Overview
A layout is one way of setting up a room, and each layout has its own number of places. The same hall holds more people in theatre rows than at banquet tables, for example.
The room is still booked as one room. The layout only says how it is set up. A room without layouts is booked as usual, with the room's capacity.
Key concepts
Capacity
The most people the room may hold under fire regulations. No layout can hold more.
Layout
A name, such as Theatre, and how many people the room holds when it is set up that way.
Max tickets for sale
A ceiling on how many tickets are sold for the room, if you sell fewer than it holds. It applies whatever the layout.
Adding layouts
Open the room under Resources and click the Resource settings cog. First fill in Capacity under Resource details. Otherwise there is no ceiling, and a layout could hold more people than the room may take.
Under Layouts, fill in Name and Number of people, then click Add layout. The number cannot exceed the room's capacity, and two layouts in the same room cannot share a name.
To lower the room's capacity below the number in a layout, first reduce or remove that layout.
Order, edit and remove
The first layout in the list is the one suggested when the room is booked. Change the order with the arrows beside each layout, and change a name or number with Edit.
A layout you remove is no longer offered when the room is booked. Bookings that already have it keep it.
When the room is booked
When a room with layouts is booked, the booking has a Layout field with the first layout already chosen. That applies both when you book the room yourselves and when a customer does. Choose another if a different layout applies.
The layout then shows on the booking in the schedule.
A layout for a performance
When an event plays in a room with layouts, you choose the layout on the performance. A new performance gets the room's first layout unless you choose another.
Below the number of places, the form shows how many tickets the room can sell with that layout: the layout's number of people, or Max tickets for sale if that is lower. If you enter a higher number on the performance, it is flagged, so you can correct it before tickets go on sale.
Frequently asked questions
I don't see a layout field when booking.
The room has no layouts. Add them in the room's settings and the field appears.
It says the room has no capacity.
Enter the most people the room may hold under Resource details. Then no layout can hold more than that.
Are existing bookings affected if I remove a layout?
No. A booking keeps the layout it was made with.
Read more
Resources & bookings explains how rooms and bookings fit together, and Setting up resources covers types, specifications and opening hours.