Manager override with a reason and free alternatives
A 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.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- The director's meeting needs the board room, and staff are asked by phone to give it up.
- Rules stop the facility team from booking a hall at short notice for an inspection.
- Someone's booking disappears and they never learn why or where else to go.
- Months later, nobody can say who allowed a booking against the rules.
How it works
- To book outside the rules, a facility manager writes the reason on a draft booking, in the field Only to book outside the rules. Then they click Book.
- The broken rules and the reason are written into the booking's history. Clashes with other bookings are still refused.
- When other bookings are in the way, the manager clicks Book Anyway on a draft or waiting booking.
- The window lists the Bookings Moved Out. The manager writes the reason and clicks Move Them Out and Book.
- Each moved booking becomes Moved out. Its booker is told the reason and up to five facilities free at the same time.
- The manager's booking is confirmed. Blocked time can never be moved out this way.
Everything it does
Book outside the rules
- Only a facility manager of that facility: named on it, a manager of its site, or a Facility Manager of its Entity
- Skips notice, how far ahead, durations, slots, opening hours, limits, Who May Book and a booking ban
- Every broken rule and the reason are posted on the booking
- Clashes are still checked: double booking is never allowed
Book Anyway
- On a draft booking or one waiting for approval
- A reason is required; it goes to every booker moved out
- The bookings moved out become Moved out, with the reason and the booking they were moved for
- Their calendar entries and to-dos are removed
- The manager's booking is confirmed without waiting for approval; the manager is recorded as the one who decided
- Blocked time cannot be moved out
Free alternatives
- Up to five facilities of the same type, open to the booker's Entity, holding at least as many people, free at the same time
- Listed in the notice and under Free at the same time on the booking in the office screen and the app
Book for someone else
- A facility manager can set Booked by to another person, so the booking, the limits and the strikes are theirs
On record
- The Reasons tab: why it was booked outside the rules, why it was cancelled, and the booking it was moved out for
- The booking's history keeps who changed what and when
Who uses it
Facility managerBooks outside the rules or moves bookings out, always with a reason.
Booker moved outIs told why and picks one of the free alternatives.
AdministratorReads the reasons later in the booking history.
Where you use it
- Web: the full booking form (the reason field and Book Anyway) for facility managers
- Web: the office screen shows a moved-out booking with its reason and Free at the same time
- The SmartMy Facility app: the same (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not from the booking portal: overrides are made in the back office
What you control
Settings
- Who is a facility manager: named on the facility or the site, or the Facility Manager role
Notifications
- Facility Booking Cancelled: to each booker moved out, with the reason and the free alternatives, in the app and by email
- Facility Booking Confirmed: to the person the manager's booking is for, in the app and by email
- Each of these goes out at once. WhatsApp or SMS go instead of email where you set them up, from your message credits. App push follows once the apps are in the stores. A person can switch off email, WhatsApp or SMS for themselves, never the event; in-app notices always arrive
Works with
SmartMy CampusExams and timetable classes take their rooms the same way: ordinary bookings are moved out and their bookers told.
Questions
Can a manager book two groups into one room?
No. Book Anyway moves the other bookings out. Two bookings never hold the same time.Are the people moved out told?
Yes. They get the reason and up to five facilities of the same type that are free at the same time.Can a manager book during maintenance?
No. Blocked time cannot be moved out. Change the blocked time first.Where do we see who overrode the rules?
On the booking's Reasons tab and in its history, with the manager's name and the reason.Can any staff member use Book Anyway?
No. Only facility managers of that facility see and can use it.Related features
BOOKING RULESBooking rules: slots, notice, limits and exceptionsA 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.BOOKINGSNo double bookingTwo people can never hold the same facility at the same time. Every booking is checked against other bookings, setup time, hall parts, seats and blocked time, even when two people press Book together.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.REPORTS AND RECORDSChange history of every booking, with override reasonsEvery change to a booking is kept with who made it and when: times, room, people, status and reasons. A manager who books outside the rules or moves others out must give a reason, and it stays on the booking.WITH OTHER SMARTMY PRODUCTSRooms for the timetable, exams and meetings with SmartMy CampusWith SmartMy Campus in the same account, classes, exams, parent-teacher meetings, activities and placement rounds reserve their rooms in SmartMy Facility by themselves. Exams and classes move ordinary bookings out and tell the bookers. Students and parents book under rules by class section and hostel, approved by the class teacher, the head of department or the warden.BOOKINGSMoving and cancelling bookings, with late cancellations flaggedBookers move or cancel their own bookings in a couple of taps, and every move is checked again against the rules and other bookings. A cancellation inside the free cancellation time is flagged as late and can count towards a ban.
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.