AUTHOR | Sara Loretta
PUBLISHED | Nov 2026
When I first launched my Big Ass Events Calendar, it wasn’t just to show you all of the fun going on around the US, but to start collecting data for my own insights to better understand the industry, like ticket prices compared to attendee ROI.
In 2026 alone, the average ticket price of events was $841.79 — and that’s just to get you in the door. However, compared to 2025, this price isn’t far off. Ticket prices themselves are only increasing slightly (by ~$150), and instead what is hurting attendees is all of the other costs they need to spend, like flights, hotel, snacks, and event add-ons.
For instance, I’m flying to Orlando next month for an event. From Austin, the flight is usually ~$250/round trip. This flight cost me $480 with tax and fees, and it was the most basic/cheapest flight I was comfortable purchasing.
In San Francisco, I spent $1,300 on my hotel (4 nights). Then, between parking at the airport here at home, and rideshares in SF, I spent over $250. For those curious, I live 48min from the airport, and it’s actually cheaper to drive & park than it is to UBER round trip, but it’s still costs me $116.
Prices for hosting events have increased as well. For Sponsor Games 2025 and 2026, we used the same venue. In 2026, our contract was $6,000 more due to increased rates, totaling more than $17,000 to use the same space. It’s one of the primary reasons we are moving venues for 2027.
Most events aren’t increasing ticket sales to make more profit. They’re increasing to break even. Between venues, food, speaker fees, AV, swag, most events lose money — even with attendees paying ~$800/ticket. We saw it at Ops Ahoy this year. Sponsorships are usually what helps alleviate costs, and when that doesn’t happen, event hosts take a huge hit. Layla shared publicly that, that hit for her was $17.5K.
As an event producer, this is why being honest about the event ROI is crucial.
What I’m personally experiencing is an $800 event in total can cost ~$2500 once everything is said and done. How do we justify that? Neither side is technically at fault. It’s not the event’s responsibility to lower ticket prices just because flights are more expensive. And of course, airlines don’t care where you’re going, they still have to get you there.
But what I can control is the value you get onsite, so that if you do spend thousands to be in the room, you don’t regret it. That ROI is also entirely subjective. What’s high-value for one person, might not be for another.
I think about creator conferences like VidSummit and Craft + Commerce a lot when it comes to experience design. Neither have ROI for mid-tier+ attendees who know the basics and want to grow. Let’s be honest, this is 90% of conferences and summits. So these attendees, go just to see their friends and hang out. But, if you ask a creator who is just starting their journey, they are more likely to geek over the content, say the ROI is high, and the cost of attending was more than worth it.
I also think conferences shouldn’t do entry-level content, but that’s an entirely different conversation for another day.
As an attendee, it is entirely your responsibility to determine your ROI, and if attending is worth it. But you have to know first, what it’s going to even cost you.
I built a simple budget tracker in Notion with all of the major spend categories from flights, hotel, late-night snacks, rideshare, and touristy-things.
By seeing a real number laid out, it will put into perspective one, can you afford to attend. Yes, I know we all hate having to think about this, but just because it’s a “business expense” doesn’t mean you can afford it. Two, can you get your money back from new clients landed or money earned from products, sponsorships, etc. And three, if not make your money back, what is another important takeaway for you? Is it making friends in the same space, meeting people who inspire you, or maybe just taking a vacation and getting out of your office for a few days.
There are no wrong answers.
I dropped a video today walking through the budget template and sharing some helpful tips to keep your overall costs down.
You can also download the budget template here in Notion.
