The problem
Many wedding DJs charge the same for a June Saturday booked 18 months ahead as for a November Friday booked 6 weeks out, and turn away inquiries for the dates that fill first. A DJ who said no to 25 inquiries last year for Saturdays already booked was probably underpricing those dates, but working out which ones from two years of bookings in a spreadsheet is a job that never gets done.
What the AI does
ChatGPT's data analysis reads an uploaded spreadsheet, does the sums and draws charts, with full data analysis on Go (about $9£7€8A$13C$13 a month) and above. The DJ puts two years of bookings into one sheet with the event date, inquiry date, booking date, price and type of event, plus each inquiry turned away because the date was taken, and deletes couples' names and contact details first. ChatGPT then shows how far ahead each kind of date books, which months and days sell out first and where inquiries were turned away, with the table behind each chart. The DJ checks a few figures against the sheet and sets peak, standard and off-peak prices themselves: ChatGPT doesn't know local competitors or what couples will pay.
A worked example
A wedding and party DJ in Leicestershire plays about 90 gigs a year, about 50 of them weddings, and keeps bookings in a spreadsheet. The analysis shows about 20 Saturdays from May to September book more than a year ahead, and 25 inquiries for those dates were turned away.
Before
One price of $1,131£850€1,012A$1,632C$1,598 for every wedding Saturday: 20 peak Saturdays bring in 20 × $1,131£850€1,012A$1,632C$1,598 = $22,610£17,000€20,230A$32,640C$31,960 a year
After
Peak Saturdays priced at $1,264£950€1,131A$1,824C$1,786 and still filling: 20 × $1,264£950€1,131A$1,824C$1,786 = $25,270£19,000€22,610A$36,480C$35,720 a year
What it's worth
About $222£167€199A$321C$314 a month in extra profit, against about $9£7€8A$13C$13 for ChatGPT Go. Raising 20 peak Saturdays by $133£100€119A$192C$188 is $2,660£2,000€2,380A$3,840C$3,760 a year, about $222£167€199A$321C$314 a month, assuming they still book; the gigs, kit and hours are the same, so the extra $133£100€119A$192C$188 a gig is all profit.
How to set it up
- Take ChatGPT Go (€8, about $9£7€8A$13C$13 a month) or above; the free plan's data analysis is limited.
- Put two years of bookings in one spreadsheet: event date, day of the week, inquiry date, booking date, price and type of event, plus a row for each inquiry turned away because the date was taken.
- Delete couples' names, emails, phone numbers and venue addresses before uploading.
- Upload the file, say the dates are in day/month/year order, and ask how many days ahead each kind of date booked, which dates were turned away most and the average price by month and day. Ask for the table behind each chart.
- Check a few figures against your own sheet, then set peak, standard and off-peak prices yourself and update your website and booking system.
- Repeat once a year with the new season's bookings.
What goes wrong
- The analysis is only as good as the sheet. If turned-away inquiries were never logged, demand for peak dates won't show; start logging them now.
- ChatGPT can misread UK dates as month/day. Tell it the format and check a few rows in its tables against your sheet.
- It doesn't know competitors' prices or whether couples will pay more. The price is your call, and quotes already sent should be honored.
- Free has limited data analysis, and Go may show ads. Go and Plus are personal plans where training is opt-out, so keep couples' details out of the file.