[LM24] Le Mans 2021 21/22 August - Who Is Going?

[Truckosaurus]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

... no guarantee that the credit note will cover the full price of the 2021 tickets.

This is a good point. If they have to run 2021 with limited numbers of spectators then it is likely they bump the prices up to cover the lost revenue and to reduce demand.

[GT6]

Originally Posted by Truckosaurus

This is a good point. If they have to run 2021 with limited numbers of spectators then it is likely they bump the prices up to cover the lost revenue and to reduce demand.

Again a distinct possibility, especially for the camping and grandstand tickets i fear.

[whitemr2]

It's crazy, members can't buy tickets for 2021 while ACO holds their money and agencys can garantee the tickets at this very moment. That's not how you treat your (long time) members.

[Peter Mallett]

Taking your point, I think what they are doing is honouring those agency tickets that have been held over. Mine are in this category. I received a "hurry up we are selling fast" e mail from Travel Destinations (my agency) yesterday, so I suspect they and others have been given a window in order to get existing (rolled over) bookings sorted before the general release of tickets.

[GT6]

Or the ticket agencies are running out of money fast, and like the dutch one on the point of closing. It is very understandable as their costs are still there but their income has all but disappeared. This is a very hard time for anyone in that industry and not likely to get any easier in the next 6 months.

[Peter Mallett]

Well either way, the ACO needs the agencies to survive or go down, then it can see its requirements.

[GT6]

Agreed but guessing what restrictions will be next week is hard enough,guessing for 8 months time is about as accurate as the weather forecast on Saturday morning for the race and look how bad that turned out to be. think we will all have to wait and see, but suspect we will have something from the ACO in early 2021 to be honest

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Well either way, the ACO needs the agencies to survive or go down, then it can see its requirements.

They do Peter, but our tickets from the ACO are just as 'rolled over' as any of the agencies..... And many of us are actually members of the organisation itself. Members should be prioritised or they run the risk of losing members and the cost of an annual membership isn't a trivial income for the ACO....

[GT6]

The ACO is struggling to do everything and trying very hard to sort things out, we usually moan at them, but these are very difficult times for everyone and it can not be easy for them at the moment

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

They do Peter, but our tickets from the ACO are just as 'rolled over' as any of the agencies..... And many of us are actually members of the organisation itself. Members should be prioritised or they run the risk of losing members and the cost of an annual membership isn't a trivial income for the ACO....

Yup I'm also a member. But businesses need certainty, us individuals generally come second. If any of the.agencies roll over then the ACO will presumably backfill by selling tickets to those who would normally go through an agent. It is a strange set up though. Silverstone sells tickets directly for the GP. You have to book camping etc. separately. With Le Mans you buy camping with tickets so a lot of tickets go through third parties.

That said I realise you can buy tickets and organise accommodation separately. So it's a hybrid model.

[GT6]

No you can just buy camping, i had one TR camping purchased (ok it was a pain booking last year) then when restrictions for tickets came in i then went back to the ACO and bought two GE tickets as allowed. A lot of people in the past have just bought camping tickets and then got race ones when they arrive as they were previously never in short supply.

[Peter Mallett]

Yes I realise that which was my point. Some of the agents book camping and tickets together if you wish. Hence the hybrid comment.

[GT6]

That is why i do not use those agents, i book either with the ACO or the tourist Office as i can just get what i want and pay actual cost without a mark up.

[vincegail]

Apart from the 5% admin fees the Tourist Office have been charging since a few years.

[GT6]

Originally Posted by vincegail

Apart from the 5% admin fees the Tourist Office have been charging since a few years.

Yes but that is very small compared to what commercial agents charge. As long as the tourist office does not mess up the order Vince.

[Anyopenroad]

Does anyone know when 2021 tickets go on sale?

[thetool]

It's quite likely it will be behind closed doors again, so they probably won't.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by thetool

It's quite likely it will be behind closed doors again, so they probably won't.

At this stage, 8 months away, there's no certainty whatsoever of that. But it may be that the ACO will delay selling tickets until they're more certain whether it can go ahead with spectators.

[GT6]

Last month the ACO contact i have said the tickets would go on sale in November but since then the ACO has announced cuts including some redundancies as it tries to survive. When the do announce sale of tickets/camping i suspect they will not be back to normal and reduced numbers (of camping spaces at least) and price rises are very likely.
Fingers are crossed and hoping we will all meet next year.

[Truckosaurus]

I suspect tickets will go on sale sooner rather than later purely to aid the cashflow of those in the ticket selling chain.

Stronger T&Cs around reschedules, refunds and cancellations no doubt.

[GT6]

The agents might sell them early but until the ACO announces what it is doing no one can guarantee anything.

[GT6]

Has anyone heard anything from the ACO yet about 2021, last i heard was that they would be sending stuff out early November but everything seems to have gone very quiet.

[Aysedasi]

No, nothing. Last email was 5th October.....

[GT6]

Sounds like they are still trying to decide what to do.

[Aysedasi]

I imagine so. Difficult for decisions with so much uncertainty to deal with. They'll also want to try and avoid a huge amount of work unpicking tickets and reservations if it doesn't happen next June (or September even)....