As Dynamic Pricing becomes a staple ticket pricing strategy in the sports industry, a primary justification is built on the success in the airline industry. While both have one thing in common, time-based supply and demand for seating, I’m sure most fans would say that their in-flight and in-venue experiences are not and should not be the same.
As quoted in The Wall Street Journal’s review of Mark Gerchick’s critique of the airline industry in his book “Full Upright and Locked Position”, “The problem with aviation is that for 50 years it’s been populated by people who think it’s this wondrous sexual experience,” Michael O’Leary, CEO of the ultracheap U.K. airline Ryanair, has said. “Really it’s just a bloody bus with wings.”
Is this the type of in-venue experience sports has in mind when thinking about pricing their product as a commodity and profit maximization?
We think a better approach would be to focus on the following motivators and explore ways of creating more lifetime value vs. viewing fans as “self-loading freight”.