AMC Theatres is launching a new free perk for its premium rewards program members that individual ticket buyers are not likely to appreciate. CEO Aron announced on an earnings call a new initiative to reserve the theater’s best seats for rewards members. The company attempted a similar initiative three years ago called Sightlines and rolled it back after significant backlash.
“AMC will introduce preferred premier seating, where we will block and reserve the best seats in the house in our theaters to be accessed first by our A-List and our Stubs Premiere members — that’s the two VIP tiers within our Stubs program — at no added charge,” Aron said. “At AMC, we will assure that the best seats in our auditoriums are [held] — at first, anyway — for our best customers. We think it will be a considerable consumer benefit that our most frequent guests will notice and greatly appreciate, further cementing their brand loyalty to AMC.” Aron said.
While AMC hasn’t released which seats will be considered premium or how long those seats will be held, or even if this perk will impact all showings, the theater chain undoubtedly has the data to determine what consumers’ favorite seats are and when they are most sought after. They are sure to argue that this is just a free perk for those already paying upwards of $30 a month for other benefits, including multiple tickets per week, concessions upgrades, and refills. Detractors will argue that this new perk punishes those who can’t afford the subscription or simply don’t want to join.
