[BCMA] to charge or not to charge - what we learned

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Dear Museum Friends,

Last summer we posted a question about admissions policy, and it generated lively discussion on this listserv. Thanks to everyone who participated! I promised to follow up with what we learned from this investigation, and am doing so now.

The original question:
We operate three museums in downtown Kelowna, with admission by donation. Our admissions  policy is under review, and we would like to know what other museums have learned about admission policy.  What are museums of various size categories handling admission? Does charging admission, rather than asking for a donation, increase or decrease revenues?  How does it impact visitation?  What else has been learned?

What we heard:

?  Many museums and arts organizations are asking themselves this question, and would like to see a comprehensive investigation on this topic.

?  Some museums gross more through donations, and others gross more through entry fees.

?  For most community museums, admission revenues are a small piece of their revenue pie. This applies to both entry fees and admission by donation.

?  It may be a more effective strategy to focus on developing other sources of revenue, such as program fees, enterprise, and contributions.

?  Admission by donation suffers if it isn't easy to donate - for example, if donation boxes are hard to locate, or if there isn't an easy option to donate electronically.

?  Shortage of time rather than money is the biggest barrier to visiting museums. Museums are challenged to get the message out they are worth both.

?  Most museums find their operating costs increase when they charge an entry fee.

?  Locals generally expect their community museum to be free.

?  Tourists expect to pay, but are more likely to come if it is free.

?  For community museums, switching to an entry fee will probably result in fewer visitors, so each museum has to consider what is most important.

?  Low admission fees may send a signal that there isn't much to see here. People complain more about a low fee than a higher fee.

?  The only Canadian museums we found that charge $10 or more are the major provincial and federal museums, or museums with a strong "cool factor" including historic sites.

What we decided:

?  Continue our policy of admission by donation, and continue to improve donations signage, electronic payment options, and visitor experience.

?  Focus on enhancing other revenue streams to meet our budget targets.

?  Revisit the question in two years.
I hope this information is useful to you. Feel free to contact me directly if you want to chat more about what we learned.

Best,
Linda

[Linda Digby_email tags-small]

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.vifa.ca/pipermail/bcma/attachments/20181207/2b6a958d/attachment.htm 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.png
Type: image/png
Size: 25502 bytes
Desc: image003.png
Url : http://lists.vifa.ca/pipermail/bcma/attachments/20181207/2b6a958d/attachment.png