Room booking systems – oh, how technology has evolved from the good ol’ days of scribbling your name on a sign-up sheet outside the conference room. Sure, it got the job done, but that pen was always out of ink, and Karl from accounting had terrible handwriting so no one could read his name to confirm the slot anyway.
Now we’ve got these slick digital room reservation platforms that handle the dirty work and then some. But every service tosses around buzzwords galore about how “revolutionary” their features are. Let’s cut through the jargon and highlight what really matters in an awesome room booking system, shall we? I’ll try to avoid technical terms, but no promises I won’t go off on random tangents about former co-workers …
Alright, here’s 5 key elements that separate the superstar software from the so-so:
#1 – Flexible Booking Options
At a minimum, you need to easily book rooms for single meetings, recurring meetings, and multi-day or -week events. Bonus points if you can reserve spaces years in advance for conferences and such!
Ideally, it’s all drag and drop on a calendar interface. None of this hunting through drop-down menus nonsense. Oh, and allowing booking on mobile? Clutch. Just don’t be Karl and book rooms from the bathroom. TMI, my friend.
#2 – Resource Filtering
A next-level system lets you filter exactly which rooms match your needs before booking. Do you require AV equipment? Video conferencing? Wheelchair access? Coffee bar proximity?
Filtering by room size, location or available amenities saves huge headaches of reserving a dud space that won’t cut it. Unless you’re Amanda from PR who “forgot” she booked the smallest capacity room for a 50 person offsite. Oops!
#3 – Intuitive Calendar Views
You should be able to easily visualize availability across all your organization’s spaces in calendar format. Bonus if it integrates with Outlook or Google Cal so everything’s in one place.
No squinting at a PDF schedule posted in the hallway and hoping your pen marks reserving the room are visible. Just open the booking calendar and glimpse perfection!
#4 – Access Permissions
Here’s an important one – you need controls on who can access and book which rooms or resources in your smart office. Give the average employee ability to snag meeting rooms, but restrict executive conference rooms to directors and VPs.
And maybe revoke Karl’s permission until he completes mandatory training on reserving rooms months in advance for leadership offsites. Sorry Karl, just following protocol!
#5 – Usage Analytics
It’s amazing how much a room analytics dashboard reveals! You can see popularity of spaces, no-show rates, and adjust reservations based on actual usage data. Way better than that archaic paper sign-up sheet collecting dust.
If something’s booked constantly yet always empty, red flag! Or underused rooms become targets for conversion into new creative spaces or amenities to better serve staff. Data is king!
Alright, that hits my highlights for turning any old room into an optimally bookable resource. I’m suddenly craving a juice box and string cheese like back in 3rd grade. But seriously, don’t undervalue a powerful booking platform – it makes juggling multiple workspaces way more harmonious. The right one can be a total game changer for your organization.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see if the new booking system we just implemented has a rollback feature in case I accidentally deleted all of Karl’s reservations. Crap! Email me if you get double-booked in the main conference room next Wednesday …