How to re:Invent, Episode 3 - Reserved Seating

In the third episode, I'll look deeper into reserved seating, what it is, how it works, and how to prepare for it.

Getting a seat in the sessions you like is crucial for a successful re:Invent. Standing in line for sessions can be a waste of time.

Recap Episode 1 and 2

Before we get into the actual ins and outs of reserved seating, a short recap of episodes 1 and 2.

Campus

First of all, the campus. If this is your first re:Invent, it's hard to grasp how big the campus really is. The venues run from MGM Grand in the south up to Wynn and Encore in the north, with The Venetian, Caesars Forum, and Caesars Palace in the middle. End to end that's the better part of an hour on foot, or 15 to 30 minutes by car depending on traffic. Moving back and forth across all of that during the day is not feasible, so my biggest advice is to stick to one venue. If your must-see session of the day is at MGM Grand, plan to stay down south the whole day.

Maps of the campus are available on the re:Invent webpage.

There are exceptions, mainly the north-end venues. The Venetian, Caesars Forum, and Wynn/Encore sit close together with connected walkways. The Venetian links to Caesars Forum through the Expo, and over to Wynn and Encore as well, so a hop between those can be done in 15 to 20 minutes.

Breakout Sessions vs Other Types

There are several different types of sessions at re:Invent. The most common type is breakout sessions, but there are also Chalk Talks, Code Talks, Lightning Talks, Workshops, and Builders’ Sessions. Each type has its own characteristics and purpose.

When planning your week, there is one important thing to remember. Most Breakout Sessions are recorded and will be published so you can watch them later. Now, I'm not saying that you should not attend Breakout Sessions. I really enjoy these as well, and sometimes I don't want to be interactive, which is more or less required in most other types.

Please do remember that Chalk Talks and Code Talks are more or less driven by the audience. The success of these sessions depends on the activity of the audience, asking questions, and discussing. So going to one of these sessions with the attitude "I will sit in the back and just listen," well, maybe that session is not for you.

Now! If you ever end up in a position where you are choosing between a Breakout Session and a Chalk Talk, I will always prioritize the Chalk Talk, as this is not recorded!

For Workshops and Builders’ Sessions, remember that you MUST bring your own laptop.

Keynotes

There are several keynotes during the week, and you should catch at least one in person. The thing that matters for this episode is that keynotes work differently from sessions. They're walk-up only, first come first served, so there's no seat to reserve. If you want a good spot, line up early.

How Reserved Seating Works

Let's start with what reserved seating actually is, because the model trips up a lot of first-timers. Most sessions hold a big share of their seats, somewhere around 75%, for advance reservation. The rest are walk-up, filled from a line on the day. So when reservations open, you're competing for that reserved block, and whatever you don't lock in you chase later through the walk-up line.

One thing worth clearing up. Marking a session as a favorite in the catalog is not the same as reserving a seat. A favorite is just a bookmark. Reserving is what actually holds you a spot. Don't mix the two up and show up to a full room with nothing but a favorite.

Prepare for Reserved Seating

First of all, you need to create your plan for the week. Hopefully, by now, you have your favorite sessions worked out. If not, make sure to read the second episode How to re:Invent, Episode 2 - Session Planning.

With day, time, and venue now attached to each session, it's time to refine the plan. This is how I do it. First, I pick my top must-see session every day and lock that in. Then I add sessions around it, accounting for venue, transportation, and breaks for food and rest. Always at least 30 minutes between sessions, and never more than 4 a day. You can stretch to 5, but don't overdo it.

When you decide what to fight for at the open, go after the sessions you can't get any other way. Breakout sessions are recorded and end up on YouTube, so a missed breakout isn't the end of the world. Chalk talks, code talks, workshops, and builders' sessions are not recorded and have small rooms, so they fill fastest and they're the ones to reserve first.

The last step is to find backup sessions. For each session, I always have one backup session, in case I don't manage to reserve my first choice.

When this is done, I'm ready for the opening of reserved seating.

Reserve Your Seat

Time to reserve the seat! This will be done via the Event catalog.

For each session, there will be a Reserve button. If a session is full, this button normally becomes disabled and a text like Session full or Only walk-up available will be shown.

Reserve seating will open at a specific time. I always make sure I have logged into the Event catalog prior to that. There will be so many people accessing the portal at once that preparing by logging in and opening it up prior to that is good.

Reservations usually open in mid-October, on a single day, at a set time in the morning Pacific. The exact date and time for this year go up on the event site, so check there and put it in your calendar. And mind the time zone. I'm in Sweden, so it opens in the evening my time, which means I set an alarm and make sure I'm at my laptop and logged in before it starts.

Before it opens, I have created a text file with all the IDs of the sessions I like to see, in the order of importance to me. Starting with the most important and then moving down. Why do I do this? Then I can copy & paste and search for sessions and just reserve them fast.

You must be fast when it opens. The most popular sessions are full within minutes, so if you are not ready and prepared when it opens, you will probably not get the sessions you like.

Once the popular sessions are locked in, you can breathe a little and fill in the rest of your week.

On the Day

Reserving the seat is only half of it. You also have to show up the right way, and this is where people lose seats they fought for.

If you have a reserved seat, you must be scanned into the room before the cutoff, usually around 10 minutes before the session starts. Miss that window and your seat is released to the walk-up line, reservation or not. I've watched people show up eight minutes early, relaxed because they had a reservation, and get turned away at the door. So treat the start time as 10 minutes earlier than it actually says.

That same cutoff is your way in when you didn't get a reservation. Every no-show seat is released to the walk-up line right before the session starts, so lining up early genuinely works, especially for anything that isn't the absolute hottest session of the week. For the popular ones you'll need to be in that line well ahead. And if it's a breakout, remember it'll be on YouTube later, so save your standing-in-line energy for the rooms that won't be recorded.

Managing Your Reservations

Your schedule isn't locked the moment reservations open. You can go back and change it, and you should.

If you reserved something you're no longer going to, cancel it. It costs you nothing and it frees the seat for someone else, which is just good manners at an event where seats are gold. The flip side is the tactic most people miss. Seats free up all the time as others shuffle their plans, so a session that was full at the open often has openings a few days later, or even the night before. If you missed a popular one, keep checking back. I've picked up plenty of sessions that way.

Once you're on-site, the re:Invent app is your home base. Your reserved sessions, the room locations, and the times all live there, and it reminds you when something is coming up. Keep it handy and use it to juggle changes on the fly, because a plan always falls apart somewhere.

Final Words

This was the third episode in "How to re:Invent." Stay tuned for more episodes on packing and survival, parties and rePlay, security now that re:Inforce joins re:Invent, and what to do when you get home.

See you all in Vegas! Send me a message on LinkedIn if you like to meet up!

Don't forget to follow me on LinkedIn for more content, and read the rest of my Blogs.

As Werner says! Now Go Build!