Booking policies help you control how members book desks, meeting rooms, and other shared resources. This feature lets you define clear rules like maximum booking length, buffer times between reservations, and when admin approval is needed.

By setting clear rules, you ensure that resources are used efficiently and fairly.

This article guides you through the steps of creating and applying booking policies. After reading this article, you will be able to customize booking policies to fit your specific operational needs, ensuring smooth and organized resource management.

Summary

Create booking policies that define rules such as maximum duration, buffer time, and approval requirements.
Apply booking policies to Resource Rates so bookings follow your organization’s rules automatically.
Limit how far in advance bookings can be made and whether recurring bookings are allowed.
Control check-in behavior to cancel no-shows and free up space.
Require admin approval for certain bookings when needed.
Prevent back-to-back bookings by adding buffer time between reservations.

What you can achieve

With booking policies, you can create clear rules for how and when members can reserve resources. You can set limits on booking length, prevent last-minute bookings, or add a buffer between reservations for cleaning or preparation.

For example, if you want to prevent members from booking meeting rooms for an entire day without approval, you can set a max booking duration and turn on "Request Approval". To reduce no-shows, consider requiring check-ins and having the system automatically cancel bookings for members who fail to check in.

Booking policies can be applied to Resource Rates, ensuring that all bookings for those rates adhere to the defined rules. You can:

Allow or block recurring bookings.
Limit how far into the future members can book (up to 24 months).
Require members to book only if they have coins or credits.
Apply different rules for active and non-active members.

Notes:

Booking policies do not apply to bookings created by admins in the Admin Portal.
Recurring bookings are only available through the Member Portal, not the Public Calendar.

Tips for success

Name your booking policies clearly so it's easy to assign them to the correct Resource Rates.
Use buffer times wisely — this helps prevent back-to-back bookings that leave no time for cleaning or setup.
When using Request Approval, ensure that your administrators are prepared to review and approve bookings promptly.
Require check-in only if your space can support it (for example, if you have a front desk or automated check-in system).
Remember that booking policies are linked to Resource Rates. You must apply the correct rate to each resource.
Review booking patterns regularly to adjust rules if members are blocked unnecessarily or abusing the system.

Create a booking policy

To create a new booking policy:

Go to Settings > Calendar > Calendar & Bookings.
Scroll down until you reach the Booking Policies section, and click Add Policy.
Define the policy rules:
- Name – Enter a name for the policy.
- Max Duration – Set the maximum time allowed for a booking (0 to 24 hours).
- Min Duration – Set the minimum time allowed for a booking (0 to 24 hours).
- Recurring Bookings – Allow recurring bookings.
- Restrict bookings to members with coins or credits – Members can only book with available credits and/or coins. Click here to learn more.
- Limit Recurring Bookings Span – Limits the time span of recurring member/ public bookings (maximum is 24 months from the booking's creation date).
- Limit Future Bookings – Define how far in the future bookings can be made (maximum is 24 months).
- Limit Time Before Start of Booking – Limit the number of hours in advance for making bookings.
- Request Approval – Require admin approval for bookings, which will remain "Tentative" until approved.
- Require Check-In:
  - Automatically cancel bookings if employees fail to check in within the defined time before the booking starts.
  - Specify the time in minutes or hours.
  - The maximum time you can set here is 60 minutes.
- Send booking reminders – Send reminders to the member before the booking starts. You can find additional information here.
- Disable Back-to-Back Bookings – Add a buffer time (up to 30 minutes) between bookings to allow for preparation or cleaning. The room cannot be booked during the buffer time. Click here to learn more.
- Active/Non-Active Member Rules – Choose whether you'd like to have the same rules for active and non-active members. Non-active members are members with no active memberships.

Important: Recurring bookings are unavailable on the Public Calendar (they are available only on the Member Portal).

Connect a Booking Policy to a Resource Rate and a bookable resource

To connect a Booking Policy to a Resource Rate and/or a bookable resource, follow these instructions:

Go to Billing > Resource Rates.
Click Add Rate and select "Hourly Rate" or "Daily Rate", or edit an existing one.
In the Add or Edit Resource Rate dialog, open the Advanced tab and select a booking policy from the Booking Policy drop-down menu.
The bookings will follow the policy's rules once the Resource Rate is applied to a bookable resource.
- By default, every Resource Rate uses the default Booking Policy.
- Booking Policy rules are not applied to bookings created on the Admin Portal.

FAQ: Booking policies

What is a booking policy in OfficeRnD Flex?

A booking policy in OfficeRnD Flex defines the terms and conditions under which desks and meeting rooms can be booked, such as maximum and minimum durations, buffer times, or approval requirements.

Can I set a maximum booking duration?

Yes. You can set a maximum booking duration between 0 and 24 hours when defining your booking policy.

Is it possible to require approval for bookings?

Yes. Turn on Request Approval to ensure bookings remain tentative until an admin approves them.

What happens if an employee does not check in?

If Require Check-In is turned on, bookings will automatically cancel if the employee does not check in within the defined time frame before the booking starts (maximum 60 minutes).

How do I apply a booking policy to a Resource Rate?

Go to Billing > Resource Rates, click Add Rate or edit an existing rate, open the Advanced tab, and select your booking policy from the drop-down menu.

What happens if I don't set a custom booking policy for a Resource Rate?

By default, all Resource Rates will follow the default booking policy unless you specify a different one.

Do booking policies affect bookings made by admins?

No. Booking policies are not applied to bookings created via the Admin Portal.

Can public users make recurring bookings?

No. Recurring bookings are available only through the Member Portal and not on the Public Calendar.

How far into the future can bookings be made?

You can limit bookings to be scheduled up to a maximum of 24 months into the future from the date of booking creation.

Can I prevent back-to-back bookings?

Yes. You can prevent back-to-back bookings by adding buffer time (up to 30 minutes) between reservations.

[Flex] Set Up Booking Policies