Avoid the queues: How self-serve registration can solve your headaches

Queues are one of the fastest ways to sour the mood at your event. With 80.4% of event organisers saying that in-person events are their most impactful marketing channel available, it’s important you get this right. If attendees spend their first ten minutes stuck in a check-in line, they’re not walking into the room excited. They are walking in frustrated.

And it’s not just the guests who feel the pressure. When queues start to build, your team get flustered, gets pulled in all directions, and the whole programme can fall behind.

For smaller events, where budgets limit how many people you can have on the desk, managing peak-time check-ins and huge bottlenecks becomes a logistical juggling act.

Let’s look at why queues really happen and how a Self-Serve setup can help you keep things flowing smoothly.

Why queues form

Queues build up when your check-in process can’t keep pace with how quickly people are arriving.

Paper lists and manual badge distribution force attendees to wait while a name is found or a badge is located. Too few printers or scanners mean each person must wait for the one ahead of them to finish, and any technical hiccup – such as a patchy WiFi connection or a slow laptop – can ripple through the line.

Even small hiccups cause big holdups when your tools aren’t built to handle high volume quickly. Solving the problem starts with having the right hardware and a workflow that’s resilient enough to cope under pressure.

How JET’s Self-Serve option keeps lines moving

The good news is long queues aren’t inevitable. With the right tools and planning, you can dramatically speed up check-in, even without a large team. JET’s Self-Serve solution is designed to reduce friction at every stage, helping you welcome guests faster, keep things running smoothly and protect your event experience.

Self-check-in terminals
JET’s Self-Serve system is designed for speed. Attendees scan their ticket, print their badge and walk straight in – no badge box, no queues, no delays. Every kit includes two printers and two iPads, and you can add more if you’re expecting a busy arrival window.

Plan for peak times
One of the most effective ways to avoid bottlenecks is to plan for a specific number of attendees per hour. If you know 500 people are likely to arrive within the same 60-minute window, you can scale your equipment to match. For example, a 1,000-person event with that kind of spike might need extra tablets and printers.

On-the-spot search and edits
Lost ticket? Last-minute arrival? No problem. Staff can search attendee names or emails on the spot, add new registrants and reprint badges in seconds, all without holding up the line.

Offline mode means no WiFi delays
Because Self-Serve runs fully offline, you’re not relying on flaky venue internet to keep things moving. Everything syncs back later, so attendees can check in even if the WiFi goes down.

Fast, seamless entry scanning
Once badges are printed, attendees can be scanned into the venue using the iPads or optional phones. It’s quicker, more reliable and eliminates the pile-ups that happen when staff manually check names at the door.

It’s not just about speed

Smooth check-in sets the tone for the entire event. When guests walk in feeling relaxed instead of rushed, they’re far more likely to engage.

Staff can focus on welcoming people instead of managing queues. And because your data is captured in real time, you can rest easy knowing your reporting is accurate – with no manual cleanup later.

If you’re still weighing up whether to stick with manual check-in or make the switch, our post on Manual vs. Self-Serve Registration breaks down the pros, cons and cost comparisons.

And if you’d like to see exactly how it all comes together onsite, take a look at our step-by-step set-up guide.

Curious about whether Self-Serve could work for your next event?

Get in touch for a quick walkthrough. We’d love to chat.