North American Galaxy User Group Meeting 2019

Updated: October 14, 2019 | User Group Meetings | Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn

UGM 2020

Cincinnati was Spectacular. But it’s Time to Start Planning for Next Year

Watch highlights from the 2019 UGM in Cincinnati, plus find out where your 2020 UGM will be!

Overview

Jarrid Vaughn, Sr. Manager of Visitor Experience & Fun at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, would like to personally invite you to this year’s Galaxy User Group Meeting in Cincinnati. It’s going to be an education-packed and entertaining week of sessions and socializing with a special visit to the zoo on Tuesday. See what Jarrid has to say below:

This year’s North American Galaxy User Group Meeting will be held in vibrant Cincinnati. This historic city on the banks of the Ohio River offers great neighborhoods, iconic food, spectacular craft beer, a trendy revitalized waterfront and a welcoming basecamp for our 2019 UGM.

Our largest event of the year is your opportunity to connect with 160+ other Galaxy users, over 15 vendor partners and the Gateway employees you work with regularly. Learn Galaxy best practices from user-led presentations, find out what’s new and refine your knowledge in our learning lab.

SEPTEMBER 29 – OCTOBER 4, 2019
We listened: This year we’re holding the event almost two months later than usual, after many attractions’ busy seasons, to maximize the number of Galaxy users that can attend.

GENEROUSLY HOSTED BY: Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Sessions will be held at Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza.

WELCOME RECEPTION
Sunday, September 29 | 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. | Hilton Continental Ballroom
Join us the night prior to the event to kick-off our 2019 User Group Meeting with classic Cincinnati fare among old friends and new connections. Most of you will be flying in that day, so we switched our Welcome Reception to a relaxing evening at the hotel in preparation for a full slate of sessions and evening events during the week.

MAIN SESSIONS
Monday – Friday, September 30 – October 4 | Starts at 9:00 a.m. each day

CINCINNATI ZOO TOUR OF GALAXY AND EVENING SOCIAL EVENT
Tuesday, October 1 | 2:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
We’re ending our sessions early on Tuesday and heading to the Cincinnati Zoo for a structured self-guided tour of the innovative ways they are leveraging the Galaxy software. Then, enjoy an evening at the Africa Overlook Deck with dinner and drinks and special animal visits including a 30 minute visit from the cheetahs.

SOCIAL EVENT
Wednesday, October 2 | 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. | Rhinegeist Brewery
Sip a flight of local beer with a buffet and take a half hour tour at this well-known microbrewery in the city’s trendy Over-the-Rhine brewery district.

*Registration Closed

For any last minute registration needs, please contact Donna Walp at dwalp@gatewayticketing.com.

*Attendance at Galaxy User Group Meetings are by invitation only. Gateway reserves the right to deny registration to anyone who has not been expressly invited. If you are a user, prospective user or partner of Gateway products and have not received an invitation, please contact Gateway for assistance.

Agenda

The 2019 North America User Group Meeting agenda is posted! Note: This is a working agenda with presentation times and specific details being increasingly finalized as we get closer to the event. However, these are the topics we will delve into in Cincinnati. We’ve added a few new features this year as well: like video introductions to key new features in Galaxy, additional breakout sessions in the afternoons to address more of the job roles that use Galaxy, and a tour of Galaxy at our host site, the Cincinnati Zoo.

Peruse the agenda and find the topics that most interest you and apply to your role, then head to our registration page and purchase your registration.

*A printed version of this book will be handed out at UGM, so please do not print this file.

Sunday, September 29
Welcome Reception in the Hilton Continental Ballroom
6:00 – 9:00 P.M. | 35 W 5th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

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Monday, September 30 | MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS
What information should you be measuring, what tools should you use, and how can you interpret what you gather?

Morning Sessions
8:00 – 9:00 A.M. › Breakfast & First Time Attendee Breakfast
9:00 – 9:45 A.M. › Welcome & Introductions
9:45 – 10:15 A.M. › The Week Ahead

BREAK › 10:15 – 10:45 A.M.

Mid-Morning Sessions
10:45 – 11:00 A.M. › Measuring Success – Customer Spotlight
11:00 – 11:30 A.M. › Pricing and the Guest Experience
11:30 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. › The Dynamics of Admission and Special Event Pricing

Lunch & Flex
12:00 – 1:00 P.M. › How New Dynamic Pricing Strategies Can Help Solve Age-Old Problems for Attractions – Sponsored by Digonex
12:00 – 1:00 P.M. › SQL Tips and Tricks
1:00 – 1:30 P.M. › Training: Using Price Schedules to Maximize Your Revenue

Afternoon Sessions
1:30 – 1:45 P.M. › Pacific Visions Expansion at the Aquarium of the Pacific
1:45 – 2:00 P.M. › Measuring Your Most Loyal Customers
2:00 – 2:15 P.M. › Business Intelligence – Measuring Galaxy Data Alongside Other Systems
2:15 – 2:45 P.M. › My Experience Becoming Galaxy Certified

BREAK › 2:45 – 3:15 P.M.

Late Afternoon Breakouts
3:15 – 5:00 P.M. › Sales Discussion: OTA Partnerships, Connect and the Reseller Web Store
3:15 – 5:00 P.M. › Reporting and Finance Discussion: New Accounting Rules and Their Impact on Deferred Revenue and Returns
3:15 – 5:00 P.M. › Galaxy T – Time! [Tips, Tricks and Training]: Multipark, Ticket Printing, QR and 2D Barcodes, Barcodes in Emails

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Tuesday, October 1 | DELIVER YOUR EXPERIENCE
How can you deliver exceptional customer service to your guests with engaging experiences?

Morning Sessions
8:30 – 9:00 A.M. › Tech Time – New Hardware!
9:00 – 9:15 A.M. › Experience the Galaxy Suite
9:15 – 9:45 A.M. › The Case for Kiosks
9:45 – 10:15 A.M. › Stories from the Road – Access Control Replacements and Photo Capture

BREAK › 10:15 – 10:45 A.M.

Mid-Morning Sessions
10:45 – 11:45 A.M. › Intro to the Annual Release of Galaxy
11:45 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. › Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 at Space Center Houston

Lunch & Flex › 12:00 – 1:00 P.M.

Tour of Galaxy at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
1:00 – 5:00 P.M. | 3400 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45220

Evening Social Event at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
5:00 – 8:00 P.M. | 3400 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45220

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Wednesday, October 2 | SIMPLIFY YOUR OPERATION
How do you take all your system practices and find efficiencies and implement best practices? How do you take all your data and distill it into actionable takeaways that make your operation more efficient and easier to navigate for guests and team members?

Morning Sessions
8:30 – 9:00 A.M. › Tech Time – Hands on with the Galaxy Kiosk
9:00 – 9:15 A.M. › One Ticket to Rule Them All! It’s Not Simply a Ticket at the Cincinnati Zoo…
9:15 – 9:45 A.M. › Cut the Clutter: Simplify Galaxy for the End User
9:45 – 10:15 A.M. › Galaxy Connect: Best Practices for Building and Simplifying Your Distribution Channel

BREAK › 10:15 – 10:45 A.M.

Mid-Morning Sessions
10:45 – 11:00 A.M. › Quick and Simple Order Entry Bookings
11:00 – 11:30 A.M. › Pass Processing Made Simple
11:30 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. › Simplify Special Events – Deep Linking and Anchors

Lunch & Flex
12:00 – 1:00 P.M. › Galaxy Connect: Show Me the Money! – Sponsored by Groupon
1:00 – 1:30 P.M. › Training: Top 10 Ways to Simplify Order Entry

Afternoon Sessions
1:30 – 2:00 P.M. › Simplifying Employee Benefits and Comp Ticket Requests
2:00 – 2:15 P.M. › Everything You Wanted to Know About Sales Programs But Were Afraid to Ask
2:15 – 2:30 P.M. › Driving Online Sales Using Packages
2:30 – 2:45 P.M. › Special Pricing for Local Guests Made Easy

BREAK › 2:45 – 3:15 P.M.

Late Afternoon Breakouts
3:15 – 5:00 P.M. › Groups Discussion: Order Entry Best Practices, Outreach, Reporting with Attributes and Leveraging the Planner
3:15 – 5:00 P.M. › Pass/Membership Discussion: Best Practices
3:15 – 5:00 P.M. › Galaxy T – Time! [Tips, Tricks and Training]: Simplify Event Creation, Managing Your Galaxy PLUs and Breaking the Trifecta

Evening Social Event at Rhinegeist Brewery
6:00 – 9:00 P.M. | 1910 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202

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Thursday, October 3 | EDUCATE YOUR AUDIENCE
How can you best communicate and implement change with your team members and guests to create positive momentum?

Morning Sessions
8:30 – 9:00 A.M. › Tech Time – Photos at Access Control
9:00 – 9:15 A.M. › How to Make the Most Out of Your Investment in Galaxy
9:15 – 9:45 A.M. › How to Successfully Train Your Front-Line Employees
9:45 – 10:15 A.M. › Developing Product Development

BREAK › 10:15 – 10:45 A.M.

Mid-Morning Sessions
10:45 – 11:15 A.M. › What’s New with the Customer Portal
11:15 – 11:45 A.M. › Stories from the Road – Capacity Management
11:45 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. › What’s New in Galaxy Connect

Lunch & Flex
12:00 – 1:00 P.M. › Credit Card Processing 101 – Sponsored by Chase
12:00 – 1:00 P.M. › 2020 Galaxy Connect Roadmap: Gateway’s Listening
1:00 – 1:30 P.M. › Training: How Resource Management Can Meet Your Business Needs

Afternoon Sessions
1:30 – 2:00 P.M. › Extending your Opening Hours, Trends and Finding New Ways to Utilize Your Existing Attraction with a New Market
2:00 – 2:30 P.M. › How Shoreline Sightseeing Leverages Galaxy to Stay #1
2:30 – 2:45 P.M. › Giveaways!!!

BREAK › 2:45 – 3:15 P.M.

Late Afternoon Breakouts
3:15 – 5:00 P.M. › Marketing in 2020: Best Practices for Planning, Innovating and Growing (all on a budget of course!)
3:15 – 5:00 P.M. › Non-Profit Discussion: Fundraising, CRM and Engagement Strategies
3:15 – 5:00 P.M. › Galaxy System Administrator Certification Preview Session

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Friday, October 4 | LEAD YOUR INDUSTRY
How do you stay on the cutting edge of technology and engagement trends and implement those at your attraction?

Morning Sessions
8:30 – 9:00 A.M. › Tech Time – Payment Processing
9:00 – 10:00 A.M. › Keynote Speaker: The Ten Attributes of Memorable Attractions

BREAK › 10:00 – 10:30 A.M.

Mid-Morning Sessions
10:30 – 11:00 A.M. › Disney Flex Passport Project
11:00 – 11:30 A.M. › Stories from the Road – Entitlements
11:30 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. › Microsoft Power Apps – Using Forms and Surveys with MS Flow to Create Orders in Galaxy

Lunch & Flex › 12:00 – 1:00 P.M.

Afternoon Sessions
1:00 – 1:30 P.M. › New Galaxy Functionality: Improve Customer Data Integrity and GDPR Compliance
1:30 – 2:15 P.M. › Additional Galaxy Features [cont.]
2:15 – 3:00 P.M. › Open Discussion

Justification Letter

We would really like to see you in Cincinnati. Do you need to justify the value of attending the North American Galaxy User Group Meeting?

We’ve written this sample letter to help you demonstrate the ROI to your manager. If you don’t use a formal letter, we’ve found it’s still helpful to outline some of the sessions that would be most useful for your organization as well as your estimated expenses.

Justifying Registration Fee

Hotel Details

SPECIAL HOTEL GROUP RATE

Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza
35 W 5th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

$165/night USD for UGM Attendees
Book now: Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza

HILTON RESERVATIONS OPERATOR: Hilton toll-free number (1-800-445-8667). Our Group is listed as GATEWAY TICKETING and the group code is GAT. Please be sure to use this code so you receive our group rate and that rooms are placed in the group block as available. We have secured a limited number of rooms at this hotel. Please be sure to reserve as early as possible to get the best rate.

This offer will expire September 11, 2019, or once our room block is full, whichever comes first.