SeatPlan was launched by BEN JACKSON in 2011 to help theatre audiences book the best seats, whatever ‘best’ meant to them.
We’re SeatPlan. And we know that buying theatre tickets can be a minefield. Will I be able to see anything? Am I getting a good deal? Is there any legroom? How close are the toilets? The list goes on…
Bespoke and fully interactive seating plans, embedded within the booking experience, resulted in customers being able to browse thousands of user-uploaded photos and select the best seats for their budget, at any time.
Over the last decade, the company has expanded and the website now features seating and venue tips for 120 theatres in the UK and New York. The SeatPlan team knows first-hand that a great seat can make or break a theatre trip is always working to simplify the buying experience. Theatregoers can then spend less time hunting for a great deal or view and more time focusing on making memories.
“Theatre isn’t just about watching a performance,” says SeatPlan’s mission statement, “it’s about the moments that take your breath away. The ones that stay with you for a lifetime. Whether you’re treating your kids to their first show, catching a musical with friends, or taking yourself on a solo date to a bucket-list classic, we’re here to help you plan moments that turn into memories.”
Ben Jackson used to run travel websites where holidaymakers added reviews and photos of holiday hotels and apartments. He felt it was odd that theatregoers booked seats without any information on the seats they were buying. In fact back in 2011 seats could not be chosen by customers and were mostly sold as ‘best available’ which meant that you found our how good or bad it was when you got there!
Theatre tickets cost as much as hotel rooms so Ben sought to solve this “crazy situation” by encouraging theatregoers to share seat reviews and photos. He foresaw that choosing seats was a natural step forward and fortunately interactive seating plans arrived soon afterwards.
SeatPlan started with the Adelphi Theatre, and since then has expanded to cover the West End, major cities across the UK and now Broadway.
The interactive seating plans feature real photos from real audience members. You can browse views from every corner of the auditorium before narrowing down your seat selection. There are ratings for view, legroom and comfort.
The SeatPlan Rewards programme gives theatregoers points for most purchases and points per photo submitted – even when they don’t buy through SeatPlan. You can sign up, add your photos and earn money towards theatre gift cards.
Here Ben Jackson continues Musical Theatre Review’s interview series: Five Questions With…
Over the years, what’s surprised you most about how people choose their seats — are visitors more price-driven, comfort-driven, or experience-driven than you expected?
Everyone wants the best view they can get for the best price possible. It’s usually a trade-off between the two, but there are hidden gem seats dotted around in venues that many people overlook. Restricted view seats in particular can be bargains when only a very small part of the show is missed. Saving £20 and missing a minute of the show seems a good trade-off to me.
Theatre tickets can cost as much as a hotel room. Why do you think it took so long for audiences to demand more transparency about what they were buying?
I guess everyone was used to the status quo. You often only realise that something is better (or worse) in hindsight. And in the days when all seats were booked ‘best available’ there was no choice of seats and we all got what we were given. The crazy thing to me is that ‘best available’ still exists.
Theatre is such an emotional experience – first shows, special occasions, bucket-list performances. How does it feel knowing SeatPlan plays a small part in those memories?
On the occasions where I share what I do with strangers and mention booking seats using real view from seat photos, it’s lovely to hear that they have used the site. It’s also strange to think you are meeting a someone that you have helped to get the best out of their theatre trip. And with theatre being a special event it’s a rewarding conversation to have.
Can you tell us more about how SeatPlan came about? What was the moment you realised booking theatre tickets was, as you’ve called it, a ‘crazy situation’?
Before getting into theatre in 2010, I have founded travel websites where holidaymakers added reviews and photos of holiday hotels and apartments, and compared hotel prices. A very similar model to SeatPlan! Unfortunately, the 2008 recession killed of my travel business and I was lucky to find my way into theatre. When I saw the antiquated ‘best available’ way that tickets were purchased and the lack of information on what was an expensive purchase, I saw an opportunity to improve things. My essential thought was that I would never spend £100 on a hotel without reading reviews so why should I do the same for theatre tickets?
If everything goes to plan, what does SeatPlan look like in ten years’ time? Bigger? Broader? Or simply doing what it does now – but even better?
In the short term we would love to have a photo from every London and New York theatre seat. And then lots of photos from every seat. Longer term I would like to expand into more cities and countries, we are missing some big theatre centres like Madrid and Paris where I think our service could help a wider audience to book the best seats.
Find out more at seatplan.com
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