We've all been there: You'd like to attend an event and sign up a friend but you don't know your friend's email address. Unfortunately, HubSpot needs to capture an email address to create a contact, or does it?
Using an event·hapily registration form, we can capture the 'Event Registration Trigger' of the primary registrant and capture the 'Guest Name' of everyone we'd like to bring with us to the event, no email needed.
Here's how it works:
When a primary registrant says they’re bringing guests but doesn’t know their guests’ email addresses, event•hapily uses a HubSpot workflow-driven process to:
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Create guest registrant records tied to the event.
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Optionally auto-create HubSpot contact records for each guest (without adding to your marketing contact count).
This article walks you through how to configure the necessary form fields and workflows.
Step 1: Capture Guest Details on the Registration Form
To start, update your event registration form with the following fields:
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Number of Event Guests (Dropdown property on the contact record)
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Guest 1 Name, Guest 2 Name, Guest 3 Name (Text fields on the contact record)
Tip: Use form logic to show the correct number of guest name fields based on the selection in “Number of Event Guests.”
Step 2: Create a Workflow to Build Guest Registrants
In HubSpot, build a workflow that triggers when a registrant submits the form and the number of guests is known.
Trigger Criteria:
For each possible guest count:
If 1 Guest:
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Create a new Event Registrant record for Guest 1.
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Map the following fields:
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First Name: Guest 1 Name (from the contact property)
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Event Name: Selected event
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Email Address: Primary registrant’s email (for check-in grouping)
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Status: Registered
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Start Date/Time: From the event
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Associate this registrant with the event using the label: Registered for Event
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Clear the Guest 1 Name and Number of Guests fields from the contact.
If 2 Guests:
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Repeat the steps above for both Guest 1 and Guest 2.
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Clear both guest name fields after creating the registrant records.
Tip: Due to conditional logic constraints on HubSpot forms, you will show 'Guest Name 2' and 'Guest Name 3' when the dropdown for 'Number of Guests' is '2' so be sure to use the right Name property when creating the registrant!
If 3 Guests (or More):
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Follow the same steps for each additional guest name property (e.g., Guest 3 Name).
Step 3: Create Contacts for Each Guest
To create a HubSpot contact for each guest registrant without increasing your marketing contact count:
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Create a second workflow that triggers when a new guest registrant is created.
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For each registrant:
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Create a Contact with:
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Email Address: The registrant’s HubSpot Record ID (this prevents duplicate emails and ensures uniqueness)
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First Name: The guest name captured from the form
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Last Name: The event name (this makes it easy to trace the event source)
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Set the following associations: Associate the new contact to:
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The event (labeled: Registered for Event)
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The registrant record (labeled: Registration)
Tip: These contacts will be non-marketing contacts by default.
Benefits of This Setup
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No artificial growth in your marketing contact count.
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Easier filtering and reporting on guests by event name or custom naming conventions.
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Streamlined group check-in using the primary registrant’s email.