Help Centre
Create and manage holds
Creating a hold removes tickets from sale so that you can release them at a later time or give them to specific people. If the number of held tickets is equal to or greater than the remaining tickets available, your event appears as "Sold out." For reserved seating events, holds also block purchases for specific seats or sections.
In this article
- Add holds to a general admission event.
- Add holds to a reserved seating event.
- Sell tickets or create orders for held tickets.
Add holds to a general admission event.
1. Open your event dashboard.
Go to Events and select your event.
2. Go to "Tickets," then select "Holds."
3. Select "Add hold."
4. Choose your hold settings.
Set a name and quantity for the hold.
5. Select "Save."
6. Update a hold.
To update a hold after you've created it:
Go to Tickets.
Select Holds.
Select the three dot icon to open the "view more actions" menu.
From there, select either:
Edit: Update the settings and create access codes for attendees.
Delete: Remove a hold. After removing a hold, the seats become available for all buyers.
Add holds to a reserved seating event.
On reserved seating events, holds prevent certain seats from being sold.
1. Open your event dashboard.
Go to Events and select your event.
2. Go to "Tickets," then select "Edit venue map."
This option won't appear on mobile devices. To update your venue map, you must be using a computer or tablet.
3. Select "Holds."
4. Select "Add hold" to create a new hold.
To customize the hold:
Select the name to change it.
Select the colored circle to change the color.
Hold colors are there to help you manage your holds. These colors won't be viewable by your attendees.
5. Assign the seats to your hold.
To assign seats to a hold:
Select the seats you want to add to the hold.
Select the plus sign (+) next to the name of your hold.
To remove seats from a hold:
Select the seats you want to remove.
Select the minus sign (−) next to the name of your hold.
TIP: If you select a section or row name, you’ll select that entire section or row. If you're using a computer and want to select multiple seats and sections, hold Shift on your keyboard. Then click and drag your mouse to select the seats.
6. Update a hold.
To update a hold after you've created it:
Go to Tickets.
Select Holds.
Select the three dot icon to open the view more actions menu.
From there, select either:
Edit: Change the name, label, or color on your venue map. Also create access codes for attendees.
Transfer: Move the seats from one hold to another hold.
Delete: Remove a hold. After removing a hold, the seats become available for all buyers.
Sell tickets or create orders for held tickets.
Sell held seats to attendees (like staff or VIPs) by creating access codes, selling directly with the organizer app, or creating manual orders. On reserved seating events, you can also transfer existing tickets to held seats.
Create an access code for your hold.
Access codes allow your attendees to register for held tickets. To create an access code:
Go to Tickets, then select Holds.
Select the three dot icon next to your hold.
Choose Edit, then Add code.
Enter a name for the code (such as "Staff" or "Guest").
Optional: Set a discount amount, a ticket limit, a start and end date, or ticket types for this code.
Select Save.
After saving your code, select the three-dot icon next to the code to edit it, delete it, or create a shareable link. This link automatically applies the access code at checkout.
Attendees can also enter the name of the code during checkout to grant them access to the held tickets.
Sell tickets with the Eventbrite organizer app.
When selling tickets with the Eventbrite organizer app, select Codes & holds during checkout to sell seats from a hold. This will let you sell tickets without creating an access code or removing the hold.
Create manual orders.
Manually create orders for held tickets if you have your attendees' information. If your event has reserved seating, you can create orders from your reserved seating dashboard to select specific seats.
This won’t process payment. If these are paid orders, collect the funds directly from the buyer.
Transfer attendees to held seats (reserved seating events only).
Attendees can’t transfer their existing tickets to held seats, but you can transfer them manually. Transferring a ticket will cancel the original ticket and create a new ticket.