How do I change the booking rules?

Want to control how far ahead people can book, or when unused bookings are cancelled? This article shows you how to set the check-in and booking rules for your organisation, and how to stop a single desk or room from being booked.

Note: Booking rules are a PRO feature. They apply to everyone in your organisation.

Open the booking rules

Click Admin, then Administration.
Under Settings, click Allocations.

The page has four sections: Temporary Allocations (check-ins), Reservations, Neighborhood Restrictions and Check In Questionnaire.

Check-ins (Temporary Allocations)

A check-in, or temporary allocation, is when someone takes a desk for the day.

Setting	What it does
Disable Check In button in the mobile app, mobile web app or desktop web app	Stops people checking in from that app.
Disable OfficeMaps QR code scan Check In function	Stops people checking in by scanning a desk’s QR code.
Checking into a desk will update the person’s status to…	Changes the person’s status when they check in, for example to Working in Office.
Checking out of desk will update the person’s status to…	Changes the person’s status when they check out.
Block check-in when Max Allowed Desks is reached	Stops check-ins once the Max Allowed Desks limit is reached.
Block check-in unless Workday is set to O (Office)	Only lets people check in on days their workday plan says Office.
Send email notification to person permanently allocated to a desk whenever the desk has a check-in	Lets someone with a permanent desk know when another person checks in to it.
Allow only Administrators and Department Administrators to check other users out	Stops everyone else checking people out. Department administrators can check out members of their own department.
Users cannot check in before…	Sets the earliest time of day people can check in.

Reservations

A reservation books a desk or other asset for a future day.

Setting	What it does
Enable reservations for up to … days in advance	Turns reservations on and sets how far ahead people can book, from 1 to 366 days.
Don’t allow reservations for Saturdays and Sundays	Stops weekend bookings.
Send a reminder email the day prior to reservations at…	Emails people the day before their booking.
Send a reminder email for reservations that have not checked-in by…	Reminds people who haven’t checked in by the time you choose.
Enable the check-in button in reservation reminder emails	Lets people check in straight from the reminder email.
Cancel all reservations for the day (but not future days) that have not checked-in by…	Frees up desks that were booked but not used.
Send a notification email for both automatically cancelled and administrator cancelled reservations	Tells people when their booking is cancelled for them.
Block reservations when Max Allowed Desk is reached	Stops bookings once the Max Allowed Desks limit is reached. Choose whether to include permanent allocations in the count.
Allow all users to make reservations on behalf of others	Lets anyone book for a colleague, not just administrators.

Neighbourhood restrictions

These options limit bookings and check-ins in a neighbourhood to the departments linked to it. See How do I keep desks for one team only?

Check-in questionnaire

You can ask people one to five yes-or-no questions every time they check in, for example a health check.

Tick Every check in requires a questionnaire to be completed with between 1 and 5 Yes or No questions.
Enter a Page Heading and your questions (Q1 to Q5).
For each question, choose whether check-in is allowed if the answer is Yes or No.
Enter the message to show when check-in isn’t allowed.

Stop one asset being reserved or checked in to

Sometimes you want to keep a specific desk or car park bookable on the day only, or not at all.

On the floorplan, click the asset, then View Details.
Click Edit.
Under Availability, tick:
- Not Available For Reservation to stop people booking it ahead, while still letting them check in on the day, or
- Not Available For Check In to stop check-ins as well.
Click Save.

The Availability options for one asset.

Show a meeting room’s calendar

For meeting rooms and other resources that have their own calendar, such as a Microsoft 365 room mailbox, you can show that calendar in OfficeMaps.

Open the asset’s details and click Edit.
Under Calendar, set Calendar View to Free/Busy View, Detailed View Only or View/Add, and enter the resource’s Calendar Email / UPN.
If the resource uses a different calendar connection, tick Do Not Use Default Calendar Provider and choose the Calendar Provider.
Click Save.

Tips

Turn on the cancel-by time together with the reminder email, so people get a chance to check in before their booking is released.
Asset types also control booking. A type must have Can Check In and Can Reserve ticked for its assets to be booked. See How do I create or change an asset type?