Business Rules

This business rules document is for the internal use only for the Digital Strategies Team. To view the NHMLAC Business Rules and Policies document, please see here. Some information may be found in both documents.

Updated on 1/12/2023

Galaxy Tickets Post ACME Launch

Tickets will be sold in Galaxy until September 5, 2022 at 6pm PST. ACME will offically launch on September 7, 2022. If a customer attempts to redeem a Galaxy ticket after the September 7, 2022 ACME launch, frontline staff will rebook their general admission / upsell ticket(s) and apply a special 100% discount code until December 31, 2022.

• GalaxyRebook - Galaxy tickets that were originally paid
• GalaxyRebookComp - Galaxy tickets that were originally free
• GalaxyRebookOTA - Galaxy connect tickets

From January 1, 2023 onward, tickets purchased in Galaxy will not be honored. If a guest attempts to redeem a ticket purchased from the Galaxy ticketing system, frontline staff will inform them of the expiration and book new, full priced tickets in ACME.

*Update 1/12/23 - We are extending the usage of GalaxyRebookComp as the GR department handed out old comp tickets after go-live.

For any old gift memberships, apply coupon code GalaxyGiftMem. For membership groupons, the paid value does not expire. We have created discounts at all potential price points.

User Permissions

Non-Admin users in ACME need access to three components in the ticketing system: Point of Sale, Backoffice, and Reports. The table below lists all user group types and their permissions. At the time of launch (September 7, 2022) NHMLAC is not utilizing “Advanced User” or “Basic User.” Please see here in the ACME knowledge base for more information on each permission type.

If any users do not fit into one of the groups above, please consult the ACME knowledge base to identify which permission they are missing to determine whether creating a new user group is necessary. As with all configuration requests regarding ACME functions and reports, requests for permissions and users will be routed to the ticketing team.

To create a new user, please follow the steps outlined here. New GR associates will reset their password as part of their initial onboarding. A DS representative will meet with them when they are onsite after HR onboarding.

Naming Conventions

EVENTS

Events Naming Convention: WHAT IS THE EVENT - WHERE IS THE EVENT*

Examples:

• Business Guest Admission - NHM
• School General Admission - NHM
• MM AE - School Name
• MM OE - School Name
• MM Admission - Natural History Museum
• MM Admission - La Brea Tar Pits

*Location can be left off if the event will only ever happen at one site or offsite.

Forms:

Be aware that the public can see these names so no abbreviations

Forms Naming Convention: What is the event? What is the purpose of the form?

Examples:

• Adventures in Nature Camper Registration
• NHM School Booking Registration

Membership:

Lower levels (Individual - Explorer):

• One year is “Annual”
• Two year is “2 Years - Save 10%”

Fellows:

• One year is “Annual”
• Two year is “2 Years”

Pricing:

Price Lists Naming Convention: What event(s) will this be used for? What group will use this list?

Examples:

• $6 Program
• Free Program
• Adventures in Nature
• General Admission
• School Programs Admission
• Gift Memberships

Discounts:

Discount Naming Convention: Named after their function (be specific)

Note: Discount name, discount code, description should match

Coupons:

Coupon Naming Convention: Group Name (if applicable)- Function

Coupon Code:

• If the code will be public facing: create name that you want the guest to see and enter
• If the code will not be public facing: create a name that is not easily guessed as they can be entered online

Coupon Description: Same as Coupon Name

Categories: Discount Function - Event / Group (that discount is valid for)

• What events or tickets are you going to discount and what is the discount type

Reports:

Report Naming Convention: Information Report Provides - Location (if necessary)

Report Category Key:

• All: All Users
• ADV: Advancement
• CP: Corporate Partners
• CE: Community Engagement
• CC: Call Center
• DS: Digital Strategies
• F: Finance
• GR: Guest Relations
• EXEC: Executive Office
• MM: Mobile Musuems
• PP: Public Programs
• SP: School Programs

Pass Range:

Pass Range Naming Convention: Name of Group - Pass range Time Period Click here for more information on guest passes and pass range use cases.

Hardware:

Hardware Naming Convention:

iPads

• Terminal ID: Museum or Department_Location_Device Number
• NHMLAC Device Name: ACME_Device Make and Model_Last (4) of Serial Number

iPhone

• NHMLAC Device Name: ACME_Device Make and Model_Last (4) of Serial Number
• Terminal ID

EMV:

• Terminal ID: Museum or Department_Location_Device Number
• NHMLAC Device Name: ACME_Device Make and Model_Last (4) of Serial Number

EPSON:

• Terminal ID: Museum or Department_Location_Device Number
• NHMLAC Device Name: ACME_Device Make and Model_Last (4) of Serial Number

General Ticketing Policies

Ticket Types

The table below lists all ticket types currently configured. To limit the number of ticket types, we only created additional distinct ticket types if 1) A specific ticket type had to be purchased online and/or 2) We need to control the price/number of tickets purchased per transaction and this function could not be achieved with a discount code. Moving forward, if a new ticket type is potentially needed, you must first determine that it cannot be handled by a discount on a current ticket type or by a separate event template with a revised price list using the existing ticket types.

Price Lists

Mobile Museums can utilize the Adult, Student and Child ticket types if they have that information. Else, all tickets will be grouped into Adult

Combos

Combo types will allow you to bundle already created individual tickets into one combo ticket. The use case for this is rare and often requested by a deparment for a special event. Capacity cannot be limited with combo tickets, therefore events that have limited capacity should use individual tickets to maintain capacity.

Returns, Exchanges, and Upgrades

All transactions (tickets, memberships, and donations) have a “No Refunds, No Exchanges” policy (to read more about our business rules, click here). If a return or exchange is necessary due to extenuating circumstances:

• Tickets - Exchanges with no monetary difference can be handled at the point of sale. Exchanges and refunds with monetary consequenes will be escalated to a Guest Relations Lead, Supervisor, or Director, or a Membership Coordinator, Manager, or Director. Guest Relations leadership will have to enter a passcode to approve the refund. Monetary refunds cannot be issued by a Guest Relations Associate or Membership Ambassador.
• Memberships - Memberships are considered tax-deductible donations to a 501(c)(3) non-profit. All membership refund and exchange requests are to be routed to the Membership or Individual Giving team.
• Donations - Donations are considered tax-deductible contributions to a 501(c)(3) non-profit. There are no refunds offered for donations.

All tickets, vouchers, and memberships can only be upgraded to a ticket or membership of higher monetary value.

Validity Rules

All tickets will be attached to a timed event and follow the following expiration rules:

1. General Admission - End of event day they booked into
2. Upsells - End of event time range
3. Special Events (FF, Summer Nights, Haunted Museum, etc.) - End of event time range
4. OTAs - Follow above rules based on event type
5. Comps/VIPs - Required to be booked into a day/time slot (no untimed tickets); follow above rules based on event type
6. Guest Passes/Donation Requests/Contests - Vouchers are valid for one year and issued through a Pass Range; when a guest redeems a voucher, it must be rebooked into a corresponding event on the day of their visit at an available time with the appropriate coupon code.
7. Bulk Buys - Vouchers are valid for one year and issued through a Pass Range; when a guest redeems a voucher, it must be rebooked into a corresponding event on the day of their visit at an available time with the appropriate coupon code.
8. Gift Tickets - Payment will be taken in an order booked into the General Admission Voucher event. The customer will be sent a PDF ticket they can share that is created by Creative Services and updated by GR/CC. The guest will redeem the ticket by showing the PDF. GR associates will create a new order to capture the new guest’s information.

Access Control and Attendance

All tickets will be scanned at the appropriate admission, experience, or exhibit entrance. Depending on the specific ticket’s access control validity rules, some tickets will be admitted after the event start time, while others will need to be manually rebooked into the next available time slot. Configuration settings detailed in the Events section below.

All general admission tickets purchased onsite will be counted as “used” and counted towards that day’s attendance, even if the tickets were not properly checked following the completed transaction. Unlike online tickets, because onsite tickets are purchased at the NHM or La Brea Tar Pits admissions desk, it is assumed that the guest visited the museum. Designated Guest Relations staff will have access to an “GR: Onsite GA Ticket True Up” report that identifies all GA tickets that were not properly checked in. They will use this report to check in these tickets at the end of the day.

Digital Strategies will pull attendance based on event date/time, not checked in date/time. Backdating attendance is not possible. If a guest attempts to redeem an event ticket for the wrong day, frontline staff will rebook the ticket into a corresponding event on the day of their visit at an available time.

Capacity

The Digital Strategies Ticketing Team are the only staff permitted to change event capacities.

Price Adjustments

Price adjustments at point of sale and in back office are not possible. Custom price adjustements are handled with a pre-requested discount or by the Digital Strategies Ticketing Team.

Memberships

The section below details rules for individual memberships only. Individual here means non-corporate memberships. Corporate sponsors and members are handled using discounts and a separate ticket type.

Memberships are considered tax-deductible donations to a 501(c)(3) non-profit. All membership refund and exchange requests are to be routed to the Membership or Individual Giving team for review.

NOTE: Price adjustments are not supported at point of sale or via the back office. Insufficient funds process pending decision by Membership

All configuration and changes to membership levels and the online purchase path will be made by the Digital Strategies Ticketing Team.

ACME does not support collecting information on additional members outside of the primary and secondary cardholder. Any additional contact or demographic information not collected in ACME regarding primary and secondary members and member children will be sourced outside of the ticketing system (ie: via printed applications) and stored in the museum’s CRM (currently Microsoft Dynamics).

For all events, members must have a valid ticket for that specific event.

All gift memberships will be sold as a voucher that can be redeemed within 365 days of purchase for any membership level with a value equal to or greater than the sale price. If the guest wishes to redeem their voucher for a higher level membership, they must pay the difference between the voucher cost and the listed membership price. Per the Membership team, we will not be utilizing ACME’s native gift membership function as this requires the purchaser to provide all information about the recipient at time of purchase.

Gift memberships will be redeemed in a separate new order and not utilizing ACME’s convert to membership function. This will allow the membership team to sell gift memberships at a discount. Appropriate discount codes have been created.

NHMLAC offers the following membership levels:

For all membership levels, there are various rules that must be configured in ACME for the membership to correctly function. The configuration is the same for all levels but will differ between the 1 and 2 year offering.

Lifecycle Rules

New Memberships

• Standard New
  • Expires After: Term Duration bumped up to end of the month
  • Benefits Start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: Before the Membership Term
  • Payment: Full Price
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement

Rules for Renew

• Standard Renew
  • Expires after: Term Duration bumped up to end of the month, plus remaining period from previous term
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Full price
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement
• Upgrade Renew
  • Expires after: Term Duration bumped up to end of the month, plus remaining period from previous term
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Full price
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement
• Downgrade Renew
  • Expires after: Term Duration bumped up to end of the month, plus remaining period from previous term
  • Benefits start: The day after the expiration of the customer’s Current Term
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Full price
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement

Rules for Upgrade

• Standard Upgrade
  • Expires after: Use expiration date from their current Term
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Difference between new and existing Offers
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement
• Early Term Upgrade
  • Expires after: Use expiration date from their current Term
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Difference between new and existing Offers
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement
• Mid Term Upgrade
  • Expires after: Use expiration date from their current Term
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Difference between new and existing Offers
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement
• Late Term Upgrade
  • Expires after: Use expiration date from their current Term
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Difference between new and existing Offers
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement

Rules for Downgrade

• Standard Downgrade
  • Expires after: Use expiration date from their current Term
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Difference between new and existing Offers
• Early Term Downgrade
  • Expires after: Use expiration date from their current Term
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Difference between new and existing Offers
• Mid Term Downgrade
  • Expires after: Use expiration date from their current Term
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Difference between new and existing Offers
• Late Term Downgrade
  • Expires after: Use expiration date from their current Term
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Date
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Payment: Difference between new and existing Offers

Rules for After Term Renewal

• After Term Renew
  • Expires after: Term Duration bumped up to end of the month
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Time
  • Rules apply: After the Membership Term
  • Payment: Full price
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement
• After Term Upgrade
  • Expires after: Term Duration bumped up to end of the month
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Time
  • Rules apply: After the Membership Term
  • Payment: Full price
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement
• After Term Downgrade
  • Expires after: Term Duration bumped up to end of the month
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Time
  • Rules apply: After the Membership Term
  • Payment: Full price
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement

Rules for Rejoin

• Rejoin Renew
  • Expires after: Term Duration bumped up to end of the month
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Time
  • Rules apply: After the Membership Term
  • Payment: Full price
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement
• Rejoin Upgrade
  • Expires after: Term Duration bumped up to end of the month
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Time
  • Rules apply: After the Membership Term
  • Payment: Full price
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement
• Rejoin Downgrade
  • Expires after: Term Duration bumped up to end of the month
  • Benefits start: Immediately, on Transaction Time
  • Rules apply: After the Membership Term
  • Payment: Full price
  • Coupon Discounts: All current valid memberships per Advancement; Valid offerings also per Advancement

Rules for Cancellation

• Standard Cancellation
  • Refund: Full Refund
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Expires: Immediately
• Early Term Cancellation
  • Refund: Full Refund
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Expires: Immediately
• Late Term Cancellation
  • Refund: No Refund
  • Rules apply: During the Membership Term
  • Expires: Immediately

If a member’s cancellation is approved, the membership team will reach out to the Digital Strategies Ticketing Team to turn on cancellation through POS. One the cancellation has been processed, the DS Ticketing Team will revert the setting.

Upgrade/Downgrade

Channel Transaction Policies

*Do not include Digital Member Cards in Membership Cards Email. We use Museum Anywhere to fulfill digital cards.

​ Uncheck Send Membership Cards Email for All Sections

1. Sell New Memberships via:

   • B2C (Consumer Web), POS (Point of Sale), B2B (Backoffice), CSR (Customer Rep.)

2. Sell Renew Memberships via:

   • B2C, POS, B2B, CSR

3. Members can Upgrade via:

   • B2C, POS, B2B, CSR

4. Members can Downgrade via:

   • CSR

5. Members can After Term Renew via:

   • B2C, POS, B2B, CSR

6. Members can Rejoin via:

   • B2C, POS, B2B, CSR

7. Members can Cancel via (Check POS when a cancellation is approved):

   • CSR

Lifecycle Actions

Individuals don’t need rules for downgrading and Sponsor’s don’t need rules for upgrading. For more information about lifecycle actions and what each action type means, please see this knowledge base article. For specific membership campaigns, you may have to adjust the lifecycle periods for certain memberships.

1. Anyone can purchase this offering as a NEW membership
   • Standard New
2. Members with this offtering can RENEW
   • Standard - From END of Membership
     • 1 Year Offering - 6 Months
     • 2 Year Offering - 6 Months
   • Upgrade - From END of Membership
     • 1 Year Offering - 6 Months
     • 2 Year Offering - 6 Months
   • Downgrade - From END of Membership
     • 1 Year Offering - 6 Months
     • 2 Year Offering - 6 Months
3. Members with this offering can UPGRADE
   • From START of Membership
     • 1 Year Offering - 6 Months
     • 2 Year Offering - 18 Months
4. Members with this offering can DOWNGRADE
   • Until the membership expires [Downgrades are only possible through POS and the membership team]
5. Members with this offering can CANCEL
   • Until the membership expires [Cancellations are only possible through POS and the membership team]
6. Members with this offering can AFTER TERM RENEW
   • After Term Upgrade - From After Term
     • 1 Year Offering - 3 Months
     • 2 Year Offering - 3 Months
   • After Term Renew - From After Term
     • 1 Year Offering - 3 Months
     • 2 Year Offering - 3 Months
   • After Term Downgrade - From After Term
     • 1 Year Offering - 3 Months
     • 2 Year Offering - 3 Months
7. Members with this offering can REJOIN
   • Rejoin Renew - From End of Month 3
     • 1 Year Offering - Perpetual
     • 2 Year Offering - Perpetual
   • Rejoin Upgrade - From End of Month 3
     • 1 Year Offering - Perpetual
     • 2 Year Offering - Perpetual
   • Rejoin Downgrade - From End of Month 3
     • 1 Year Offering - Perpetual
     • 2 Year Offering - Perpetual

Events

NHMLAC no longer issues “untimed” tickets. All ticketed programs must have an event with an assigned date and time. For any instances in which a customer/group does not know their exact visit date (ie: bulk ticket buy/donated tickets), they will be issued vouchers. Vouchers will be rebooked into a corresponding event on the day of the guest/group’s visit at an available time.

Event templates can be used or reused as a template if the event is recurring (ie: First Fridays) or if majority of configuration settings are the same. Reusing a template will ensure templates list remain manageable. Extending the event dates or completely changing the dates will not affect any historical events or reported data. Any changes will be reflected on the events that have not happened yet (i.e. It is currently 1/1/23 and the current events go to 1/31/23 and you extend the schedule to 2/28/23 and change the capacity - all existing events from 1/1/23 to 1/31/23 will update to the new capacity). Additionally, you should created a duplicate of any template if events have overlapping dates (i.e. for Community Partner events, if two different groups are coming on the same day, one event can be made with the Community Partner Event template and the other with the Community Party Event B template). Below are the template categories currently configured.

1. General Admission (Separate Event for NHM and La Brea Tar Pits)
   1. Members/Nonmembers/Community Partners/VIPs/OTAs
   2. All Corporate Membership Levels (one for each level)
   3. Schools
   4. Community Partner Special Event Days (Free General Admission days)
   5. Vouchers
   6. Community Partner Weekend
   7. Corporate Partner Weekend
   8. Mobile Museums Onsite
2. Upsells - Every upsell needs its own event template (schools are separate). Every member preview period needs its own event template.
   1. Dino Encounters
   2. Ice Age Encounters
   3. Tar Pits 3D Theater
   4. Spider Pavilion
   5. Butterfly Pavilion
   6. Guided Programs (Schools only)
   7. Temp Exhibits
   8. Any other programs that need a GA ticket for admission
3. Programs
   1. First Fridays - one template for entire run (member rules are per day not per event)
   2. Summer Nights
   3. Lectures/Discussions
   4. Member Only Events/Field Trips
   5. Haunted Museum
   6. Adventures in Nature Camp (AIN) - One template per grade level
   7. Other non-general admission programs
   8. ESTEAM
   9. Girls in STEM
   10. Sing Move Play
4. Virtual Webinar Events
5. Mobile Musuems - Private Events (In Service + AE/OE)
6. Business Guests
7. Gift Membership Vouchers
8. Parking
9. Community Partner Offsite
10. Community Science Offsite
11. Community Science Events
12. Festival Exhibitors
13. Educator Workshops (Separate for NHM, LBTP, and Offsite)
14. Opening Receptions for Programs

To configure access control and validity for events, please follow the following guidelines by section under the “Pricing” tab.

All Event Requests must be submitted 2 weeks prior to the launch date of the event to ensure it is ready for the desired due date. If it is not submitted 2 weeks prior then it is not guaranteed that the event will be ready by the launch date provided on the ticket. Events are first created and tested in sandbox a 6-7 days before the launch date and then the event is created and tested in production 2-3 days before the launch date. These timeframes ensure there is enough testing and editing time while limiting the risk of the public purchasing into the event before it launches as all “web” events could be accessed by the public for booking.

Note: Whatever guidelines you put on the event template in the “pricing” tab appear on the “schedules & resourcing” tab

GENERAL

Ticket Access Control:

Ticket Expiration _ days after Event Start

• 1 day for any event that is requires a date selection

• X days for any event that spans multiple days

  • ie: 5 days for AIN
  • *365 days for vouchers [Gift Memberships, vouchers]

Uncheck “Prevent tickets from being scanned”

“Do not print tickets” Checkbox:

• *Leave unchecked for all events

Event Access Control

• Allow checkin before event begins (minutes) _
• Allow entry after start of event (minutes) _
  • Any event in the system that is Admission Type “General Admission”:
    • AND THE EVENT IS GA: Allow checkin before event begins (minutes) 1
    • AND THE EVENT IS NOT GA: Coordinate with program or event owner to determine custom event checkin start time (ie: First Fridays, Summer Nights in the Garden, Volunteer Recognition Night, Haunted Museum, Community Partners, etc.)
• Allow entry after start of event (minutes) 510
  • Allow entry 60 minutes after event end time*
    • *****Any event in the system that is Admission Type “Standard”
      • Allow checkin before event begins (minutes) 15
      • Allow entry after start of event (minutes) _
        • Until the end of the event
  • Automatic rebooking
    • Do Not Check “Allow rebooking to scanned event at time of check-in”

Purchase Availability

• Allow after event starts
• Check “For Duration”

*This setting only control events with Standard Schedules.

Rebooking Fee

• 0.00

Ticket Information

• Leave Blank - this field refers to BOCA printer templates; not in use at NHMLAC

ORGANIZATIONS

For general admission events that groups can book into, all group types receive the 15% off group sales discount.

MEMBER RULES

Please refer to the Memberships section of this document to find the permitted number of adults and children on each membership.

You may group levels together when creating the rules if they receive the same number of free adults and/or children. Use the following to build the rule:

• Discount Name - “100% off Ad, Sr, St, Ch Mem”
• Use ACROSS if the limit set should emcompass any combination of the ticket types specified. Use EACH if the limit set applies to each ticket type separately.
• Use ticket types Adult, Senior and Student for Adult limits and ticket type Child for Child limits.
• “Per Day” means the member will be able to book the limit set for each day that event is happening. “Per Event” means they can only book the limit set for the entire run of the event. Per Event limits will not reset once they are reached even if the membership is renewed/upgraded or if the dates are extended/changed.

COUPONS

• Add “Admin Use Only” category to all event templates

• Select “Admin” as discount in all event templates

• See Discounts/Coupons section of this document to more information on which categories and discounts are appropriate for which events.

TICKET RULES

Only use “Ticket Rules” to control discount usage for specific constituent group who has their own event template. For all paid tickets, we will not be setting any sales limits.

• For Gift Memberships:
  • Select all gift membership levels to 1 per order/event time
  • Note: Only select membership levels on gift membership event templates
• For Corporate Partners:
  • Limit sales across Corporate Partner Adult to _ per order/event time
  • *****Set number to mirror number to adults allowed on corporate membership level
• Limit sales across Corporate Partner Child _ per order/event time
  • *****Set number to mirror number to children allowed on corporate membership level

EXCEPTIONS

Note: Exceptions lists any Event Instances that have been edited, and thereby unlinked from the Event Template in one or more fields.

Exceptions is a depreciated section.

Private Events

Private Events will be used for programs that happen often but without a set schedule (ie: Mobile Museums). This will allow teams to create events and orders as necessary while not overloading the system with unused daily events.

The ticketing team will create the first instance of the private event template (saved as a draft). Appropriate staff members will have the ability to use that draft template to create a live event.

For private events that will be sold online, you must publish the template to make it available through the web.

Upsells

Please follow the guidelines below to determine which upsells to attach to the various event templates. NHMLAC is longer offering combos or packages. All additional tickets need to be added as an upsell to the online purchase path to automatically suggest the event to the customer.

• NHM GA
  • BP/SP
  • Encounters
  • Temp Exhibits
• LBTP GA
  • Encounters
  • 3D
• Member Programs
  • GA
  • BP/SP
  • Encounters
  • Temp Exhibits

Discounts vs. Ticket Types

In order to report on all of our different constituant types, every group will either be tracked by a ticket type or a discount/coupon code. New, distinct ticket types should only be created if the constituant groups MUST be able to purchase their tickets online and only get a specific number of tickets at their discounted rate. All ticket types included on the price list and on the Sales Channel “Web” will be visible to all customers within that same purchase path. Often times, a separate ticket type will require you to also create an additional purchase path for the same event (an additional event template). There are times when you will need to use both a ticket type and a discount to track a special group or event a ticket type, a discount and a separate purchase path.

For example, all corporate partners will purchase the ticket types “Corporate Partner Adult” and “Corporate Partner Child” in 3 separate event templates based on membership level, but they still need to enter their company coupon code to discount these tickets. This allows us to only have to build 2 additional ticket types for all corporate partners but still be able to track benefit usage by company.

At the time of implementation, coupon codes used online will discount all applicable ticket types in the cart, there is no way to only discount a specific number.

Discounts/Coupon Categories and Codes

All discounts must have a start and end date. If the internal group requesting the discount does not provide/know an end date or asks that it be indefinite, inform them that the coupon code end date will be the end of that fiscal year. At the end of each fiscal year and calendar year, the ticketing team will conduct an audit for all discount codes that do not have a specified validity period. The ticketing team will assess future validity with the appropriate stakeholders.

A new discount should be created if:

• It only applies to a specific ticket type and will be used on events that sell multiple ticket types. For example, the new discount should only apply to Adults but it will be on the General Admission template. You cannot use the 100% off Adult, Senior, Student, Child discount because if the customer has any combination of those ticket types in their online cart, the discount will apply to all tickets in their cart.
• Utilize discount tags on non-membership discounts denoting Paid (if the discount does not take off 100%), Unpaid (if the discount does take off 100%) and Members (if only members can buy and enter on these tickets) when appropriate and if the discount will only ever be used for those reporting groups.

A new coupon category should be created if:

• A new discount type is created
• The discount already exists but the coupon code is only available on specific events/memberships

Please note that once a coupon category and discount are added to an event, ALL codes within that category can be used for that event and will apply the chosen discount. Therefore, you must split codes that are for different events or discounts that need to apply a different discount into separate categories.

The categories should be named for the discount it will apply and the types of events it can be valid on.

For Corporate Partners, there are two different categories - “Corporate Partner - All” and “Corporate Partner Weekend”. Both coupon categories should be attached to the daily admission events but only “Corporate Partner Weekend” should be attached to the Corporate Partner Weekend event. The coupon codes will reside in “Corporate Partner - All” most of the time but be switched over to the “Corporate Partner Weekend” category whenever there is an event. This will allow the corporate partners to utilize the same codes between the two events.

For Community Partner Weekend and One-Time Free admission Days, the coupon codes will go into category “Commumity Partner Special Events.”

When creating a coupon code, please use the following guidelines for the optional fields:

• Organization: Link to an Organization when ticket sales are linked to one specific company
  • IE: Use for Corporate Partners to link ticket reservations to company
  • IE: Use for Corporate Members to link ticket reservations to company
  • IE: Use for Community Partners to link ticket reservations to specific partner
• Program Name: Use if ticket purchase is linked to a specific promotional event or grants access to specific portion of the community
  • IE: Use for House of Dragons or Masked Singer
  • IE: EBT, Military, Teacher, LA County Free –> NHMLAC Access
• Company Name: Use if tickets purchased are associated with a group, but not a formal Organization in the system
  • IE: Girl Scout Troop 365

Vouchers/Bulk Buys

For any instances in which a customer/group does not know their exact visit date (ie: bulk ticket buy/donated tickets), they will be issued vouchers. ACME can handle vouchers in two ways - an event template dedicated to selling vouchers or pass ranges.

Voucher Event

A new event template will be created to sell vouchers if the program is ongoing (i.e. gift memberships) and customers need to be able to purchase the item themselves online and onsite. The “ticket” issued will still need to be redeemed/upgraded when they arrive on site. For orders that utilize a voucher event, the associate must find the original order and process the redemption/upgrade from there instead of creating a new order.

Pass Ranges

Pass Ranges will be used for any one-off groups (bulk buys, special tour groups) or long term programs that will not be purchased online by the customer themeslves. The ticketing team will create the range of valid codes for each separate program and distribute as necessary to the internal stakeholder. It is up to the internal stakeholder to decide whether they will create the QR codes or if it is the responsibilty of the buyer. To take payment for the bulk buy, the ticketing team will create an order on the Admissions vouchers event type and ensure it has the correct number of adult, senior, student and child tickets. The order will NOT be sent to the guest. The QR code that is generated from the pass range must be scanned when the guest visits the museum to mark that code as used. Scanning pass range QR codes will allow us to track the number of redeemed and unredeemed tickets. The associate must then create a new, separate order with the appropriate number and type of tickets, apply a the proper discount to comp the tickets, and scan to capture accurate attendance numbers.

*Please note that once the pass range is created, it cannot be edited or changed in any way.

OTAs

*M&C has verified that we do not receive any additional guest information from these orders. Currently exploring a partnership with Rezdy or Ingresso.

Using the ACME integration, certain OTAs are able to pull directly from ACME events inventories and ticket types to sell to their consumers. Each OTA will have an ACME username and be given an API key. Because OTA tickets are at a different price point, they will need separate ticket types. These ticket types can be added to the existing price lists at the new prices, with only Reseller and CSR checked for available sales channels. These tickets can be rebooked in the system, but it must be an even exchange. Any refunds or exchanges that result in a monetary difference must be done through the OTA.

For directly integrated OTAs, if the customer wants additional tickets at the time of their arrival, associates must create a new order instead of adding in these tickets to their original order and tickets will be sold at full price.

For any OTAs that are not able to directly integrate with ACME, we will collaborate with the OTA to create a process to validate and check in their tickets. When a guest attempts to redeem one of these OTA tickets, frontline staff must validate using the third party platform and then “sell” a comped ticket using the appropriate discount through ACME and scan the ticeket(s) so we have attendance and contact information.

Purchase Paths

At the time of launch, and using the white label eCommerce flow, the following are the online purchase paths for each constituant group.

Note: Never share the direct link to any part of the ACME purchase path with the public. All links should direct to landing pages on the NHM or LBTP website. In addition, ticketing links provided to the program owner will be redirects created through our drupal site.

1. Nonmembers

   • Buy Tickets button on NHM/LBTP website links to general admission calendar. When the customer reaches the general admission calendar, they can be select GA and upsell ticket quantities and make donations.
   • Festival days will be on the same general admission template with the event named changed for the specific festival days.
     • Dinofest 2022 was a separate template.
   • Military/Teacher/EBT/LA County Resident - Guest must purchase tickets onsite; discounts only available onsite
     • Currently exploring online solution with ID.me

2. Members

   • General Admission - Use the same events and purchase flow as nonmembers. Members must validate membership for to access member rate tickets. Members will be prompted to validate their membership mutiple times during their transaction.

   • Members Preview Days - Separate event restricted to Members. Add as an upsell from general admission.
     • ACME does not support partitioning capacity limited events by constituent type. We cannot offer member-only time slots or member-only holds. We will instead offer members advanced access to tickets.
   • Member-Only Events - Separate link from a landing page on the NHM/LBTP website. If necessary, GA will be added to this purchase path as an upsell.

3. School Programs

   • Separate Events for all onsite field trip event types. Teachers / school visit coordinators will only be able to buy into specified day and event time slots for general admission. Upsells are added by Call Center.
   • After a school visit is booked online, School Programs/Call Center staff will attach the order to a school organization by selecting an existing organization or creating a new one
   • Educator Workshops will be set-up in ACME as a separate event template. Guests will receive a ticket confirmation email with a QR codes that School programs can scan day of with the iPhones instead of entering attendance numbers after the program.

4. Corporate Partners

   • Separate Events for GA. Same events as general public for upsells.
   • Each partner will be linked to their specific event from a landing page on the NHM/LBTP website. The customer will enter a discount code during the check out process to reserve their free tickets.
   • Corporate Member Weekends are a separate event.

5. Community Partners

   • If a specific Community Partner only get free access on specified days, create separate event template and link to their specific purchase path on an NHM/LBTP landing page.
   • If a specific Community Partner gets free access on any day, they will receive a discount code from Community Engagement staff and will reserve tickets through the general public purchase path.

6. Groups

   • Groups will either call the Call Center directly to arrange a visit, or fill out a visit request form on the NHM/LBTP website. Once completed, the form responese are routed to Call Center to book the group’s reservation in back office.

7. Complimentary Tickets

   • Guest Recovery
     • Onsite only, various discount codes based on specific reasons outlined by Guest Relations [Building Evacuation, Park Events, Bad Onsite Experience, Bought too Many Tickets] for issuing free ticket(s)
   • VIP (Internal Staff Request, Actual VIPs, Talent Guests)
     • Back office only, discount codes used for tracking VIP category and issuing a VIP ticket

8. Business Guest

   • Separate ticket type that designated staff can book for their business guests online
     • Not a typical musuem visit, Adult general admission for vendors, contractors, other audiences with museum business; visit coordinated with museum staff
   • Upsells can still be requested through Call Center. The Staff member should provide the existing order number with GA.

9. OTAs

   • Different ticket types on same general admisison events as general public.
   • Use integration where possible.

Ticket Release Schedule

1. Public tickets will launch Tuesday mornings at 10 am
2. School admission tickets will be live on Monday nights at 10pm; tickets will launch Tuesday mornings at 10 am
3. Tickets will launch through Tuesdays for reporting purposes
4. Release three months of tickets at each launch unless there is a new exhibition opening, in which case:
5. Tickets will be released up to the Tuesday before the exhibition opens
6. Tickets will be extended through the Tuesday after the exhibition closes
7. Releases will occur 4 weeks in advance of first day of next ticket launch
8. If program / exhibit owner does not have open date two weeks prior to scheduled launch date, tickets will launch to the last day of the month prior to the event

Reporting

All financial reconciliations will now come from ACME. Please note the (2) business day delay. Finance will still be able to pull total sales and transactional revenue from the system itself.

ACME does not support backdating for attendance. We will always pull attendance by event date and time, not by the scan date and time. This means that tickets MUST be rebooked if a guest did not show up on the date and/or time reflected in their order. Only valid (Status = Normal) tickets will be included when pulling sales and attendance numbers. Any tickets that have been returned, upgraded, or voided will not be counted towards daily attendance.

The ticketing team will build reports as requested by internal constituants and give view access to backoffice reporting as appropriate.

Sendgrid

The ACME default emails cannot be as customized and therefore a the third party email configuration, Sendgrid, was chosen at the time of launch. Sengrid uses HTML, Handlebars.js, and CSS to create emails as well as pre-built templates. The email configurations in ACME are Order Confirmation, Order Confirmation (Donation only), Order Refund, Order Rebook, Event Cancelation and Event Reschedule. They are all using custom built Sengrid templates except for Digital Membership Card as MuseumAnywhere is being used instead of ACME’s default offering.

In the Sengrid interface, there are templates that correspond with each email configuration for both sandbox and production. This helps with testing new email copy and content before adding to the production environment. For more detailed information on Sengrid, follow the Sengrid Templates Documentation.