What is a walk-in at an event?

A walk-in is somebody at the desk who is not on the list. Public events expect them; closed events get them anyway, and the reasons are mundane: a colleague was sent in somebody’s place, a name is spelled differently, an invitation went to a defunct address.

In practice at an event

The desk needs a decided path rather than an improvisation. Who is authorised to admit somebody not on the list, what details are captured, and how they get into the app once admitted.

Getting this wrong is visible: a queue forms behind one unresolved person while a staff member looks for a manager. Deciding the rule in advance and writing it on the desk’s card takes five minutes.

Bear in mind that some walk-ins are not walk-ins at all. They are registered attendees whose record cannot be found because of a spelling difference, a maiden name, or a booking made by an assistant under a different email. Search by company as well as by name before concluding anybody is not on the list.

What to look for

Ask whether an attendee can be added during the event, from the desk, without a support ticket. That is the practical requirement.

For paid events, ask whether the system can take payment at the door, or whether you need a separate mechanism.

How event67 handles it

Attendees can be added in the organizer console during the event and invited immediately, and the directory search covers name and company, which resolves most apparent walk-ins that are really lookup failures. event67 does not take payment, so a paid walk-in needs money collected elsewhere before the person is added.