> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://learn.nuwebgroup.com/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://learn.nuwebgroup.com/_mcp/server.

# What is a ticket allocation?

> Understand ticket allocations, how promoters and sales channels use them, and the difference between allocations, basket holds and reservations.

**A ticket allocation is a specified portion of an event's ticket inventory that is assigned to a particular purpose, sales channel, customer group or seller.** For example, an event operator might reserve a block for a promoter, make a separate quantity available to members, and sell the remainder through its public box office.

An allocation controls *which inventory a channel or group can offer or access*. It does not necessarily mean that those tickets have been sold, that a customer has booked them, or that every ticket in the allocation is unavailable to other sellers. Those details depend on the allocation rules.

## How do ticket allocations work?

An event starts with a finite capacity or sellable ticket inventory. The operator then defines rules for how that inventory is offered to different sales channels or groups.

For a simple event, those rules might assign a fixed quantity to each seller. More sophisticated arrangements can involve particular seat blocks, ticket types, price bands, start and end dates, customer eligibility or access permissions.

### Worked example: a 1,000-ticket event

Assume a hypothetical event has **exactly 1,000 sellable tickets** and three **exclusive, non-overlapping allocations**. The numbers below are invented for illustration and are not an example of Nuweb or any other provider's configuration.

| Allocation                    | Tickets assigned |    Sold | Temporarily held in checkout | Available for new orders |
| ----------------------------- | ---------------: | ------: | ---------------------------: | -----------------------: |
| **Public / venue box office** |              750 |     420 |                           15 |                      315 |
| **External promoter**         |              150 |      50 |                            5 |                       95 |
| **Member presale**            |              100 |      30 |                            0 |                       70 |
| **Total**                     |        **1,000** | **500** |                       **20** |                  **480** |

The arithmetic is important: **1,000 assigned = 500 sold + 20 temporarily held + 480 currently available.** Tickets allocated to the promoter are not automatically sold; 95 of that promoter's tickets are still available through the permitted route.

This simple calculation assumes no other reserved, blocked, complimentary, returned or otherwise restricted inventory. It illustrates one exclusive-allocation model, not a universal formula for event availability.

### Why doesn't available inventory always equal capacity minus sales?

**Available inventory depends on more than completed sales.** Tickets may also be reserved for customers, temporarily held in baskets, issued as complimentary admissions or restricted from public sale. Their effect on availability depends on the platform's definitions and the event's rules.

For example, Nuweb's Event Audit Report lists **sales, reservations, complimentary tickets, holds and available stock** as separate event figures. Those are useful separate reporting concepts, but they should not automatically be treated as mutually exclusive quantities to add together. Teams need to know whether a figure describes a ticket's current state, a commercial outcome or a separate inventory restriction before calculating sellable availability.

In the worked example above, the available column is valid precisely because we stated the assumptions. A real reconciliation should use the platform's defined inventory states and authoritative availability calculation.

## What is the difference between an allocation, a hold and a reservation?

These terms describe related but different controls.

| Term            | What it answers                                                           | Example                                                         |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Allocation**  | Which channel, group or purpose can access this inventory?                | The promoter can sell up to 150 tickets from its assigned pool  |
| **Hold**        | Is this ticket temporarily unavailable while someone completes an action? | Five promoter tickets are being held in active checkout baskets |
| **Reservation** | Has inventory been set aside under a defined booking or operational rule? | Seats are reserved for an invited group pending confirmation    |

The terminology is not completely uniform between systems. In some products, a *reservation* is a temporary checkout hold; in others, it is a longer-lived booking or organisational hold. The operation matters more than the label.

An **allocated but unsold** ticket may remain available to authorised buyers. A **held** ticket is ordinarily unavailable to competing purchases for a limited period. A **sold** ticket has completed the relevant booking process and should no longer be offered as available stock.

In the example above, the promoter's 150-ticket allocation contains 50 sold tickets, five temporary checkout holds and 95 tickets still available to new promoter customers.

## Can ticket allocations be shared or exclusive?

Yes. Two common models are:

**Exclusive allocation:** A defined quantity or group of seats is ring-fenced for one seller or purpose. Those tickets are not offered through other routes unless they are expressly released or reassigned.

**Shared allocation or access to a shared pool:** Multiple authorised channels sell against the same underlying inventory. Each channel may have permissions or sales limits, but the seats are not necessarily divided into separate physical blocks.

For example, two websites might each display availability drawn from the same 100-seat pool. That does **not** mean each website has another 100 tickets to sell. Both routes must rely on an authoritative booking process that prevents the same seat being committed twice.

Some systems also combine models: a promoter receives 100 exclusive seats while several other channels share access to the remaining capacity.

The distinction affects how to interpret reports. A sales-channel limit is not always the same as a unique block of stock, so channel totals must not simply be added together when the pools overlap.

## How are unused allocations released or reallocated?

An event operator may agree that a seller can return unused inventory by a specified date. The tickets can then be moved into another allocation, such as general public sale, subject to the event's rules.

Returning to the 1,000-ticket example, suppose the promoter releases **60 of its 95 unsold, unheld tickets**. The operator adds those 60 tickets to the public allocation.

| Allocation                    | Before release | After release |    Sold |   Held | Available after release |
| ----------------------------- | -------------: | ------------: | ------: | -----: | ----------------------: |
| **Public / venue box office** |            750 |           810 |     420 |     15 |                     375 |
| **External promoter**         |            150 |            90 |      50 |      5 |                      35 |
| **Member presale**            |            100 |           100 |      30 |      0 |                      70 |
| **Total**                     |      **1,000** |     **1,000** | **500** | **20** |                 **480** |

**Total event capacity and total available inventory have not changed.** Only the sales-channel entitlement has changed: the public channel can now offer 60 more tickets, while the promoter can offer 60 fewer.

In a real operation, allocation release may involve a deadline, approval rights, seat-specific restrictions, access-code changes, audit logs and notifications to partners. A safe process also needs to prevent the release of sold seats or seats still covered by active holds.

## How do allocations work with seating and multiple sellers?

Allocations can be defined by **quantities** or by **specific seats**, depending on the event and system.

For a general-admission concert, an organiser may allocate 200 admissions to a promotional partner without attaching those tickets to physical seat numbers. For a seated performance, a promoter might receive 80 named seats across particular rows or sections. A venue could also use allocations for accessible seating, complimentary tickets, price bands or a members-only presale.

**Allocation access and allocation administration are different permissions.** A promoter's account might be permitted to sell tickets from its allocation and view its own sales, without being allowed to change the number of tickets assigned, alter reserved seats or release stock. A venue administrator might have the authority to make those inventory changes without selling tickets through the promoter's channel.

Seller permissions and allocation rules therefore need to be configured separately. An organiser might grant several sales channels access to the same price category without giving each an exclusive seat block. The ability to *see* an allocation, *sell from* it and *edit* its configuration need not belong to the same user.

A useful reporting setup distinguishes at least four things:

1. The event's true sellable capacity.
2. Which quantities or seats are allocated to each purpose or sales route.
3. Which tickets are sold, on temporary hold or available.
4. Which channel actually sold each ticket, including any reallocations before sale.

That separation helps teams coordinate third-party distributors without mistaking an allocation for a completed sale.

**In short:** ticket allocations govern how event inventory is made available to sellers, groups and channels. Holds and reservations govern different kinds of temporary or operational commitment. Keeping those concepts distinct makes it easier to manage capacity, share inventory and reconcile sales.

## Related explanations

#### [How do ticket allocations work across multiple sellers?](/distribution-access/how-do-ticket-allocations-work-across-multiple-sellers)

Distribution & Access · Sales channels

#### [How do ticket allocations work across multiple sales channels?](/events-inventory/how-do-ticket-allocations-work-across-multiple-sales-channels)

Events & Inventory · Allocations and holds

#### [How do ticketing platforms manage sales holds and house seats?](/events-inventory/how-do-ticketing-platforms-manage-sales-holds-and-house-seats)

Events & Inventory · Allocations and holds

#### [How do ticketing platforms manage capacity across related events?](/events-inventory/how-do-ticketing-platforms-manage-capacity-across-related-events)

Events & Inventory · Allocations and holds

[More in Events & Inventory →](/events-inventory)