The first time you hit the inventory endpoint for a specific date we cache the information making it quicker the next time. The cache doesn't expire once the call is made. The cache expires after 5 minutes and can be cleared using the cache-control header.
Don't worry! We have a time-out limit of 30 seconds and 10 seconds is the expected maximum.
How do I know if a show is a restricted view?
On the areas endpoint we return a isRestrictedView field for each seat.