This is important! It’s incredibly messy on the back end to allow guest registration.

Chris – it’s on our radar but no timeline – you should check out our integration with EventGrid in the meantime – http://nationbuilder.com/take_your_event_management_to_the_next_level_with_eventgrid_s_new_integration

Could a custom donation field be used to attach multiple guest names to a ticket purchase instead of to a person?

What I’d like to do is: if the number of tickets selected is greater than 1, first and last name input fields appear below the ticket selection box for however many guest tickets have been requested. Is that possible?

I’m really trying to avoid redirecting to a feedback form after purchase, manually following up, integrating a third-party paid app, or simply not allowing multiple ticket purchases. Is there a timeline to fix this at least, so I could tell our client whichever of those workarounds we go with would be only temporary?

It needs to br built in.

I’ve recommended the Feedback form approach to folks many times. It’s a bit clumsy, but it works perfectly.

Hi Ian, yes I agree it’s a bad solution. That’s what I meant by being messy. Thanks for dissuading me from trying it out. Another thought I just had was that I could redirect people to a feedback form after they finish the RSVP process where they could give us the names of any people they are bringing. It’s not ideal, as it won’t populate on the RSVP list, but is better than nothing.

Custom fields are a bad “solution” to this challenge, because the data captured in the custom field is (a) attached to the person, not the RSVP and (b) permanent. So 18 months from now that person’s record will still have that RSVP+1 name in a custom field. Not ideal.

Also, what happens if you don’t have +1. What happens if you have +5? Etc.

It doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult to add a text box where the guest name could be entered and show up on the RSVP list. I don’t necessarily need to add each guest to my nation, I just need the name for check-in and name tag reasons. The suggestions to either not allow a “+1” or to call each person and manually add them to the guest list are very impractical. I agree with Bob that “not having this in NationBuilder greatly diminishes its value to our organization and is not a best practice.” I will look into adding custom fields next so that I can capture this info, but I think that will end up being a very messy way to capture guest names. Sigh.

I strongly agree with both Dan and Steve. As fundraisers we often sell tickets as packages ( example: 2 for $XXX or a table of 8 for $XXXX) and need the ability to collect information on guests (names) and special accommodations (notes, meal option etc..). Not having this in NationBuilder greatly diminishes its value to our organization and is not a best practice. I will submit a feature request as it can not be all that difficult to add this functionality.

Dan — Thank you for that feedback. I totally understand that there are limitations to only being able to collect the full contact information of the primary RSVP.

It this is a super-important feature for you (and Steve), then you might consider adding a Feature Request on our suggestions page: http://nationbuilder.com/suggest

Dan – well stated. We just had out first event using the RSVPs in Nation Builder and it was confusing.

It still is a good tool.

For those of us who host events that require a great deal of security (e.g. Secret Service or US Marshals on site), this can a major issue as full names of attendees often need to be submitted in advance for screening.

It also weakens our NationBuilder databases as it’s one fewer name/details that we can collect for future community building and outreach.

Even leaving security aside and marketing, it makes things much more difficult for the check-in staff at an event. We have $500 and $1,000 contribution levels for an upcoming reception for example, among other levels. So a donor who gives $1,000 could be either $1,000 for a single person, or the $500 level for a single person + 1. Or even $250 + 4. Obviously the check-in staff will have an RSVP sheet on hand that lists all the attendees with their +1’s or +4’s as it may be. But it makes it more cumbersome (not difficult, just annoying) to have to have them decipher what kind of tickets these are — there are different benefits for each contribution level. For example, if they glance at the sheet and see that John Doe gave $1,000, but miss the +1, that person and his guest will get a VIP reception with photos. In reality, it’s John Doe plus 1 at $500 each — no additional event benefits. It’s just a small detail that’s easy for people to gloss over when they are in the hurried environment of trying to check in a couple hundred people at an event. And the RSVP list in NB for an event — please correct me if I’m wrong — doesn’t make a distinction between the ticket levels purchased, only the final transaction amount and the number of +guests.