Without booking rules, a member can book a meeting room for a full day, and a no-show leaves the room empty for everyone else. Meeting room booking rules decide who can book each room, what each booking costs, when members can book, and what happens after a no-show. You set the rules once, and Flex applies them to each booking that members make.

The rules live in 3 places: the meeting room, the resource rate attached to the meeting room, and your organization's calendar settings.

Most booking rules attach to a meeting room or to its resource rate. Create these items before you start:

Meeting room booking settings sit at 3 levels. Each level controls a different part of a booking.

You create booking policies and cancellation policies at the organization level. A policy controls a meeting room only after you attach the policy to the resource rate of that meeting room.

Booking policies apply to the bookings that members create on the Member Portal and the mobile apps. Booking policies do not apply to the bookings that admins create on the Admin Portal.

Set the date and time culture first. The date and time culture affects every other booking setting in this article.

The date and time culture determines how dates and times appear across your organization. This format includes the clock format that members see when they book.

To set the date and time culture of your organization:

The Date/Time Culture setting also sets the time format on the Rooms App. If you select a culture with a 24-hour clock, the Rooms App shows the time in 24-hour format. The tablet's date and time settings do not change the time format in the Rooms App.

Dates and times now use one format across your organization. Meeting room privacy decides who can see and book each meeting room. You set the privacy value separately on each meeting room. For example, 1 meeting room is open to all members, and another meeting room is available only to members on 1 billing plan.

To set the visibility of a meeting room:

Meeting room privacy determines who can book the meeting room. The meeting room's resource rate determines each booking's cost.

A meeting room takes its price from the resource rate in the Rate field on the room's Calendar tab. The resource rate sets the hourly price. The resource rate shows the half-day and full-day prices under the Rate field.

A resource rate can also hold a separate price for bookings outside business hours. You set that price in the resource rate itself. Learn how resource rates price each booking →

Booking credits reduce what members pay for meeting rooms. A member with booking credits books meeting rooms without a charge until the credits run out. You grant booking credits through a billing plan, or you manually adjust a member's credits.

Rate discounts also reduce the booking price. A rate discount on a billing plan applies to every member of a company with an active membership on that billing plan. Add rate discounts to meeting room bookings →

The meeting room now has a price. Business hours decide which hours of the day members can book the meeting room.

The business hours restriction applies only to resources that members book by time, such as meeting rooms. Closed days and workdays apply to all bookings.

To restrict bookings to business hours:

You can also set the business hours restriction for 1 location in the Add/Edit Location dialog. Learn what members see in each business hours configuration →

Business hours decide when members can book. Booking policies and cancellation policies decide how members book, and what a late cancellation costs.

To create a policy:

The new policy now exists, but no meeting room uses the policy yet. To attach the policy to a resource rate:

These booking policy rules control no-shows, repeat bookings, and approval for meeting rooms:

A cancellation policy charges a percentage of the booking fee when a member cancels late. A cancellation policy can use different conditions for active members and non-active members. After a booking gets a cancellation fee, no one can edit or reschedule it.

The rules for each booking are now in place. Calendar settings determine how bookings behave and look across the organization, so changes here affect every meeting room.

To change the calendar settings, go to Settings > Calendar > Calendar & Bookings. The page holds these settings:

After you change a setting, click Update at the bottom of the page to save the change.

These practices keep meeting rooms available for the members who need them.

Can I make a meeting room visible to only some members?

You can make a meeting room visible to only some members. On the Calendar tab of the meeting room, set the Privacy field to Limited. Then add the companies, members, or billing plans that can book the meeting room. If you add nobody, only admins can book the meeting room.

Can I stop members from booking outside business hours?

You can stop members from booking outside business hours. Go to Settings > Calendar > Business Hours, and select Restrict outside business hours bookings. Then select the member groups that the restriction applies to.

What happens if a member does not check in?

Flex cancels the booking automatically if the booking policy has Require Check-In turned on and the member does not check in in time. The meeting room then becomes available for other members to book.

What is the difference between room privacy and booking privacy?

Meeting room privacy decides who can see and book a meeting room. Booking privacy determines who can see booking details. With booking privacy on, members of other companies see only that the meeting room is booked for that time slot.

Why does a booking that an admin made ignore my booking policy?

Booking policies don't apply to bookings admins create in the Admin Portal. Admins can always book outside a booking policy.

Can members create recurring bookings?

Members can create recurring bookings when the resource rate's booking policy has Recurring Bookings turned on. Recurring bookings work only for the default meeting room resource type.

Do recurring bookings block a meeting room in the same way as single bookings?

Recurring bookings block a meeting room in the same way as single bookings. Each occurrence of a recurring booking an admin created appears on the calendar as 'Block from Parent Booking'. Members cannot book that room at that date and time on the Member Portal or the mobile app.

Can I give 1 member of a company a lower meeting room price?

You cannot give 1 member of a company a lower price through a rate discount. A rate discount on a billing plan applies to every member of a company with an active membership on that billing plan. Learn which members get a rate discount →

Why does the Rooms App show the wrong time format?

The Rooms App uses its time format from your organization's Date/Time Culture setting. To change the time format, select a different culture under Settings > Calendar > Calendar & Bookings.

Can members add visitors to a meeting room booking?

Members can add visitors to a meeting room booking on the Member Portal. Invite guests and visitors to a booking on the Member Portal →