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Locking Seats for Reserved Holds and Comp Tickets

Lock seats on Seaty: hold specific seats from sale for VIP guests, phone orders, or group bookings across one or many event dates without unlocking first.
Seating plan with seats selected showing Order, Lock, and Swap buttons in the toolbarSeating plan with seats selected showing Order, Lock, and Swap buttons in the toolbar
Lock Tickets modal showing seat selection and event date optionsLock Tickets modal showing seat selection and event date options

Overview

Seat locking lets administrators temporarily hold specific seats from sale. At its simplest, it answers one question: How do I reserve seats whilst arranging a booking?

Who uses this: Event administrators and box office staff with the EventLocks permission.

Key capabilities:

  • Reserve seats for VIP guests or special allocations
  • Hold sections for group bookings whilst confirming details
  • Secure seats during phone orders whilst taking payment
  • Lock seats across multiple event dates in a single action
  • Book locked seats directly as an admin without unlocking first
  • Unlock seats across multiple event dates from the seating plan

Note: This feature only works for events with seating plans. General admission events don't have individual seats to lock.

Key difference from /Docs/EventManagement/Locks:

  • Locking Seats (this guide): Creating, removing, and booking locked seats from the seating plan
  • Lock Management (/Docs/EventManagement/Locks): Viewing and removing existing locks in bulk from the admin dashboard

How It Works

At a glance: Select seats on the seating plan, choose which dates to lock them for, and confirm. Locked seats become unavailable to customers until you release them.

1. Select your seats

Navigate to your event date and click seats on the seating plan. Selected seats highlight and appear in the toolbar count. You can select multiple seats across different categories, including locked seats (which display a lock icon for admins).

2. Choose the lock action

Click the Lock button in the toolbar. This opens the Manage Seat Locks modal, which intelligently separates your selection into locked and unlocked seats with appropriate actions for each group.

3. Lock or unlock on event dates

Use the multi-select dropdown to choose which event dates to apply the action to. You can lock unlocked seats and unlock locked seats in the same modal. The system validates each date independently.

4. Review the results

The system shows success or failure for each date. Successfully locked seats become unavailable to customers immediately. Unlocked seats become available for purchase. Failed dates show which seat caused the issue.

Think of it this way:

  • Selecting seats is like putting items in a shopping basket
  • Locking is like asking a shop assistant to hold them at the counter
  • Unlocking is like telling them you no longer need them held

Accessing the Lock Feature

Button location: Bottom toolbar alongside "Order", "Swap", and "Clear" buttons

Visual state:

  • Inactive (greyed out) when no seats selected
  • Active when seats are selected
  • Shows a lock icon for identification

Prerequisites:

  • You need the EventLocks permission (granted in organisation settings)
  • The event must have a seating plan configured
  • You must have seats selected before the button activates

Selecting Seats

Single seats:

  • Click once to select
  • Seat changes colour to indicate selection
  • Toolbar shows "X seats selected"

Multiple seats:

  • Click multiple seats to build your selection
  • All selected seats appear in the summary
  • Mix seats from different categories if needed

Clearing selection:

  • Click "Clear" button in toolbar to deselect all
  • Click individual seats again to deselect them

Locked Seat Appearance

Administrators see locked seats with a distinct visual appearance on the seating plan:

  • Lock icon: A padlock icon displays on admin-locked seats, replacing the normal seat label
  • Distinct colour: Admin-locked seats use a separate colour from normal available or unavailable seats
  • Hover behaviour: Seat name labels appear on hover, and the lock icon hides when hovering or when the seat is selected
  • Admin only: Customers see locked seats as unavailable with no special icon or indication of why

This visual distinction helps administrators quickly identify which seats are locked and select them for booking or unlocking.

Booking Locked Seats

As an administrator, you can book locked seats directly without unlocking them first:

  1. Click a locked seat on the seating plan to add it to your basket (the lock icon disappears and the seat shows as selected)
  2. Proceed with your order as normal via the Order button
  3. When the order completes, the admin locks on those seats are automatically removed

This works for both direct admin orders and card payments processed through Stripe. The order confirmation page indicates which seats were previously locked.

The Lock Modal

When you click Lock, the Manage Seat Locks modal opens. It intelligently separates your selected seats into two groups:

Currently locked seats (if any selected seats are locked):

  • Listed with their category and seat range
  • Multi-select dropdown to choose event dates for unlocking
  • Unlock button with count of seats and dates

Unlocked seats to lock (if any selected seats are not locked):

  • Information about what locking does
  • Listed with their category and seat range
  • Multi-select dropdown to choose event dates for locking
  • Lock button with count of seats and dates

Date selection (for both lock and unlock):

  • Multi-select dropdown defaulting to the current event date
  • Choose "All event dates" to apply across every performance
  • Select specific individual dates as needed
  • Button text updates to reflect the number of selected dates

Note: You can lock unlocked seats and unlock locked seats in a single modal session by handling each group separately.

Understanding Lock Results

After clicking confirm, the modal shows results for each date:

Success: Green message with "All requested tickets locked"

Partial success: Some dates succeed, others fail. Each date validates independently.

Failure reasons:

  • Seat already ordered by a customer
  • Seat already locked by another administrator
  • Seat currently held during active checkout

Why does the entire date fail if one seat is unavailable? This prevents confusing partial locks. Either all selected seats lock for a date, or none do.

Lock Behaviour

Duration: Admin locks never expire automatically. They persist until manually removed or until an admin completes an order for the locked seats.

Visibility: Customers see locked seats as unavailable with no indication of why. Administrators see a lock icon and distinct styling on locked seats.

Ordering locked seats: As an admin, you can select locked seats directly and add them to your basket. When you complete the order (including card payments), the locks automatically clear and the seats transfer to sold status. The order flow indicates which seats are locked.

Customer locks comparison: Customer checkout locks expire after 10 minutes if checkout isn't completed. Admin locks have no such timeout.

Unlocking from the seating plan: Select locked seats, click the Lock button, and use the unlock section in the modal. You can unlock across multiple event dates using the multi-select dropdown.

Common Scenarios

VIP Seat Reservation

Reserve front row seats for sponsors across all performances:

  1. Select the front row seats
  2. Click Lock and choose "All event dates"
  3. Verify success across all dates

Result: Front row unavailable to public for entire event run

Phone Order Hold

Customer calls to book specific seats:

  1. Select their requested seats and lock for the specific date
  2. Or, if seats are already locked, simply click the locked seats to add them to your basket
  3. Create order via the "Order" button
  4. Locks automatically clear when order completes

Result: Seats held during phone call, preventing double-booking

Group Booking Confirmation

School group requests a section but needs approval first:

  1. Select the requested section
  2. Lock for the specific matinee date
  3. Lock persists whilst awaiting confirmation
  4. If confirmed: Create the group order
  5. If declined: Navigate to /Docs/EventManagement/Locks and unlock

Result: Section held during negotiation period

Partial Lock Failure

Attempting to lock seats across the weekend, but Saturday has an existing order:

  1. Select desired seats and choose Friday, Saturday, Sunday
  2. Attempt lock
  3. Saturday fails: "Seat B5 is already ordered"
  4. Friday and Sunday succeed
  5. For Saturday: Select different seats or leave as unavailable

Result: Locks created for available dates only

When to Use Seat Locking

Good uses:

  • Phone orders in progress (temporary hold during call)
  • VIP allocations requiring approval
  • Group bookings pending confirmation
  • Special requests with extended decision time
  • Payment issues whilst resolving with customer

Avoid for:

  • Long-term reservations (use complimentary orders instead)
  • Permanently unavailable seats (adjust seating plan instead)
  • Entire sections for extended periods (reduces saleable inventory)

Managing Locked Inventory

Regular review:

  • Check /Docs/EventManagement/Locks weekly for old locks
  • Remove locks for bookings that fell through
  • Don't leave seats locked indefinitely
  • Maximise available inventory

Team coordination:

  • /Docs/EventManagement/Locks shows who locked each seat
  • Communicate lock purposes to colleagues
  • Don't unlock seats locked by others without discussion

Troubleshooting

Lock Button Greyed Out

Check:

  1. You've selected seats on the seating plan
  2. You have the EventLocks permission
  3. The event has a seating plan (not general admission)

Lock Failed for All Dates

Likely causes:

  • Selected seats are already ordered on every date
  • Selected seats are already locked by another admin

Resolution: Check /Docs/EventManagement/Locks for existing locks, or review orders to see if seats are purchased. Choose different available seats.

Seats Still Available After Locking

Steps:

  1. Wait 30 seconds for the update to propagate
  2. Refresh the page
  3. Check the modal showed a success message
  4. Navigate to /Docs/EventManagement/Locks to verify locks exist

Try:

  1. Refresh the page
  2. Try a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
  3. Clear browser cache and reload
  4. Contact support if issue persists

/Docs/EventManagement/Locks

View and manage all existing locks. Use for finding locks, bulk unlocking, and reviewing who locked which seats.

Order as Admin

Create bookings manually, including for locked seats. As an admin, you can select locked seats directly on the seating plan and proceed to order. Locks auto-clear when the order completes.

Seat Requests Management

Different from locking: customer-initiated requests require approval and create orders when approved. Locking is immediate admin reservation.

Permissions

Permission name: EventLocks

Who typically has it:

  • Organisation owners (automatic)
  • Event administrators
  • Box office staff

To grant permission:

  1. Go to organisation settings
  2. Navigate to team permissions
  3. Find the user and enable EventLocks
  4. User signs out and back in to refresh

Common Questions

Duration and Expiry

How long do locks last? Admin locks never expire automatically. They persist until manually removed via /Docs/EventManagement/Locks, unlocked from the seating plan lock modal, or until an admin completes an order for the locked seats.

Do customer checkout locks work the same way? No. Customer locks expire after 10 minutes if checkout isn't completed. Admin locks have no timeout.

Visibility and Notifications

Can customers see who locked seats? No. Customers only see seats as unavailable. Admin names are only visible in /Docs/EventManagement/Locks for administrators.

Will locking seats send any notifications? No. Seat locking is a silent admin action. No emails are sent to customers or staff.

Orders and Inventory

What happens if I lock seats then create an order for them? The locks automatically clear and the seats transfer to sold status. You can select locked seats directly on the seating plan without unlocking them first.

Can I book locked seats with a card payment? Yes. Admin card payments through Stripe also trigger automatic lock removal on order completion.

Do locked seats count towards sold-out status? Locked seats reduce available inventory, so extensive locking can make an event appear sold out even if no orders exist.

Limitations

Can I lock general admission tickets? No. This feature only works for seated events with seating plans.

How many seats can I lock at once? There's no specific limit, but locking excessive inventory reduces available sales.

Can I add notes to explain why seats are locked? Not directly in the lock system. Use internal documentation or event notes to track lock purposes.

Multi-Date Locking

Can I lock the same seats on multiple dates in one action? Yes. Select the seats, then tick multiple event dates in the modal. The system attempts to lock across all selected dates.

What if some dates fail whilst others succeed? Each date validates independently. You'll see success messages for dates that worked and error messages explaining failures for dates that didn't.

Applies To: Seaty v2.0+ Related Guides: /Docs/EventManagement/Locks, /Docs/EventManagement/SwappingTickets