We are working on enhancing our website for the upcoming changes to the ADA. We have SYOS covered thanks to the new "Reserve Held Seats" option for T_DEFAULTS with V10, which now works with ReserveTicketsSpecifiedSeats and that we use holds for wheelchair seats.
Initially we decided we would only enhance the SYOS ticketing path, but we have situations where we deliberately disable SYOS due to volumes, leaving Best Available as the only option. The problem is that while ReserveTicketsEx allows the parameter for special requests, wheelchair being one of them, that will not work for held seats.
Has anyone done anything dealing with wheelchair seats and Best Available?
Thank you in advance.
Paul
Hi Paul,
We're also sorting through all of this, belatedly. With or without Non-SYOS shows, my understanding is that we are expected to provide exactly the same services options to those buying wheelchair spaces as to people buying regular seats. We're taking this to mean:
Complicating things are that the wheelchair spaces now have three companion seats available to them. Our reading is that there is one companion seat that is only available to the purchaser of the wheelchair space (until waived), as always, but now there are two more which should ideally be adjacent, but must be very near (i.e. directly in front of, probably what we can accommodate), that should be available, though it seems vague as to whether they might be generally available for sale. In our circumstance, though, I think we have to group them in the same section/price as the corresponding wheelchair space, at least, and that has some ramifications, because as we don't have an accessible balcony, we have a "balcony" section in the back of our orchestra for wheelchair spaces.
I had originally planned to have a click through page explaining our accessible seating rules and locations, and then would break the holds on those seats so that the customer could go on and purchase them. It now sounds as though that is not acceptable: this means, I think, that we will have to stop placing holds on those seats. In SYOS we can call them out with icons and rollovers, and simply expect patrons to choose them correctly, but now we must find a way to keep them from being accidentally distributed to a "Best Seat" request, and also to be selectable via "Best Seat", and also have a way to associate the appropriate number of companion seats (and the appropriate seats) with the chosen wheelchair spaces. That is, I need to handle a Best Seat request for example for 1 wheelchair and 5 additional seats (we have a six seat maximum online): this then needs to be translated into 1 wheelchair space, the adjacent companion seat, then two more adjacent (or next row but in front) companion seats, if they are available still (maybe, or maybe they're reserved like the first companion seat), then regular best seat in the corresponding section (which might be a different floor, on account of our balcony issue) for the remaining 2-4 seats. If two wheelchairs are selected and four other seats, now two of the other seats need to be the matching companion seats and the remaining two taken from the four additional companion seats (again, if still available, provided we choose to not have them reserved...)
After that ideally we need to be able to figure out when companion seats have been waived (a wheelchair space was purchased, but the companion seat(s) was declined), and have a mechanism for releasing them for public purchase, but currently that would involve a change of seat type and now potentially a change of section. But this issue is our problem, and not mandated by ADA, so I suppose it can wait or be resolved manually on call-in orders.
Anyway, anyone else puzzling through this right now? Any thoughts on what exactly the new regulations require?
--Gawain
Our reading and understanding of the new "companion seat" requirement is not really a change from before. We must now provide a seat right next to the wheelchair seat, and then provide up to 2 additional companion seats as close as possible to the wheelchair and first companion seat.
If talks about being adjacent and what not, but it goes on to say that if there are no other seats available near the wheelchair seat and 1st companion seat, we need to offer them available seats in a different location. So prior to the new laws, we would have already held one seat next to the wheelchair location, and then sold them two more (or as many as they want to buy) as close as possible to the wheelchair and 1st companion seat.
Section 36.302(f)(4)(i) of the final rule requires public accommodations to make available for purchase three additional tickets for seats in the same row that are contiguous with the wheelchair space, provided that at the time of purchase there are three such seats available. The requirement that the additional seats be "contiguous with the wheelchair space" does not mean that each of the additional seats must be in actual contact or have a border in common with the wheelchair space; however, at least one of the additional seats should be immediately adjacent to the wheelchair space.
Be careful because the regulations discuss that unless you limit the maximum amount of tickets, you can not inflict a maximum on people desiring to purchase wheelchair seats and companions. Therefore the "3 additional companion seats" cannot really be enforced.
The Department has also added paragraph (4)(iv) to clarify that the requirement for three additional contiguous seats is not intended to serve as a cap if the maximum number of tickets that may be purchased by members of the general public exceeds the four tickets an individual with a disability ordinarily would be allowed to purchase (i.e., a wheelchair space and three additional contiguous seats). If the maximum number of tickets that may be purchased by members of the general public exceeds four, an individual with a disability is to be allowed to purchase the maximum number of tickets; however, additional tickets purchased by an individual with a disability beyond the wheelchair space and the three additional contiguous seats provided in § 36.302(f)(4)(i) do not have to be contiguous with the wheelchair space.
Again, we do see the new companion seat regulations as really changing our existing ticketing policy.
We currently don't offer SYOS. We are approaching the wheelchair and companion seating by creating a separate price zone and adjusting the contiguity so that the correct seats are selected.
We have just rolled this out in production, so I don't have any real-life data yet, but it worked in our test environment. Janna Ellis at Yale Repertory Theatre did the configuration and testing.
I'm interested to hear how others are approaching these requirements!
Just curious Mara, are you creating separate price zones just so they are grouped together? OR are you also using the best seating utility? If you are using the best seating facility are your companion and wheelchair seats that are grouped together ranked the same on the best seating map?
Hi Rosa,
I created price types and price zones in order to make our website the most user friendly. Our price types are now Student, Standard, and Accessible, and our price zones or sections are 'Orchestra Left' and 'Orchestra Left, accessible', etc.
We do not use SYOS, but we do have Best Available, which is why I found creating a price zone along with price types to be the easiest for those using the website.
Unfortunately we did not have the means to do anything fancy, so this had to come completely out of Tessitura and with the resources we already had.
When you first click on our ticket link, you'll find a selection like this:
If you click one of the accessible sections, you will only be given the accessible price type. But if you click the 'Best Available" option, you'll be given this:
With the way our hall is set up, we are lucky enough that we did not have to change contiguity with our accessible seating. Since the Accessible price zones are only available with the accessible price type, we also did not have to update our best seat map.
Oh gosh, my pictures didn't show.
When you first click our ticket link, you get this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Evilbunnie127/Tessi/pricezone.png
And then after 'best available', this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Evilbunnie127/Tessi/pricetype.png
~The username is from high school - please don't judge me.