Giving Tickets Away vs. Hosting a Guest: Which Gets More From Your Season Tickets

The difference is simple: giving tickets away means handing a client the seats and letting them go on their own, while hosting means going to the game with them. For building a relationship, hosting almost always wins — the value of client entertainment comes from the hours spent together, not the tickets themselves. Give tickets away when the goal is a low-key thank-you, when you genuinely can't attend, or when the client would clearly rather bring their own family. But when the relationship matters, go with them. Either way, the seat gets used — and a used seat always beats an empty one.

Below is when to do which, and why hosting gets more from the tickets you already pay for.

Why does hosting usually win?

Because the relationship is built in the shared time, not in the gift. When you hand over tickets, the client enjoys a nice night — but with someone else. You've given a pleasant perk; you haven't spent any time together, learned anything about their world, or become more of a real person to them. When you host, the game becomes hours of relaxed conversation, shared reactions, and genuine rapport. That's what deepens trust and keeps a client close.

Put plainly: giving tickets away buys goodwill; hosting builds a relationship. For a low-stakes gesture, goodwill is plenty. For a relationship you actually want to grow, the time together is the whole point — and that only happens if you're in the next seat.

When should you host a guest?

Host whenever the relationship is worth the investment of your evening. That covers most of your important client entertainment:

Key clients and high-stakes moments. A near-close, a renewal window, or simply a relationship you can't afford to lose — these deserve your time, not just your tickets.
Relationships you want to deepen. If you'd like to understand a client's business better or move from acquaintance to trusted partner, there's no substitute for hours together.
Anytime the marquee games come out. Your best seats justify the effort of hosting; spending a playoff ticket by mailing it over is a missed opportunity.

When you host, be a real host: arrive first, meet them where you agreed, handle the small frictions, and let them enjoy being your guest. (What to actually talk about once you're there is its own skill worth thinking through.)

When is giving tickets away the right call?

Give tickets away when the goal is a light gesture, or when hosting isn't realistic. It's a perfectly good move in the right situations:

A low-key thank-you. For a smaller favour or a friendly contact, handing over a pair of seats is a warm, easy gesture that doesn't require an evening from either of you.
You genuinely can't attend. A schedule conflict shouldn't mean a wasted seat. Giving the tickets to a client is far better than letting them go empty.
The client would rather go with their own people. Sometimes a client would most enjoy taking their kid or their spouse. Reading that correctly — and giving them that freedom — can be the more thoughtful choice.
Rewarding an employee. The same logic applies internally: handing tickets to a team member as a thank-you is a legitimate, valuable use of the seats.

The key is to be deliberate about it. Giving tickets away should be a choice because it fits the moment — not a default because hosting felt like too much effort.

How do you make sure the seat gets used either way?

Decide early, and never let "we couldn't figure out who'd go" become an empty seat. The worst outcome isn't giving tickets away instead of hosting — it's a game where nobody used the seats at all. That happens when the decision is left too late.

A simple habit fixes it: look at each home game a couple of weeks out and decide its purpose. Is this one I'll host a client at? A pair to hand a good contact as a thank-you? A reward for someone on the team? Making that call in advance means every seat has a plan before game day — and a shared view of which games are still open makes it obvious where a seat is about to go to waste, in time to do something about it.

Frequently asked questions

Is it better to give a client tickets or go to the game with them? For building the relationship, going with them almost always wins — the value is in the time spent together, not the tickets. Give tickets away for a light thank-you, when you can't attend, or when the client would rather bring their own family.

Is it rude to give a client tickets without going along? Not at all — it's a generous, low-pressure gesture that many clients appreciate, especially if they'd like to bring family. Just be deliberate: choose it because it fits the moment, not because hosting felt like too much effort.

What if I can't attend a game — should the tickets just go unused? No. An empty seat is pure waste. Give the tickets to a client as a thank-you, or use them to reward an employee. A used seat always beats an empty one, even when you can't be there yourself.

Can I give company tickets to employees as a reward? Yes — rewarding a team member with tickets is a legitimate, valuable use of the seats. Keep a record of who received them, both for fairness across the team and for your entertainment-expense documentation.

How do I make sure a seat never goes empty? Decide each game's purpose a couple of weeks ahead — host, give away, or reward — so every seat has a plan. A shared view of which games are still unclaimed flags a seat that's about to be wasted in time to use it.

Season Seats helps your team decide the purpose of every game before it arrives — host, give away, or reward — and flags any seat about to go empty, so nothing you paid for goes to waste. Start free →