That’s why the Met tries so hard to enforce the recommendation, and why the National Cathedral instituted its mandatory fees.

That’s the conventional thinking in the world of non-profits: fees are the most reliable way to generate revenue. Last year, a judge for the New York State Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuits, reasoning, in part, that eliminating the practice would decimate the museum’s budget. Even with the sneaky signage, which encourages payments of twenty-five dollars for adults, seventeen dollars for senior citizens, and twelve dollars for students, the average visitor donates eleven dollars, compared to the forty dollars that the Met estimates each visit costs. Last year, the Met was sued, and pilloried in the press, for these admission practices, which were seen as misleading: Many visitors, especially those unfamiliar with the donation scheme, understand the fees to be mandatory. Prominent signs at each ticket booth feature bold pricing schemes with the word “recommended” in a smaller, italicized font. The Met does not have a fixed fee for admission, but it has encouraged donations with suggested fees since 1970. It’s also what the Metropolitan Museum of Art strives for with its “recommended” pricing scheme. That’s what the National Cathedral is banking on with its fees. Charging for admission, they argued, might even increase attendance, by signalling to prospective visitors that the museum is worth paying to see, and by producing revenues with which the museum can expand or enhance its reputation with improvements.

In 1997, two economists, William Luksetich and Mark Partridge, used survey data to analyze the effect of admissions fees on museum attendance, and found that, for the most part, price did not influence demand: an entry fee had small negative effects, which would be “relatively easy to alleviate.” Their findings, published in Applied Economics, suggested that most museum visitors will attend no matter the fee-the idea that charging admission or raising fees decreases attendance appeared to be wrong, at least for the majority of visitors.

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