Written evidence from DynamO Pricing Ltd (DYN0001)

Response to the Business and Trade Committee’s Call for Evidence on Variable Pricing

Introduction

We welcome the opportunity to provide evidence on the role of variable pricing, particularly dynamic pricing, in the events industry. As a company specialising in dynamic pricing solutions for cultural institutions, visitor attractions, and sports events, we aim to provide insights into how these pricing strategies operate, their benefits, and their implications for both consumers and businesses.

Dynamic pricing is not exclusive to the events industry—it is a well-established pricing model used across various sectors, including airlines, hospitality, and retail. (See appendix for examples.) Its core function is to allow businesses to adjust prices in real time based on demand, availability, and external conditions, ultimately balancing accessibility and financial sustainability.

Given its prevalence across industries, targeting only the events sector for regulation would be inconsistent and risk distorting the market. Instead of sector-specific restrictions, we advocate for a broad, well-informed discussion that considers both the advantages and potential risks of variable pricing models across all relevant industries. Any regulatory approach should aim to enhance transparency and consumer confidence without stifling pricing mechanisms that enable affordability, accessibility, and long-term viability in the events sector.

1. Why Do Businesses Use Dynamic Pricing?

Dynamic pricing enables businesses to respond to real-time market conditions, ensuring that prices reflect actual demand, availability, and timing. Unlike traditional static pricing models, which rely on fixed prices regardless of demand fluctuations, dynamic pricing allows prices to both increase and decrease, ensuring fairer and more efficient pricing for consumers and businesses alike.

In the events sector, dynamic pricing is particularly relevant because tickets are a finite resource, much like airline seats. Once an event or flight takes place, unsold inventory represents lost revenue, benefiting neither organisers nor consumers. Dynamic adjustments ensure greater access to events, optimise financial sustainability, and prevent inefficient pricing practices that can harm both organisations and audiences.

Key benefits of dynamic pricing in events:

• Encourages early bookings by rewarding proactive buyers with lower prices, improving audience planning.
• Increases access to better seats at lower prices when demand is weaker, benefiting cost-conscious consumers.
• Enhances accessibility by enabling more discounted ticket availability for students, seniors, and targeted groups.
• Supports reinvestment in the sector, as additional revenue can be directed towards artistic programming, staff wages, and community outreach.
• Acts as a critical weapon against ticket touting and secondary market exploitation. When prices remain static, opportunistic resellers buy up large volumes of tickets and inflate resale prices beyond the organiser’s control. Dynamic pricing mitigates this by aligning primary market prices with real demand, reducing arbitrage opportunities.
• Reduces pricing risks for organisations by enabling data-driven price adjustments, ensuring that events are neither overpriced (leading to unsold tickets) nor underpriced (resulting in lost revenue opportunities).
• Provides valuable market insights, helping organisers better understand true demand and audience behaviour, allowing for more informed decision-making on pricing and programming.

Dynamic pricing is not merely about maximising revenue—it is a tool for fairness, efficiency, and inclusivity, ensuring that events remain financially sustainable while reaching broader and more diverse audiences.

2. Impact on Consumers, Including Vulnerable Groups

There is often concern that dynamic pricing could disproportionately affect vulnerable consumers. However, evidence from cultural organisations and sports teams using dynamic pricing suggests otherwise. In practice, dynamic pricing can increase accessibility and affordability when implemented thoughtfully.

• The allocation of affordable tickets is key. While dynamic pricing lowers prices for all during off-peak times or when demand is lower, specialised companies with communities made up of vulnerable groups help distribute tickets more effectively, ensuring access for those who would otherwise be unable to afford them. These practices are not against dynamic pricing; they are best practices that can and do coexist, enhancing accessibility in different ways.
• Many theatres and cultural venues, such as Rose Theatre Kingston, Soho Theatre, and Brixton House, integrated dynamic pricing without compromising accessibility schemes such as student, senior, or low-income discounts. While not a UK example, the Palace of Arts in Budapest (Mupa) successfully introduced cheaper tickets than ever before by applying dynamic pricing to certain sections of the auditorium. This strategy enabled lower-income attendees to access more affordable seats while balancing revenue from premium seating.
• Eliminates the need for "papering", one of the most damaging practices in the cultural sector. Traditionally, when events struggle to sell, large volumes of complimentary tickets are distributed—often to industry professionals, sponsors, and influencers, rather than to the community groups and charities that would benefit most. Dynamic pricing ensures that instead of giving away free tickets to privileged groups, prices can be adjusted to make events more accessible to the right audiences.

While dynamic pricing can lead to higher prices for premium inventory at peak times, it also ensures that consumers who book early or choose lower-demand performances can access more affordable options. Beyond just ticket affordability, dynamic pricing helps venues fill their auditoriums, creating a better atmosphere and enhancing their reputation. A well-attended event not only improves audience experience but also generates additional revenue through on-site purchases, such as drinks, snacks, and merchandise.

3. Interaction with Other Platform or Service Elements

Dynamic pricing is often supported by intelligent recommendation systems and consumer-friendly tools that help audiences make informed choices. These systems provide transparency and flexibility, ensuring that consumers can find options that suit their preferences and budgets.

• Many ticketing platforms now highlight lower-priced performances or suggest alternative dates when demand is lower, helping consumers find more affordable options without compromising availability.
• Organisations have introduced clearer and more transparent pricing structures, often displaying price ranges to indicate the possible variation in ticket costs. This allows consumers to make informed decisions without unexpected fluctuations.
• Leading dynamic pricing providers actively support their clients with communication guidelines, ensuring that pricing strategies are clearly explained to audiences. Transparency is key, and well-structured messaging helps customers understand how pricing adjustments work while maintaining trust in the process.
• Consumers benefit from greater control over their purchasing decisions when presented with a range of price points tailored to different budgets, rather than facing a single fixed price that may not reflect real-time demand.

Instead of outright restrictions, the focus should be on ensuring transparency and fair consumer protections while allowing businesses to adjust pricing in response to real-world conditions.

4. Effectiveness of the UK’s Competition Regulation in Managing Pricing Practices

We fully support fair and transparent pricing regulations that protect consumers and ensure healthy market competition. However, overly restrictive measures risk limiting consumer choice and could unintentionally drive more transactions to the unregulated secondary market, where pricing abuses are far harder to control.

• The secondary ticketing market poses a far greater risk to fair pricing than regulated, transparent dynamic pricing models. When primary market prices remain artificially fixed, resellers can exploit the gap between supply and demand, selling tickets at excessive mark-ups with no benefit to consumers or event organisers.
• Regulation should focus on transparency, consumer education, and protections against exploitative practices rather than introducing blanket bans on pricing models that function effectively across multiple industries. A well-informed approach ensures that both businesses and consumers benefit from a competitive yet fair system.
• The UK’s existing competition frameworks already monitor price manipulation. There is no substantial evidence that dynamic pricing in events results in widespread consumer harm, particularly when implemented with clear communication and safeguards for affordability.

We welcome further dialogue on balanced regulatory approaches that ensure fairness while allowing businesses to innovate, remain sustainable, and continue delivering value to audiences.

5. Impact on Business Growth and Economic Value

Dynamic pricing plays an increasingly important role in the financial sustainability of arts, culture, and sports organisations. Unlike other industries, where revenue streams can be diversified, ticketing revenue is the only controllable income sources for arts organisations—unlike government funding and philanthropy. Managing it effectively is crucial to ensuring long-term viability while maintaining accessibility.

• It allows venues to optimise revenue while keeping events financially viable, helping reduce reliance on public subsidies and unpredictable donations.
• Increased revenue can be reinvested into audience development, outreach initiatives, and venue improvements, ultimately benefiting both organisations and the communities they serve.
• Many organisations have seen higher attendance and revenue stability after adopting dynamic pricing strategies.

Restricting dynamic pricing would not only be a step backward in economic efficiency but could also lead to higher overall ticket prices, as organisations would lose flexibility in optimising their pricing structures.

It is also important to note that many organisations already engage in manual dynamic pricing, adjusting ticket prices at set intervals based on demand. However, automated solutions offer a more structured, data-driven approach, allowing for consistent, fair, and transparent price adjustments. Where regulations are considered, they should focus on clear and reasonable limitations, such as ensuring prices do not change once a ticket is in a customer’s shopping basket—a common industry standard that prevents unexpected fluctuations at checkout.

Moreover, dynamic pricing is not unique to the events industry. Other sectors—including accommodation (hotel and tourist nights), transportation (airlines and ride-sharing), and even retail—routinely adjust prices multiple times per day in response to market conditions. Any regulatory approach should consider these wider market dynamics to ensure fairness and consistency across industries.

Conclusion

Dynamic pricing is a widely used and valuable pricing strategy that supports both consumer accessibility and financial sustainability in the events sector. When implemented effectively, it helps optimise revenue, ensures fairer pricing distribution, and reduces the impact of secondary market exploitation.

Rather than restricting its use, the focus should be on ensuring transparency and consumer education, allowing audiences to make informed purchasing decisions. Clear guidelines on communication and best practices will help build trust while maintaining the flexibility needed for venues to operate efficiently.

We welcome the opportunity to continue advising on best practices in dynamic pricing and are happy to provide further data and case studies demonstrating its positive impact in the events sector.

Appendix

Non-event companies and organisations that use dynamic pricing include:

• Airlines: Airlines frequently adjust ticket prices in real-time based on factors such as demand, timing, and competition. For instance, during peak travel seasons or as the departure date approaches and seats become limited, prices often increase. Conversely, during off-peak times or when demand is lower, airlines may reduce ticket prices to encourage bookings and fill seats.
• Hospitality: Hotels and accommodation providers dynamically adjust room rates based on availability, demand fluctuations, and seasonal trends. For example, prices rise when major events or high tourism periods drive up demand, while off-peak discounts help increase occupancy and make better use of available rooms. This allows hotels to optimise revenue while offering competitive pricing for guests at different times.
• Ride-Hailing Services: Companies like Uber implement surge pricing, where fares increase dynamically during periods of high demand, such as bad weather, concerts, or peak commuting hours. This pricing model incentivises more drivers to be available, helping to balance supply with real-time consumer demand.

The events industry, where tickets are perishable goods with no residual value after an event, relies on similar mechanisms to optimise accessibility, ensure fair pricing, and maintain financial sustainability.

5