Started a website for venues...thoughts?

djasport26

First of all, if this post is viewed spammy, TELL ME and I will delete it...

A friend and I who go to a lot of shows started a review website, VenueIQ.com, specifically geared towards concert/sports venues. We found that the concert-going experience is often super blind, i.e. seats, parking, tailgating, etc.

So we built this site and inputted as many venues as we could think of.

Anyways, would love to hear some feedback, get some venue requests for ones that we missed or even get some reviews on the site.

Thanks!

eddiec

I think it's a great idea.

djasport26

Thanks! Let me know if you can think of some good venues that are missing and I'll add them.

FrankieG

Mobile friendly

I would add the # of ratings next to the stars to gauge how many people have rated it.
Maybe add a spot for price you paid for parking/type of parking/etc data attributes?

I didn't make an account yet, will probably do later tonight if I remember. Can you add venues to your profile that you have attended? Is there a map view to see all of the locations of the venues you have visited? Can you save which seat you had? Upload a picture from that specific seat?

EDIT: I do not view this as spammy. This is the sort of project that I am interested in, so I am glad you posted/ I found it and that I can give my input to improve it.

RKCNDY

I would also add how many reviews users have posted. I would trust a person's review if they have been to say 15 different venues versus someone who has only been to 2.

I like the site, it will help people on your that aren't familiar with the area.

FrankieG

I show up on the home page as recent reviews multiple times, might want to limit that so that 3 different people are shown.

Missing:
http://www.chameleonclub.net/
http://www.thelincolndc.com/


Maybe make a form for users to submit venues?


Would be cool just to have all of the venues marked on a map, so that you can see where they are located. Like a "world view" of all venues

Wobbie

Could be a great site if it gets enough traffic......people all over the world rating venues for peple all over the world!

djasport26

First of all thanks for all the feedback. Please keep it coming. The site is brand new and we know it's got a long way to go. PLEASE PLEASE send venues my way that I'm missing. I'm basically scouring Ticketmaster and Pollstar to look for venues at the moment.

To respond to some questions/comments:

Frank: Thank you for your reviews! That's number one. The site will die without reviews. So that's most important.

Frank/BKCANDY: OK, in terms of number of reviews. We do have that feature (one of the few from Day 1). Below your name it now says 2 Reviews. In terms of the parking comment, we do ask for parking costs in the advanced review section, but I definitely agree that this is an important thing that people need to be able to answer and see easily. We will tinker with that.

I LOVE the idea of having the ability to show which venues you've attended, both as a map and as a list. Gives credibility to your profile, just as having written multiple reviews does. That's a feature I think we can add sooner than later.

As far as photos go, we can track your seat location if you've written a review as well as if you put in the seat location with the caption. Long term, we want to have an interactive map that you can see photos from specific seats (better than the animated pics that we've gotten used to from venues). That's definitely something in the pipeline.

I also agree that it needs to be easier to request new venues. As of right now, there's an email address that you can write to and there's the Contact Us page, but this should be easier than it is.

As far as the homepage goes, I totally get what you are saying. I think that as/if the site grows, most people will only be writing one review at a time BUT I agree with you that we need to find a way so that the recent reviews/photos aren't bombarded by one user.

I added those two venues (Lincoln Theatre and Chameleon Club). Feel free to send anymore my way as you think of them.

Thanks again everyone.

MayDay10

This is something I have thought about doing for some time. Please excuse my suggestions.

In my ticket buying experience, it is very difficult to get detailed seating information. I have seat 20... how many seats in the row? Which side is 20 located in the section? So there is that. Also, the location of bathrooms are critical. If you have one right outside your aisle its a huge boost. A detailed map may show those.
http://sabres.nhl.com/v2/ext/pdf/2013-FNC-ConcessionsMap.pdf
Constructing detailed seating charts over time would be excellent.

Also, your idea about photos showing vantage point is also much welcome. I have seen these things out there, but never very comprehensive or up to date.

There are also various criteria such as legroom, width/comfort, cup holders, padded seat, etc that maybe you can quantify. I know that arenas have normally 3-6 different width seats. If you get the most narrow seat (usually toward the corners)... they are almost uninhabitable. When I change my seat location for the Sabres I make them verify what build the seat is. I was stuck with a narrow one once and it was miz. Im not a large person by any measure either. Everyone who went to games had the same first impression as well.

Maybe you can add acts. That way you can search for those specifically. When I bought McCartney tickets I grabbed side seats that read 'limited view' and had to search high and low for anyone who had comparable seats in any other city.

Places to eat and stay around the venue are always questions commonly asked

Perhaps make a point system for users called "stubs" for each unique review they provide. Then there can be some sort of 'trophy' system for different collections of stubs. As easy as "attend an NHL game", "attend an NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA game" to exclusive "attend a game in every MLB ballpark".
Maybe link the users up with a forum as well so people can discuss venues, ask questions, provide suggestions, compare 'trophies', etc.

PJ_Soul

Yeah, good idea!
The Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver should be there so that people can be warned about it (actually, it's the ARTISTS who should be warned). Worst sound imaginable. But since it's an Opera House, people expect the sound to be good. Huge mistake. I wish there was a way to steer artists clear of it. I'd literally prefer that they didn't even come to town at all than play this venue.

djasport26

Thanks for the request. QE Theatre has been added. Feel free to write a review if you'd like. We have just scratched the surface on Canada. Feel free to throw more venue requests my way!

PJ_Soul said:

Yeah, good idea!
The Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver should be there so that people can be warned about it (actually, it's the ARTISTS who should be warned). Worst sound imaginable. But since it's an Opera House, people expect the sound to be good. Huge mistake. I wish there was a way to steer artists clear of it. I'd literally prefer that they didn't even come to town at all than play this venue.

djasport26

Been adding venues like crazy to the site. Would love to hear of more venues I'm missing that you'd want to see reviewed.

Added a FB log-in and am going to add a blog to the site soon. Been getting some reviews here and there. Thanks again everyone!

djasport26

Hey, all. Haven't posted here in a while but thought in honor of the tour announcement, a few of you may be inspired to write a review on VenueIQ to help others out. All of the venues are on there, so if you've been, check it out. And there's some good info on a couple of tour venues (MSG in particular) if you are looking for some tips on seats, food choices, etc.

And, as always, if you have any feedback or see any missing venues please send them my way!

Thanks!