Check In at the venue

Overview

Check-in at the venue is not a formality. It is a required, system-activating step that records your attendance and triggers the next phase of your participation: deliverables. Without a valid check-in, your attendance may not be recognized, and everything that follows — including your ability to submit content — can be compromised. This article explains the check-in process in detail and why it is one of the most important steps in your event journey.

What Check-In Is

Check-in is the official confirmation of your physical presence at the event. It is the moment where the app transitions from tracking your booking to recording your attendance.

When you check in, two things happen:

1. The venue confirms you are there. Staff can verify your identity and booking, ensuring you are a legitimate attendee.
2. The system records your attendance. This activates your deliverables and officially counts you as a participant in the event.

Check-in is the bridge between booking and participation. Without it, the two are disconnected.

How to Check In at the Venue

The process is straightforward:

1. Open the app before you approach the entrance or check-in desk
2. Navigate to your event in the "To Visit" section
3. Access your QR code and have it ready to display
4. Present the QR code to venue staff at the designated check-in point
5. Clearly state that you are attending as part of The Secret Society so the staff can identify your booking correctly

This should be a quick, seamless process if you are prepared. The most important things to have ready are a charged phone, the app open, and your QR code loaded.

Why Check-In Is a Required Step — Not Optional

It can be tempting to think of check-in as administrative overhead — something you can skip if the venue is busy or the line is long. This is a serious misunderstanding.

Check-in is mandatory because the entire downstream process depends on it. Specifically:

Deliverables are triggered by check-in. Your post-event responsibilities — posting content, submitting reviews, tagging the venue — only become active in the system once your attendance has been recorded through a valid check-in. If you do not check in, the system does not know you were there, and your deliverables may not be recognized.

Your participation is not validated without it. Even if you spent hours at the venue and had a great experience, the platform has no record of your attendance without check-in. From the system's perspective, a missed check-in is functionally the same as not attending.

Venues use it to manage their guest list. Venues plan their events based on expected attendee counts. The check-in system helps venues know who has arrived and who has not. Skipping check-in disrupts this process.

What Happens If You Don't Check In Properly

If you attend an event but fail to complete the check-in process — or check in incorrectly — several things can go wrong:

Your deliverables may not be accepted. When you go to submit your post-event content, the system may not recognize your participation and could reject your submissions.

You may be treated as a no-show. If there is no check-in record associated with your booking, the platform may classify you as someone who did not attend. This can result in a strike and temporary account deactivation.

You may be unable to submit deliverables correctly. The "To Deliver" section may not activate properly without a valid check-in, leaving you unable to fulfill your responsibilities even if you want to.

None of these outcomes are reversible through simple appeals. This is why doing the check-in correctly — every time — is non-negotiable.

Common Check-In Mistakes to Avoid

Forgetting to check in because you got absorbed in the event. Make check-in the very first thing you do when you arrive. Do not wait until you have settled in and started enjoying yourself — by then, the moment can easily be forgotten.

Not having the app open or the QR code ready. Fumbling at the entrance is avoidable. Open the app before you reach the door, not at the door.

Low phone battery. If your phone dies before or during check-in, you will not be able to display your QR code. Arrive with a fully charged phone.

Not identifying yourself as a Secret Society attendee. Venue staff manage multiple bookings from different channels. If you do not specify that you are attending through The Secret Society, they may not locate your booking correctly, causing confusion during check-in.

Assuming check-in is automatic or handled by someone else. Check-in requires your active participation. It is not done for you.

Check-In and Its Connection to Deliverables

Check-in and deliverables are directly linked. The check-in serves as the trigger that activates your responsibility to submit post-event content.

Here is how the sequence works:

1. You arrive and check in correctly
2. The system records your attendance
3. Your deliverables become active in the "To Deliver" section
4. You have 24 hours from the event time to complete and submit them

If step 1 is skipped or incomplete, the rest of the sequence does not work properly. Deliverables that are not triggered correctly cannot be submitted, which means you would be in breach of your participation agreement through no fault of bad intent — just a missed procedural step.

Understanding this connection makes it clear why check-in matters so much. It is not just about entering the venue — it is about activating your full participation in the platform's system.

What to Do If Check-In Fails or There Is a Problem

Occasionally, technical issues or staff-side confusion can create problems during check-in. If this happens:

• Stay calm and politely explain that you are a confirmed attendee through The Secret Society
• Show the venue staff your booking details in the app, including your QR code
• Ask them to contact a manager if the front-of-house staff are unable to resolve the issue
• After the event, report the issue to The Secret Society support team with details of what happened

If the issue was on the venue's side — a miscommunication or system error — the support team can investigate and may be able to resolve any downstream consequences for your account.

Summary

Check-in is a mandatory step that records your attendance and activates your deliverables. To check in correctly, open the app, access your QR code, present it to venue staff, and identify yourself as a Secret Society attendee. Do this as soon as you arrive — not after settling in. Skipping or failing to complete check-in can result in your deliverables being rejected, your participation being unrecognized, or your account being treated as a no-show. Make check-in the first thing you do at every event, every time.

Updated on: 01/05/2026