# Release 19 - October 2026

Release 19 focuses on the guest list and tickets. You can now email and text guests directly from the Guest List, release a seat and invite a new guest without losing their table placement, and rely on an email audit that ensures an email isn't duplicated and is assigned to only one bidder.

## Highlights

### Email or Text Directly from the Guest List

Select guests on the **Guest List** and click **Message selected** to send an email, a text message, or both. Each guest gets their own copy with their first name filled in. Before you send, you'll see how many guests will receive the message and who will be skipped and why. Each guest's record lists the messages sent to them.

For step-by-step instructions, see [How to Email or Text Selected Guests](/how-to-email-selected-guests/).

:::note
Available on Core and higher plans. To switch it on for your organization, contact Handbid Support.
:::

### Upgraded My Tickets View for Sponsors to Manage Their Guests More Efficiently

If your organization uses Sponsor Pages, **My Tickets** now shows signed-in sponsors the same seat view as the sponsor page: every seat with its status and a next step, such as adding a guest, sending or resending the invite, opening the seat's ticket to text, email, download or print it, or releasing the seat. Sponsors can hand a group of seats to a co-host and resend the co-host's invite. Sponsors are also notified when their table is complete and when seats are returned to them.

Guests who view their own ticket see their seat and the names of others at their table. Contact details stay private.

See [How to Manage My Guests as a Ticket Purchaser](/how-to-manage-my-guests-as-a-ticket-purchaser/) and [How to Add Event Sponsors' Guest Information](/how-to-add-event-sponsors-guest-information/).

:::note
Organizations without Sponsor Pages keep the My Tickets view they have today.
:::

### Releasing a Seat

**Release seat** now appears only for seats held by a registered bidder. The seat keeps its table position and sponsor, ready for a new guest, and the bidder keeps their paddle and bids. To change a seat that only has a name, edit it instead.

To give a seat to someone else, release it and invite the new guest. This replaces transferring tickets from the events site. See [Transferring a Ticket to Another Person](/transferring-a-ticket-to-another-person/).

### Email Audit Prevents Duplicates

Handbid now runs an email audit that cross-references your guest data to ensure an email isn't duplicated and is assigned to only one bidder.

- An email that is already in your event can't be added to a second guest. Handbid tells you who already has it.
- At check-in, if a guest's email matches a bidder with a different name, Handbid asks whether they're a different person instead of merging them automatically.

See [Check In Guests and Register Bidders from the Guest List](/check-in-guests-and-register-bidders-from-the-guest-list/) and [How to Link Bidder Accounts on the Guest List](/how-to-link-bidder-accounts-on-the-guest-list/).