Measurements of the sound absorption coefficients of blocks of occupied theatre chairs varied approximately linearly with the ratio of sample perimeter‐to‐area ratio. Extrapolations of such measurements were used to predict the absorption coefficients of occupied chairs in auditoria. Analyses of these and other published data show that the absorption coefficients of occupied chairs also vary with the absorbing properties of the chairs. A more general method for predicting the sound absorption of occupied chairs as a function of sample perimeter‐to‐area ratio is proposed based on classifying chairs as having low, average, or high absorption characteristics. The new method is simple to apply and is thought to be more accurate than currently accepted methods.