How Miracle on 5th St. has changed holiday pop-up to accommodate holiday crowds

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It's the thick of the holiday season, and Miracle on 5th Street is in full swing amid its seventh year as a holiday pop-up bar at The Eleanor downtown. With thousands seeking out a bit of holiday cheer and festive cocktails, Miracle on 5th Street modified its operations last year to try and accommodate as many people as possible while also managing guest volumes at any given time.

During its seven years in operation, Miracle on 5th Street has had some form of ticketing system in effect for five years that allow guests to pay to skip the line. However, last year was the first time the pop-up started to charge for general admission along with specialty passes, said Justin Lavenue, owner and operator of The Eleanor and The Roosevelt Room.

The reason behind the paid general admission tickets came down to a variety of factors, he said.

"Doing business in general with all the supply chain issues, higher wages and things like that and to be able to keep a good staff, we felt that in order to still make it feasible to host the pop-up, we needed to start charging ticket sets," he said.

In the first weekend of December last year, there was a convergence of several private events at The Eleanor in addition to those visiting Miracle on 5th Street, Lavenue said. Despite looking at prior years' attendance volumes to try and estimate crowd sizes, Lavenue said his team underestimated one change — paid general admission tickets.

"We didn't account for the fact that when people bought tickets, they simply stayed longer. And although we were trying to be conservative, that line just didn't move," he said. "We don't do it where Miracle kicks people out. We don't do a timeframe because we want people that want to enjoy it as long as they want to do so."

During that weekend, long lines and wait times meant Miracle staff spent hours retroactively refunding, transferring and reimbursing guests who weren't able to attend on their originally selected night. That included guests who reached out requesting a refund or date change as well as those who hadn't yet requested that service but also weren't checked in that weekend, Lavenue said.

Miracle uses the third-party ticketing platform Eventbrite to support its reservations, which outlines Miracle's ticket refund and transfer policies. Those include refund and transfer changes for guests who are sick with the flu, COVID-19 or other viruses; those who didn't make it into the venue on a busier night; as well as awarded on case-by-case bases, depending on the situation. Those refunds and transfers can be requested through the Eventbrite link.

Since last year, Lavenue said they spelled out those same policies on Miracle's own website to make them as clear as possible.

"Some of the changes that we did make this year to circumvent that as much as we possibly could: we have less presale tickets available. So I'm taking the number from last year and cut it in half for presale tickets, and now we have a QR code that is posted at the door that only unhides the at-the-door tickets," he said. "So if we haven't sold out on presale tickets, guests who want to join us are able to if they want to wait."

Compared to last year, Lavenue said sales are down approximately 15%. It's hard to pinpoint that on one specific cause, he said, given inflation impacts on the cost of living, uncertainties with the economy and some adults drinking alcohol less now than in prior decades.

However, he said he does worry that some of the negative feedback extending from last year's ticket situation has led to fewer guests this go around.

"It's really disheartening having hosted Miracle for five-and-a-half years until that point without any issues and having a good reputation," he said. "It's really hurt that something we host and pour so much time and effort into, you know, you make one mistake, and it's just like there's no coming back from it."

Those looking to attend Miracle can do so for free from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day it's operating, Lavenue said. Those who purchase skip-the-line passes on days that end up being slower traffic-wise will receive a refund and only be charged the cost of a general admission pass.

"It's a very detailed process each year of trying to figure out Miracle, so we can try to spread as much cheer as humanly possible," he said.

More details on Miracle on 5th Street can be found online.