Event admins, staff, and speakers will not be counted in the capacity if you add a maximum number of attendees to a session through the capacity field. This means they can enter the session even when it says it's already full.
However, note that in workshops, there is a cap of 250 people total in a session, so if the 250 is already reached, then the 251st person can no longer enter, regardless of their role.
If you want ensure that only those who saved a seat to a session can enter the session when you set a maximum capacity. You'll also need to turn on the toggle to Allow attendees to register for sessions in the agenda settings button.
Capacity Reached Examples with Save a Seat set as a Guaranteed Seat:
The main stage session capacity is 20, and 20 attendees have entered. Speakers and Admins will still be able to enter the main stage session even if the capacity is full because the set capacity does not apply to them.
The workshop session capacity is set to 200, and 200 attendees have entered the session. Speakers and Admins will still be able to enter the workshop session even if the capacity is full because the set capacity does not apply to them.
The workshop session capacity is left blank, which means up to 250 people can enter the session. If 250 attendees have entered the session, the 251st person, regardless of whether that person is an attendee, speaker, or admin, can no longer enter the session because 250 is the cap on the capacity for workshop sessions, and it applies to everyone.
| Can they still enter the session when the indicated capacity has been reached? |
Event Admin | Yes |
Event Staff | Yes |
Speakers assigned to the session | Yes |
Speakers assigned to the sessions but are not moderators | Yes |
Speakers not assigned to the session | No |
Speakers with a ticket but not assigned to the session | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when a session has a maximum capacity set and the toggle to "Allow attendees to register for sessions" is turned off?
If only the maximum capacity is set, attendees can still save a seat even if the maximum capacity has been reached. When the session opens, it will be on a first come first serve basis, so even those who did not save a seat can enter as long as the session attendance is not yet at full capacity. So it is possible that those who saved a seat cannot enter if they try to come in when the session attendance is already at full capacity.
In short, the "Save a Seat" does not save a seat, it functions as a bookmark / add to my favorites
Given that we enabled the toggle, what will happen if someone tries to enter the session where the capacity has already been reached and they have not saved a seat?
They will see an error message that says, "Max user registration capacity reached."
Given that we enabled the toggle, can a new attendee enter the session if the capacity is already reached and one leaves?
No. The attendee who left has that spot reserved for them, so they can still return if they want to.
Given that we enabled the toggle, how can I replace the registered attendee with another attendee if capacity is reached?
You can go to the Registrants tab in your session setup menu and delete them. It will not remove them from the event; it will only unregister them from a session.
When a slot opens, other attendees can enter / pre-register for the session.
You can also pre-register attendees through the admin console. Click here to learn more on how to pre-register attendees to a session.
Given that we enabled the toggle, what happens to the attendee's registered spot in the session if they come in late?
They will still have their spot.