Kills: blocking seats from sale¶
Take specific seats out of play. Killed seats appear grayed out on the guest's seating map and cannot be selected or purchased. Guests can see them, they just can't buy them.
Who this is for
Hosts who need to permanently take specific seats out of inventory for a venue. Common reasons: obstructed views, production equipment, ADA compliance adjustments, or reducing capacity for a specific event.
Quick steps¶
- Open the Organizer and go to Events.
- Open Venue templates and select the venue you want to edit.
- Select the seats you want to block using Seat select or Row select.
- In the inventory panel, scroll to the KILLS section at the bottom.
- Drag the selected seats into the Kill drop zone.
- Save your changes.
Killed seats will appear gray on your host map and grayed out on the public event page. Guests can see them but cannot select or purchase them.
Step-by-step walkthrough¶
1. Open your venue template¶
- Go to the Organizer at organizer.3common.com.
- In the left navigation, click Events.
- Click Venue templates and open the venue you want to modify.
2. Select the seats you want to kill¶
Use the selection tools to pick the seats you want to block:
- Seat select for individual seats (a single obstructed seat, a seat where equipment will go).
- Row select to block an entire row at once.
- Section select if you need to remove a larger group.
3. Drag seats into the Kill zone¶
The inventory panel on the right side of the venue editor has three sections: price levels at the top, HOLDS in the middle, and KILLS at the bottom.
Drag your selected seats into the Kill drop zone in the KILLS section. The tooltip reads "Blocks out seats from being used," which is exactly what it does.
Once applied:
- On the host map, killed seats turn gray so you can see which seats are blocked.
- On the guest map, killed seats appear grayed out. Guests can see them but cannot select or purchase them.
4. Save your changes¶
- Click Save changes.
- If this venue is already linked to a published event, click Save and publish so the updated layout appears on the public event page.
Kills vs. holds vs. hidden seats¶
These three features control seat availability in different ways. Picking the right one matters.
| Feature | What it does | Guest experience | Reversible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kills | Permanently blocks a seat from sale | Seat is visible but grayed out. Guest cannot select or purchase it. | Yes, remove the seat from the Kill zone. |
| Holds | Reserves a seat for a specific person or group | Seat appears unavailable (grayed out) on the map | Yes, release the hold at any time |
| Hidden seats | Hides a seat from public view until unlocked by a promo code or private link | Seat is invisible until the guest enters a valid code | Yes, change visibility back to Visible |
To put plainly: kills put a "do not sit" sign on the chair. Guests can see it but can't use it. Holds put a "reserved" sign on the chair. Hidden seats put a curtain over the chair that only lifts with a password.
Troubleshooting¶
Killed seats are showing as available on the public event page
Killed seats should appear grayed out and unselectable on the public event page. If they are still showing as available for purchase, confirm you saved and published after making changes, then open the public event page to verify.
I killed seats but still see them on my host map
That is expected. Killed seats appear gray on the host map so you can keep track of which seats are blocked. On the guest map, they appear grayed out and unavailable for purchase.
I want to unkill a seat and put it back on sale
Open the venue template, find the seat in the KILLS section of the inventory panel, and remove it from the Kill zone. Save and publish your changes. The seat will reappear on the guest map.
What is the difference between killing a seat and deleting it from the venue?
Killing a seat keeps it in your venue layout so you can restore it later. Deleting a seat removes it from the template entirely. If you might need the seat back for a future event, use kills instead of deleting.