Blocking meeting rooms for cleaning or preparation without extra services

Hiru Pras · ‎08-03-2022

Hi All,

Is there easy way to block meeting room before and after meeting start/end even if extra services have not been requested?

The requirement is to block certain meetings rooms for 30 mins before and after a booking so that clean up or preparation work can happen. But this should happen even if requestor has not added any extra services.

Any advise or suggestion to achieve this requirement?

Would it be good idea to create location blocks? Or additional reservations? It's difficult to figure of if extra services have been requested or not because it's created after reservation records have been created.

Thanks!

Arvid · ‎08-15-2022

Hi Hiru Prap,

If you want to add this customization, I would advise creating additional reservations (this is similar to what blocker reservations for services are using). To achieve this, you can create a BR or flow that runs after a reservation is created. This process creates the required reservations to block the space and to perform the cleaning activities.

Some notes:

- When searching for availability, the system does not take the additional reservations into account. You probably need to add this check

- When using calendar sync, validate the status and type of the reservations to ensure you will not create duplicate reservations

Kind regards,

Arvid

View solution in original post

Cadmila21 · ‎10-20-2023

To ensure that meeting rooms are blocked for 30 minutes before and after a booking, regardless of whether extra services have been requested or not, you can consider several approaches depending on the system or process you are using for booking and managing meeting rooms. Here are some suggestions:

Default Buffer Time: Configure your meeting room booking system to have a default buffer time of 30 minutes before and after each meeting. This way, every reservation will automatically have this buffer time, even if the requester hasn't explicitly requested extra services. You can usually set this up in the system's settings or preferences.

Location Blocks: As you mentioned, you can create location blocks for the 30-minute periods before and after each meeting. This way, these blocks will prevent other bookings during those times, ensuring that the rooms are available for clean-up and preparation. You can then manually approve bookings for those times if requested.

Additional Reservations: If your booking system allows it, you can create additional "hidden" reservations for the 30-minute periods before and after each meeting. These reservations wouldn't be visible to regular users but would serve the purpose of blocking the room. This approach allows for more fine-grained control.

Custom Booking Rules: If your meeting room booking system is highly customizable, you can create custom rules that automatically add these 30-minute buffers before and after each booking.

Reminder and Cleanup Service: Consider providing a reminder or automated notification service to the meeting organizers, suggesting that they allow for 30 minutes of buffer time before and after their meetings. You can also offer a cleanup and preparation service as part of your booking process, allowing users to request it with their bookings.

The best approach will depend on the specific booking system or software you are using, as well as the preferences and needs of your organization. If possible, it's a good idea to implement a combination of these methods to ensure that the 30-minute buffer is consistently applied, regardless of whether extra services are requested.