Highlights:

At The Star Gold Coast, locals and far-flung tourists buzz with energy that only a world-class precinct can generate. The Star is impressive in its scale, an entertainment haven combining luxury hotel towers, garden bars, Tuscan-themed event spaces, upscale restaurants, casual diners, and an iconic casino in one event hotspot.

“We are so unique,” says Elise Paddison, The Star Gold Coast’s Celebrations Manager. “We have all these offerings — accommodation, event spaces, dining. It makes us a one-stop destination for a variety of reasons, especially events.”

Looking at The Star’s events schedule, what strikes is the scale, with single celebrations like the Melbourne Cup playing out across multiple spaces.

“Melbourne Cup is such a great one — the entire property transforms into a vibrant spring carnival vibe,” says Paddison. “On that day, we host seven different events across the property, including live DJs with lux champagne and canapés at Isoletto Privé, a long lunch affair in Cucina Vivo, our Italian signature restaurant. And year after year, it’s always a sell-out, and the same guests come back.”

With other calendar highlights at Christmas and New Year’s Eve, plus signature events like the Thursday’s A Drag series, it makes for entertainment on a massive scale.

Though The Star has long been a Gold Coast fixture, a 2022 partnership with Eventbrite has seen events go from strength to strength thanks to features that make for easy event discovery and drive attendee loyalty.

Building brand awareness through Eventbrite’s Collections tool

There are plenty of big occasions at The Star, but few are bigger than New Year’s Eve. In typical Star fashion, there are six events across the evening, headed by a party on the lawn at Garden Kitchen & Bar and a lavish do at Isoletto Privé.

“We’ll have a headline DJ, flowing champagne, signature cocktails and canapés, an oyster bar and all sorts of delicious things — guests can eat and just enjoy their time with us,” says Paddison.

The Star’s NYE events are incredibly popular, with many selling out far in advance. But thanks to Eventbrite Collections, attendees can easily browse alternative events if their first choice event has already sold out.

“Collections is a super simple way for guests to find information. They can compare and decide on the spot what they’re looking for and buy tickets right away.”

Elise Paddison, Celebrations Manager, The Star

As a result of The Star’s popular NYE Collection, Eventbrite drove more than half of the total page views to their NYE events, including Isoletto Privé (58%), Grand Pool Lawn (51%), and Garden Kitchen & Bar Lawn (50%).

“Collections is a super simple way for guests to find information, even if they’re not sure what they’re looking for. It’s a great way for all our events and information to be right there,” Paddison says. “They can compare options and decide on the spot what they’re looking for and buy tickets right away.”

Driving sales through attractive ticket options and add-ons

For a major event location like The Star, ticketing needs to be highly streamlined. With Eventbrite, Paddison and the team have the chance to reward guest loyalty by offering special promo tickets “We love promo codes,” Paddison says. “They’re a great way for us to recognise repeat and VIP guests — it might provide a discount or hidden tickets with extra features.”

Eventbrite ticketing also allows The Star team the flexibility to offer attendees a range of ticketing options that suit them, like full-table tickets at the flagship Christmas event, Not So Silent Night, and add-on options for a family-friendly Christmas. 

“We offer hamper packages for Christmas,” Paddison says. “So those that have a big family or don’t want to spend six hours in the kitchen, we do all the hard work. There’s some base hampers with your ham, cheese, crackers and wine for example, and then you can add on extras like seafood or more premium champagne.”

“Promo codes are a great way for us to provide incentives or rewards for guests.”

Elise Paddison, Celebrations Manager, The Star

On the other hand, Paddison says that she — like The Star’s guests — loves Eventbrite’s simple ticketing, with transparent pricing that is fee-inclusive and easy to navigate.

“With Eventbrite, we wanted to make sure that we really streamlined the process for our guests,” she says. “We didn’t want our guest experience journey to be inhibited by additional fees and charges, so we eliminated that barrier.”

The appeal of such dynamic ticketing is clear through the success of Not So Silent Night, a charity-driven gala dinner that takes place over Christmas. The event offers a range of ticketing, including entire table bookings to corporate groups.

As a result, the event was the second-highest in-demand event for the year, with 37% page views, 33% orders sold, and 43% ticket sales through the Eventbrite platform.

Using Eventbrite’s analytics dashboard to understand and target the right audiences

Unlike smaller venues, The Star’s audience is as varied as its venue. In addition to the locals, The Star attracts international tourists who flock to the famous beaches and varying tourism offerings of the Gold Coast. 

Paddison explains that Eventbrite’s trusted global presence has only enhanced The Star’s international appeal. “Knowing that Eventbrite has that platform globally would be a huge contributor to capturing those wider audiences,” she says. 

The Star team use Eventbrite’s Traffic and Conversion Report (located in the event dashboard) to help inform its future marketing strategy.

“It’s great to know how our guests are finding us and our events and what type of events interest them,” says Paddison. “Those details form a big part of our planning process for future events, like, what events are trending? What’s engaging for guests? What do they want more of? What are the best channels to ensure that we’re reaching them?”

“We have a deep commitment to ensuring our guests have memorable experiences so anything that helps us to optimise that is worth exploring, so we can deliver what people want.”