren’t relevant. They want focused discussions and targeted networking. Approval-only events ensure that the right people are in the room, making it worth their time.
• Investors:
  Investors love these types of events because they know they’ll be meeting with carefully selected startups, entrepreneurs, or companies that match their investment focus.
• Sales and Business Development Professionals:
  Approval-only events give salespeople and business development pros access to a pre-qualified audience. Instead of trying to wade through a crowd of unqualified leads, they can jump right into meaningful conversations.
• High-End Marketing Professionals:
  For marketers working with luxury brands or high-end clients, approval-only events ensure that the people they network with are the right fit for future partnerships and collaborations.
• Entrepreneurs:
  Entrepreneurs attending investor or industry-specific events get the chance to pitch their ideas to the right people, saving time and maximizing their chances for success.

How to Set Up an Approval-Only Event with Oveit

Now, let’s talk about how easy it is to set up an approval-only event using Oveit, the platform I recommend for event management. With Oveit, you can create an event that has different ticket types, and each ticket type can be approval-only.

Here’s a quick walkthrough:

1. Set up your event in Oveit and create the types of tickets you want (for example, “VIP,” “General Admission,” “Partner”).
2. Enable the approval-only option for the ticket types that require approval.
3. When someone registers for the event, they’ll fill out a form with their details.
4. As the event organizer, you’ll receive their application and can either approve or deny it based on your criteria.
5. Once approved, the attendee will receive a confirmation and can attend your event.

It’s really that simple. You get full control over who attends your event, and you can ensure that only the right people are there, enhancing the quality of your event.

Final Thoughts: Why You Should Consider Approval-Only Events

In the world of event marketing and planning, it’s not just about getting as many people as possible to show up—it’s about getting the right people to show up. Approval-only events allow you to carefully curate your audience, making sure that every person in the room is valuable to your brand or business.

Whether you’re planning a high-end product launch, a professional industry event, or an exclusive VIP gathering, approval-only events can help you achieve your goals more effectively. With tools like Oveit, setting up and managing these events is easier than ever.

If you’re ready to take your events to the next level, I encourage you to try out the approval-only model and see how it can elevate your strategy. You might just find that having fewer, more engaged attendees is far more impactful than hosting a large, unfocused crowd.

Do you know that about 98% of your visitors land on your registration page but don’t finish their order? That is correct, your whole event ticket sales is based on those 2% you do manage to convert into buyers. The rest of the 98% is full of event abandoned carts.

If your event relies on ticket purchases to finance its operations, this might be a very large issue that you are probably not aware of. If you could turn just 2% of the people that visit your registration section into buyers, you would double your orders, with the same amount of marketing effort. Pretty sweet, right?

So how do you do it? It’s really easy if you’ve upgraded your Oveit account to the Hub plan.

In your “Reports” you will see a button titled “Abandoned carts” which shows, of course, your abandoned orders. If you run a lot of events you will be able to filter by event, date and even a specific voucher, if it helps you track the right order. This way your event abandoned orders can easily be visualized and you can start reactivating them.

How do I reactivate my event abandoned carts?

Remember – the goal is convincing some of your visitors to become ticket buyers. Give them that extra budge needed when they’ve either forgotten they wanted to place an order, there might have been a sudden interruption or they are having some financial difficulty. 

This will not work for every type of event or any type of order but in some cases, especially B2B events where there are a lot of high priced options, this might be really useful.

Engage with limited time discount vouchers for ticket purchases

In some cases just reminding your potential visitors that they forgot to place their order might be enough. Sometimes, that is not the case and you need a little more.

Especially with large orders (expensive tickets, group purchases) you will need to add a carrot and a stick to your messaging. 

In this case the carrot would be a discount voucher. Say 15% off their order. But here’s where the stick comes into play. The voucher should be time limited. Otherwise a customer would postpone the purchase until they forget about it. Add a 48-72 hours time limit and you have some scarcity baked into your offer. This way you maximize the chances at reactivating this abandoned cart for your event.

Build a relationship – contact your customer directly and sell your event

Sometimes the best way to scale your event is to do things that don’t scale. While everyone is pushing their automation software (yup, including us), sometimes you need to create a direct link between you and your potential customers. 

Especially in the B2B events market, larger deals are discussed and closed directly. When it comes to sponsorships or larger corporate ticket packages most large events have a direct connection with their customer. This helps them understand their feedback, upsell when needed or help consult whether the purchase is a good idea for the buyer or not. And this all starts with the data in the event abandoned carts.

The data is structured in such a way for you to understand the customer profile, their potential purchase and all of the customer forms options they might have filled in. If the potential buyer has agreed to this (depending on your country or region data privacy regulations) you can reach out to your future customer via phone or email. You will find the reasons that they abandoned their order their background, their goals, and if all things align you can encourage them to purchase the event package with a time limited deal.