Eventbrite Almost Gets It Right With Event Check-in App

Popular event planning service Eventbrite released an iPhone app today that allows event organizers to “check-in” attendees at an event. However, they seemed to have missed a bigger opportunity by allowing the attendees themselves to check-in to events.

The app works like this: people sign up as usual online at Eventbrite.com and then when they show up at the event, the organizer then has a list of who signed up, and can then check them off the list using the app. So really, Eventbrite should be calling this a “checked-off” app not a check-in app.

We’ve talked about this idea before with Plancast (while they are somewhat interested in events they say they are not interested in becoming a check-in app), and frankly, we’re still really surprised that no one has taken this angle yet. Presumedly, with this app, Eventbrite is the closest, but since the app is directed at organizers and not attendees, they would probably have to rethink the whole design.

For organizers, however, the current app will surely be a pleasant addition to how they use Eventbrite, as printing out attendee lists, especially for larger events, can often a scramble at the last minute. According to the app description, the app lets organizers:

Log in with your Eventbrite user account
Review orders for your event as they are placed
Check in attendees at the event
Sync attendee status across multiple devices
Wirelessly updates attendance status in your Eventbrite charts and reports on Eventbrite.com

So while this is a nice step in the right direction, Eventbrite – or possibly Facebook, or maybe someone else – should think further ahead and build real check-in functionality into events.