deskbird sends notifications by email, push, Microsoft Teams and Slack to keep users informed about their bookings, schedules and requests. This article lists every notification users can receive, which ones they can turn off themselves in Profile > Notifications, which ones are always sent, and which admin settings affect when and how they arrive.
- How notification settings work
- Notifications users can turn off
- Notifications users cannot turn off
- Check-in reminder timing
- Schedule change notifications
- 'No desks available' notification
- FAQs
1. How notification settings work
Users manage their own notification preferences from Profile > Notifications. As an admin, you cannot configure notification settings on behalf of users. For the user-facing explanation of these settings, refer users to the For users section of this help center.
- On by default: New users start with all notifications in Profile > Notifications turned on.
- Only a subset can be turned off: The toggles in Profile > Notifications cover a specific set of notifications (see Notifications users can turn off). All other notifications are sent whenever the related feature is used (see Notifications users cannot turn off).
- Toggles depend on enabled features: A toggle only appears if the matching feature is active for the user, for example scheduling, desk booking or meeting rooms. Follow requests only appears for users with a private profile.
- Slack: The deskbird Slack app has no separate notification toggles. Its notification settings link to the same Profile > Notifications page. Slack status sync (showing office or home in the Slack status) is a separate setting in the Slack app settings.
2. Notifications users can turn off
These notifications appear in Profile > Notifications, grouped as shown below.
Scheduling hybrid work days
| Toggle | When it's sent | Channels |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule reminders | Weekly reminder to plan upcoming hybrid work days. | Email, Push |
| Schedule changes | When a manager changes the user's schedule and chooses to notify them (see Schedule change notifications). |
Desks and parking
| Toggle | When it's sent | Channels |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar invites | For each desk or parking booking the user makes. | Email, Slack (if the user has connected Slack) |
| Check-in reminder | Around the start of the booking, so the user checks in before the booking is automatically cancelled (see Check-in reminder timing). | Email, Push, Microsoft Teams |
| Booking updates | When a booking is updated or cancelled. | Microsoft Teams |
| Cancellation messages | When a booking is cancelled. | Email, Push, Slack (if the user has connected Slack) |
⚠️ Cancellations caused by an office policy change or by a desk being moved can still send a notification, even if Cancellation messages is turned off.
Meeting rooms
| Toggle | When it's sent | Channels |
|---|---|---|
| Check-in reminder | Around the start of the meeting room booking. | Email, Push, Microsoft Teams |
| Booking updates | When a meeting room booking is updated or cancelled. | Microsoft Teams |
💡 The meeting room toggles only cover check-in reminders and Microsoft Teams booking updates. Confirmation, update and cancellation emails with calendar invites are always sent (see Notifications users cannot turn off).
Other
| Toggle | When it's sent | Channels |
|---|---|---|
| Follow requests | When someone requests to follow the user. Only available for users with a private profile. |
3. Notifications users cannot turn off
The following notifications are sent whenever the related feature is used. They have no toggle in Profile > Notifications. Where the sender controls the notification, this is noted below.
Hybrid work policy approvals
- Pending approvals summary (to managers): Email listing team members with pending requests, for example extra remote days or weeks that need approval. Sent on Tuesdays and Fridays at 12:00 in the manager's office time zone.
- Schedule approved or rejected (to employees): Email when a manager approves or rejects the employee's week.
Booking approvals for meeting rooms
- To the requester: Email when the request is submitted, approved or rejected.
- To approvers: Email to the approvers assigned to that specific room (not to all approvers in the office). If the requester is also an approver for the room, they don't receive the approver email.
Meeting room bookings
- Confirmations and updates: Email with a calendar invite to the booking creator and invitees.
- Cancellations: Calendar cancellation to the booking owner, attendees and room approvers.
- Buffer time conflicts: Email to the organizer if the booking conflicts with the room's buffer times.
Workplace events
- When creating an event, the organizer decides whether to send an email to all users with the Notify all users by email option. Invitees cannot opt out of these emails in their profile.
Visits
- To visitors: Emails when a visit is scheduled, changed or cancelled, and a reminder before the visit. The host or organizer decides whether to notify the visitor each time they create, change or cancel a visit. Reminder emails are only sent if visit reminders are enabled for the office.
- To hosts and organizers: Notification when their guest checks in, and a checkout reminder. Sent by email and Microsoft Teams.
Booking for guests
- The host and the guest receive emails when a guest desk booking is created or cancelled, and a reminder before the booking.
Tickets
- Ticketing managers, assignees, reporters and providers receive emails when a ticket is created, updated or cancelled. The person who made the change doesn't receive an email about their own action.
Automated booking
- Email when deskbird cannot book a resource for a user who has turned on automated booking for that resource type (see 'No desks available' notification). Users control this through their automated booking preference, not through Profile > Notifications.
Account and sign-in
- Email verification when signing up
- Password reset emails
- Invitations to join deskbird
- Reminder emails sent when an admin notifies users with
provisionedstatus
💡 Emails for service requests go to the external provider email set for the service category, not to deskbird users.
4. Check-in reminder timing
Users can enable a check-in reminder for desk/parking and meeting room bookings. The timing of that reminder depends on the grace period settings you configure in Admin > Office settings.
The rule is:
- If the booking starts at or after the "applies from" time, the reminder is sent at booking start.
- If the booking starts before the "applies from" time (e.g. a full-day booking starting at 07:00 when "applies from" is 09:00), the reminder is sent at "applies from" time minus grace period duration.
Use the calculator below to check when a reminder will fire for your specific grace period configuration:
5. Schedule change notifications
When you update a user's hybrid schedule as an admin or manager, you can choose whether to notify them by email about the change. If you do, the user receives the email unless they have turned off Schedule changes in Profile > Notifications (this toggle is on by default).
You can also send yourself a copy of the email. Your copy is sent regardless of the user's notification settings.
6. 'No desks available' notification
If the automated booking system cannot reserve a desk or parking spot for a user (because all suitable spaces were already taken when the system attempted the reservation), the user receives an email with the subject "No desks or parking spots available." They will need to manually book a space for that day.
This email is only sent to users who have turned on automated booking for that resource type.
💡 This notification cannot be turned off in Profile > Notifications. Users who turn off automated booking no longer receive it.
7. FAQs
No. Admins cannot change notification settings on behalf of users. Each user manages their own settings in Profile > Notifications. New users start with all of these notifications turned on.
Toggles only appear for features that are active for the user. For example, desk and parking toggles only appear if desk booking is available to them. Follow requests only appears for users with a private profile.
Cancellations caused by an office policy change or by a desk being moved can still send a notification, even if Cancellation messages is turned off.
The meeting room toggles only cover check-in reminders and Microsoft Teams booking updates. Confirmation, update and cancellation emails with calendar invites, booking approval emails and buffer time conflict emails are always sent.
In Profile > Notifications. The deskbird Slack app links to the same page and has no separate notification toggles. Slack status sync is a separate setting in the Slack app settings.
Visitor emails depend on the host or organizer. When creating, changing or cancelling a visit, they decide whether to notify the visitor. Reminder emails are only sent if visit reminders are enabled for the office.