6 Must-Have Features for Meeting and Room Scheduling Software

Most facilities have unused conference rooms and empty spaces. So, why leave them vacant? Enterprising organizations often rent these areas out to community groups for events and conferences. Good space management can also streamline space availability and booking for your internal teams.

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Room scheduling software makes this room reservation process easy while also offering up-to-date calendars, organized records, and billing options. But what is room scheduling software?

Defining room scheduling software

Room scheduling software supplies a simple, digital solution for reserving unused rooms within a building or shared workspace. Depending on backend complexity, it allows planners and guests to book meeting rooms, as well as schedule set-up and clean-up crews. It further delivers a complete overview of applicable resources, such as event checklists and additional invoicing, to office managers.

Why invest in room scheduling software?

There are many benefits of room scheduling software. The main ones are:

Eliminates manual processes

No more paper, and no more double-booking mistakes! Room scheduling software can make managing room booking and room scheduling a breeze by removing the need to consult a spreadsheet or clipboard and centralizing booking information.

Improves use of space and communication

When office and facility managers have a complete overview of who will be where and when, planning for maintenance, cleaning, and other activities becomes effortless. Room scheduling software delivers an added layer of smooth communication.

Improves employee productivity

When room scheduling software is used for internal team meetings, no longer do employees need to question where they need to be and when. The effect is one of reassurance and allows them to work together confidently in the space set aside for their gathering. Room scheduling software also enables teammates to schedule use of office space, desks, workstations, and other areas.

Reduces administration with smart automation

Flows and sequences created using room scheduling software’s automation can trigger other events, such as automatic generation of set-up/tear-down custodial work orders. Accounting and facility directors can also close the loop by setting the system up to produce an invoice and it to the renter, saving administrative time and effort.

The 6 must-have features for room scheduling software

To truly be called “room scheduling software,” said software must possess six distinct features.

1. Calendar and overview of spaces

Room scheduling software must have a centralized calendar that indicates available meeting rooms and room status. The capacity to link to maps and floor plans allows renters to further visualize the space and choose rooms based on size and location.

2. User management & privacy controls

The best room scheduling software allows both internal and external users to access the system to book rooms. Community leaders and team leaders should be able to schedule a conference room or event space independently and without requiring help from office staff. That means having the proper permissions set up with sign-in options (preferably single-sign-on (SSO)).

3. alerts & notifications

As discussed, good room scheduling software should automatically notify stakeholders of booking requests, outstanding invoices, communications regarding an event, and more. This frees up administrators and office staff.

4. Integrations with other software

Room scheduling software should be able to integrate with other systems and apps used by an organization. It should be a given that the system can communicate with Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and Outlook Calendar. The capacity to integrate with athletic event software like ArbiterSports, Blackbaud, and BigTeams Schedule Star should also be considered.

5. Mobile access

The fifth must-have feature is mobile access. Room scheduling software should be available wherever a client may be—a soccer field, business lunch, or even the next-door office. Renters should be able to book a room anytime, anywhere.

6. Online payment options

Renters demand an integrated, one-stop shop user experience. Ensure that any room scheduling software solution you’re considering contains online payment options.

Some other helpful features to consider are analytics—which can define space and room usage—solo desk and workspace scheduling, and configurable features that can help room scheduling software work the way you do.

Who uses room scheduling software?

If an organization has several buildings or facilities, a use case probably exists for implementing room scheduling software. Some examples include:

Education facilities

Education facilities use room scheduling software to book athletic department events, gymnasium games and rentals, and to create community group meeting rooms.

Faith-based facilities

Faith-based facilities use scheduling software for events, Bible study groups, sports leagues, and services.

Residential & commercial real estate

Residential and commercial real estate uses include clubhouse rentals and parties, condominium association meetings, and group gatherings.

Commercial businesses & nonprofits

Commercial businesses and non-profits use room scheduling software to schedule open rooms for board meetings, fundraisers, and team-building events.

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Amusement parks, zoos, arenas, stadiums, & theaters

Amusement parks, zoos, arenas, stadiums, and theaters frequently use room scheduling software to schedule parties, meetings, special events, and weddings.

The list of what organizations can schedule is as endless as a leader’s imagination. The real emphasis here is on the extra revenue that event hosting and scheduling can add to a group’s bottom line, as well as the support their spaces can offer to their wider community with room scheduling software.

How can FMX help?

As many of our K-12 customers already know, FMX provides event scheduling features. FMX’s event scheduling allows your organization and outside community members to manage and track daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly meetings and events, all through an easy-to-navigate calendaring system.

FMX moves beyond the six key feature requirements for room scheduling software listed above. Designed with simplicity in mind while at the same time seeking to deliver a real-time catalog that minimizes schedule conflicts, we aim to reduce the steps in the scheduling process and provide a polished meeting experience.

Get inspired by the alternative ways some of our customers use AskCody to solve their visitor management tasks, which bring even more value to their business. This blog is created for you, who might find inspiration from the other use cases where we see our visitor management and meeting management system being used.

We will introduce five things you (probably) did not know that you could use AskCody for:

1. Meeting management system for carpark booking
2. Visitor management system feature for employee registration
3. Visitor management system feature for sharing Covid-19 regulations with visitors
4. Meeting management system with buffer time for room cleaning and table arrangements
5. Meeting management system for equipment booking
   
   
   

1. Meeting management system feature for carpark booking

Use your meeting management system to reserve parking spots

Normally, meeting management systems would be used to efficiently book meeting rooms, but we see some of our clients use our bookings add-in to book spots in their parking lots. This is relevant for companies with limited parking options, who want to ensure that the best parking spots are reserved for customer-facing meetings. If a company chooses to set up a parking spot booking, this could be accessed from the Outlook add-ins or the AskCody Mobile App. 

So, why is it possible to make our meeting management platform fit Carpark booking?

It is possible to book parking spots because our platform is integrated into Microsoft 365 and can leverage your calendar resources in Exchange. This means you can create resources for almost everything imaginable. Carpark booking is just one example of how companies think creatively about their meeting management system.

2. Visitor management system feature for employee and guest registration

Example of employee check-in screen from the AskCody HQ

Due to Covid-19 and work-from-home tendencies, companies are requesting more information about how many of their employees and guests are physically present at the office. Therefore, employee- and guest registration is increasingly popular, either online or through check-in screens. Some customers have check-in screens, where you can slide between Guest registration and employee check-in. 

This is useful for tracking potential Covid-19 outbreaks by knowing, who is in the building at a given time. It is also useful to track data on office utilization to make decisions about space optimization based on your actual data. Did you know that a visitor management system could be used for employee registration? Learn more here:

3. Visitor management system feature for sharing Covid-19 regulations with visitors

Employees and guests are still coming to the office. Therefore, companies are seeking tools to display their Covid-19 regulations with employees and visitors. The tool must be easy to manage and update due to the constant change in Covid-19 restrictions.

There has been a rising number of customers using check-in screens to share company Covid-19 regulations with visitors and employees. Other companies use our system to automatically send SMS and emails to arriving guests with information such as Covid-19 regulations, Wi-Fi passwords, Parking rules, and other valuable information the guest needs before arrival.

4. Meeting management system with buffer time for room cleaning and table arrangements

Buffer times give customers time to prepare for the next meeting

For many customers, the number one reason they are choosing a meeting management solution is to provide the best possible meeting experience for customers and employees. This includes handling all activities that create the best possible conditions for the meeting.

Therefore, we suggest companies use buffer time. Buffer time could also be called preparation time. It is a configurable time frame often lasting 15 minutes after the meeting ends, where it is not possible to book another meeting. This means that participants have time to clean up, open a window or change the table arrangements before the next meeting. Due to Covid-19, cleaning service between each meeting is increasingly important and thus a buffer time ensures that no one is late for their meeting because they have to wait for the cleaning service.

This task could also be handled by your service provider or the staff that arranges tables. With a buffer time, you ensure that you can create a white-glove experience for your meeting participants.

5. Meeting management system for equipment booking 

Use your meeting management platform to book equipment such as video tools.

We often see use cases where customers use their meeting management system to book equipment, such as gear for video shooting or podcasting. This could be a very good microphone for your meeting or a podcast talk. It could be a camera for taking photos or shooting videos. Equipment booking reserves the necessary tools you need, and you have complete visibility over how and when your resources are booked. So go ahead and register more resources to your system.

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