Adapting to demand, Broad museum changes its ticket reservation system
Visitors in the standby ticket line at the Broad in mid-March.
The Broad museum in downtown Los Angeles is shaking up its advance ticketing system in hopes of reducing not only visitor frustration but also the number of no-shows by guests booking too far in advance.
Admission to the museum is free, but the catch has been scoring an elusive reservation. The system in place when the museum opened in September allowed guests to book months in advance, which quickly resulted in long waits for reservations. (A Times article published Dec. 30 noted that tickets were fully booked well into March.)
Because tickets are free, there is no penalty for not showing up. Representatives for the museum said the further guests booked in advance, the higher the chance they would not show up.
The new system, announced Tuesday, makes advance tickets available online beginning the first day of the previous month. Tickets for June will become available at noon on May 1, and tickets for July will become available at noon on June 1.
“The new system should help visitors plan a visit closer to the date while ensuring we are not fully booked for months on end,” said Alex Capriotti, the Broad’s director of marketing and communications. “As a new museum we are always looking for ways to improve our visitors’ experience, and we’re hoping this new ticketing system will make it easier for people to plan their visit.”
The museum’s same-day standby line will continue to operate as usual. Capriotti noted that that line has not decreased since the museum opened. In fact, the museum has seen the line grow lately, particularly on weekends and holidays. Average wait time for the standby line can be 10 to 45 minutes on weekdays and 60 to 90 minutes on weekends, although Capriotti said the museum has seen it stretch to as long as three hours on some weekends.
The cap on the number of people inside at any given time is meant to prevent overcrowding in the galleries. The daily average is about 2,500 people, the museum said.
The new ticketing schedule will go into effect at noon on May 1, when general admission tickets for June will become available. That also will be the start date for June tickets to the museum’s first special exhibition, “Cindy Sherman: Imitation of Life,” which runs from June 11 to Oct. 2 and will cost $12 for adults.
The museum’s inaugural installation will come down May 2 so the Sherman exhibit can be installed. As a result the museum has announced extended hours on April 30 -- from 10 a.m. to midnight -- to allow guests extra time to take in the art before it comes down. From 8 p.m. to midnight that evening, tickets will be available only in the standby line.
Twitter: @jessicagelt
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