# Art Fair Guide

Section: Art Fair Guide · Page: https://artsvp.com/docs/art-fair-guide/overview

(Plans: All plans)

A fair is really several events wearing one name: the VIP preview, the public
days, the talks, the satellite events around them. ARTSVP runs the public, VIP,
exhibitor, and front-of-house sides of all of it in one system, and the
structure you choose before building anything decides how smoothly fair week
goes. Events, tickets, booking links, and check-in work on every plan;
collections, portals, custom fields, and automations are
(Plans: Expert) features.

## Pick the structure first

| Fair format | Recommended setup |
|---|---|
| One opening period | One **Single Slot** event with ticket types for each access tier. |
| Several public days | One **Daily Slots** event when capacity and tickets work the same each day. |
| Different programmes or rules per day | Separate events, grouped in a collection (Plans: Expert). |
| Timed entry | One **Custom Slots** event with capacity per slot. |
| Multi-day access | A **Multiple Entry** ticket, so the same ticket can be scanned again. |
| Exhibitor guest allocations | A portal group (Plans: Expert) with one portal per exhibitor. |

The trade is a real one. Separate events give you independent capacity,
settings, emails, and guest lists; a single multi-day event gives guests one
booking flow and your team one event to operate. Choose based on which boundary
matters more.

## A practical build order

1. Create the public days, VIP previews, and associated events.
2. Set dates, slot capacity, ticket types, and entry rules.
3. Group separate events in a collection when guests need one programme page.
   A collection groups events without sharing their capacity or tickets, each
   event is still edited on its own.
4. Create invitation and booking-link routes for each audience.
5. Add exhibitor portals and allocations once the event structure is stable.
   Activating a portal uses 150 credits, so build and review the portal list
   before sending claim links.
6. Test a booking and a scan before publishing links widely.

> **Tip:** Name tickets for what front-of-house staff need to recognise
> (*"VIP Preview"*, *"Weekend Pass"*) rather than internal campaign names.

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Keep reading:
[VIP previews and public days](https://artsvp.com/docs/art-fair-guide/vip-previews-and-public-days) ·
[Tickets, passes, and access](https://artsvp.com/docs/art-fair-guide/tickets-passes-and-access) ·
[Exhibitors and allocations](https://artsvp.com/docs/art-fair-guide/exhibitors-and-allocations) ·
[Running your fair](https://artsvp.com/docs/art-fair-guide/running-your-fair)

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