Package Controls

A fundamental concept of this system is the Package.

Each registrant selects a package that contains zero or more events and products - and charged a fee ($0 or more). The rules for how those events are included is what determines what they get for that package fee.

Don't let the word package mislead you. Most customers use packages as a paper clip - loosely associating events (and products) together, all of which are either optional or a la carte. It's a very, very simple, straightforward declarative tool for curating a clean registration experience for your identified audiences and personas.

What this section discusses is how you control who sees what package - a fairly common need. All are set under the Edit Package function.

Where do I find these controls?

Dig down into the registration group, expand a package, click Package Configuration, then Edit Package.

What can be limited

• status: published (generally available), cloaked (selectively visible), and unpublished (admin use only)

• exclusive: if the registrant qualifies for this package, this should be the only one they see

• by number sold: say you have 40 super special deal packages you want to sell

• by expected arrival: Cornell requires those who are staying longer to buy a more expensive package

• by registration date: not all packages should be available for the entire registration period

• registrant type: primary, adult guest, and minors (by defined age bands)

• per an ACL: invitee-only packages

These restrictions all work with each other - so your choices for one area will almost certainly affect another.

The Default

Easiest, simplest build:

• status: published

• exclusive: normal mode

• sales limit: unlimited

• expected arrival: not filtered

• registration date: entire period

• registrant type: primary, adult guest, and all minors

• no ACL

Visible to everybody no matter what.

Visibility Controls

Filter by Status

Upgraded: Summer 2023

Published packages are available for public sale, provided all other filters permit visibility.

Cloaked packages are only presented for selection if all of the following are true:

• status: cloaked

• the registrant uses the preset package URL (find it on your Useful Links page under the Org or as the Spotlight/Cloaked URL link on the View Package screen)

• all other filters permit it including an ACL if applied

Think of it as a magic key that makes an unpublished package visible as if it were published if and only if the registrant has the right magic key. Emory makes heavy use of this in their agile marketing strategy for Homecoming.

Unpublished packages are for administrative use only and are not visible on the public side of registration at all. These are usually built for special cases, staff signups, and other funky edge cases that really shouldn't be accommodated via public reg to keep things simpler for the majority.

Exclusive

Added: Summer 2023

This is slick. Say a registrant qualifies for 5 packages, but one of them is a special Board of Trustees only package - and in order to make thinks simple for them we only want those members to see that package when they register.

By turning on the exclusive bit on the Board of Trustees package, if the registrant qualifies for it we will present only that package for selection and hide all the other qualifying packages.

If multiple qualifying packages are marked as exclusive, we return the one with the highest weight. If there's a tie there we fall back to alpha order of package name.

Exclusivity is neat and all, but if you're getting too many complaints about not enough options being presented, lean back from it. The tighter you control the registration options the fewer edge cases you can accommodate without staff intervention - is the cost really worth it?

Availability Controls

Availability controls are located in the bottom right panel of the edit event screen.

By Sales Limit

Added: August 2024

Just like with events we can apply a limit on sales of an entire package. Also just like events it is possible for the sold count to drift slightly beyond the limit before a stop sale is activated. We are gracious about allowing an entire party to complete registration even if it puts the count over by a couple of people. Please plan accordingly.

Most customers will never use this and should leave it at unlimited.

The sales limit is global across the entire master event; it is not a limit on selection by members of a party.

You can see how you're doing vs. the sales limit on the Group Dashboard report.

By Expected Arrival

Most clients do not filter by expected arrival time. Cornell does, so in their case they'll want to turn this on and select the acceptable declared arrival time boundaries during which this package is to be available.

Previously all clients had to set these dates which caused more confusion than it was worth.

If you use the expected arrival date field and want the package to be visible based on the selected arrival date/time:

• submit a ticket to AlumnIQ with your desired arrival date/times and how you'd like them labeled ("6/07/2023 between noon and 3:59pm = Thursday after lunch", "6/07/2023 4pm-6pm = Thursday afternoon" and so on)

• ensure the expected arrival date optional field is active in your org

• change the package setting to filter on arrival date and set both the earliest and latest allowable arrival time for this package to be made available

It's complicated, because it has to be. But it does work to squeeze people into pricier/better packages that properly cover their stay on campus.

By Registration Date

Updated: Summer 2023

Lesson learned: while we do make it easy to offer a package for part of the registration period, just about everybody runs them for the entire period. That's fine! The package price dates automagically roll over as needed as the registration window unfolds. We simpified the interface here to let the "run the entire time" rule be the default unless you opt to shorten it. Much, much easier.

Reasons you'd run it for less than the entire time:

• it's a one day flash sale package with custom composition and pricing (a dream!)

• it's a bundle you're only offering until 2 weeks prior to your event (also cool)

All dates/times here are in your master event's time zone.

Remember that actual registration open/close is governed at the Org level. Also, at least one package price must be active for a package to be on sale and those are still very much date driven regardless of how the package is set up.

Registrant Type Controls

Registrant Type

Updated: Summer 2023

• Primary Registrant: the first person in the party, almost always the alum or classmate

• Adult Guest: all guests not defined as minors. You set the age of "majority" per your laws, preferences, and needs on a per-org basis.

• Minors: anyone not a primary nor adult guest. These are the only registrants with an age attached which provides some significantly awesome capability for price and package targeting.

A package must be applicable to at least one of these in order to exist. The default is all humans unless modified.

ACL/Invitee List

ACLs are discussed in the ACL documentation and are enforced without exception for all public registration moments. Administratively they are ignored.