--- title: "Hold back tickets for later | Ticket Fairy Guides" description: "Set aside part of a ticket type for a guest list, a competition or a partner, so those tickets stay out of the public on-sale until you hand them out." canonical: "https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/hold-back-ticket-stock" --- 1. [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/) 2. [Guides](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides) 3. Hold back tickets for later Setting up an event # Hold back tickets for later Promoters keep back part of a release for the artist's guest list, a radio giveaway or a sponsor whose contract names a number. With a hold, you keep those tickets inside the ticket type and off the public on-sale, and you name each hold so you know who it's for. Takes: 4 minutes - [Open the ticket type](#step-1) - [Turn on Hold tickets](#step-2) - [Name the reserve and set how many](#step-3) - [Save the ticket type](#step-4) ## Before you start - You're an owner or an admin for the event. - You've already created the ticket type the reserve comes out of. A hold takes tickets from that ticket type's own allocation, so it needs enough left to cover the hold. - You know how many tickets each reserve needs and who it is for. You pick a hold by its name later, and you can't change the name once you save the hold. 1. ## Open the ticket type Open your event, select **Tickets**, then open the ticket type the reserve should come out of. Hold back tickets from a type buyers already know rather than making a separate one, so the tickets you never use go back on sale. 2. ## Turn on Hold tickets Turn on **Hold tickets**. Held tickets come out of this type's own allocation, so buyers see fewer left from the moment you save. **Note:** You can't hold back tickets on a ticket type with a sliding scale, because buyers choose their own price at checkout. ![Ticket type options with Hold tickets on and two named reserves](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-tickets--hold-tickets.png) *Event, Tickets, ticket type.* 3. ## Name the reserve and set how many Enter who the tickets are for in **Hold for**, then the number in **Quantity of tickets**. You pick this reserve from the list by its name when you send the tickets, so name it after the guest list or the partner rather than the ticket. **Note:** Each reserve needs at least one ticket, and the reserves you add at one time can't add up to more than the ticket type has left. 4. ## Save the ticket type Select **Save**. From that moment, buyers can't buy the held tickets, and the ticket type shows as sold out once the tickets sold plus the tickets you're holding reach its maximum. ## Or have it done for you Fai, your AI teammate, can check sales, update your event or change a ticket when you ask. Fai reads your ticket types and can tell you what each one has left. You set a hold yourself on the page. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` For , how many tickets are left on and how many have sold ``` ## Keep a second reserve on the same ticket Select **+ Add hold** for another name and number on the same ticket type. With a reserve for each partner, you can see who took what, which a shared reserve doesn't show you. Fai can tell you what each ticket type has left, and a second reserve has to fit inside that number. You add it yourself on the page. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` For , list my ticket types with how many of each are left ``` ## Give the held tickets out Open **Invitations** and pick the reserve under **Hold Tickets (optional)**, where it is listed as the ticket type and the name you gave it. The people you invite buy from that reserve, and it goes down by the tickets they buy, not by how many people you invited. On the Invitations page, you choose which reserve an invitation uses. Fai can't list the invitations sent from it. ## Put a reserve back on sale Open the ticket type, select the bin beside the reserve you no longer need, then save. Any tickets still in that reserve go back on sale, and anything already bought from it stays with the people who bought it. Fai can check the ticket type afterwards and tell you how many tickets buyers can now buy. You remove the reserve yourself on the page. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` For , how many of are available to buyers now ``` ## Questions you might have **Do held tickets count as sales?** No. They reduce what buyers can buy, not your takings, so your sales figures don't change when you set one. What buyers can buy does change: the ticket type shows as sold out once the tickets sold plus the tickets you're holding reach its maximum. **Can I change a reserve after saving it?** No. The name and the number are fixed once you save the reserve, because invitations already use it. Remove that reserve and add a new one with the number you want. **One of my reserves has no bin beside it. Why?** That reserve belongs to a bulk invoice, so it is held for a buyer you have billed. Cancel the invoice to release those tickets. **My invited guests never bought. Are those tickets stuck?** They're still held, because a reserve only goes down as your guests buy, not as you invite them. Remove the reserve when you want the rest back on sale, which returns every ticket your guests did not take. ## Still have a question? Book a demo and we will answer it on a call, on your kind of event. Or create your account and see it for yourself. [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required. ## Related guides - [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/ticket-types-and-pricing) - [Set up ticket types](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/set-up-ticket-types) - [Send free tickets to your guest list](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/issue-guest-tickets) - [Sell tickets by personal invitation](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-tickets-by-personal-invitation) - [How do you keep a high-demand on-sale running smoothly?](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/keep-a-high-demand-on-sale-running-smoothly) - [Create an event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/create-an-event) - [Schedule ticket releases](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/schedule-ticket-sale-windows-and-release-tiers) - [Every Ticket Fairy guide](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides) ## Do this on your own event Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call. [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) ## Sell tickets with Ticket Fairy Start free with unlimited events and no monthly fee, and choose a paid plan when you need more. - Set up your event in minutes - Free events are free - Fai, your AI teammate, is built in [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required. ## See it on a call Book a demo and we will show you how Ticket Fairy handles your kind of event. [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/ticket-types-and-pricing) ### Tips for selling more tickets Practical advice from working event organizers, and every new guide as it is published. We respect your privacy. 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