Ticketing & Revenue Management: when bad timing gets expensive

Analyzing pricing strategies across various sectors highlights recurring errors in revenue management, including in highly visible fields like sports. Football is no exception. Despite available tools and accumulated experience, some pricing decisions remain risky, and sometimes even spectacularly so.

After the DAZN case, presented at the first edition of Revenue Makers Day in March 2025, the 2025 Club World Cup, currently underway in the United States, provides a new example.

In an article titled “Falling prices, fear of empty seats: the flop of the Club World Cup ticketing,” the newspaper L’Équipe reports that FIFA was forced to drastically lower its prices just days before the opening match between Inter Miami and Al Ahly.

From 300€ to 48€: an 84% drop in just a few weeks,
in an attempt to avoid sparsely filled stadiums.

In revenue management as in football, it’s all about timing

In football, the greatest players don’t just shine with the ball at their feet. They shine before receiving it.
A glance, a call, the way they position their body… and everything seems effortless. Zidane, Platini, Kopa, and more recently Désiré Doué against Inter. The run, the body movement, head held high, the pass to Hakimi: the perfect move, at the right moment. 1-0. Such a rare level of simplicity at this stage of the competition.

In revenue management, it’s the same thing: success comes down to preparation.
The most visible failures in RM are often linked to poor timing management:

• When pricing starts too low, there’s an uncontrollable surge in demand. Spill is a sign of poor revenue management. Understandable if the manager lacks the right tools.
• When pricing is set too high, you end up slashing prices in a rush.
• When timing is poorly managed, you suffer instead of anticipating.

It all starts before ticket sales even open. That’s where the game is played: segmentation, historical analysis, projections, consistency with channels and marketing strategy.

Properly gauging demand saves time and prevents losing it when it’s already too late.

The sin of pricing: pride and impatience

Another common mistake in revenue management: relying on instinct or political pressure.
When pricing becomes a gamble—based on emotion or demands from the board—the risk turns systemic.

Why is this dangerous?

• Because cutting prices at the last minute increases our dependence on online distributors.
• Because it damages the business relationship with partners.
• And because it disrupts the entire long-term marketing strategy by destroying the perceived value of the product.

You’re not here to react, you’re here to steer.

At Revbell, after more than 10 years of experience across various sectors (hospitality, transportation, events, culture…), here is what we consistently recommend:

1. Don’t confuse “demand” with “desire.”

Interest in an event doesn’t mean the budget matches. Just because a match excites people doesn’t mean everyone is willing to pay 300€.

2. Build in commercial flexibility

• Segment your sales channels according to their contribution and technological agility.
• Preserve your ability to adjust prices upward, not just downward.

Be careful not to start too low if you have no ability to raise prices later on.

3. Invest in the right revenue management technology.

A good RMS should enable:

• Smart alerts based on business models, not on dogmas.
• The ability to manage finely and proactively.

Automated dynamic pricing when needed.

And what about when there’s no historical data?

This is the typical case of the Club World Cup:

• New competition
• Unknown territory (the United States for a global football competition)
• Reference data sets with few comparables

Should we throw in the towel then? No. We need to rethink the tactics.

Concrete strategies to save time

1.The good old early booking

Still too often overlooked in the era of dynamic pricing, it remains a powerful tool:

• It allows testing demand without undermining value.
• It is legally accepted (Omnibus law), even though the crossed-out price has never been published online.
• It becomes even more powerful when it’s flexible and can be adjusted (activatable thresholds, extensions).

2. Segment and sequence sales with dynamic quotas

Instead of lowering prices, control their exposure:

• Start with low-price quotas, fully transparently.
• Adjust the tiers based on demand.
• You’re not cutting the price: you’re managing time.

Applicable in events, but also in some hotel and transport cases. It has a dual effect: preventing scandals caused by endless queues with uncertainty over the final price to pay, while also avoiding visible price cuts by managing allocations instead.

With the right RM tools, the analysis can be simplified into 3 key phases:

Conclusion

You don’t finish an action if you’re not ready to receive the ball—you don’t win a match in the 90th minute if you missed the preparation.

It’s the same in Revenue Management. Good pricing is a matter of vision, anticipation… and mastering timing.