Open Forum

Good afternoon, 

I'm looking for recommendations on ticketing systems that other museums are using.

We're currently using Versai, but we're exploring other options that may better fit our needs. Ideally, we're looking for a system that includes:

• Online and in-person ticket sales
• Gift shop point-of-sale and inventory management
• Museum rental and event management
• Membership management
• Donor tracking and fundraising
• Reporting and analytics
• Customer/visitor database (CRM)

If you've transitioned from Versai or have experience with another platform that you would recommend (or avoid), I'd love to hear your thoughts. What system are you using, and what do you like or dislike about it?

Any feedback or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

------------------------------
Dalia Garcia
Museum Director
Gelman Stained Glass Museum
San Juan TX
------------------------------

Hi Dalia,

I work with museums and nonprofits going through this kind of evaluation frequently. I am happy to share my two cents!

HubSpot's CRM is honestly excellent for museums -  membership management, donor tracking, reporting/analytics, and your visitor/customer database all run natively on it via customization, so everything sits in one unified record instead of scattered across systems. That consolidation tends to be the biggest upgrade for museums coming off legacy systems like Versai. Attached below I have an example of my unified test record, you can see all deals (donations), purchased tickets (admissions and events), households, memberships, communications and really all important information is one place.

For the rest of your list (online/in-person ticket sales, POS, museum rental and event management) we've already built and integrated tooling on top of HubSpot to cover those.  HubSpot also has an extensive marketplace and easy to use open API that simplifies integration needs significantly.

Based on my experience - most of the platforms you'll hear about in this space such as Blackbaud (Altru), Tessitura, or a Salesforce-based system like Veevart, are powerful, but they tend to come with steep learning curves and heavier IT overhead. Tessitura and Blackbaud especially are built for large institutions with dedicated database staff and often have more restricted access to API; Salesforce-based platforms are flexible but often need a consultant on retainer just to make changes. For a museum your size, that overhead can outweigh the benefit.

I hope that helps! Please feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions about HubSpot!

------------------------------
Tiaan Loots
Head of Solution's Delivery and Strategy
Digital Reach Online Solutions
Anchorage AK
------------------------------

Hi Dalia,

I would be happy to share my experience with you if helpful. 

I'm in my sixth year as the Arts & Culture Solutions Specialist at Salesforce. Prior to joining our nonprofit team I spent six years at ACME Ticketing and almost two decades leading guest services at the Exploratorium. I've been a ticketing system admin, then I sold ticketing systems, and now I partner with ticketing applications (17 and counting) to deliver the power of choice to leading arts and cultural organizations. 

Happy to chat at any time. 

Mike

mikebrown@salesforce.com

------------------------------
Mike Brown
Strategic Solution Engineer, Arts & Culture Specialist
Salesforce
San Francisco CA
------------------------------