How a cloakroom ticket system works

A cloakroom ticket system makes sure every coat goes back to the right guest, quickly and without discussion. It works the same in a theatre, a museum, a club or a hotel: each item gets a number, and the guest holds the matching half. This guide explains the parts of such a system and how to choose between pre-printed cloakroom tickets and a ticket printer.

How does a cloakroom ticket work?

A cloakroom ticket carries the same number twice and is torn in two at the perforation. One half goes on the hanger with the coat, the other half goes to the guest. When the guest comes back, the attendant reads the number on their half and finds the coat with the matching number. Tickets in a fixed number series, for example 1 to 1000, make sure no number is used twice on the same evening.

Pre-printed tickets or a ticket printer?

Pre-printed cloakroom tickets come with the numbers already on them, in paper or as plastic tags, and in several colours. They need no power and no set-up, which suits a cloakroom that opens now and then or takes a modest number of coats. A colour per evening or per section helps staff keep the series apart.

A ticket printer such as the CoatCheck+ prints a ticket the moment a guest hands in a coat. Each ticket can carry the date, the time, a section letter and the number, so a coat is found by its place (A23) rather than by searching. Because the printer prints every ticket itself, it also knows how many tickets were issued.

How does a ticket printer help with the takings?

Where guests pay for the cloakroom, every printed ticket is a sale on record. At the end of the evening the CoatCheck+ prints the day's turnover and the number of visitors at the touch of a button; with the optional keyboard it also prints an interim X report and the end-of-day Z report. A maximum number of tickets per evening can be set, and the printer keeps track of how many people are inside.

What does a ticket printer need?

The CoatCheck+ prints thermally: the ink is in the paper, so there are no cartridges to replace. It takes the original CoatCheck ticket rolls, sold per box of 14 rolls, for cloakroom tickets, entrance tickets and luggage labels. Free software sets the logo, free text lines and the maximum number of tickets; after that the printer works without a computer.

Coats, bags and entrance tickets

The same system covers more than coats. Self-adhesive luggage labels stick on a bag or suitcase, with the matching half for the guest. Entrance tickets are printed when the visitor pays, and the printer can also print vouchers, for instance for a welcome drink. One CoatCheck+ prints all of these.

What do you need to start?

Pre-printed cloakroom tickets or tags in one or more number series, or a CoatCheck+ ticket printer with rolls of cloakroom tickets
Coat hangers
Optionally the 5-button keyboard for the printer, for several ticket types and the X and Z reports
Optionally a transport case if the printer travels to events