Talk to us
HomeFeaturesWho it's forAppsSecurityPlansTalk to us

Booking rules: slots, notice, limits and exceptions

A rule set says how a facility may be booked. It sets the slots, the notice, how far ahead, how long, and how many bookings each person may hold. Exceptions change it for an Entity, a group or one person.
PLANSEvery plan
Compare plansHow it works

The problem it solves

  • One team books the conference room every afternoon for the whole month.
  • The auditorium is booked the evening before, with no time to set up.
  • Courts are booked for odd times like 10:20 to 11:05, leaving useless gaps.
  • The principal needs to book further ahead than students, and the sheet cannot tell them apart.

How it works

  1. Open Facilities > Configuration > Booking Rules > Booking Policies and click New, or open Meeting Room or Hall / Auditorium.
  2. Choose the slot mode: Free time with a Time Step, Fixed Slots you list, or Half / full day.
  3. Set the Booking Window: Minimum Notice, Book up to (days ahead), free cancellation and the reminder.
  4. Set the Limits per Booker: bookings a day and a week, hours a week and open future bookings.
  5. On the Exceptions tab, add lines for an Entity, a user group or a user with their own limits, or tick May Not Book.
  6. Put the rule set on a facility type, a facility or a site. Every booking is checked against it, and a refused booking says which rule it broke.

Everything it does

Slots and durations

  • Free time: starts and ends on the Time Step (15 minutes to start with)
  • Minimum Duration 15 minutes and Maximum Duration 0 (no limit) to start with
  • Fixed slots: a list of named periods with From and To; a booking must match one exactly
  • Half / full day: Morning, Afternoon or Full day, split in the middle of the day's hours
  • Setup Time and Cleanup Time in minutes, kept free around each booking
  • Only in Opening Hours: on to start with

Booking window

  • Minimum Notice (h): 0 to start with; 24 on Hall / Auditorium
  • Book up to (days ahead): 30 to start with; 90 on Hall / Auditorium; 0 means no limit
  • Free Cancellation up to (h before): 0 (never late) to start with; 24 on Hall / Auditorium
  • Reminder (h before): 24 to start with; 0 means no reminder
  • A booking cannot start in the past (five minutes of grace)

Limits per booker

  • Bookings per Day, Bookings per Week, Hours per Week and Open Future Bookings; 0 means no limit, the start value
  • They count the person's bookings on every facility that uses the same rule set
  • Bookings waiting for approval, confirmed and in use all count
  • Who May Book: user groups allowed; empty means every staff login
  • With the booking portal, Portal Users May Book opens the rule set's facilities to portal users

Exceptions

  • A line for an Entity, a User Group or a User; with SmartMy HRMS also a Department or a Job Position
  • Changes Book up to, Bookings per Day, Bookings per Week or Hours per Week; empty values keep the rule set's
  • May Not Book stops those people booking these facilities
  • When several lines fit, the most specific wins: a user before a job, a department, a group, then an Entity

Terms

  • Terms / Usage Rules on the rule set; the booker ticks I accept these rules before booking
  • A booking without the tick is refused with Accept the terms

Who skips the rules

  • A facility manager, with a reason kept on the booking
  • Other SmartMy products (classes, exams) skip the rules but not the clash check

Who uses it

AdministratorWrites the rule sets and their exceptions.
Facility managerPuts rule sets on types and facilities, and books outside them with a reason.
BookerSees free times that fit the rules and a clear message when a rule stops a booking.

Where you use it

  • Web: Facilities > Configuration > Booking Rules > Booking Policies (Administrator only)
  • The office screens and the booking portal: only the times the rules allow are offered
  • The SmartMy Facility app: the same (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
  • Not rules per weekday: a rule set applies the same way every day; use own booking hours or blocked time for day-by-day differences

What you control

Settings

  • Slot mode: Free time to start with; Time Step 15 minutes
  • Minimum / Maximum Duration: 15 minutes / no limit
  • Minimum Notice: 0 hours; Book up to: 30 days
  • Limits per booker: 0 (none)
  • Free cancellation: 0; Reminder: 24 hours before
  • Ready rule set Meeting Room: 15-minute steps, 4 hours at most, 30 days ahead
  • Ready rule set Hall / Auditorium: 30-minute steps, 30 + 30 minutes setup and cleanup, 24 hours notice, 90 days ahead

Works with

SmartMy HRMSExceptions by department and job position, and Who May Book by department or job.
SmartMy CampusRule sets that students or parents may book, and rooms kept for hostel residents.

Questions

Can managers book further ahead than staff?

Yes. Add an exception line for the managers' user group with a larger Book up to. The most specific line wins.

Can we stop one person booking the board room?

Yes. Add an exception line for that user and tick May Not Book.

Can courts be booked only in 1-hour slots from 06:00?

Yes. Choose Fixed Slots and list them: 06:00 to 07:00, 07:00 to 08:00 and so on. Any other time is refused.

Related features

PLACES AND FACILITIESFacility types, photos, capacity and amenitiesGroup your rooms, halls, labs and courts into types that share one set of booking rules. Each facility carries its photo, description, capacity, amenities and the people in charge of it.BOOKING RULESSetup and cleanup time, and blocked time for maintenanceKeep time free before and after each booking for setting up and clearing. Block facilities for maintenance, cleaning, events or holidays, once or every week.APPROVALManager override with a reason and free alternativesA facility manager can book outside the rules or move other bookings out of a slot. Each time takes a reason, kept on the booking. The people moved out are told why and shown facilities free at the same time.APPROVALBooking approval, with escalation when nobody answersBookings that need a yes, such as the auditorium, wait for the facility's approvers while the time is held. If nobody answers in time, the facility managers are asked. If they do not answer either, the request is turned down, so a forgotten request never locks the time.CHECK-IN AND NO-SHOWSStrikes and booking bans for no-showsEvery no-show and late cancellation is a strike. Three strikes in 30 days, to start with, stop the person from booking for seven days. Managers see every ban with its reason and can lift it.WITH OTHER SMARTMY PRODUCTSDepartments, rules by job and manager approval with SmartMy HRMSWith SmartMy HRMS in the same account, every booking shows the booker's department. Rooms can be kept for some departments or job positions, and an approval level can go to the booker's manager or department head. Employees whose leave is approved are asked to cancel or hand over their bookings for those days.

See it with your own rooms.

Tell us what you run: rooms, halls, courts, desks. We will show you a booking from request to check-out with your rules.
Talk to usCompare plans