Yield management for public theaters?

Pricing strategies in public theaters are based mostly on static schemes with an emphasis on price differentiation. While the latter enables them to serve a broad customer base, static pricing does not allow short-term responses to demand fluctuations. Dynamic pricing could address this "problem of inflexible ticket prices in the performing arts" (Heilbrun & Gray, 2006) by adjusting prices to deal with excess demand or supply. This study, whose scope was limited to the theaters affiliated with the Association of Swiss Theatres, explores whether and how Yield Management (YM) can be applied to public theaters in view of the particular goals and/or targets imposed by their source of funding and subsidy contracts. Research was approached using a quantitative method and conducting a full sample survey. The discussion elaborates on the underlying assumptions and conditions for successful YM implementation and whether these can be satisfied in the context of Swiss public theaters. Analysis suggests that the current potential of YM is rather limited. Nevertheless, the introduction of few dynamic elements to prevailing pricing strategies such as discount price policies in late booking periods can help public theaters respond to temporal demand fluctuations and fill up performances