Event setup

Create your first CoverCount Event

Create a ticketed CoverCount Event with guest-facing details, dates, capacity, ticket limits, pricing, member pricing, visibility, and launch checks.

Updated 2026-07-06

A CoverCount Event is a ticketed or registration-based occurrence that guests can sign up for online. Use Events for things like wine dinners, pickup parties, release tastings, classes, pairing nights, and other programs that have their own capacity and attendee list.

Events are different from ordinary reservation Experiences. Event registrations do not consume table availability and do not count toward reservation pacing. If guests should reserve a table time, create an Experience instead. If guests should buy or reserve tickets for a specific occurrence, create an Event.

For the full decision guide, see Events vs Experiences vs Private Events.

Before You Start

Decide these basics before opening the event editor:

  • The event name guests should see
  • A short description that explains what is included
  • The dates and times guests can choose
  • The start time and optional end time for each time
  • The maximum number of tickets available per time
  • The maximum number of tickets one guest can reserve at once
  • Whether tickets are free or paid
  • Whether the event is open to everyone or exclusively for wine club members or another member group
  • Whether club members or another guest group should pay a discounted price
  • Whether tax, a required service charge, or optional gratuity should apply
  • When public sales should close
  • When guest refunds should stop being automatic

New events should start hidden. That gives you room to check the guest page, registration flow, payment settings, emails, and attendee list before guests can find it.

Add The Event Details

Use the name and description to make the guest promise clear. Good names are direct:

  • Winemaker Dinner
  • Spring Release Party
  • Intro to Sparkling Wine
  • Barrel Tasting Weekend
  • Pizza and Pinot Night

The description should answer practical guest questions:

  • What is included?
  • Is food included?
  • Is the event seated or open-house style?
  • How long should guests expect to stay?
  • Are children, pets, or non-drinking guests allowed?
  • Are wine club members or subscribers expected to use a special link?
  • What should guests bring or know before arriving?

Avoid internal setup language such as Series 1, Q3 Event, or Member Event Draft. Guests should know exactly what they are registering for.

For a deeper content checklist, see Add event photos and guest-facing details.

Choose The Schedule

Every event is saved as an event series. A series can have one time or multiple times.

Use one time for a single dinner, class, party, pickup event, or tasting.

Use multiple times when guests should choose from different arrivals:

  • Same-day pickup party times, such as 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
  • Dinner seatings, such as 5:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 6:30 p.m.
  • Multi-day release weekend times

Each time has its own date, time, capacity, tickets sold, status, attendee list, and check-in state.

For details, see Set event dates and times.

Set Tickets And Capacity

Event capacity is headcount capacity. It does not reserve tables or block normal reservation inventory.

Set:

  • The number of tickets available for each event time
  • The maximum tickets one guest can reserve in a single registration
  • The ticket price, or 0 for a free event

For a small seated dinner, capacity might be the number of seats in the room. For a pickup party or open house, capacity might be the number of guests the team can comfortably host during the event window.

For details, see Set event tickets, capacity, and registration limits.

Configure Pricing And Fees

Paid events use the venue's connected Stripe account. Free events do not require card payment, but ticket limits and capacity still apply.

Depending on the event, you may configure:

  • A ticket price
  • A discounted member price for wine club members or another eligible guest group
  • Tax collection
  • A required service charge
  • Optional gratuity
  • A sales cutoff
  • A refund cutoff

Pricing is frozen on each registration when the guest buys or reserves tickets. Later price changes apply to future registrations, not to tickets already sold.

For details, see Set event pricing, tax, service charges, and gratuity.

Offer Member Pricing Or Make The Event Members-Only

One event can sell at two prices: the public pays the full ticket price, while wine club members or another guest group you define pay a discounted member price — or even attend free. Membership is verified automatically at checkout from the email and phone number the guest enters, using either a guest tag or a connected wine club integration. Guests who do not verify simply pay the public price.

You can also make the whole event exclusively for members. The event stays visible on your public listing — useful marketing for the club — but only verified members can buy tickets.

For setup and verification details, see Offer member pricing and members-only Events.

Choose Visibility

Use visibility to control when guests can find or open the event.

  • Hidden: the event is still a draft. Guests cannot open it.
  • Public: the event appears on the public event listing and can be opened directly.
  • Unlisted: the event can be opened by direct link but does not appear in the public event listing.

Unlisted is useful for member presales, invite-only events, soft launches, or internal review.

Visibility controls who can find the event; it is not a membership gate. If registration itself should be limited to wine club members or another group, make the event members-only instead — see Offer member pricing and members-only Events.

For more detail, see Publish, unlist, or hide an Event.

Test Before Launch

Before publishing broadly:

  • Open the event page from the guest point of view.
  • Confirm the name, description, photos, dates, times, and price.
  • Try the maximum ticket quantity.
  • Confirm sold-out and cutoff behavior if you can.
  • Confirm tax, service charge, and gratuity are shown correctly.
  • If the event uses member pricing or is members-only, test checkout as a member and as a non-member.
  • Submit a test registration when appropriate.
  • Confirm the confirmation email and manage-registration link work.
  • Confirm the registration appears on the attendee list.
  • Check in and undo check-in if the staff page supports it.

For a focused checklist, see Test an Event before publishing.

What To Create Next

After your first Event works, add the event types your venue actually markets:

  • Restaurants: wine dinners, chef dinners, pairing classes, holiday ticketed meals, cocktail classes
  • Wineries: release parties, pickup parties, vineyard tours, barrel tastings, library tastings
  • Tasting rooms: education classes, maker nights, flight launches, club events, community tastings

Keep ordinary service in Experiences. Keep custom buyout inquiries in Private Events. Use Events when the guest is registering for a defined occurrence with its own tickets, capacity, and attendee workflow.