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Block and release seats

Use Seat Blocks & Reservations to hold particular seats on a reserved-seat event time. You need permission to manage the event. A block applies to the event time you open, so check its date before selecting seats.

Create a seat block​

  1. Open the event's Event Times page.
  2. Open the event time's actions menu and select Seat Blocks & Reservations.
  3. Select the available seats you want to block on the map.
  4. Enter Reason and, if useful, Notes for your team.
  5. Leave Allow box office sales and Allow customer sales with an access code unchecked for a block that should keep the seats out of sale.
  6. Select Save Seat Block / Reservation.

Wait for Seat blocks and reservations created. The seats appear under Active Seat Blocks & Reservations. Reopen the panel after reloading to check that the block was saved.

A reason is required. If Reason is required. appears, enter it before saving again.

Set an expiry​

To set an end time for the block, fill Expires At before selecting Save Seat Block / Reservation. Enter both the Date and Time, checking the time zone shown beside the time field.

Reopen Seat Blocks & Reservations after saving and check the Expires date on the saved entry. Leave the fields blank when the block should have No expiration. You can still release a block early using the steps below.

When the saved expiry passes, reopen or reload public seat selection. The seat becomes available without a staff member selecting Release Selected Seats, provided nothing else prevents booking it. The expired allocation also disappears from Active Seat Blocks & Reservations.

Choose a future date and time if the seats need to remain blocked. An allocation whose expiry is already past does not appear in the active list and does not keep an otherwise available seat out of sale. If a saved block seems to have vanished, check the date, time, and time zone you entered.

Check the customer view​

Open that event time's public seat selection. Blocked seats appear unavailable and cannot be selected. Other available seats remain selectable.

For example, blocking Main Floor seats C3 and C4 for visiting storytellers leaves C5 available for ordinary booking.

Release a block​

  1. Return to the same event time's Seat Blocks & Reservations panel.
  2. Under Active Seat Blocks & Reservations, check the seats to release.
  3. Select Release Selected Seats.
  4. Wait for Seat blocks released.
  5. Reopen public seat selection and check that the seats are available again.

When no blocks remain, the panel shows No active seat blocks. Releasing a block makes those seats available for booking; it does not create tickets.

If a seat remains unavailable, check that you selected the correct event time and seat. Include the event, scheduled date, section, row, and seat numbers when you contact support.

To keep seats available only to staff, see Reserve seats for box-office sales.