During Gateway Ticketing Systems’ annual User Group Meeting in Denver around 200 participants came together to enjoy a week of networking, learning, product information and revenue-generating inspiration.
The event, hosted by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, took place from August 11-14.
The week abounded with best practice sessions, customer panels and product presentations.
Attendees also listened to other customers describing how they’re utilising Galaxy®to make more informed decisions based on business analytics and to increase revenue.
However, the informal social interactions around the sessions were also of immeasurable benefit, as Mark Miller, Guest Services Manager at Utah’s Hogle Zoo explained, “I really enjoy Gateway’s Users Group Conference because it provides so many opportunities to connect with like-minded professional colleagues. The opportunity to discuss challenges within the attractions industry and how Galaxy can be utilized to solve them is truly invaluable.”
Attendees represented over 60 of the world’s most popular and well-attended attractions, including museums, aquariums and theme parks; and more than a dozen of the attendees also either led or participated in discussions and presentations sharing their stories and insights.
Eric Boen, DMNS Director of Technology, presented at the UGM and also administered the Museum’s role as host. He said, “It was our pleasure to host the 2014 Gateway User Group Meeting. The UGM crowd was our most enthusiastic Laserium audience to date. Thanks to the group, we also found that we have an untapped audience segment for our Expedition Health exhibit: adults enjoying a cocktail or two! We thoroughly enjoyed sharing our museum with Gateway andGalaxy users. We learned a lot from our peers and we hope that what we were able to share was beneficial to them as well.”
In the evenings, attendees could network while relaxing at a variety of social events at Gateway customer sites, Denver Museum of Nature and Science and The History Colorado Center, and a game of baseball at the Coors Field marked the end of the week.
Scott Lobaugh, Gateway’s Director of Business Solutions, commented, “We continually look to add value to this event for our customers through training and industry best practices presentations from customers and Gateway staff. We were very fortunate this year to have two customer presenters provide a behind the scenes review of the opening of their new attractions. These were world class attractions, and we are proud to partner with them to successfully complete mission-critical projects when the whole world is watching.
This year, we had over 30 first time attendees out of the 160 plus. The networking and sense of an open customer community is something very special. There is an amazing energy in the room when you have the top attractions from all over the world sharing and engaging in every session.”
Gateway announced that their 2015 User Group Meeting will be held in New Orleans, LA and hosted by the National World War 11 Museum.
The management and employees of Gateway Ticketing Systems extend their thanks to this year’s UGM attendees.
