The Meetup for Organizers app is getting a powerful new update that will revolutionize the attendance-taking aspect of the events you host. With Event Check-In, you no longer have to guesstimate your attendance figures or waste time arranging pen and paper sign-in sheets. But that’s far from the only benefit of this exciting new tool. So read more about how Event Check-In works and all the ways it’s going to make your life easier.
The basics of Event Check-In
When members register for your event, they will be automatically added to the Attending list. Using this list, you’ll be able to quickly and effectively mark who has arrived, know exactly how many remaining guests you’re expecting, and be able to easily monitor no-shows.
Event Check-In is built with a mobile-friendly interface so you can use it on-the-go, and so that your screen time can be limited while you’re enjoying the event. To check in a guest, all you have to do is swipe their attendee card right to check them in, or swipe left to mark them as absent. For smaller gatherings, you can also do a bulk check-in to mark everyone present at once.
Event Check-In is easily accessed via the event info section within the Meetup for Organizers app. You can start checking in attendees an hour before the event starts, and up to 24 hours after the event has ended. After that, you can always go to the Attending list for the event and update attendance there. In a future update, the Event Check-In feature will become available to all event hosts, even if they are not one of the Meetup group’s organizers.
How Event Check-In is changing the game
The benefits of a quick and simple check-in process are going to make event-hosting an even more enjoyable, rewarding, and efficient experience. By taking advantage of this new offering, you can:
- Plan ahead for teams or smaller breakout groups — Some Meetup events, like pickup soccer in the park or an urban scavenger hunt, require the group to be temporarily split up. Knowing your exact number of attendees is crucial for this type of event. Event Check-In makes that responsibility so much easier.
- Store event attendance info within the app — As an organizer, it can be extremely useful to reference past event attendance sheets as a way of learning more about what members of your group like to do. With Event-Check In, all of that info will be categorized and accessed for you to review. You can add a no-show flag to attendees who RSVPed “yes” but never came. And you can even distinguish between no-shows and absences (people who RSVPed yes, but let you know beforehand that they would no longer be able to make it).
- Avoid guest stress — Event Check-In allows you to see which guests are planning to bring a guest, and how many guests each of them are going to bring. This way, you won’t be caught off guard by a suddenly bigger-than-you-expected event.
- View profile info about your attendees — Preparation is an organizer’s best friend. Through Event Check-In, you can access some simple but helpful data about your event attendees before they arrive. For example, you can track whether they have paid the event fee (when applicable) or see if a certain attendee is joining one of your group’s events for the first time. Plus, you can view every attendee’s name and profile photo, which makes the social aspect of hosting stress-free.
- See a real-time progress bar — This feature automatically, and in a visually pleasing way, tracks how many attendees you’ve checked in and marked absent to your event. Located at the bottom of the Event Check-In tool within the app, the progress bar is great for a quick glance while you’re still in the action of hosting.
- Track no-shows — The no-show feature in Event Check-In allows you to distinguish between attendees who did not attend the event (absences) and no-shows, a special flag that lets you mark who RSVPed as attending, but didn’t provide an indication that they wouldn’t come. A no-show flag is an optional tool for organizers who want to keep track of group members who have inconsistent attendance. Some groups even have a policy of being removed from the group after three no-shows.
Check out Check-In!
Try out Event Check-In for yourself by downloading the Meetup for Organizers app today. If you already have the app, be sure to update it so you have the most recent version that includes this powerful new tool. Stay up to date with the latest in Meetup features.
Mary Garcia (she/her) is Meetup’s Content Manager and editor of the Community Matters blog. When she’s not writing, Mary organizes a swamp fiction book club on Meetup. Find her on LinkedIn.
Last modified on January 22, 2024
