In 2016, we launched skybookings as an RSVP management platform and grew it to support the likes of Joburg Fashion Week and international cricket games at the Wanderers Stadium. Sadly, however, we had to close shop due to COVID-19. Realising that some of our founding clients were still using the platform, even without support, we decided to roll up our sleeves and rebuild the platform from scratch.
Two years later, we are super proud of Skybookings 2.0 and what our clients can do with it. In this post, I want to share the vision for skybookings 2.0 and what you should expect as a user.
Our Mission
Broadly, our mission is to bring people together in the spirit of Ubuntu. This ethos underlies all our business decisions, the relationships we form and the people with whom we choose to work. We firmly believe that our country — South Africa — is at its best when people come together and that event planners are the catalysts for making this happen.
In particular, we have a soft spot for independent event planners—the people who shoulder the responsibility of bringing people together even without sponsors and big funding. For this reason, skybookings of optimised to solve problems specific to independent planners, far beyond selling tickets online.
Whereas many players in the market see themselves as ticketing companies, we see ourselves as a technology partner for event planners. Instead of offering ticketing alone, we are building a full-service events management platform that will work better than the best in the industry at a negligible cost. This is possible because we started from scratch with new AI-powered technology, without the overhead and hangovers of a large company.
Since this is a massive task, we are building it in chunks. Here’s our roadmap and progress so far.
Phase 1 — Seamless Online Ticketing (done)
We started with the retail end of the events value chain. Today, you can effortlessly list your event, sell tickets online, have patrons buy from anywhere in the world, and you can monitor your analytics and bookings data. Furthermore, skybookings collects your audience data, their check-in behaviour, and their conversion traffic to provide a comprehensive report for better decisions in future.
Phase 2 — Bulk Messaging (done)
Most event planners take to social media to sell tickets, even when they already have a list of previous attendees. With skybookings, the approach is different. When you sell tickets, the platform collects your attendees’ information.
You can also upload lists from other platforms or Excel. Then, take advantage of our segmenting tools to target patrons by tags, spending, attendance, and many other markers. Finally, send personalised messages via email and SMS within seconds. Our data shows that you can sell tickets 4X cheaper (less advertising costs) and up to 9X faster than running ads on social media.
Phase 3 — Lay Buy (coming up)
We also know that selling tickets is the most important part of any event. So, we are adding more tools. Among others, we are adding a lay-buy (or part-payment) feature. With instalment sales, you can sell high-value tickets easily and open your ticket sales earlier. Again, our data shows that the longer you open ticket sales, the more you sell. In addition, it makes planning so much easier when you know how many people are coming.
Alongside lay-buy, we are working on an affiliate program. With affiliates, you can partner with your colleagues, artist-friends, influencers or patrons to sell tickets collaboratively. Skybookings will handle all the admin and payouts, meaning you sell faster without the admin.
Phase 4 — The World of AI (June 2025)
In June, we will roll out AI-powered event-planning and management tools. This is a game-changer. Depending on the type of event you are planning, skybookings will formulate an event plan based on your type of event, location, audience, budget, ticket sales targets and so on. Then it will generate tasks and either guide you or give strategic advice based on your data from ticket sales, traffic and other sources. You will have the best event-planning coach and assistant at your fingertips and without additional costs.
Phase 5 — The ecosystem (January 2026)
In 2026, we will start rolling out additional platforms, alongside skybookings, that will put your events in a league of their own while empowering your suppliers and partners. For instance, we are developing a SkyBooth, a separate platform that will allow photographers to upload and sell photos from your event to your attendees. This way, they will generate additional income while giving your attendees direct access to their photos so they can share on social media and further promote your event.
The Mission is Clear
SA is better when we come together. We are therefore working tirelessly to provide technology that makes this happen as easily and efficiently as possible. Most importantly, we want to help event planners sell more tickets while reducing their admin; we want your partners to also enjoy the spoils if they help to create magical experiences, but also without the admin. Above all, we want event planners to bring people together in the spirit of Ubuntu.
There are three ways to be part of this journey:
- Set up your account here and host your next event on skybookings.
- Join our WhatsApp community to stay in touch and meet fellow event planners.
- Book a demo
Regards,
Vusi Sindane
Founder.
