How can we help?

Yes. While you can browse the events calendar without registering for an account, if you are not logged into an existing account, you will be prompted to create an account with your email address or your Google, Facebook, or X credentials during the purchase process.

If you've forgotten your password, you can perform a password reset. Just go to the login page, click Forgot password, and enter your email address. A password reset link will be emailed to you if an account exists for the email address provided.

When you order tickets on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets, a confirmation is sent to the email address you entered for the order. It may be in your spam folder.

If you don't have the email confirmation, log in to Cigar & Bourbon Tickets and go to All Orders or Purchased Events to view/download your ticket.

If you can't find your tickets or can't log in, it may be due to a typo in the email address you entered for your tickets. Contact the event organizer for help from your dashboard via Purchased Events > View > Get Support.

To close your Cigar & Bourbon Tickets account:

1. Log in and go to Account Details.
2. Select Delete Account and follow the prompts.

Deleting your account will delete your personal data. This action is permanent and can't be reversed.

If you're unable to close your account, email us at privacy@cigarandbourbontickets.com. Use the email address associated with the account you want to close.

To view all your past and current orders:

1. Log in and go to My Account.
2. Click All Orders in the sidebar.
3. You'll see every order with its date, status, total, and actions.
4. Click View on any order to see full details including tickets, attendee information, and support options.

You can update the name and phone number on your ticket using the Edit Info feature:

1. Go to My Account → All Orders → View for the relevant order.
2. Scroll to Attendee Detail.
3. Click Edit under Actions.
4. Update the attendee name and/or phone number.
5. Save your changes.

The updated information will be reflected on the ticket.

Note: The email address on the ticket is read-only and cannot be changed through Edit Info. If you need to change who holds the ticket entirely (including the email), use the Transfer feature from your My Tickets page instead. Transfers send a secure link to the new person, who can accept or decline.

If you created your account using Google, Facebook, X, or Apple, a random password was generated for your account that you won't know. To log in with your email and password instead:

1. Go to the Forgot Password page.
2. Enter the email address associated with your social login account.
3. Check your email for a password reset link and set a new password.

Once you've set a password, you'll be able to log in using either your email/password or your original social login — both will work going forward.

Tip: You can always continue logging in with the social account you registered with. Setting a password just gives you an additional login option.

Yes! If you registered with your email address and later want to log in using Google, Facebook, X, or Apple, it will work automatically — as long as the email address on your social account matches the email you registered with.

When you use social login, the platform looks up your account by email address. If it finds a match, it logs you in and links the social account to your existing profile. No additional setup is needed.

Note: If your social account uses a different email address than the one you registered with, a new separate account may be created. If this happens, contact us through the Help Center and we can help merge your accounts.

You can sign in to Cigar & Bourbon Tickets using your Google or Facebook account instead of typing a password:

1. Go to the Login page.
2. Click the Google or Facebook button below the login form.
3. Authorize the connection with your social account.
4. You're logged in!

Social login works whether you originally registered with email or with a social account — as long as the email address matches. No password is needed when using social login.

Available social login options: Google, Facebook, X (Twitter), and Apple.

If you deleted your account and then changed your mind, you have a 7-day grace period to reactivate it. During this window, your account is soft-deleted — your data is preserved but your account is deactivated.

To reactivate your account:

1. Check the deletion confirmation email you received — it contains a "Reactivate My Account" button.
2. Click the button within 7 days of deletion.
3. Your account will be fully restored with all your orders, tickets, and data intact.

After the 7-day grace period, the deletion becomes permanent and cannot be reversed.

If the reactivation link has expired or you're having trouble, visit our Help Center for assistance.

To reset your password:

1. Go to the Forgot Password page.
2. Enter the email address associated with your account.
3. Check your email for a password reset link.
4. Click the link and set a new password.

The reset link will take you to a secure page where you can choose a new password. Once set, you can log in with your new credentials immediately.

Tip: If you originally signed up with Google, Facebook, X, or Apple, you can always log in using those social accounts without needing a password. Setting a password just gives you an additional login option.

You can control which emails you receive from the platform:

1. Log in and go to My Account → Email Preferences.
2. Toggle notifications on or off for different categories (e.g., order confirmations, event updates, marketing communications).
3. Save your preferences.

Changes take effect immediately. Note that some transactional emails (like order confirmations and password resets) cannot be turned off, as they contain essential account information.

Tickets can be purchased online through our website at cigarandbourbontickets.com. Simply visit the event page, select the desired event category, date, location, and ticket level, and proceed with the secure online payment process.

Ticket purchase limits, if any, will be mentioned on the event page or during the checkout process. This helps ensure fairness and allows more people to attend the events.

For online ticket sales, you will typically receive an e-ticket or QR code via email after completing your purchase. You can either print the e-ticket or present it on your mobile device at the event for admission.

Yes! You can transfer your ticket to someone else using the built-in Transfer feature:

1. Go to My Account → My Tickets.
2. Find the ticket you want to transfer and click the "Transfer" button.
3. Enter the recipient's name and email address, and optionally include a personal message.
4. Click "Send Transfer".

The recipient will receive an email with a secure link to accept or decline the transfer. They have 72 hours to respond before the transfer request expires. If they accept, the ticket is reassigned to their account automatically. If they decline or the request expires, the ticket stays with you.

Important notes:

• Ticket transfers do not involve a refund — you are reassigning the ticket to a different attendee.
• The event organizer may disable transfers or set a cutoff window (e.g., no transfers within 24 hours of the event). If the Transfer button is not available, the organizer has restricted transfers for that event.
• You'll receive an email notification when the recipient accepts, declines, or if the transfer expires.

Edit Info and Transfer are two different tools for managing your ticket:

• Edit Info lets you correct the name and phone number on a ticket. Use this for typos, name changes, or updating your phone number. The email address is read-only and cannot be changed through Edit Info. You'll find this under My Account → All Orders → View → Attendee Detail → Edit.
• Transfer lets you give your ticket to a completely different person. The recipient gets an email with a link to accept the ticket, and once they accept, the ticket moves to their account with their name and email. You'll find the Transfer button on your My Tickets page.

Quick rule: If you're keeping the ticket but fixing details → use Edit Info. If you're giving the ticket to someone else → use Transfer.

To download your ticket:

1. Log in and go to My Account → My Tickets.
2. Find the event and click Download Ticket.
3. Your ticket includes a unique QR code for event entry.

You can also find your ticket in the order confirmation email sent after purchase. Present the QR code — either printed or on your phone — at the event entrance.

Some events feature a Social Guest List where attendees can see who else is going. If an organizer has enabled this feature, you'll see a guest list on the event page showing other attendees. Your name may appear on this list if you've opted in.

If you prefer not to appear on the guest list, you can manage your visibility preferences in your account settings.

The Photo Wall is a shared photo gallery for events. If the organizer has enabled it, you can:

• View photos shared by other attendees and the organizer
• Upload your own event photos to share with the community

Look for the Photo Wall link on the event page or in your ticket email.

Early Bird Pricing is a time-limited discount that some event organizers offer on their tickets. When Early Bird Pricing is active, you'll see:

• A gold "Early Bird Discount Applied" banner on the ticket section of the event page.
• An Early Bird badge next to the discounted ticket name.
• The original price crossed out with the discounted price shown in green.
• A countdown showing when the early bird deal ends, plus a days remaining urgency indicator when the deadline is within a week (e.g., "Ends Mar 15 — 5 days left!").

The discounted price is applied automatically at checkout — no coupon code needed. Once the early bird deadline passes, the ticket reverts to the regular price. If you see an early bird deal you like, act quickly before it expires!

Some events offer donation tickets where you choose how much to contribute instead of paying a fixed price. The organizer may set a minimum amount and show suggested donation amounts (like $25, $50, $75, or $100) as quick-select buttons to make it easy to choose. You can also enter a custom amount.

Some donation tickets display a fundraising goal with a progress bar so you can see how close the event is to reaching its target. Donation tickets are displayed with a red card design to distinguish them from regular tickets.

Some tickets are hidden behind an access code (password). If you see a lock icon on a ticket with an "Unlock" button, it means you need a code to see and purchase that ticket.

Access codes are typically shared by the organizer through email, social media, or private channels for presales, VIP access, or exclusive offers. Enter the code on the event page and click "Unlock" to reveal the ticket and its pricing.

Some tickets offer automatic group discounts when you buy multiple tickets in the same order. You'll see a purple badge like "Buy 2+, Save 5%" on the ticket. This discount applies automatically at checkout when you select the minimum quantity — no promo code is needed.

Group discounts are set by the organizer and the savings are shown per ticket at checkout.

Some events offer reserved seating, which means you choose your exact seat, table, or zone before purchasing. When an event has reserved seating, you'll see a "Choose Your Seats" button on the event page along with a note that says "or select quantity below for best available." Tickets linked to the seat map are also labeled "via seat map" in the ticket list.

How to select your seats:

1. Click "Choose Your Seats" on the event page to open the interactive seat map.
2. Browse the layout — you'll see tables, individual chairs, loveseats, sofas, and zones, each color-coded by ticket type.
3. Use the filter pills at the top (e.g., "All Sections," "Seating") and the price tags (e.g., "Reserved (sofa): $20.00") to narrow down what you're looking for.
4. Click on a seat, table, or zone to select it. It turns green with "SELECTED" and appears in the "Your Selection" panel on the right side with the price.
5. Your selection is held for 10 minutes while you complete checkout.
6. Click "Continue to Checkout" at the bottom right to proceed with your selected seats.

Tips:

• On mobile, use two-finger pinch to zoom in and out of the map.
• Use the +/− zoom buttons on desktop for precise viewing.
• Click a selected item again to deselect it.
• If you go to checkout and click back to return to the event, your seats are released and become available again.

The seat map is fully mobile-friendly:

1. Zoom: Use a two-finger pinch gesture to zoom in and out. This works just like zooming on a photo.
2. Pan: While zoomed in, use two fingers to drag and move around the map.
3. Scroll the page: A single finger scrolls the page normally — it won't accidentally move the map.
4. Select seats: Tap on any seat, table, or zone to select it. Your selection appears in the cart below the map.
5. Filter: Use the category pills or price tags above the map to narrow down what you're looking for.

The map fills your screen for easy viewing. A small mini preview in the corner shows your position within the full layout.

Some events sell entire tables, loveseats, or sofas as a single unit rather than individual seats. On the seat map, these are clearly labeled with a name and price (e.g., "Sofa 3 — $20.00"). When you select one, the selection panel shows it as a "Full Table" purchase.

What to know:

• You pay one price for the whole unit — all seats are yours.
• Your selection panel shows the item name, type, and total price.
• Click "Continue to Checkout" to complete your purchase just like any other ticket.

This is common for cigar lounge events, bourbon tasting dinners, and VIP festival experiences where groups want to sit together.

When you select seats on a reserved seating map, they are held for you for 10 minutes. During this time, no one else can claim those seats.

Your seats are released and become available again if:

• You don't complete checkout within 10 minutes (the hold expires automatically)
• You close the page or navigate away
• You go to checkout and click the option to go back to the event page — this releases your holds so you (or anyone else) can make new selections

If your hold expires while you're still deciding, simply reselect the seats you want — they'll be held again for another 10 minutes if they're still available.

When an event has reserved seating and the organizer has set up selling priority, you may see a "Best Available" button on the seat map. Clicking it automatically selects the best open seat, table, or zone for you based on the organizer's priority scoring.

How it works:

• The organizer places a focal point on the seat map (e.g., the stage, tasting bar, or presentation area).
• Sections closer to the focal point have higher priority scores.
• When you click "Best Available," the system picks the highest-priority section that is still available.

You can always deselect and pick a different seat manually if you prefer. Best Available is just a quick way to get the best remaining option without browsing the full map.

If you have a promo code from an event organizer:

1. Go to the event page.
2. Look for the "Have a promo code?" field in the ticket section.
3. Enter your code and click "Apply."
4. If the code is valid, you'll see a confirmation banner showing your discount (e.g., "Code VIP20 applied — 20% off!" or "Code BOGO applied — Buy 1 Get 1 Free!").
5. Select your tickets and proceed to checkout — the discount is applied automatically.

Tip: Some organizers share direct links that apply the promo code automatically (the link will include ?promo=CODE). If you click one of these links, you don't need to type anything — the discount appears immediately.

Some events offer BOGO (Buy One Get One) deals. When a ticket has a BOGO promotion, buying one ticket automatically adds a companion ticket to your cart at checkout — either free or at a reduced price, depending on what the organizer configured.

How to spot a BOGO deal:

• Look for a BOGO badge on the ticket in the event page ticket section. Not all organizers display the badge, but when it's there, the deal is automatic.

How it works at checkout:

1. Add the qualifying ticket to your cart.
2. The companion ticket is automatically added — you'll see it as a separate line item in your cart.
3. Complete checkout as normal.

The companion ticket is a full ticket with its own QR code and attendee details. BOGO deals are subject to availability — once the organizer's BOGO pool is used up, the deal ends automatically.

Note: Some BOGO deals require a promo code instead of being automatic. If you have a BOGO promo code, enter it in the "Have a promo code?" field on the event page.

If a ticket appears grayed out with a message like "On sale Feb 20, 2026 at 10:00 AM," it means the organizer has scheduled that ticket to go on sale at a future date and time. The ticket will become available for purchase automatically when the scheduled time arrives — no action needed on your part. Check back at the indicated time to buy.

Some events offer tickets that are exclusively available to members of the organizer's membership program. You may encounter two types:

• Locked tickets — You can see the ticket on the event page, but it displays a "Members Only" badge and a lock icon. A "Become a Member" button links to the organizer's membership page so you can sign up.
• Hidden tickets — The ticket is completely hidden from the event page if you're not a member. Once you have an active membership, the ticket appears automatically.

If you're a member, member-only tickets appear normally and may show a special member price — sometimes displayed alongside the regular price with a strikethrough to show your savings.

Some member-only tickets are restricted to specific membership plans. If you see a message that your current plan doesn't include access to a particular ticket, check the organizer's membership page for plans that do.

When you're a member of an organizer's membership program, you may receive discounted pricing on tickets. The platform automatically applies the best available discount for you — whether that's a member price, an early bird deal, or another promotion. You'll always get the lowest price you qualify for.

At checkout, the discount is labeled clearly (e.g., "Member Discount (50%)") so you can see exactly what you're saving. If an early bird price happens to be lower than the member price, you'll get the early bird price instead — the system always picks the best deal.

If you bought a ticket at the door (in-person walk-up sale), your purchase is automatically linked to your account when you sign up or log in using the same email address the ticket was purchased under.

If you already had an account: Log in and check My Account → All Orders and My Tickets — your door purchase should appear there.

If you didn't have an account yet: When you create an account using the same email address from your door purchase, all your previous purchases are automatically linked to your new account. Check All Orders and My Tickets after signing up.

If your purchase isn't showing up, make sure you're using the same email address that was provided at the time of purchase. If you need help, visit the Help Center.

We accept all major credit cards through our Stripe payment processor. Each ticket purchase includes a 3.4% + $0.99 Service Fee and a 2.9% + $0.30 Payment Processing Fee paid by the ticket buyer.

The fees charged by Cigar & Bourbon Tickets cover payment processing costs as well as costs necessary to operate and maintain the online ticketing platform. All Cigar & Bourbon Ticket fees are non-refundable.

Refund policies may vary depending on the event and the organizer's policy. Please refer to the terms and conditions or contact the event organizer for specific refund information. All Cigar & Bourbon Ticket fees are non-refundable.

Events on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets are hosted by third-party organizers who set their own refund policies. If refund requests are allowed by the event organizer, you can request one by contacting the event organizer:

1. Log in and go to All Orders.
2. Find the order you want refunded, then click View and select Get Support.
3. Enter your details and submit your request. The organizer should respond within five business days.

Contact Cigar & Bourbon Tickets for help if all of these apply:

• The event was cancelled (not postponed) within the last 45 days.
• You contacted the organizer, but they didn't respond or they denied your request.
• The organizer used Cigar & Bourbon Tickets Payment Processing to process your payment.

* Note – The Service Fee and Processing Fee are non-refundable.

Tax will depend on your local tax regulations and will be determined by the billing address used during checkout.

If you have a Cigar & Bourbon Tickets charge on your statement, it's likely related to tickets for an event. Your statement will show CIGAR BOURBON TICKETS or CBTICKETS on your statement.

Check if someone you know has used your card recently to buy tickets on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets. If no one has, contact us for help.

Donation amounts follow the same refund policy as regular tickets — it depends on the event organizer's refund policy. Contact the organizer through your order's "Get Support" option to request a refund.

Note that Cigar & Bourbon Tickets Service Fees and Processing Fees are non-refundable.

Yes, all attendees must be of legal drinking age, which is typically 21 years or older, depending on the local laws and regulations.

Generally, the event ticket includes the cost of cigars and/or bourbon tastings. You do not need to bring your own cigars unless specified otherwise. However, it's always a good idea to check the event details for any specific requirements or recommendations.

Food availability may vary for each event. Some events may offer complimentary food, while others may have food available for purchase. Details regarding food arrangements will be provided on the event page or communicated before the event by the event organizer.

Depending on the event, additional bourbon and cigars may be available for purchase. Some events may have exclusive offerings or limited editions for sale. Details about additional purchases will be provided at the event or on the event page. Please inquire directly with the event organizer.

The venue for each event may vary, and it could be either indoors or outdoors. The event page will provide information about the location and any specific arrangements regarding the event venue. When in doubt, contact the organizer directly.

If you believe an event violates our guidelines, you can report it directly:

1. Visit the event page.
2. Look for the Report Event option (flag icon).
3. Select a reason — such as "Not related to cigars/bourbon," "Scam or misleading," "Inappropriate content," etc.
4. Add any additional details and submit.

Our team reviews all reports and takes appropriate action. Reports are confidential — the organizer will not see who reported the event.

There are two ways to reach an organizer:

1. From the event page: Look for the organizer's contact information or "Contact Organizer" button on the event page.
2. From your order: Go to My Account → All Orders → View, then click Get Support to send a message to the organizer about your specific order.

Organizers typically respond within 1–5 business days.

If you're having technical issues, make sure your browser is up to date, then try clearing your cache and cookies — you can find this option in your web browser's settings.

If something still isn't working as expected:

• Try a different web browser, such as Google Chrome, Safari, or Mozilla Firefox.
• Check Cigar & Bourbon Tickets system status to verify if there's an issue.

If you can't order tickets, follow these instructions:

• Disable pop-up blockers, which may prevent the payment window from appearing.
• Scroll to the bottom of the order page. There may be additional questions you must answer to complete the order.
• Try using a different payment method.

Still have questions? Contact support.

To report an event that violates Cigar & Bourbon Ticket's Terms of Service or Community Guidelines:

1. Find the event listing on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets.
2. Copy the URL and reach out to us from the contact page.

Still have questions? Contact support.

If you changed your own password, no action is needed.

If you did not make this change, your account may have been accessed by someone else. Take these steps immediately:

1. Reset your password — Go to the Forgot Password page, enter your email, and set a new strong password.
2. Check your email account — If someone changed your Cigar & Bourbon Tickets password, they may have access to your personal email too. Change that password as well and enable two-factor authentication if your email provider supports it.
3. Review your account — After regaining access, check for any unauthorized orders or changes to your profile at Account Details.

If you're locked out of your account, visit our Help Center or contact support for assistance.

If you changed your own email address, no action is needed.

If you did not make this change, someone may have gained access to your account and changed your email to lock you out. Here's what to do:

1. Click the "Revert Now" button in the notification email — this will immediately restore your original email address and log out all sessions. You have 48 hours to use this link before it expires.
2. Set a new password — After your email is restored, you'll receive a password reset link. Use it immediately to secure your account.
3. Secure your personal email — Change the password on your personal email account as well, and enable two-factor authentication.

If the revert link has expired or you didn't receive the notification email, contact us immediately through the Help Center. Include your original email address and we'll assist with account recovery.

Here are best practices to protect your Cigar & Bourbon Tickets account:

• Use a strong, unique password — Don't reuse passwords from other websites. Use a mix of letters, numbers, and special characters.
• Keep your email account secure — Your email is the key to your account. If someone gains access to your email, they can reset your password and take over your account.
• Watch for phishing — Cigar & Bourbon Tickets will never ask for your password via email. Our emails come from @cigarandbourbontickets.com addresses.
• Review notification emails — We send alerts when your password or email address is changed. If you didn't make the change, act immediately.
• Log out on shared devices — If you log in from a public or shared computer, always log out when you're done.

If you suspect your account has been compromised, reset your password immediately and review your account details for unauthorized changes.

There are several ways to discover events on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets:

1. Browse All Events: Visit https://cigarandbourbontickets.com/ to see all upcoming events.
2. Search by Location: Use the location bar at the top of any page — type a city, state, or zip code and click the search icon. Results are filtered by proximity.
3. Search by Keyword: Use the "Search events" bar to find events by name, organizer, or keyword.
4. Find Events Page: Click Find Events in the top menu to access the full event discovery page with filters.

You can also follow your favorite organizers to get notified when they post new events.

When you enter a location in the search bar, the platform uses Google Maps to find your coordinates and shows events within a radius of that location, sorted by distance. You can:

• Type a city name (e.g., "Los Angeles")
• Type a zip code (e.g., "90210")
• Allow browser location access for automatic nearby results

The geo-search button () next to the location field lets you quickly use your current location.

The Comparison Chart shows a side-by-side comparison of Cigar & Bourbon Tickets vs. other event platforms like Eventbrite, Luma, and Partiful. It covers:

• Fees: Service fees and processing fees for each platform
• Features: What's included vs. what costs extra
• Payouts: How quickly organizers get paid
• Tools: Marketing, analytics, and event management capabilities

CBT charges a 3.4% + $0.99 Service Fee and 2.9% + $0.30 Processing Fee — all paid by the ticket buyer, not the organizer. Like Eventbrite, organizers receive 100% of the ticket price when fees are passed to buyers. CBT's advantage is lower total attendee fees. For recurring memberships, Stripe applies a nominal billing usage fee of approximately 0.7%.

Yes! When you visit an organizer's profile page, click the Follow button. You'll be notified when they create new events. You can view all organizers at Find Organizers.

To manage who you follow, go to your account and check the organizers you're following.

Organizers can choose from three event page layouts:

• Classic: Traditional layout with event details, sidebar, and ticket options
• Hero: Full-width banner image at the top with an immersive header
• Immersive: Full-screen visual experience with overlay text

All templates show the same essential information — event details, ticket options, organizer info, and venue location with a map. The layout simply affects the visual presentation.

Some event organizers are members of industry associations recognized by Cigar & Bourbon Tickets. When an organizer is a verified association member, their customers pay a reduced service fee at checkout.

For example, the standard service fee is 3.4% + $0.99 per ticket. Association member organizers may offer fees as low as 2.90% + $0.75 — meaning you pay less when buying tickets to their events. The exact fee is shown clearly at checkout before you complete your purchase.

This is a benefit the organizer earns through their association membership, and it passes directly to you as the ticket buyer.

To save an event you're interested in:

1. Visit the event page.
2. Click the heart icon or "Save" button.
3. The event is added to your favorites.

You can view all your saved events from My Account. This is a great way to keep track of events you want to attend but aren't ready to purchase tickets for yet.

When browsing or searching for events, you may see a "Recurring" badge on some event cards. This means the event is part of a recurring series — the organizer hosts it on a regular schedule (e.g., weekly, monthly, or on custom dates).

Recurring events may have already started their series but still have upcoming dates available. Click on the event to see the full schedule and available dates.

Some organizers offer memberships that provide benefits like discounted tickets, exclusive access, or VIP perks. Memberships work like subscriptions — you purchase a membership plan from an organizer and enjoy the benefits for the duration of the plan.

To browse available memberships, visit an organizer's profile page and look for their membership plans.

To view your memberships:

1. Log in and go to My Account → My Memberships.
2. The Active tab shows your current memberships — including active, paused, and any that are scheduled to cancel but haven't yet.
3. The Inactive tab shows expired or cancelled memberships for your reference, so you can still view past benefits, pricing, and order details.
4. Each membership shows the organizer, plan name, status, and expiration date.

If the organizer has enabled digital membership cards:

1. Go to My Account → My Memberships.
2. Click on your active membership.
3. Look for the Download Card button to get a PDF of your membership card with a QR code.

The QR code on your card can be scanned by the organizer at events to verify your membership status and check you in.

When a membership expires, you'll lose access to the associated benefits (discounts, exclusive access, etc.). The membership will show as "Expired" in your account. Contact the organizer if you'd like to renew — some plans may offer auto-renewal.

Some organizers require members to accept their Membership Terms & Conditions before completing a purchase. This is a legal agreement between you and the organizer that covers things like membership benefits, billing, cancellation policies, code of conduct, and liability.

You can review the full terms by clicking the "Membership Terms & Conditions" link in the checkbox area — it opens in a popup so you can read everything before agreeing. Your acceptance is recorded with a timestamp and stored with your order for both your protection and the organizer's.

Note: Cigar & Bourbon Tickets provides the technology for organizers to present and collect terms acceptance, but the terms themselves are created by and are the responsibility of each individual organizer.

Some organizers offer installment plans that let you pay for a membership in smaller amounts over time instead of one upfront payment.

How it works:

• You pay the first installment at checkout and receive full membership access immediately.
• Remaining payments are charged automatically to the same payment method on a recurring schedule (e.g., monthly or quarterly).
• You'll receive an email confirmation for each payment.

Example: A $240 annual membership split into 4 payments of $60 every 3 months.

You can view your upcoming payments and membership status anytime under My Account → My Memberships. If you have questions about billing or need to update your payment method, contact the organizer directly.

Some memberships include digital guest passes that let you bring guests to events as part of your membership benefits.

How it works:

• Your membership includes a set number of guest passes per billing period (e.g., 12 passes per year).
• Each time you attend an event, you can redeem a pass to bring a guest.
• The organizer sets a guest limit — for example, 1 guest per visit, per week, or per month.
• Depending on the organizer's settings, unused passes may carry over to the next billing period or expire at the end of each period.

Check your membership details under My Account → My Memberships to see how many guest passes you have remaining.

If your membership uses an installment payment plan, cancellation is handled by the organizer rather than self-service. On your membership page, you'll see a "Request Cancellation" button.

How it works:

1. Go to My Account → My Memberships.
2. Find the installment membership and click "Request Cancellation."
3. A support ticket is opened and pre-filled with your cancellation request — you can add a personal message before submitting.
4. The ticket goes directly to the organizer, who will process your cancellation.

This is different from standard memberships where you can cancel instantly. Installment plans require organizer review because there may be remaining payment obligations or terms to discuss.

Participating organizers on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets can offer a Rewards Program that lets you earn points and unlock discounts on future ticket purchases. When you buy tickets from an organizer with an active rewards program, you automatically earn points based on your spending.

As you accumulate spend, you move up through reward tiers (e.g., Bronze, Silver, Gold) — each tier unlocks a bigger ticket discount and exclusive perks like complimentary drinks, reserved seating, or VIP access.

You are automatically enrolled when you purchase a ticket from an organizer with an active rewards program. No sign-up needed — just make a purchase with your phone number, and you are in.

Your phone number is your rewards ID, so make sure you use a consistent phone number across purchases to accumulate your points and spend.

Log in and go to My Account → My Rewards. You will see:

• Your current tier and discount percentage
• Your points balance and total spend
• A progress bar showing how close you are to the next tier
• Your current perks
• Your recent activity — a history of points earned per purchase

If you are enrolled with multiple organizers, you will see a separate rewards card for each one.

When you purchase tickets online or at the door, the system automatically checks your rewards tier with that organizer. If you qualify for a tier discount, it is applied automatically — you do not need a coupon code.

The system uses a best-discount-wins approach: if you also qualify for a membership discount or early bird pricing, whichever gives you the lowest price is applied.

Yes! When your spending crosses a tier threshold and you are upgraded, you will receive a congratulations email with your new tier name, discount percentage, and perks. SMS notifications are also available when the organizer has SMS enabled.

To reset your password:

1. Go to Lost password.
2. Enter your email address.
3. Select Reset Password. Password reset emails come from orders@cigarandbourbontickets.com and have the subject line, "Cigar & Bourbon Tickets Password Reset."

Contact Cigar & Bourbon Tickets if:

• You don't receive the password reset email.
• The email you used to register had a typo.
• You can't access the email inbox associated with your account.
• There's an account associated with your email that you didn't create.

If your account is suspended, follow the instructions in the email you received from Cigar & Bourbon Tickets.

To access, delete, or manage your data, go to your Account Details page and take control of your data.

Cigar & Bourbon Tickets takes data privacy seriously and complies with all applicable data privacy law obligations. Cigar & Bourbon Tickets seeks to help event organizers comply with their respective obligations.

The owner is the main Cigar & Bourbon Tickets account holder. If the new owner already has a Cigar & Bourbon Tickets account, they must close it before their email can be used for the owner account.

To change ownership:

1. Log in using the current owner's email address.
2. Go to Account Details.
3. Click on the email address and enter the email address of the new account owner. Then, click the Save Changes button.

The new account owner can change the password by completing the Lost Password process.

If you can't log into the owner account or need to dispute ownership, contact us for help.

Still have questions? Contact support.

If you see your business or organization listed on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets but didn't create the account yourself, it was likely set up by our team to help promote your events. You can claim ownership of this profile at any time.

To claim your profile:

1. Find your organizer profile on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets.
2. Look for the "Retrieve Account" button on the profile page.
3. Click the button and enter your email address — this should be the email you want associated with the account going forward.
4. Complete the verification (reCAPTCHA) and click "Send Verification Email."
5. Check your inbox for a verification link from Cigar & Bourbon Tickets. The link expires in 48 hours.
6. Click the verification link to complete the transfer. You'll receive a password reset email so you can set your own password.

Once claimed, the profile is fully yours — you can update your store name, upload a logo, manage events, connect your Stripe account for payouts, and more from the Dashboard.

Note: The "Retrieve Account" button only appears on profiles that were created by Cigar & Bourbon Tickets on your behalf. If you don't see the button, the profile has already been claimed or was created directly by the owner.

Still have questions? Contact support.

If you created your vendor account using Google, Facebook, X, or Apple, your account was set up with a random password that you won't know. To enable email/password login:

1. Go to Forgot Password.
2. Enter the email address associated with your social login account.
3. Check your email for the password reset link and set a new password.

After setting a password, you'll be able to log in with either your email/password or your social account — both will work. Your Dashboard, events, and all settings remain exactly the same regardless of which login method you use.

If you received a notification that your password or email was changed and you didn't make the change, take immediate action:

If your password was changed:

1. Click the "Secure Your Account" button in the notification email to reset your password immediately.
2. If you can still log in, go to Account Details and set a new password.

If your email was changed:

1. Check the notification that was sent to your original email.
2. Click "I Didn't Make This Change — Revert Now" within 48 hours to restore your email and log out all sessions.
3. Set a new password using the reset link sent after the revert.

Important: If your vendor account is compromised, your events, payout settings, and customer data may be at risk. After recovering your account, verify your Stripe connection and review recent orders for unauthorized changes.

If the revert link has expired or you need further help, contact us through the Help Center.

That's exactly the kind of event our platform was built to support. This isn't just for large corporate or sponsored events — it's perfect for passionate enthusiasts who want to bring together fellow cigar lovers in a casual setting.

Here's how you can leverage the platform for your Herf events:

• Visibility for Your Local Herf: Even if your gathering is small and informal, listing it on our site can help you reach other cigar aficionados in your area.
• No Cost, No Hassle: It's completely free to list and promote your event. You won't need to worry about ticket fees or organizing a big sponsored gathering.
• Recurring Event Support: Our platform lets you create recurring events, so you only need to set it up once and update as needed.
• Promote Among Like-Minded Enthusiasts: Even if you don't charge for tickets, listing your Herf gives you a space to post details and communicate with attendees.

To become an event organizer on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets:

1. Click Create Events in the top menu.
2. Complete the registration form with your business name, email, and basic info.
3. You'll be taken directly to the Setup Wizard to configure your store.

The Setup Wizard walks you through: store name & logo, business address, Stripe payment connection, and social media links. You can always update these later from Settings in your Dashboard.

To become an event organizer on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets:

1. Click Create Events in the top menu.
2. Complete the registration form with your business name, email, and basic info.
3. You'll be taken directly to the Setup Wizard to configure your store.

The Setup Wizard walks you through: store name & logo, business address, Stripe payment connection, and social media links. You can always update these later from Settings in your Dashboard.

You can sign up for free! All fees are passed onto attendees.

If you're charging for ticket sales, Cigar & Bourbon Ticket's Service Fee is 3.4% + $0.99 of the ticket price and the Processing Fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Review our pricing information here.

The Setup Wizard appears right after you complete vendor registration. It guides you through essential configuration:

1. Store Info: Business name, logo, banner image
2. Address: Business address using Google Maps autocomplete
3. Payment: Connect your Stripe account to receive payouts
4. Social: Link your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X profiles

You can skip steps and return later, but we recommend completing them all to build trust with potential attendees.

Yes. You can post free events and offer $0 tickets at no cost. Cigar & Bourbon Tickets does not charge organizers any monthly fees, enrollment costs, or setup fees.

Cigar & Bourbon Tickets uses Stripe Connect for all payments. Here's how it works:

• You receive 100% of the ticket price — CBT does not take a cut of your ticket sales.
• Attendees pay the fees: A 3.4% + $0.99 Service Fee and 2.9% + $0.30 Processing Fee are added at checkout.
• Direct payouts: Payments go directly to your connected Stripe account.
• Payout timing: First payout may take up to 7 business days. Subsequent payouts typically arrive within 2–3 business days.
• Membership note: For recurring memberships, Stripe applies a nominal billing usage fee of approximately 0.7%, which is deducted from your payout. This is a Stripe fee — not a CBT fee.

Connect your Stripe account in Settings → Payment.

You can accept credit card payments for your events and manage transactions within your account dashboard.

It's a great way to keep track of sales, and you can even collect contact information for your attendees. Consider tiered pricing, which can make your event marketable to a broader audience, or VIP experiences for event-goers looking for more.

The Dashboard is your command center for managing everything on the platform. From here you can:

• Dashboard: Overview of sales, orders, and recent activity
• Orders: View and manage customer orders
• Events: Create, edit, clone, and manage events
• Memberships: Create and manage membership plans
• Marketing: Email campaigns, SMS blasts, referral links, promotions, and paid ad placements
• Reports: Revenue, product performance, order analytics, and financial statements
• Community: Followers, photo walls, and reviews
• Support: Customer support tickets and platform support
• Settings: Store info, payment, social links, and SEO

To make sure you get paid for your ticket sales, it's crucial to connect your Stripe account. Initial Stripe payouts take approximately 7 business days. Subsequent payouts usually happen within a few days of the transaction.

As an organizer, you'll receive support requests from your attendees:

1. Go to Dashboard → Support → Customer Support.
2. You'll see all tickets submitted by customers about your events.
3. Click a ticket to view details and respond.
4. You can mark tickets as: Submitted, In Progress, Resolved, or Closed.

Respond to all support requests within 5 business days. Attendees submit tickets via My Account → All Orders → View → Get Support.

Yes, you can scan tickets. With the Cigar & Bourbon Tickets interface, you can check in attendees using your smartphone or tablet's camera to scan the attendees' QR codes on their tickets. Event-goers will love being able to check in without printed tickets, and you'll be able to move attendees through the line more efficiently.

For issues with the platform itself (not customer event questions):

1. Go to Support → Platform Support.
2. Select a topic, enter a subject line, and describe your issue.
3. Click Send Message.

Your tickets appear in My Support Tickets below the form. You can also access the Help Center for self-service answers, or use the Chat AI assistant for instant help.

The Announcements section in your dashboard shows important updates from the Cigar & Bourbon Tickets team:

• New features and improvements
• Policy updates
• Scheduled maintenance
• Tips and best practices

Check Support → Announcements regularly to stay informed about platform changes.

You will have to add a new estimated date. This can always be changed again if needed:

1. Go to Events and click the Edit button next to the event.
2. Under "Date and Time", select a new Start Date and time and End Date and time. Check "Hide Event Time" and "Hide Event End Time" boxes to hide the date, then click the Submit Event button at the bottom of the page.
3. Email everyone who registered. Click the 3 dots (…) next to the event and select Attendee List option to access attendee contact info.
4. Share your refund policy and when you'll announce the new date.
5. Respond to attendee support and refund requests from those who can no longer attend.

If the date on your event listing has passed, you can't edit it or put tickets on sale. Please contact Cigar & Bourbon Tickets if this happens.

If you can't find your event to manage it, try these steps:

• Try to log in to Cigar & Bourbon Tickets with any other email addresses you use.
• Log in and select Events. You will see a list of all events linked to the email address used to login.
• Search your email inbox and spam folder for a confirmation email from noreply@cigarandbourbontickets.com.

Still have questions? Contact Support.

You can reschedule or delete a single event instance without affecting other events in a series:

1. Go to Events.
2. Click the Edit button next to the appropriate instance.
3. Make the necessary changes/updates and click the Next/Update button.
4. Email any attendees impacted by the event change.

You can't edit the summary, location, or other details for a single event instance.

To create an event:

1. Go to your Dashboard → Events → Create Event.
2. Basic Info: Enter event title, description, category, and tags.
3. Date & Time: Set start/end dates and times. Enable "Add recurring event" for series.
4. Location: Enter the venue name and address (with Google Maps autocomplete), or toggle "Online Event."
5. Media: Upload a banner image, logo, gallery photos, and optional video URL.
6. Tickets: Create ticket types with names, prices, quantities, and sale periods.
7. Settings: Choose event template (Classic/Hero/Immersive), ticket template, SEO fields, and social links.
8. Set status to Publish and click Save Event.

Recurring events let you create a series of events with a single setup:

1. When creating/editing an event, check "Add recurring event."
2. Choose the pattern: Daily, Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly, or Custom dates.
3. Set the number of occurrences or an end date.
4. Optionally set duration (for multi-day events) and hide thumbnails on recurring instances.

The system creates individual event instances that share the parent event's details. You can edit each instance independently if needed (e.g., to change one date). Recurring instances are labeled with a Recurrence badge in your events list.

To quickly create a new event based on an existing one:

1. Go to Events → My Events.
2. Click the three dots (...) menu on the event you want to copy.
3. Select Clone Event.
4. A new draft event will be created with all the same details.
5. Edit the cloned event to update dates, tickets, and any other info.

Cloning saves time when hosting similar events repeatedly.

Cigar & Bourbon Tickets includes a built-in AI Description Generator powered by Claude that writes polished, SEO-friendly event descriptions for you in seconds.

How to use it:

1. When creating or editing an event, fill in your event title, category, venue, and date in Step 1.
2. On Step 2 (Description & Images), click the " Write with AI" button next to the Full Description label.
3. Choose a Tone — Professional, Casual, Luxury, or Energetic.
4. Optionally add notes about what to highlight (e.g., "VIP lounge, live jazz, 5 bourbon selections").
5. Click Generate Description and the AI will craft a 2–3 paragraph description based on your event details.
6. The description appears directly in the editor — edit it freely before publishing.

The AI uses your event title, category, venue, city, and date to generate relevant, unique copy every time. You can regenerate as many times as you like until you are happy with the result.

Each event can have multiple ticket types (tiers). When creating or editing an event, scroll to the Tickets & Pricing section:

• Ticket Name: e.g., "General Admission," "VIP," "Premium"
• Price: Set the ticket price (enter 0 for free events)
• Quantity: Maximum tickets available for this tier (leave empty for unlimited)
• Sale Period: Optionally set when ticket sales start and end
• Description: What's included with this ticket tier

You can add multiple ticket types to offer different experience levels. You can choose between Standard and Compact ticket templates that affect how the downloaded ticket looks.

The QR Scanner is part of the Door Operations system — a full mobile app experience for managing everything at the event entrance. Open it on your phone or tablet by going to Events → QR Scanner in your dashboard.

Check-In Tab:

1. Allow camera access when prompted.
2. Point the camera at the attendee's QR code (from their ticket email or downloaded ticket).
3. The scanner verifies the ticket and shows: attendee name, ticket type, and check-in status.
4. If valid, the attendee is marked as checked in.

The scanner prevents duplicate check-ins and supports multi-day passes (one check-in per day). You can also search attendees by name and check them in manually.

Additional tabs available at the door:

• Sell — Process walk-up ticket sales (credit card, cash, or complimentary). Buyers receive their ticket and a confirmation email immediately.
• Members — Check in members by scanning their membership card QR code, log guest pass visits, and manage guest passes.
• Bookings — Check in venue bookings, adjust headcount, and track booking status.
• Manage — View real-time sales and check-in statistics, search orders, and manage scanner access.

The Sell tab in the door scanner lets you process walk-up ticket sales right from your phone or tablet:

1. Open the scanner at Events → QR Scanner.
2. Tap the Sell tab.
3. Select the event and choose the ticket type and quantity.
4. Enter the buyer's name and email address.
5. Choose a payment method: Credit Card (processed through Stripe), Cash, or Complimentary (free).
6. Complete the sale.

The buyer is automatically checked in, receives a confirmation email with their ticket and QR code, and the purchase appears in your Orders dashboard. If the buyer later creates an account using the same email address, the purchase is automatically linked to their account.

You can control the order tickets appear on your event page using drag-and-drop:

1. When creating or editing an event, go to the Tickets step in the Event Wizard.
2. Look for the drag handle (three horizontal lines) on the left side of each ticket type.
3. Click and drag the handle to reorder tickets — the order you set here is the order attendees see on the event page.

This is useful for putting your most popular or most affordable ticket at the top, or ordering VIP tiers in a logical sequence.

To view your event's attendees:

1. Go to Events → My Events.
2. Click the attendees icon (people icon) on the event.
3. You'll see a full list with: attendee name, email, ticket type, check-in status, and order details.

From the attendee list you can: check in attendees manually, view their order details, export the list as CSV, and directly reach your attendees using the Email Attendees or SMS Attendees buttons — which take you to the email campaign or SMS blast composer pre-populated with that event's attendees as the audience.

The Pause feature lets you temporarily hide your organizer profile and all your events from public view:

• When paused, your events won't appear in search results or the browse page.
• Existing tickets and orders remain valid — pausing doesn't affect purchased tickets.
• You can unpause at any time to restore visibility.

This is useful if you need a break from hosting events or want to prepare your next season without public listings. Look for the Profile Paused indicator in your dashboard sidebar.

Before publishing your first event, you'll be asked to accept the Event Posting Guidelines. These ensure quality and trust on the platform:

• Relevant content: Events must be related to cigars, bourbon, whiskey, or related lifestyle experiences.
• Accurate information: Event details, pricing, and descriptions must be truthful.
• No spam or duplicates: Don't create multiple identical listings.
• Appropriate content: No offensive, discriminatory, or misleading content.
• Refund responsibility: Organizers handle their own refunds and cancellation policies.
• Legal compliance: Events must comply with all local laws including age restrictions.

Violations may result in warnings, event removal, or account suspension.

When creating an event, you can choose from three page layouts:

• Classic: Traditional layout with content and sidebar — great for information-heavy events.
• Hero: Large banner image header — ideal for visually striking events.
• Immersive: Full-screen visual experience — best for premium/luxury events.

Select your template in the event editor under Settings → Event Template. You can change the template at any time.

These features enhance the social experience of your events:

Social Guest List: Shows attendees who else is going. Enable this in the event settings when creating/editing an event.

Photo Wall: A shared gallery where attendees and organizers can upload event photos. Enable this in the event settings. After the event, attendees can access the photo wall from the event page to share and view photos.

Both features help build community engagement and encourage social sharing.

Donation tickets let attendees choose how much to contribute instead of paying a fixed price. To create one:

1. Go to Tickets & Pricing in your event editor.
2. Click Add Ticket (or edit an existing ticket).
3. Check Donation Ticket → Enable.
4. Set a Minimum Amount (the lowest donation you'll accept).
5. Enter Suggested Amounts as comma-separated values (e.g., 25, 50, 75, 100). These appear as quick-select buttons for attendees.
6. Optionally enable Fundraising Goal with a dollar target and check "Show progress bar" to display donation progress on the event page.
7. Click Update Ticket, then Save Changes.

Note: Donation tickets cannot be combined with Early Bird Pricing or Group Discounts. Password protection (access codes) can still be used with donation tickets.

Group discounts automatically apply a percentage discount when an attendee buys a minimum number of tickets:

1. Go to Tickets & Pricing in your event editor.
2. Click Add Ticket or edit an existing ticket.
3. Check Group Discount → Enable.
4. Set the Minimum Quantity (e.g., 2).
5. Set the Discount Percentage (e.g., 5%).
6. Click Update Ticket, then Save Changes.

The discount appears as a purple badge on the ticket (e.g., "Buy 2+, Save 5%") and applies automatically at checkout — no promo code needed. Group discounts cannot be combined with donation tickets.

Hidden tickets require an access code to view and purchase, making them ideal for presales, VIP offers, or exclusive pricing:

1. Go to Tickets & Pricing in your event editor.
2. Click Add Ticket or edit an existing ticket.
3. Under Ticket Visibility, change "Who Can See This Ticket?" to Password — Requires access code.
4. Enter an Access Password (e.g., "VIP2026").
5. Click Update Ticket, then Save Changes.

On the event page, attendees will see a lock icon and an "Unlock" button. They must enter the correct password to reveal the ticket and its pricing. Share the access code privately through email, social media, or text.

You can set future on-sale dates so tickets become available automatically at a specific date and time:

1. Go to Tickets & Pricing in your event editor.
2. Click Add Ticket or edit an existing ticket.
3. Set the Sale Start Date to a future date.
4. Click Update Ticket, then Save Changes.

Before the sale start date, attendees will see the ticket grayed out with a countdown message (e.g., "On sale Feb 20, 2026 at 10:00 AM"). The ticket becomes purchasable automatically when the start time arrives.

Most ticket features can be combined freely, with one key restriction:

Donation tickets cannot have Early Bird Pricing or Group Discounts. The dashboard will automatically disable these options when Donation is enabled.

All other combinations work:

• Early Bird + Group Discount — the best discount wins at checkout
• Early Bird + Password — protected early bird pricing
• Group Discount + Password — exclusive group deals
• Donation + Password — presale codes for donation campaigns
• Scheduled Sale + any feature — set future on-sale dates with any ticket type

Private events are only accessible via a unique tokenized link — they won't appear in public event listings or search results.

To make an event private:

1. In the event wizard, change the Visibility dropdown (top right) from Public to Private.
2. Click Save. A unique private link will be generated automatically.
3. Copy the private link from the yellow banner at the top of the editor and share it with your invitees.

Important: If you switch a private event to public and later switch it back to private, a new link will be generated and any previously shared links will stop working. A warning banner will appear when you make this change.

Private events support all the same features as public events — tickets, promo codes, check-in scanning, and attendee management all work normally.

Multi-day passes allow attendees to check in once per day across a multi-day event like a festival or conference.

To set up multi-day passes:

1. Set your event's Start Date and End Date to span multiple days.
2. In the Tickets step, create your ticket type(s).
3. Enable Multi-Day Pass on the ticket — this allows one check-in per day of the event.

How check-in works:

• The QR scanner tracks one check-in per attendee per day.
• If an attendee has already been scanned on a given day, the scanner will indicate they've already checked in for that day.
• The next day, the same attendee can check in again with the same ticket.

This is ideal for multi-day festivals, conferences, or recurring weekly events where a single pass covers multiple dates.

The pre-publish checklist appears in the Review step (Step 5) of the event wizard. It helps you catch common issues before your event goes live.

The checklist verifies:

• Event title — is it set?
• Start date — is it in the future?
• At least one ticket — does the event have tickets configured?
• Featured image — recommended for better visibility in listings
• Event description — recommended for SEO and attendee engagement
• FAQ section — recommended to reduce support questions
• Event category — required for event discovery and filtering
• Ticket sale dates — warns if tickets are set to go on sale in the future

Green checkmarks indicate completed items. Yellow warnings indicate recommended items. Each item is clickable and will jump you directly to the relevant step in the wizard to fix it.

If you already have events listed on Eventbrite, you can import them directly into your Cigar & Bourbon Tickets dashboard in just a few clicks.

How to import:

1. Go to Dashboard → Events → My Events.
2. Click the "Import from Eventbrite" button (orange) next to "Create Event."
3. Paste the full Eventbrite event URL into the input field.
4. Click Import and wait for the system to pull in your event details.

What gets imported:

• Event title and full description
• Date, time, and timezone
• Venue name, address, and map coordinates
• Event images
• Ticket types with pricing (note: prices may include Eventbrite fees — verify and adjust before publishing)

Imported events are saved as Draft so you can review and adjust everything before going live. You can import up to 5 events per day.

Important: You are responsible for ensuring you have the right to list the imported event on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets and that all details are accurate before publishing.

Reserved seating lets you create an interactive seat map that attendees use to choose their exact seats at checkout. To set it up:

1. Create or edit your event in the Event Wizard.
2. Go to Step 4: Seating (this step appears after you've created at least one ticket type).
3. Click "Create New Layout" and give your layout a name (e.g., "Main Floor" or "Tasting Room").
4. Use the visual builder to add elements to your canvas: Tables (round, rectangular, U-tables, L-sectionals), Seating (individual seats, loveseats, sofas, arc rows, GA zones, VIP zones, wedge sections), and Venue Features (stage, bar, restroom, dance floor — non-ticketed elements for context).
5. Link each section to a ticket type using the properties panel on the right.
6. Click "Save Layout" and then "Save Event."

When your event is published, attendees will see a "Choose Your Seats" button that opens your interactive map.

The seat map builder offers four categories of elements:

Tables — Create dining or seating tables with a specific number of seats. Options include round tables, rectangular tables, U-shaped tables, and L-shaped sectionals. Tables can be sold per-seat or as a whole unit.

Individual Seating — Single seats, loveseats (2-person), sofas (3-person), and curved arc rows. These are ideal for theater-style layouts, lounge areas, or paired seating.

Zones — Capacity-based areas where attendees don't pick specific seats. General admission zones, VIP zones, and wedge-shaped sections work as counters — you set the total capacity and the system tracks how many spots are sold.

Decor — Non-ticketed visual elements like stages, bars, restrooms, dance floors, and DJ booths. These help attendees understand the venue layout but don't generate tickets. Decor elements are excluded from all sales and reporting.

Instead of building a layout from scratch, you can start with one of 10 pre-built templates designed for common event types:

1. Open the seat map builder in Step 4: Seating of the event wizard.
2. Click "Use Template" at the top of the toolbar.
3. Browse the templates — each shows a mini preview, description, and element count: Tasting Room, Cigar Lounge, Classroom, Theater, Banquet/Gala, Festival Grounds, Outdoor Tent, Cocktail Reception, Concert/Live Music, Private VIP Suite.
4. Click a template to apply it. If your canvas already has elements, you'll see a confirmation prompt.
5. After applying, customize the layout by moving, resizing, or deleting elements to match your actual venue.

Templates are starting points — you can modify everything after applying.

Yes. You can upload a floor plan image to use as a reference while building your seat map:

1. In the seat map builder, open Canvas Settings in the toolbar.
2. Under "Floor Plan," click the upload button and select your floor plan image.
3. Adjust the opacity slider (5%–80%) so the background is visible but doesn't overpower your seating elements.
4. Place your tables, seats, and zones on top of the floor plan.

The floor plan is builder-only — your attendees will never see it. It's purely a visual reference to help you position elements accurately. For best results, increase the canvas dimensions to match your floor plan's aspect ratio.

Click "Remove" at any time to delete the background.

Resizing: Click any element to select it. Eight white square handles appear around the element — four at the corners and four at the midpoints of each edge. Drag a corner handle to resize both width and height together. Drag an edge handle to resize just one dimension. Minimum size is 30×30 pixels. Seats are automatically regenerated after resizing.

Rotating: With an element selected, use the rotation control in the properties panel on the right side. Enter a degree value or use the slider. The element rotates around its center point.

Snap-to-Grid: Enable snap-to-grid in Canvas Settings to make alignment easier. Choose between Fine (10px), Default (20px), or Coarse (40px) grid spacing. Visual grid dots update to show the current grid.

The seat map builder includes a print chart feature that generates a printable seating layout with assigned guest names:

1. Open the seat map builder for your event.
2. Click the "Print" button in the zoom toolbar.
3. A new browser window opens with a print-optimized version of your layout: Green dots = assigned seats with guest names displayed, Gray dots = available (unassigned) seats. General admission zones show "X/Y assigned" counts.
4. The printout includes a header with your event title, venue, and date, plus a color legend.
5. Click "Print" in the new window or use your browser's print function.

This is ideal for creating door charts, host stand references, or event-day seating guides. The layout prints in landscape orientation for maximum readability.

Whole-table pricing lets you sell an entire table (or loveseat, sofa, U-table, or L-sectional) as a single ticket rather than individual seats. The attendee buys one ticket and gets the whole unit.

When to use it:

• Cigar lounge events where groups want to reserve a full table
• Bourbon tasting dinners sold by the table
• VIP sections where a table package includes all seats
• Festival experiences sold as group packages

To enable it:

1. In the seat map builder, click on a table element.
2. In the properties panel, set Sell Mode to "Whole Unit."
3. Link it to a ticket type with the table price (e.g., "VIP Table — $500").

The buyer purchases one ticket at the table price. All seats at that table are included in their order.

When building a seat map, the Event Wizard automatically checks that the number of seats or units on your map matches the ticket quantities you set in Step 3 (Tickets). If there's a mismatch, you'll see warnings to help you fix it before publishing.

Types of warnings:

• Yellow banner at the top of the seat map builder: Tells you the total number of mapped seats vs. available ticket capacity, and which ticket types have mismatches.
• Inline warning on ticket dropdowns: Each ticket type in the builder shows a count like "(5/10 mapped)" so you can see at a glance which ones need attention.
• Pre-save modal: If you try to save an event with mismatches, a styled confirmation modal appears listing all issues and asking you to confirm.

How to resolve:

• If you have fewer seats than tickets — add more elements to your seat map, or reduce the ticket quantity in Step 3.
• If you have more seats than tickets — increase the ticket quantity in Step 3, or remove extra elements from the map.

Capacity validation is a helpful guide, not a hard block — you can still save your event with mismatches if needed. But matching your map to your ticket counts ensures attendees don't purchase tickets for seats that don't exist.

The Event Wizard automatically validates your seat map configuration and alerts you to potential issues. Warnings appear as a color-coded banner at the top of the seat map builder, and a styled modal appears when you try to navigate away from the Seating step or publish your event with unresolved issues.

Types of warnings:

• Amber — Capacity Mismatches: The number of seats on your map doesn't match the ticket quantities set in Step 3. Shows which ticket types have more or fewer mapped seats than available capacity.
• Purple — Unlinked Sections: Non-decor elements on your map that aren't linked to a ticket type, or that were linked to a ticket type that has since been deleted. Click the section and assign a ticket type in the properties panel.
• Red — Unmapped Ticket Types: Active ticket types from Step 3 that have quantity available but zero sections linked to them on the seat map. Either add sections for these tickets or reduce their quantity to zero.
• Blue — Min/Max Per Order Conflicts: Ticket types using whole-table pricing (1 unit per section) that have a minimum-per-order greater than 1, which would prevent customers from purchasing a single table.

The validation modal: When you navigate away from the Seating step or click Publish/Save, a styled modal summarizes all active issues. You can choose "Review in Builder" to go back and fix them, or "Continue Anyway" to proceed — validation warnings are advisory and do not block saving or publishing.

How to resolve:

• Capacity mismatches — Add or remove sections, or adjust ticket quantities in Step 3.
• Unlinked sections — Click the section and choose a ticket type from the dropdown. If a linked ticket type was deleted, reassign to an active one.
• Unmapped tickets — Add seat map sections for the ticket type, or set its quantity to 0 in Step 3 if it shouldn't be on the map.
• Min/Max conflicts — Set the minimum per order to 1 for whole-table ticket types in Step 3.

Zones let you group seat map sections into named, color-coded areas. Instead of coloring each table or section individually, you create zones like "Barrel Row", "Lounge VIP", or "Patio Seating" and assign sections to them. All sections in the same zone share the zone's color on the public seat map and appear together in a Zones legend so attendees instantly understand the venue layout.

How to use zones:

1. In the seat map builder (Step 4), click the ⚙️ gear button next to the Zone dropdown in the properties panel.
2. Click "Add Zone" to create a new zone. Give it a name and pick a color.
3. Select any section on the canvas, then choose the zone from the "Zone" dropdown in the properties panel.
4. The section's color automatically updates to match the zone. Manual color controls are dimmed while a zone is assigned.

Tips:

• Zones are optional — sections without a zone keep their individual colors.
• Pricing still comes from the linked ticket type (set in the Ticket Type dropdown). Zones are a visual grouping layer, not a separate pricing mechanism.
• Zones are saved with the layout and duplicated when you copy a layout.
• Attendees see a color-coded Zones legend strip above the seat map on the event page, and can click zone names to filter the map.

The Seat Map Library lets you save, reuse, and manage your seat map layouts across events — so you don't have to rebuild the same layout every time you host at the same venue.

To access your library:

1. Go to Dashboard → Events → Seat Maps in the sidebar.
2. You'll see all your saved layouts as cards, each showing the layout name, number of sections, total capacity, and which events are currently using it.

What you can do:

• Rename — Click the menu on a map card and choose Rename to give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Main Hall - 20 Tables" or "Patio Layout").
• Duplicate — Create a copy of a layout to modify for a variation (e.g., different table count for a smaller event).
• Delete — Remove layouts you no longer need. Maps currently in use by events cannot be deleted.
• Link to events — When creating a new event at a venue where you've used a seat map before, the system suggests your saved layout with a one-click "Use This Layout" button.

Co-promoted events allow you to partner with another organizer on the platform to jointly promote and sell tickets for a shared event. When you add a co-promoter:

• The event appears on both organizers' profile/store pages, reaching both audiences.
• The event owner retains full management control from their dashboard — the co-promoter does not see the event in their own dashboard.
• A revenue split calculator shows how ticket revenue is divided between you and your co-promoter.

This is ideal for collaborative events like joint cigar and bourbon tastings, cross-brand festivals, or partnership dinners where two organizers want to pool their audiences and expand their reach.

To invite another organizer as a co-promoter:

1. Create or edit your event in the Event Wizard.
2. In the event settings, look for the Co-Promoter section.
3. Search for the organizer you want to invite by name or email.
4. Set the revenue split percentage (e.g., 50/50, 70/30).
5. Click "Send Invitation."

The invited organizer receives an email notification with details about the event and the proposed split. They can accept or decline from their dashboard.

Once accepted, the event is cross-listed on both organizers' public profile pages, expanding your reach to the co-promoter's audience. You (the event owner) retain full control of the event from your dashboard — the co-promoter does not manage the event directly.

When you co-promote an event, ticket revenue is split between you and your co-promoter based on the percentage you agreed upon when sending the invitation.

How it works:

• All ticket revenue is collected by the event owner (primary organizer) through Stripe as usual.
• A revenue split calculator in your dashboard shows real-time earnings breakdown for both parties.
• The event owner is responsible for settling payment directly with the co-promoter. Co-promoters are not paid automatically through the platform.

Example on a $50 ticket with a 50/50 split:

• You (event owner) collect $50 via Stripe
• You owe the co-promoter $25
• The attendee pays the standard service fee on top, as usual

The revenue split calculator gives both organizers full visibility into sales so there's a clear record of what's owed. Settlement timing and method (Zelle, Venmo, bank transfer, etc.) is between you and your co-promoter.

You can set custom brand colors that appear on your event pages, ticket cards, and checkout experience:

1. When creating or editing an event in the Event Wizard, go to the Settings step.
2. Look for the Brand Colors section.
3. Set your Primary Color and Accent Color.

How the color cascade works:

• If you set colors on a specific event, those colors are used for that event.
• If you don't set event-specific colors, your organizer-level brand colors (from Settings → Store) are used instead.
• If neither is set, the platform's default colors apply.

This lets you maintain a consistent brand across all your events, or customize individual events for special occasions.

Designing an event page is simple. Log into your Cigar & Bourbon Tickets account and from the Events tab click the Add New Event button. Enter the relevant details about your event and click the Submit Event button. Now you're ready to share your event page!

Yes. Attendees have built-in tools to manage their registration:

• Transfer a ticket: Attendees can transfer their ticket to someone else from My Account → My Tickets using the Transfer button. The recipient receives an email with a secure link to accept or decline the transfer within 72 hours.
• Edit attendee info: Attendees can update their name and phone number on a ticket from My Account → All Orders → View → Attendee Detail → Edit. The email address is read-only — changing the ticket holder requires a Transfer.
• Request cancellation: Attendees can request to cancel via the Get Support option in their dashboard, which contacts you (the organizer) directly.

Transfer controls: You can enable or disable ticket transfers and set a transfer cutoff window in the Tickets step of the Event Wizard. For example, you can prevent transfers within 24 hours of the event.

Refund policies are set by each organizer. We recommend using the Event FAQ feature when creating your event to clearly communicate your refund and transfer policies.

You can enable or disable ticket transfers and set a cutoff window for each event:

1. Open the Event Wizard for your event (create or edit).
2. Go to the Tickets step (Step 3).
3. Find the "Ticket Transfers" card.
4. Toggle "Allow ticket transfers" on or off.
5. If enabled, set a transfer cutoff — how close to the event transfers are allowed (e.g., up to the event, 1 hour before, 24 hours before, or 1 week before).

What happens when transfers are enabled:

• Attendees see a Transfer button on their My Tickets page.
• Transfers use a secure email workflow — the recipient gets a link to accept or decline within 72 hours.
• You can see transfer activity in the Order Details and Attendee List views in your dashboard (transferred tickets are clearly labeled).

What happens when transfers are disabled:

• The Transfer button does not appear for attendees.
• Attendees can still edit their name and phone on the ticket via Edit Info, but cannot change who holds the ticket.

Transfer settings apply per event, so you can have different policies for different events.

Promote your virtual event and sell tickets on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets. When you create your event, in Step #2 toggle on the Online Event option.

Effectively marketing your event is the key to selling more tickets. Connect your event registration page to social media to extend your event's reach.

Attendees can follow your organizer profile. To see your followers:

1. Go to Community → Followers.
2. View a list of everyone following your organizer profile.

Your follower count is displayed on your organizer profile page. Followers may receive notifications when you create new events, so building a follower base helps with event promotion.

Attendees can leave reviews on your organizer profile after attending an event. To manage reviews:

1. Go to Community → Reviews.
2. View all reviews with star ratings and comments.
3. Respond to reviews to show engagement with your audience.

Positive reviews build trust and help attract new attendees. Encourage satisfied attendees to leave a review after your events.

Badges are trust indicators displayed on your organizer profile. They may include:

• Verified: Identity and business verified by CBT
• Top Rated: Consistently high review scores
• Established: Multiple successful events on the platform

Badges are awarded by the platform based on your activity and verification status. View your current badges in Community → Badges.

Stripe can take up to 7 business days to send your first payout. Subsequent payouts should happen within 3 business days. Once a payout is sent, your bank's processing time determines when the money will arrive in your account.

Still have questions? Contact support.

All refunds are processed through your dashboard. You should respond to all refund requests within five business days.

To issue a refund from your vendor dashboard:

1. Log into your dashboard and select Orders > Action/View > Refund Individual Tickets.
2. Find the ticket you want to refund, then tick the checkbox.
3. The Service Fee and Processing Fee are non-refundable.
4. Click Process Refund – this action will invalidate the ticket refunded.

To issue a refund from your Stripe account:

1. Log into your Stripe account and select Transactions.
2. Select the customer transaction you want to refund.
3. On the upper right, click the Refund button.
4. Enter the ticket price for the refund amount and click Refund.
5. Select the reason, and submit.

Read more: Refund and cancel payments.

Consult a tax professional if you're not sure what your tax obligations are. Cigar & Bourbon Tickets can't give tax advice.

If Cigar & Bourbon Tickets requests your tax information, you must provide it, or Cigar & Bourbon Tickets may hold your payouts.

U.S. organizations that are exempt from federal, state, county, and/or local sales taxes may qualify to have sales tax waived.

The Orders section shows all customer purchases:

• View order details including: customer name, event, ticket type, amount, and status.
• See attendee information for each ticket.
• Process individual ticket refunds.
• Track order status (processing, completed, refunded).

You can search orders by customer name, order number, or date range. Click View on any order for full details and actions.

With Stripe Connect, payments are deposited directly into your connected bank account — there's no manual withdrawal needed. Stripe handles the payout schedule automatically.

To view your payout history and pending balances, go to Withdraw in your dashboard, or check your Stripe Dashboard for detailed payout information.

Email campaigns let you promote events directly to your audience:

1. Go to Dashboard → Marketing → Email Campaigns.
2. Click Create New Campaign.
3. Choose your audience:
   • All customers
   • Attendees of a specific event
   • Membership holders
4. Select an email template or start from scratch.
5. Write your subject line and email content.
6. Preview and Send or Schedule for later.

The campaign analytics page shows open rates, click rates, and delivery status for each campaign. Email campaigns use Mailchimp integration if configured in your settings.

To connect Mailchimp for enhanced email campaigns:

1. Go to Settings → Integrations.
2. Enter your Mailchimp API Key (found in your Mailchimp account under Account Settings → API Keys).
3. Select your default Audience/List.
4. Save settings.

Once connected, your email campaigns will be sent through Mailchimp, giving you access to their delivery infrastructure, templates, and analytics.

SMS blasts let you send text messages to your audience using carrier email gateways — no third-party SMS service required:

1. Go to Dashboard → Marketing → SMS & Outreach.
2. Click New SMS Blast.
3. Select your audience (all customers, event attendees, etc.).
4. Write your message.
5. Send immediately or schedule for later.

Messages are delivered via carrier email-to-SMS gateways at no additional cost. For this to work, attendees must have provided their phone number and carrier during checkout or registration.

You can also reach attendees directly from any event's Attendees page using the SMS Attendees button.

To enable SMS blasts, you need a Twilio account:

1. Sign up at twilio.com.
2. Purchase a phone number (typically $1/month).
3. Find your Account SID and Auth Token on the Twilio Console dashboard.
4. In your Dashboard, go to Settings → Integrations.
5. Enter all three fields: Account SID, Auth Token, and From Number.
6. Save settings.

Add credits to your Twilio account to cover SMS costs. Each standard SMS costs about $0.0075.

Cigar & Bourbon Tickets delivers SMS messages using carrier email-to-SMS gateways instead of paid services like Twilio. Here's how it works:

• Each mobile carrier has an email gateway (e.g., number@txt.att.net for AT&T).
• When you send an SMS blast, the platform routes each message through the recipient's carrier gateway via email.
• This means no additional cost per message — it's sent through your platform's email infrastructure.

Requirement: For SMS to work, attendees need to have their phone number and mobile carrier on file. This information can be collected during checkout or member registration.

Referral links help you track which marketing channels are driving ticket sales:

1. Go to Dashboard → Marketing → Referrals.
2. Create a referral link for each channel (Facebook, Instagram, email, etc.).
3. Each link has a unique tracking code.
4. Share the link — when someone purchases through it, the sale is attributed to that referral source.

The referrals dashboard shows clicks, conversions, and revenue for each link, helping you understand which marketing channels are most effective.

The Ambassador Program lets you recruit promoters — influencers, brand reps, loyal customers, or anyone with a following — to sell tickets on your behalf in exchange for a commission.

How to set it up:

1. Go to Dashboard → Marketing → Referrals.
2. Create a referral link for each ambassador or marketing channel.
3. Set the commission rate — either a flat dollar amount or a percentage per ticket sold.
4. Share the unique referral link with your ambassador.

How it works for ambassadors:

• Each ambassador gets a unique tracking link they share via social media, email, text, flyers, etc.
• When someone clicks the link and buys a ticket, the sale is automatically attributed to that ambassador.
• Ambassadors don't need an account on the platform — the link does all the tracking.

Tracking & payouts:

• Your Referrals dashboard shows real-time data: clicks, conversions, revenue, and commission owed per ambassador.
• You pay commissions directly to your ambassadors (Zelle, Venmo, cash, etc.) — commissions are not paid automatically through the platform.
• The dashboard gives you a clear record of what's owed so there's never a question.

Tip: This is different from co-promoted events (which are between two organizers sharing an event listing). The ambassador program is for anyone who helps you sell tickets — they don't need to be an organizer on the platform.

The Share & Track section in your dashboard provides tools to market your events:

• Short Links: Branded, shareable URLs for each event
• QR Codes: Downloadable QR codes that link to your event pages — perfect for flyers and print materials
• Embed Widgets: HTML code to embed event info on your own website
• Social Sharing: One-click sharing to Facebook, Twitter/X, and other platforms

Access these tools from Dashboard → Share & Track.

1. Go to Dashboard → Marketing → Referrals.
2. Click Create New Referral Link.
3. Give it a name (e.g., "Mike - Instagram" or "Facebook Ads - March").
4. Select the event the link should point to.
5. Set the commission (optional) — flat amount or percentage per ticket sold.
6. Click Save to generate the unique link.

Share this link with your ambassador. Every purchase made through that link is automatically tracked in your dashboard with click counts, conversions, revenue generated, and commission owed.

You can create as many referral links as you need — one per ambassador, one per marketing channel, or both.

Paid promotions give your event premium visibility on the platform. Here's how to get started:

1. Go to Dashboard → Marketing → Ad Placements.
2. Under Promote an Event, choose a placement type and plan.
3. Select the event you want to promote.
4. Complete checkout via Stripe — your promotion activates immediately after payment.

Your event will appear in a premium position with a "Promoted" badge. You can track impressions (views) and clicks in real time from the Active Promotions table on the same page.

There are three types of paid placements:

• Homepage Pin: Your event appears at the top of the homepage events grid — the first thing visitors see when they land on the site.
• Promoted Carousel: Your event is featured in the "Promoted Events" carousel section on the homepage, displayed between the hero banner and the main events grid.
• City Page Spotlight: Your event appears at the top of the events grid on its city page (e.g., the Los Angeles events page). Great for targeting a local audience.

All promoted events display a "Promoted" badge with a tooltip explaining that the organizer paid for premium placement.

Pricing varies by placement type and duration. Plans are available in 7-day, 14-day, and 30-day options. The exact pricing is shown when you select a plan in Dashboard → Marketing → Ad Placements.

All fees are charged at checkout via Stripe. The price shown includes the platform service fee — there are no hidden costs. You can purchase promotions for any of your published events.

Once your promotion is active, you can track its performance in real time:

1. Go to Dashboard → Marketing → Ad Placements.
2. The Active Promotions table shows each promotion with:
   • Views: How many times your promoted event was displayed (impressions)
   • Clicks: How many times visitors clicked on your promoted event
   • Dates: Exact start and end times of your promotion period
   • Paid: The amount you paid for the placement

The summary cards at the top show your total active promotions, pending promotions, and how many promotion slots you've used.

Yes — the platform has several measures to ensure fair visibility for all organizers:

• 3 active promotions max per organizer: You can run up to 3 promotions at the same time.
• 1 promotion per placement type: You can only have one Homepage Pin, one Promoted Carousel, and one City Page Spotlight active at a time.
• 1 promotion per event: Each event can only be promoted in one placement at a time — you can't promote the same event in multiple spots simultaneously.
• Rotation: When multiple organizers have the same placement type, positions rotate automatically so no single event stays at the top all day.

Once a promotion expires (based on its duration), that slot opens up and you can purchase a new promotion.

Your promotion activates immediately after successful payment. The exact activation time is recorded and displayed in your Active Promotions table (e.g., "Feb 15, 9:14 PM – Feb 22, 2026 9:14 PM" for a 7-day plan).

Promotions run for their full duration from the moment of activation — a 7-day plan runs for exactly 7 days, a 14-day plan for 14 days, and a 30-day plan for 30 days. Once the duration expires, the promotion is automatically deactivated and your event returns to its normal position in the listings.

Events with a "Promoted" badge in the bottom-right corner of the event card are paid placements. The organizer has purchased premium placement to increase their event's visibility.

Hovering over the badge reveals a tooltip: "Event organizers pay for premium placement to better reach people searching for local events."

Promoted events are real events from verified organizers — the badge simply indicates the organizer invested in reaching a wider audience. You can purchase tickets for promoted events just like any other event on the platform.

Yes! Our highest-tier advertising plan includes an exclusive perk: your event will be automatically cross-promoted on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets' official Facebook Page and Instagram account.

When you purchase the top-tier plan, your event will be posted to our social media channels approximately 20 minutes after payment is confirmed. The post includes your event title, date, time, venue, ticket price, and a direct link to purchase tickets — plus your organizer social media handles if you've added them to your profile.

Important: Social media cross-promotion is a complimentary courtesy perk included with the highest-tier plan. It is not a guaranteed service and may be modified or discontinued at any time. The absence of a social media post does not qualify for a refund. See our Terms of Service (Section 7h) for full details.

Cigar & Bourbon Tickets provides an embeddable ticket widget that lets you sell tickets directly from your own website, blog, or landing page.

How to get the embed code:

1. Navigate to the event page for any of your events on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets.
2. Look for the embed/widget code option — it's a small snippet of JavaScript you can copy.
3. Paste the code into the HTML of your website where you want the ticket widget to appear.

What the widget shows:

• Event name, date, and location
• Ticket types with prices
• A "Get Tickets" button that links to the checkout page

The widget is fully self-contained — it loads its own styles and does not conflict with your website's design. It works on any website that supports HTML including WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and custom sites.

This is a great way to capture ticket sales directly from your audience without sending them to a separate platform first.

Cigar & Bourbon Tickets offers short domains for easy sharing of events, organizer profiles, and any platform page. These short URLs are perfect for social media, printed flyers, business cards, and text messages.

Available short domains:

• cigartix.com — for cigar-focused events
• bourbontix.com — for bourbon-focused events
• whiskytix.com — for whiskey-focused events

How they work: Simply replace cigarandbourbontickets.com with any short domain. The path stays the same. For example:

• Your store page: cigartix.com/o/your-store
• An event: bourbontix.com/event/your-event-slug/
• Any page: whiskytix.com/pricing/

All three short domains redirect to the same Cigar & Bourbon Tickets page, so use whichever fits your brand best. Short links are also available as QR codes that you can generate for print marketing materials.

Memberships let you offer recurring benefits to loyal attendees:

1. Go to Dashboard → Memberships.
2. Click Create New Membership.
3. Enter: plan name, description, price, and duration.
4. Add benefits (e.g., "20% off all events," "VIP access," "Free drink at check-in").
5. Optionally add a membership card design.
6. Publish your membership plan.

Members can purchase the plan from your organizer profile page. They'll receive a digital membership card with a QR code that you can scan at events to verify their status.

When a member arrives at your event, you can verify their membership by scanning the QR code on their membership card. The verification page will show:

• Member name and photo
• Membership plan and status (active/expired)
• Check-in history

You can log a check-in directly from the verification page. This helps you track which members are attending your events.

After purchasing a membership, members can download their digital card from My Account → My Memberships. The card includes:

• Member name
• Membership plan name
• QR code for verification
• Expiration date

Members can present the card on their phone or print it for in-person verification at your events.

You can require customers to accept your membership terms and conditions before completing their purchase:

1. Go to Dashboard → Memberships → Legal Terms.
2. Toggle "Require Terms Acceptance at Checkout" to ON.
3. Click "Generate Template" to create a pre-filled document with your organization name, location, and active membership tiers — or type/paste your own terms into the editor.
4. Optionally upload a PDF version of your agreement.
5. Click Save Legal Terms.

Once enabled, customers will see a checkbox at checkout that they must accept before purchasing. The text version displays in a modal popup; the PDF is available for download. We recommend having your terms reviewed by a licensed attorney.

When a customer checks the acceptance box at checkout, the following information is recorded with their order:

• Timestamp — exact date and time of acceptance
• Terms version — which version of your terms they agreed to
• IP address — the customer's network address at time of acceptance
• Content hash — a digital fingerprint of the exact terms content they accepted

This creates a verifiable audit trail for each member's acceptance. If you update your terms later, existing acceptances are preserved against the version the customer originally agreed to, and new customers will accept the updated version.

The template generator provides a comprehensive starting point that is pre-filled with your organization name, location, and all active membership tiers including pricing and benefits. It covers 10 key sections: membership agreement, tiers & benefits, billing, cancellation, code of conduct, liability waiver, digital cards, privacy, modifications, and governing law.

Important: The template is provided as a courtesy by Cigar & Bourbon Tickets and does not constitute legal advice. We strongly recommend having your terms reviewed by a licensed attorney in your area to ensure they meet your specific business needs and comply with local, state, and federal regulations. You can edit the generated template freely — add, remove, or modify any section to fit your requirements.

If you need to add a member who signed up in person, over the phone, or through any offline channel:

1. Go to Dashboard → Memberships.
2. Click the "Add Member" dropdown button.
3. Select "Add Manually."
4. Enter the member's name, email address, and phone number.
5. Select the membership plan to assign them to.
6. Click "Add Member."

The member receives an email notification with their membership details and can log in to access their digital membership card. The membership appears in your subscribers list immediately.

If you have an existing member list from a spreadsheet, previous system, or sign-up sheet, you can bulk import them:

1. Go to Dashboard → Memberships.
2. Click the "Add Member" dropdown button.
3. Select "Import CSV."
4. Upload your CSV file. The file should include columns for: name, email, and optionally phone number.
5. Select which membership plan to assign the imported members to.
6. Review the preview and click "Import."

Each imported member receives a welcome email with their membership details. This is especially useful when migrating from another system or onboarding members who signed up at a physical event.

Your membership dashboard includes tools to help you retain members and re-engage those who are leaving:

Members Leaving — Win-Back Opportunity: At the top of your Subscribers tab, you'll see a highlighted section showing members whose memberships are set to cancel soon. Each entry shows the member's name, email, plan, cancellation reason, and when their access ends (e.g., "Leaves Mar 8"). A tip reminds you: "Reach out before their access ends — a personal message or special offer could save the membership."

What you can do:

• Reach out personally via email or phone before their access expires
• Send them a special offer or discount to encourage renewal
• Use the Email Attendees or SMS tools to contact them directly from the dashboard

The Subscribers tab also shows status filters — Active, Cancelled, and All — so you can quickly see your membership health at a glance and identify trends in cancellation reasons.

You can text a direct signup link to potential members from your dashboard:

1. Go to Dashboard → Memberships.
2. Click the "Add Member" dropdown button.
3. Select "Share Signup Link."
4. In the modal, enter the person's phone number.
5. Optionally select their mobile carrier from the dropdown (or leave it on "All major carriers" for automatic delivery to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon).
6. Click "Send."

The recipient receives a text message with a direct link to your membership signup page. You can track all sent links in the Recent Outreach section at the bottom of the modal, and on the SMS & Outreach page under Marketing.

This uses carrier email gateways at no additional cost — no Twilio or third-party SMS service required.

There are three ways to cancel a member's subscription:

Method 1 — Quick Cancel from Subscribers List (Immediate):

1. Go to Dashboard → Memberships → Subscribers tab.
2. Find the member in the list.
3. Click "Cancel" next to their name.
4. Confirm in the modal that appears.
5. This immediately cancels the membership. The action cannot be undone.

Method 2 — Manage Membership Modal (Recommended — Pending Cancel):

1. Go to Dashboard → Memberships → Subscribers tab.
2. Click the member's name to open their profile.
3. Click "Manage Membership."
4. Select the Cancel tab.
5. Choose a cancellation reason from the dropdown (e.g., "Member requested," "Non-payment," "Moved," "Dissatisfied," etc.).
6. Click "Cancel Membership."
7. This sets the membership to pending cancel — the member retains access until their current billing period ends.

Method 3 — From Order Details (Immediate):

1. Go to Dashboard → Memberships → Subscribers tab.
2. Click the member's name to open their profile.
3. Click the order number link.
4. Under Membership Details, expand the membership plan.
5. Click "Cancel Membership."
6. Confirm in the modal that appears.

We recommend Method 2 because it records a cancellation reason (useful for tracking why members leave) and allows the member to keep access through their paid period. Methods 1 and 3 cancel immediately with no grace period.

You can offer memberships with flexible billing cycles to match how your community prefers to pay:

• Monthly — charged every month, ideal for casual or trial memberships
• Quarterly — charged every 3 months
• Semi-Annual — charged every 6 months
• Annual — charged once per year, the most popular option for established clubs
• One-Time — a single payment for lifetime or fixed-term access with no recurring billing

To set the billing cycle, go to Dashboard → Memberships → Create (or edit an existing plan) and select your preferred cycle from the Billing Frequency dropdown. Members are automatically charged on their renewal date through Stripe — no manual follow-up required on your end.

Installment plans let you offer a higher-priced membership that members pay for over multiple smaller payments instead of one lump sum. This makes premium memberships more accessible to your community.

How it works:

• When creating or editing a membership plan, enable the Installment option.
• Set the total membership price and the number of installments.
• The platform automatically calculates the per-installment amount.
• Members are charged the first installment at checkout, and subsequent payments are collected automatically on a recurring schedule via Stripe.

Example: A $240 annual membership split into 4 quarterly installments of $60 each.

Members receive full access from the first payment. If a member misses a payment, you can manage their status from the Subscribers tab in your dashboard.

Guest passes let your members bring guests to events as part of their membership benefits. To enable them:

1. Go to Dashboard → Memberships and create or edit a plan.
2. Check "Enable digital guest passes."
3. Set the Passes Per Billing Period — the total number of guest passes a member receives each billing cycle (e.g., 12 passes per year).
4. Set the Guest Limit — the maximum guests a member can bring per visit, per week, or per month.
5. Optionally check "Allow unused passes to carry over" to let unused passes roll into the next billing period instead of expiring.

Example: A member with 12 annual passes and a limit of 1 guest per month can bring one guest each month. If carry-over is enabled and they skip January, they would have 2 passes available in February.

Guest passes give your members a reason to share the experience and introduce new potential members to your community.

You can restrict specific ticket types so only your active members can purchase them. This is a powerful way to offer exclusive experiences and drive membership signups.

How to set it up:

1. When creating or editing an event, go to the Tickets step in the Event Wizard.
2. Select a ticket type and toggle on "Member-Only Access."
3. Choose a visibility mode:
   • Locked — Non-members can see the ticket on the event page with a "Members Only" badge and lock icon, plus a "Become a Member" button linking to your membership page. This is great for driving signups.
   • Hidden — The ticket is completely invisible to non-members. Only active members see it on the event page.
4. Optionally set a Member Price — a special price exclusively for members, shown alongside the regular price with a strikethrough.
5. Optionally select specific membership plans that unlock this ticket. If left empty, any active membership grants access.

How pricing works: If you set a member price, it competes with other active discounts (early bird, plan percentage discount, group discount) and the member always gets the best available deal automatically. The discount label at checkout shows the effective savings.

Yes. Member-only tickets work alongside all other ticket features:

• Early Bird Pricing — If a ticket has both a member price and an early bird price, the member gets whichever is lower.
• BOGO — A member-only ticket can have BOGO enabled. Only members can access the ticket, and the BOGO deal applies on top.
• Promo Codes — Promo codes work on member-only tickets for members who have access.
• Seat Maps — Member-only tickets can be linked to seat map sections just like regular tickets.
• Access Codes — You can combine member-only access with a password-protected ticket for an extra layer of exclusivity.

The platform handles all discount stacking automatically — the member always gets the best price available to them.

Coupons let you offer discounts on your events:

1. Go to Dashboard → Coupons.
2. Click Create New Coupon.
3. Configure your coupon:
   • Coupon Code: The code customers enter at checkout (e.g., "CIGAR20")
   • Discount Type: Percentage (%) or Flat Amount ($)
   • Discount Value: The discount amount
   • Usage Limit: Maximum number of times the coupon can be used
   • Expiration Date: When the coupon expires
   • Minimum Order: Optional minimum purchase amount
4. Save your coupon.

Share the coupon code with your audience through email campaigns, social media, or referral links.

Yes, when creating a coupon you can configure which events or products it applies to. You can also set:

• Usage limits per customer — prevent one person from using it multiple times
• Overall usage limit — cap the total number of uses
• Minimum order amount — require a minimum purchase
• Expiration date — automatically disable after a date

Early Bird Pricing lets you offer time-limited discounted prices on individual ticket types to encourage early purchases — similar to Eventbrite's early bird feature.

To set up Early Bird Pricing:

1. Go to Edit Event → Tickets & Pricing.
2. Create or edit a ticket type.
3. Check "Enable Early Bird Pricing".
4. Set the Early Bird Price (must be lower than the regular price).
5. Set the End Date & Time — when the early bird deal expires.
6. Optionally customize the Badge Label (defaults to "Early Bird", max 30 characters).
7. Save the ticket.

What attendees see:

• A gold "Early Bird Discount Applied" banner above the ticket list.
• An Early Bird badge pill next to the ticket name.
• The regular price crossed out with the discounted price in green.
• The end date for the deal, plus a days remaining countdown when the deadline is within 7 days (e.g., "Ends Mar 15 — 5 days left!").

The discounted price is applied automatically in the cart. After the deadline passes, the ticket reverts to the regular price with no action needed from you. Each ticket type can have its own independent early bird settings.

Early Bird + Membership Discounts: If a customer has a membership discount AND a ticket has early bird pricing, only the better deal applies — they don't stack. For example, if early bird is $35 and the membership discount would make it $40, the customer pays $35. This protects your revenue while ensuring customers always get the best available price.

There are two ways to offer BOGO deals on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets:

Option 1: Ticket-Level BOGO (No Promo Code Needed)

This is the simplest way to run a BOGO deal. It's built directly into the ticket setup — no promo codes required:

1. When creating or editing an event in the Event Wizard, go to the Tickets step.
2. Select a ticket type and toggle on "Enable BOGO".
3. Choose a discount type: Free, Flat Discount (e.g., $10 off), or Percentage Off (e.g., 50% off).
4. Set a BOGO pool (how many companion tickets are available) and a max per order.
5. Optionally check "Show BOGO Badge" to display a badge on the event page.

When an attendee adds a qualifying ticket to their cart, the companion ticket is automatically added at checkout. No code needed — it just works.

Note: Ticket-level BOGO cannot be combined with Group Discounts on the same ticket type.

Option 2: Promo Code BOGO

For BOGO deals that require a code:

1. Go to Dashboard → Marketing → Promotions.
2. Click Create New Promotion.
3. Set the discount type to BOGO and choose: Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Buy 1 Get 1 at X% Off, or Buy X Get 1 Free.
4. Configure the promo code, applicable events, and usage limits.
5. Save the promotion.

Attendees enter the promo code at checkout or visit an auto-apply link (?promo=CODE) to activate the deal.

Yes! You can create a direct link to any event that automatically applies a promo code at checkout — no need for attendees to type a code manually.

How it works:

1. Create your promotion in Dashboard → Marketing → Promotions.
2. Share your event link with ?promo=CODE appended. For example:
   cigarandbourbontickets.com/e/my-event/?promo=VIP20

When someone visits this link, the promo code is automatically carried through to checkout and applied to their order. This works with all promotion types including percentage discounts, flat discounts, and BOGO deals.

Tip: Use auto-apply links in your email campaigns, social media posts, and text blasts for a seamless experience — attendees see the discount immediately without having to remember or type a code.

The Reports section provides detailed analytics:

• Products: Performance of individual events — views, ticket sales, revenue. Includes a Bookings tab showing venue booking stats (total bookings, revenue, guests) for organizers using the bookable spaces feature.
• Revenue: Income over time with charts showing daily, weekly, and monthly trends
• Orders: Order volume, average order value, and conversion metrics. Booking orders display their booking reference number (e.g., CBT-BK-00013) and the bookable space name.
• Insights: Page views, unique visitors, conversion rates, Profile Views (all-time store page views), and — for organizers with venue bookings — dedicated Venue Bookings and Booking Revenue KPI cards.
• Statement: Financial summary including gross sales, fees, refunds, and net revenue
• Customer Analytics: Top spenders, repeat vs one-time buyers, customer growth over time, and check-in rates per event
• Seat Map Report: Select any of your seat maps from a dropdown to view tier overview, section breakdown, events using the map, and linked bookable space stats. Exportable to CSV.

You also have a Customer List with filterable tabs for all contacts, including Bookers (from venue bookings) and Service Clients (from invoices), with spend totals, repeat rates, and multi-source badges.

Use these reports to understand your audience, optimize pricing, and plan future events.

The Statement report provides a comprehensive financial overview:

1. Go to Reports → Statement.
2. Select a date range.
3. View: gross revenue, total refunds, platform fees, processing fees, and net earnings.

This is useful for accounting and tax purposes. You can also track payouts and pending balances.

The Customer Analytics dashboard gives you a cross-event view of your customer base — something most ticketing platforms don't offer. Instead of only seeing attendees per event, you get the full picture across all your events.

What you'll see:

• Top Spenders: A ranked list of your highest-spending customers with total spend, events attended, ticket count, and a VIP badge for the top 10%.
• Repeat vs One-Time: A donut chart showing what percentage of your customers have attended more than one event — your community loyalty metric.
• Customer Growth: A line chart showing how many new unique customers you're gaining each month over time.
• Check-in Rate by Event: A bar chart comparing tickets sold vs actual check-ins for each event — helps identify no-show patterns.

You can also see summary stats (repeat rate, avg spend, check-in rate, total revenue) on the Customers page.

The Customer List also includes Bookers and Service Clients filter tabs. Bookers are customers who made venue bookings through your bookable spaces, and Service Clients are contacts who paid invoices. Each tab shows the relevant badge, and customers who appear in multiple sources are flagged with multi-source badges so you can see your most engaged contacts at a glance.

Access it from Reports → Customers in the sidebar, or click "View Full Customer Reports" from the Customers page.

The Seat Map Report gives you a detailed breakdown of any seat map you've created. To use it:

1. Go to Reports → Seat Map in your Dashboard sidebar.
2. Select a seat map from the dropdown picker at the top.
3. The report loads with the following sections:

• KPI Cards: Total sections, individual seats, total capacity, number of tiers, events using this map, and linked bookable space status.
• Tier Overview: A table showing each tier with its section count, seat count, capacity, and share percentage with a color-coded progress bar.
• Section Breakdown: Every section listed with its tier, type (table, row, zone, etc.), and seat count.
• Events Using This Map: Every event linked to this map, with confirmed/pending seats, active holds, and fill rate per event.
• Linked Bookable Space: If the map is connected to a bookable space, shows total bookings, confirmed bookings, total revenue, and average booking value.

You can export tier data to CSV for offline analysis. The report is organized by map — not by event — so you can see how a single layout performs across all the events using it.

If you use the Bookable Spaces feature, the Insights report automatically includes two additional KPI cards:

• Venue Bookings: The total number of bookings made for your spaces.
• Booking Revenue: The total revenue generated from bookings, plus the average revenue per booking.

These cards appear in purple alongside your existing page view and conversion metrics. They only show when you have at least one booking — if you haven't received any bookings yet, the cards are hidden to keep the report clean.

This gives you a quick snapshot of your venue booking performance without needing to dig into the full booking details.

The Seating Management page (accessible from your event's seating tab) includes an automatic validation system that cross-references your seat map sections against your event's ticket types. If it detects potential issues, a collapsible warning banner appears between the stats row and the seating grid.

Types of warnings detected:

• No ticket type linked (⚠️ warning) — A section on your map isn't linked to any ticket type, so customers can't purchase seats in it.
• Deleted/missing ticket type (🔴 error) — A section was linked to a ticket type that no longer exists.
• Inactive ticket type (⚠️ warning) — A section is linked to a ticket type that's currently inactive.
• GA zone with 0 capacity (🔴 error) — A general admission zone has no capacity set, so no tickets can be sold.
• Whole-table capacity mismatch (ℹ️ info) — A whole-table section's seat count vs. the ticket type's max-per-order may need alignment.

Click the toggle to expand and see all warnings. These are advisory — they don't block you from managing seating, but resolving them ensures your seat map works correctly for ticket purchases.

Note: The Seat Map Builder in the Event Wizard also has its own inline validation with a yellow banner and modal. Both layers work together to catch configuration issues at different stages.

To update your organizer profile:

1. Go to Settings → Store.
2. Update your:
   • Store Name: Your organizer/business name
   • Store Logo: Upload a professional logo
   • Banner Image: The header image on your profile page
   • Description: Tell attendees about your organization
   • Phone & Email: Contact information
   • Address: Business location
3. Save changes.

Stripe is required to receive payments from ticket sales:

1. Go to Settings → Payment.
2. Click Connect with Stripe.
3. Complete the Stripe onboarding process (business info, bank account, identity verification).
4. Once connected, your dashboard will show "Stripe Connected" with your account ID.

To disconnect or switch accounts, click Disconnect on the Payment settings page. Note: disconnecting will pause your ability to receive payments until a new account is connected.

Control which notifications you receive:

1. Go to Settings → Notifications (if available).
2. Toggle notifications for:
   • New order alerts
   • Customer support messages
   • Low stock warnings
   • Payout notifications
   • Platform announcements
3. Save your preferences.

Improve your event's visibility in search engines:

1. Go to Settings → SEO for global SEO settings.
2. For individual events, scroll to the SEO section in the event editor to set:
   • SEO Title: Custom title for search results
   • SEO Description: Meta description shown in search results

If these are left empty, the platform automatically generates SEO-friendly titles and descriptions from your event content.

If your trade association is recognized by Cigar & Bourbon Tickets, you can claim your membership to unlock reduced fees for your customers:

1. Go to Settings → Associations in your dashboard.
2. Find your association in the list and click Claim Membership.
3. Enter your member number and optionally upload proof of membership.
4. Submit your claim.

What happens next:

• Your reduced service fee rate activates immediately — your customers benefit right away.
• Our team verifies your membership against the association's records within 1–2 business days.
• If verification fails, your rate reverts to the standard fee.

You can view your membership status, expiration date, and fee comparison in Settings → Associations.

As a verified association member, your customers pay a reduced service fee at checkout. Here's how it compares:

• Standard Rate: 3.4% + $0.99 per transaction (paid by the customer)
• Association Member Rate: As low as 2.90% + $0.75 per transaction (paid by the customer)

Example on a $50 ticket:

• Standard: Customer pays $4.44 in total fees
• Association Member: Customer pays $3.95 in total fees
• Customer saves $0.49 per ticket

Important notes:

• You still receive 100% of the ticket price you set — the fee reduction benefits your customers, not your payout.
• The competitive advantage is that your events cost less for attendees compared to events on other platforms or from non-member organizers.
• Processing fees (Stripe/PayPal) remain the same regardless of membership status.
• Your reduced rate stays active through your membership year and renews with your association membership.

You can add team members to help manage your events and operations:

1. Go to Dashboard → Team.
2. Click "Add Staff Member."
3. Enter their email address and select their role: Full Access — Can manage events, orders, memberships, marketing, and settings. Finance — Read-only access to Orders, Events, Memberships, Marketing, and Reports (ideal for accountants or bookkeepers).
4. The staff member receives an email invitation to join your account.

Staff members log in with their own credentials and see your dashboard with the permissions appropriate to their role. You can remove staff members at any time.

You can grant staff members scanner access without sharing your login credentials by generating a magic link — a secure, one-tap URL that opens the scanner directly on their device.

To generate a scanner link:

1. Open the scanner and go to the Manage tab.
2. Tap "Staff Access" or go to Dashboard → Team.
3. Click "Generate Scanner Link" for the staff member.
4. Choose an access level: Full Access (all scanner tabs) or Check-In Only (scanner and attendee list only — no selling).
5. Share the link with your staff member via text, email, or messaging app.

Staff members tap the link on their phone and the scanner opens immediately — no login required. You can see which devices are connected, and revoke a link at any time to cut off access. Revoking disables the link but keeps the staff record. You can also remove a staff member entirely to delete their record.

You can connect your Facebook and Instagram accounts for auto-posting when you publish events:

1. Go to Settings → Social in your Dashboard.
2. Click Connect Facebook and authorize the connection.
3. Select which Facebook Page and/or Instagram account to post to.
4. Save settings.

Once connected, new events will automatically be shared to your connected social pages when published, helping you reach your existing audience without extra effort.

Connect your Facebook Page and Instagram account to automatically post events when you publish them:

1. Go to Settings → Integrations in your Dashboard.
2. Under Facebook & Instagram, click Connect with Facebook.
3. Authorize the connection and select which Facebook Page to post to.
4. If your Facebook Page has a linked Instagram Business account, it will be detected automatically.
5. Toggle Auto-post to Facebook and/or Auto-post to Instagram on or off.

Once connected and enabled, every time you publish (or republish) an event, it will automatically be shared to your connected Facebook Page and/or Instagram account with the event details, image, and link.

Add your social media profiles so attendees can find and follow you:

1. Go to Settings → Social.
2. Enter URLs for: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and any other profiles.
3. Save settings.

These links appear on your organizer profile page. You can also add social links to individual events in the event editor.

Yes. You can toggle auto-posting on or off without disconnecting your Facebook/Instagram accounts:

1. Go to Settings → Integrations.
2. Under Auto-Post Settings, toggle the Facebook and/or Instagram switches.
3. Changes save automatically.

When auto-posting is off, publishing events will not create social posts. When you re-enable it, the next event you publish or republish will auto-post again. To fully remove the connection, click Disconnect.

Marketing Services is a built-in invoicing system that lets you offer professional services to businesses and get paid directly through the platform. It's designed for organizers who offer marketing, consulting, sponsorship packages, or other services alongside their events.

The Marketing Services hub is located at Services in your dashboard sidebar and includes two tabs:

• Services tab: Build and manage your service catalog — the list of services you offer with descriptions and pricing.
• Invoices tab: Create, send, and track invoices for your services.

Payments are processed through Stripe Connect, the same system used for ticket sales. You receive 100% of your invoice amount — the platform service fee (3.4% + $0.99) is charged to the customer on top of your invoice total.

Your service catalog is a reusable list of services you offer. When creating invoices, you can quickly pull from your catalog instead of typing everything from scratch.

To create a service:

1. Go to Services in your dashboard.
2. Click the Services tab (default).
3. Click Add Service.
4. Enter: Service Name, Description, and Default Price.
5. Save.

You can reorder services by drag-and-drop, and edit or delete them at any time. When you add a service to an invoice, the price auto-fills from the catalog but can be customized per invoice.

Invoices let you bill clients for services rendered. Here's how to create and send one:

1. Go to Services → Invoices tab.
2. Click Create Invoice.
3. Fill in the client details: Business Name, Contact Name, Email.
4. Add line items — choose from your service catalog or enter custom items with description, quantity, and unit price.
5. Optionally set a Due Date, Tax Rate, and Related Event.
6. Add any Notes for the client.
7. Click Save as Draft to save without sending, or click Send Invoice.

When you send an invoice, the client receives a branded email with a "Pay Now" button that takes them to a secure Stripe Checkout page. The invoice breakdown shows: Subtotal → Tax → Invoice Total → Service Fee → Customer Pays.

You can also Mark as Paid for payments received outside of Stripe (cash, check, wire transfer, etc.).

Payment flow: When a client clicks "Pay Now" in the invoice email, they're taken to a secure Stripe Checkout page. After payment, both you and the client receive confirmation emails, and the invoice is automatically marked as paid.

Fee structure: The same fee model used for ticket sales applies to invoices:

• You receive: 100% of your Invoice Total
• Customer pays: Invoice Total + Service Fee
• Service Fee: 3.4% + $0.99 (charged to the customer, not you)

Example: A $100.00 invoice results in a $8.10 service fee. The customer pays $108.10, you receive $100.00.

Invoice statuses include: Draft (not yet sent), Sent (emailed to client), Viewed (client opened the link), Paid (payment received), and Overdue (past due date).

The AI Event Planning Assistant is a built-in planning tool in your vendor dashboard that helps you plan events, set pricing, write descriptions, and develop marketing strategies. It’s powered by AI and knows your event history, ticket sales, attendance numbers, revenue, and all CBT platform features.

You’ll find it in your sidebar under AI Assistant (right below Events). Conversations are saved automatically and you can email yourself a transcript at any time.

What it can help with:

• Pricing strategy — Analyzes your past ticket sales and suggests optimal pricing for your next event
• Event descriptions — Generates compelling, ready-to-publish copy tailored to cigar and bourbon audiences
• Marketing advice — Recommends email campaigns, SMS blasts, promo codes, and social posts based on your event type
• Planning support — Ticket tier strategy, BOGO deals, seat map decisions, and more

Yes — the AI Assistant has access to your event names, dates, venues, ticket tiers, pricing, attendee counts, estimated revenue, and event descriptions. It uses this data to give you personalized recommendations specific to your events, not generic advice.

The assistant does not have access to individual customer personal information, payment card details, or your Stripe account credentials.

You can send up to 25 messages per day. Each message and response counts as one toward your daily limit. The counter resets at midnight.

Your remaining messages for the day are shown in the header of the AI Assistant chat panel.

Yes. Conversations save automatically after each AI response. You can manage your conversations using the action buttons at the top of the chat:

• History (clock icon) — View and load past conversations
• Email (envelope icon) — Email yourself a branded HTML transcript of the current conversation
• New conversation (+ icon) — Start a fresh conversation

You can also delete old conversations from the history panel.

The AI Event Description Generator is a one-click tool inside the Event Wizard that writes a professional event description for you. When creating or editing an event:

1. Fill in the basic event details (title, category, venue, date).
2. Click the "Generate with AI" button in the Description section.
3. Optionally choose a tone (professional, casual, luxurious, etc.) and add notes about what to highlight.
4. The AI generates a polished description tailored to cigar and bourbon audiences.

You can edit the generated description before saving. The generator uses your event details to create relevant, on-brand copy — you’re always in control of the final content.

Go to Dashboard → Rewards → Overview and toggle Enable Rewards Program to ON. You can customize the program name and how many points customers earn per dollar spent.

Five tiers are created automatically (Bronze through Diamond) with default spend thresholds and discount percentages. You can customize all of these under the Tiers & Perks tab — change names, thresholds, discount percentages, and perks to match your brand.

Once enabled, customers are automatically enrolled when they purchase tickets with their phone number.

Each tier has a spend threshold and a discount percentage. As customers spend more with you, they move up tiers and unlock bigger discounts. For example:

• Bronze ($0+) — Earn points
• Silver ($250+) — 5% off tickets
• Gold ($500+) — 10% off tickets
• Platinum ($1,000+) — 15% off tickets
• Diamond ($2,500+) — 20% off tickets

These are defaults — you can fully customize names, thresholds, discounts, and perks under Rewards → Tiers & Perks.

Discounts are applied automatically at checkout and on the PWA door sale screen using a best-discount-wins approach (compared against membership and early bird pricing).

On the Rewards → Overview tab, scroll down to Sync Existing Customers and click Sync Now. This scans all your completed orders and retroactively enrolls customers and awards points based on their purchase history.

It is safe to run multiple times — orders are only processed once. After syncing, check the Rewards Members tab to see all enrolled customers with their tiers and points.

When selling tickets at the door using the PWA sell screen, enter the customer's phone number. If they are enrolled in your rewards program, a loyalty badge appears showing their tier, discount percentage, points, visits, and progress to the next tier.

The discount is automatically applied to the ticket price — Cash, Card, and QR buttons all reflect the discounted amount. Points are awarded after the sale completes.

Yes. When a customer's spending crosses a tier threshold and they are upgraded, the system automatically sends a branded congratulations email with their new tier name, discount percentage, perks, and current stats (points, spend, visits).

SMS notifications are also sent via the platform Twilio account when available.

Customers can view their rewards at My Account → My Rewards on the website. They see their tier, points balance, a progress bar to the next tier, their current perks, and a transaction history of points earned. If they have rewards with multiple organizers, each is shown as a separate card.

Venue Bookings lets you offer reservable spaces — private rooms, patios, VIP lounges, tasting rooms, or any area in your venue — that customers can book directly through the platform. Customers browse your available spaces, pick a date and time, and pay via Stripe.

Access Venue Bookings from Dashboard → Venue Bookings.

1. Go to Dashboard → Venue Bookings → Spaces.
2. Click Add Space.
3. Enter the space name, description, capacity, photos, and pricing.
4. Save your space.

Once created, set up the availability schedule so customers know when they can book.

Configure when each space is available for booking:

1. Go to Dashboard → Venue Bookings → Availability.
2. Set your available days of the week and operating hours.
3. Configure slot duration (e.g., 1 hour, 2 hours) and buffer time between bookings.
4. Add blackout dates for holidays or closures.

The schedule recurs weekly. Customers only see available slots when browsing your spaces on your profile page.

Manage bookings from two views:

• List View — Dashboard → Venue Bookings → Bookings shows all bookings with status filters (pending, confirmed, completed, cancelled). Confirm or decline bookings, adjust headcount, and add internal notes.
• Calendar View — Dashboard → Venue Bookings → Calendar shows bookings visually across spaces, color-coded by status.

Customers receive automated confirmation, reminder, and cancellation emails.

Use the Bookings tab in the PWA Door Scanner (Dashboard → Events → QR Scanner). From there you can:

• View today's bookings
• Mark bookings as checked in
• Adjust headcount on arrival
• See operator activity log for all actions taken

Yes. Bookable spaces can be linked to seat maps so customers who book a space also get reserved seating within it. The Seat Map Report shows linked space booking stats (total bookings, revenue, average value) alongside the seating data.

Link a seat map to a space in the space editor or from the Seat Map Library.

The CBT Organizer app is a native mobile app for event organizers and their staff. It lets you sell tickets at the door, check in attendees via QR scan, view real-time sales stats, and accept contactless card payments using Tap to Pay — all from your phone, no extra hardware needed.

The app is available for Android (with iOS coming soon). Each staff member can log in on their own phone and work simultaneously at the same event.

Android requirements:

• Android 9 (Pie) or higher — Android 12+ recommended for best performance
• Built-in NFC sensor, enabled in Settings
• Google-certified (GMS) device — most Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, and OnePlus devices qualify
• Device must not be rooted, and the bootloader must be locked
• Security update from the past 12 months installed
• Developer Options must be OFF — Stripe blocks Tap to Pay when Developer Options is enabled

Confirmed working devices: Samsung Galaxy A15 5G, Samsung Galaxy S22+. Popular compatible devices include Samsung Galaxy S21+, Google Pixel 4a+, and OnePlus 9+.

Not compatible: Amazon Fire tablets, devices without NFC, rooted/unlocked bootloader devices, non-GMS devices, Android emulators, or devices running beta Android versions.

iPhone: iPhone XS or later running iOS 16.0+ (US). iPhone support in the CBT Organizer app is coming soon.

Follow these steps before using Tap to Pay for the first time:

1. Enable NFC: Settings → Connections (or Connected Devices) → NFC and contactless payments → Turn ON
2. Enable Precise Location: Settings → Apps → CBT Organizer → Permissions → Location → "Allow only while using the app" and toggle ON "Use precise location." Stripe requires GPS-level location access.
3. Turn OFF Developer Options: Settings → Developer options → Toggle OFF at the top. If you don't see Developer Options in Settings, it's already off. Stripe will not connect the Tap to Pay reader if Developer Options is enabled — this is a Stripe security policy.
4. Keep your device updated: Settings → Software update → Install any available updates. Your device must have a security patch from within the past 12 months.

Once settings are correct, open the CBT Organizer app, select your event, and go to the Sell tab. The Tap to Pay button will show "Connecting Tap to Pay..." for 5–15 seconds while it initializes, then turn blue when ready.

If the Tap to Pay button shows "Tap to Pay (unavailable)" or stays grayed out, check these common causes:

• Developer Options is ON — This is the #1 cause. Go to Settings → Developer options → Toggle OFF. Stripe blocks Tap to Pay when Developer Options is enabled.
• Location permission denied or set to approximate — Go to Settings → Apps → CBT Organizer → Permissions → Location → "Allow only while using the app" and turn ON "Use precise location."
• NFC is off — Go to Settings → Connections → NFC → Turn ON.
• Device not compatible — Your device may not have NFC, may not be Google-certified, or may be rooted.
• Beta Android version — Stripe does not support beta OS releases.
• No internet connection — Tap to Pay requires an active Wi-Fi or cellular data connection.

After fixing any of these settings, force-close the app and reopen it to reinitialize the payment reader.

Tap to Pay accepts:

• Contactless credit and debit cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover — the card must have the contactless symbol (four curved lines)
• Mobile wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay

The minimum transaction amount is $0.50 (Stripe requirement). For free tickets or amounts under $0.50, use the Cash or Comp buttons instead.

If a customer's card does not have contactless capability, you can record a Cash payment or have them purchase online through your event page.

For the best experience at your events:

• Put your phone on Do Not Disturb to avoid interruptions during transactions
• Keep your phone charged — NFC and payment processing use battery
• Test before your event — do a small real transaction ($0.50) to confirm everything works
• Have a backup plan — the app also supports Cash sales if Tap to Pay has any issues
• The first connection takes longest — allow 5–15 seconds after opening the app. Subsequent payments in the same session are much faster.
• Close other apps to free up memory, which helps the Tap to Pay reader stay connected

No. Tap to Pay uses your phone's built-in NFC sensor — no external card reader, dongle, or additional hardware is needed. Just install the CBT Organizer app on a compatible phone and you're ready to accept payments.

Multiple staff members can each use their own phones at the same event simultaneously. Standard CBT platform fees and Stripe processing fees apply — there are no additional hardware costs.

Stripe requires precise location access for two reasons:

1. Regional verification: Confirming that the device is in a country where Tap to Pay is supported
2. Fraud prevention: Location data helps Stripe verify legitimate transactions

Your location is used only by Stripe during the payment process. It is not stored, tracked, or shared by Cigar & Bourbon Tickets. You must grant "precise" (GPS) location — approximate location is not sufficient for Tap to Pay to function.

The Cigar & Bourbon Tickets Association Partnership Program offers your association's members reduced platform service fees on their events.

This means your members' customers pay less at checkout compared to standard rates — giving your members a tangible, competitive advantage that directly benefits their bottom line.

Key highlights:

• Your association pays nothing — zero cost to partner
• Your members' customers pay reduced fees at checkout
• Members claim their membership and get reduced rates immediately
• Our team verifies memberships in the background
• Your association gets co-branded visibility on our platform

Learn more at our Partners page or email contact@cigarandbourbontickets.com to start the conversation.

Partnering is simple and free for your association. Here's the process:

1. Reach out: Email partner@cigarandbourbontickets.com or visit our Partners page.
2. Discovery call: We'll walk through the program, answer questions, and discuss how it fits your members' needs.
3. Agreement: We formalize the partnership with a simple agreement covering the reduced fee rate, logo usage, and member verification process.
4. Setup: We add your association to our platform so your members can claim their membership.
5. Launch: Announce the benefit to your members — they can start claiming immediately.

The entire process can be completed in as little as one week. There are no setup fees, annual fees, or hidden costs to your association.

Nothing. The Association Partnership Program is completely free for your organization. There are no setup fees, annual fees, per-member fees, or revenue sharing requirements.

The reduced fee rate is funded by Cigar & Bourbon Tickets as an investment in the cigar and bourbon community. We benefit by attracting more organizers to the platform through your member network, and your members benefit from lower costs for their customers.

We keep requirements minimal so the partnership is easy to maintain:

• Member verification: Help us verify that members who claim the benefit are actually active members of your association. This can be as simple as sharing a member directory or confirming individual claims.
• Communication: Announce the partnership benefit to your members so they know it's available. We can provide template language and graphics.
• Logo permission: Grant us permission to display your association's logo on our Partners page and related marketing materials to identify you as an official partner.

That's it. We handle all the technology, fee calculations, and member dashboard experience.

Once your partnership is active, any of your members who are organizers on Cigar & Bourbon Tickets can claim the benefit in their dashboard:

1. Log in to their organizer dashboard.
2. Navigate to Settings → Associations.
3. Find your association and click Claim Membership.
4. Enter their member number and optionally upload proof of membership.
5. Submit — their reduced rate activates immediately.

Our team then verifies the claim against your association's records within 1–2 business days. If we can't verify, the rate reverts to standard. No disruption to the organizer's events either way.

We want the process to be seamless for both your association and your members. Here's how verification works:

1. Member claims: The organizer submits their member number and optional proof.
2. Immediate activation: Reduced fees take effect right away — no waiting.
3. Background verification: Our team checks the claim against your association's member records within 1–2 business days.
4. Outcome: If verified, the status shows "Verified — Reduced Fees Active." If not verified, the rate reverts to standard and the member is notified.

We can work with whatever verification method is easiest for your organization — a shared member directory, periodic email confirmations, or individual spot-checks.

Association memberships on our platform include an expiration date tied to the member's membership year with your association. When a membership expires:

• The organizer is notified that their reduced rate will end.
• Their service fee reverts to the standard rate (3.4% + $0.99).
• Their events and listings are unaffected — only the customer-facing fee changes.
• They can renew by updating their membership information in Settings → Associations.

We recommend coordinating renewal reminders with your association's existing renewal cycle so members can update both at the same time.

Yes. As part of the partnership, we can provide periodic reports showing which of your members have claimed the association benefit on our platform. This can help you:

• Track adoption of the benefit among your membership
• Identify members who are actively using the platform
• Use the data as a retention and recruitment tool

The frequency and format of these reports can be discussed during partnership setup. All data sharing complies with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection regulations.

The exact reduced rate is negotiated as part of the partnership agreement. As an example, our current association member rate structure offers:

• Standard Rate: 3.4% + $0.99 per transaction (paid by the customer)
• Association Member Rate: As low as 2.90% + $0.75 per transaction (paid by the customer)

Example on a $50 ticket:

• Standard: Customer pays $2.69 in service fees
• Association Member: Customer pays $2.20 in service fees
• Customer saves $0.49 per ticket

The savings compound across all tickets and events — for a member selling 1,000 tickets per year, that's nearly $500 in savings passed to their customers.

In the event ticketing industry, fees are a major factor in the attendee's purchase decision. When your members' customers see lower total costs at checkout, they're more likely to complete the purchase. This gives your members three competitive advantages:

• Lower checkout prices compared to events on other platforms (Eventbrite, etc.)
• Lower fees than non-member organizers on our platform — a direct perk of belonging to your association
• A talking point for marketing: "Our events feature the lowest ticketing fees in the industry"

The benefit is tangible, measurable, and directly tied to association membership — making it a strong retention and recruitment tool for your organization.

Beyond reduced fees, your members get access to the full Cigar & Bourbon Tickets organizer toolkit at no cost:

• Unlimited event listings — no caps on the number of events
• Membership and subscription management — sell recurring memberships to their customers
• QR code check-in — scan attendees at the door
• Marketing tools — coupons, group discounts, early bird pricing, access codes
• Professional invoicing — bill clients for services directly through the platform
• Social media auto-posting — events auto-post to Facebook and Instagram
• Event import from Eventbrite — migrate existing events in one click
• Embeddable ticket widget — sell tickets from their own website
• Short links — custom short URLs for marketing (cigartix.com, bourbontix.com)

All features are free. The only optional paid feature is Ad Placements for promotional visibility.

We want to make it easy for you to communicate the partnership to your members. We can provide:

• Template announcements — email copy, newsletter blurbs, and social media posts
• Co-branded graphics — partnership announcement images featuring both logos
• Member onboarding guide — step-by-step instructions your members can follow to claim the benefit
• Talking points — key messages for board presentations or conference announcements

The most effective launches typically include an email blast to your membership, a mention in your newsletter, and a post on your social media channels. We're happy to coordinate timing and messaging with your communications team.