You may have run across TodayTix before and if you haven’t heard of the discounted Broadway tickets app in the past, you might be a little internet-wary of its claims.
The good news is that TodayTix is a legitimate app. The start up has had at least three rounds of venture funding and now officially features over forty Broadway and off-Broadway shows.
The app works smoothly on both iOS and Android and for the most part, the prices are the best available (more details on that later).
My experience with the app is limited, but it’s not an app that requires a deeper experience in order for one to feel qualified to review it fairly. I needed to get some Broadway tickets for cheap, so I downloaded the 4.5 star-rated app, filtered the shows by my preferences and scrolled through some plays and musicals of interest. After a few minutes, I had a couple tickets confirmed for the weekend. And I saved an additional $20 as a first-time user — something I’ll get into later.
How Does TodayTix Get Such Cheap Tickets?
With an average of 19% of Broadway tickets going unsold prior to the launch of TodayTix, the aim of the small company was to work with this inventory and sell it at deeply-discounted prices — after all, anything is better than an empty seat.
TodayTix started out at the bottom and now they’re here. When they were nobodies, they had to hustle; working with insiders to identify where alternating discount codes were being given out throughout the city. You see, the different Broadway shows (and non-Broadway) change up their promotions so as not to be predictable (and over saturate). One month a discount is given to Telecharge users. Then in January, it’s Broadway Box or The Playbill Club or some other large theater group.
Basically, TT knows where to buy the best-priced, non-aftermarket tickets for the shows you want to see.
When a user purchases a ticket from TodayTix, it’s not all computer screens, printouts and QR codes. There’s a big human element that exists to patch everything together.
Once tickets are purchased, the company sends human beings to the theater box office to buy the tickets with the discount count that gives them the lowest price. FastCompany recently ran a story on TodayTix and some insight to what these front line soldiers’ days look like:
“TodayTix relies on people like Edgar Eguia, an actor with a second job at TodayTix who spends many of his days buying your tickets. At the beginning of his five-hour shift, Eguia picks up a company phone and a company credit card. He opens an internal app that tells him which tickets to order, and then he spends the rest of the time walking between theaters, physically standing in line at theater box offices, and buying tickets… He usually buys about 100 tickets every shift.”
Then, another team of humans will meet you at the theater 30 minutes before the show starts. TodayTix refers to them as “Concierges”.
This is how TodayTix got their start. I’m certain they’ve grown large enough to have their own code at whatever lowest public discount is out there.
How Much Can You Save From TodayTix?
As mentioned above, TodayTix basically does the research for you. No need to surf around looking for the cheapest ticket around. For the most part, you’re probably getting the best-priced tickets available (and you can get them a week before the show). You might be able to get tickets cheaper off Craigslist or waiting in line for rush or lottery tickets, but there’s obvious risks with those.
Even better, TodayTix charges a competitive service fee, it used to be the industry’s lowest, on the tickets it sells. The company charges a flat $10 convenience fee per ticket ($5 for off-Broadway shows) where opposing “service fees” range anywhere from 15-35% on top of the discounted price. That’s not too bad considering we’ve all been walloped by Ticketmaster final payment screen when they finally add in their service and convenience fees.
And somehow it can get ever better (see: cheaper). By using a referral code, you can get $20 off your first order. Just download the app, plug in the code and Voila! $20 off your order.
Here’s my code if you would be so kind: BIHLO or you can click here.
What I like about TodayTix is I am confident they’ve looked in all the right places and you can book up those discounted tickets a few days ahead without worrying about getting up at 5AM to stand in line at TKTS…. not even knowing if you’ll get the tickets you want. No, I can pick up my phone right now and in a couple clicks I can have a couple tickets to “Hand to God” or “Curious Incident…” within 5 minutes.
Before TodayTix came around, Broadway tickets purchased on mobile phones were not even one percent of total sales (0.08% to be exact) due to the combination of the tedious process of obtaining tickets to the great White Way and the older clientele. Now? Just barely two years old? TodayTix has registered half a million users and accounts for 3% of all ticket sales.
I’d say that’s a pretty good start.
CLICK HERE TO GET $20 OFF YOUR FIRST TODAYTIX ORDER
