Isolated Seat Detection can prevent or limit the number of single seats left on a Seating Plan when customers are purchasing tickets.
With Isolated Seat Detection turned on, a Customer can be prevented from buying tickets if it causes a single seat to be left in the same row.
What is Isolated Seat Detection?
Isolated Seat Detection identifies when single seats are left after a customer chooses seats online. With the feature activated, the customer can be prevented from buying their selected tickets unless they choose seats that won’t leave isolated seats.
When activated, Isolated Seat Detection can be applied to all Instances in the following modes:
- Flexible: This mode allows customers to purchase seats, even if a single seat is left nearby
- Strict: This mode prevents customers from purchasing seats if a single seat is left nearby
While the feature applies to online sales, a warning message can be displayed in the Sales Interface when Sales users leave isolated seats. Sales users will still be able to sell the seats.
Flexible Isolated Seat Detection
Your organization can choose between strict or flexible mode for isolated seat detection.
Flexible mode will allow customers to purchase tickets even if single seats are available, based on certain conditions.
Flexible mode only prevents a selection if an isolated seat can be avoided within that exact run of seats.
A run of seats are a group of consecutive available seats that are in the same string of next or previous seats, as set when your Seating Plan is uploaded. These are often seats in the same row but could also be consecutive seats across aisles and within clusters.
A run of seats can also be broken if seats are purchased in between the run of previous and next seats. The new run would be based on the available seats remaining within that sequence of next and previous seats.
For a seat selection to be invalid and not allowed for purchase under flexible mode, there must be one or more seats within the run left on both sides of the selected seats.
The table below summarises what would and wouldn't be allowed for purchase:
| No seats to right | One seat to right | Two or more seats to right | |
| No seats to left | Valid for purchase | Valid for purchase | Valid for purchase |
| One seat to left | Valid for purchase | Invalid, new selection required | Invalid, new selection required |
| Two or more seats to left | Valid for purchase | Invalid, new selection required | Valid for purchase |
In flexible mode, customers won't be able to proceed if there are other seats available within that run that they could choose without leaving an isolated seat.
For example, a Customer would not be able to purchase these tickets, as it would leave an isolated seat:
Instead, customers can choose two seats on the left or the right of this row of seats or select a third seat on the left.
Setting up Isolated Seat Detection
Isolated Seat Detection is configured in the Settings Interface.
TIP: To access the Settings Interface, you’ll need the Settings Administrator Role. If you don’t have this Role, ask the Settings Administrator in your organisation to add this Role to your User Account.
- Navigate to the Configuration tab > System Setup > Seating Plans.
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Under Selling Isolated Seats, choose from the following options:
- Allow customers to book isolated seats (default)
- Prevent customers from leaving isolated seats unless there are no other similar seats available (known as Flexible Mode)
- Prevent customers from leaving isolated seats at all times (known as Strict Mode). Not recommended.
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Check or uncheck the box for Show a warning message to Users in the Sales Interface when they make a selection which leaves isolated seats.
REMINDER: A Sales User will still be able to sell seats even if single seats are left.
- Click Save Configuration.