Automated bookings let deskbird book a desk, a parking spot or both for your users on their office days, so they don't have to book manually every week. You decide per office whether automated bookings are available and for which resource types; each user then turns it on in their own profile. This article explains how to enable automated bookings, how deskbird picks a resource and what to check when a booking is missing.
- How automated bookings work
- Before you start
- Enable automated bookings for an office
- What users do to turn it on
- How deskbird picks a resource
- Rules that automated bookings follow
- When plans or settings change
- When no resource is available
- FAQs
1. How automated bookings work
Automated bookings build on the user's schedule. As soon as a day has the status Office (or another office), deskbird books a desk or parking spot for that day in the office on the schedule.
- Weekly preferences: days the user planned as office days in their weekly schedule preferences are booked automatically. deskbird processes each office about once a day, so colleagues who planned the same day are allocated together and new bookings appear gradually.
- A single office day: if the user sets Office for one day manually, deskbird books right away, as long as the day is within their maximum booking timeframe.
- Days further ahead: weekly preferences fill the schedule up to two months in advance, but bookings are only created once a day is within the user's maximum booking timeframe. Until then, the day waits and is booked later.
⚠️ Important: Fixed office days from a hybrid work policy don't create bookings on their own. deskbird only books when the user actually has an office status for that day. If that status needs manager approval, the booking waits until it is approved.
For how users plan their week, see Schedule your week.
2. Before you start
- Plan: automated bookings are included in all Desks plans. You also need bookable desks or parking spots. See Feature Availability.
- Role: you need the Global administrator role, or the Office administrator role for the office you want to configure.
- Resources: the office has bookable desks or parking spots set up in Admin > Workplace > Floors & spaces.
- Schedules: users plan their office days, for example with weekly schedule preferences in Profile > Hybrid preferences.
3. Enable automated bookings for an office
- Go to Admin > Desks, parking & others: Booking settings.
- Select the office in the dropdown next to the page title.
- In the Automated bookings section, turn on Desks, Parking or both. Only the resource types you turn on here can be automated by users in this office.
- Click Save.
Repeat these steps for every office where you want to offer automated bookings.
4. What users do to turn it on
Enabling automated bookings for an office makes the option available. Each user still turns it on for themselves:
- Go to Profile > Hybrid preferences.
- Under Automated bookings, turn on Use automated booking.
- Turn on Desks, Parking spots or both.
- Click Save.
Below each toggle, an info box lists the offices where automated booking is available for that resource type ("Automated desk booking available at" and "Automated parking spots available at"). If an office is missing there, check the setting from section 3 for that office.
For the user-facing steps, refer users to Manage your profile.
5. How deskbird picks a resource
deskbird books in the office on that day's schedule. It does not switch to another office the user has access to. Within that office, it picks a resource in this order:
- Assigned spaces: a desk or parking spot assigned to the user is always booked first. See Assigned spaces.
- Favorite spaces: the user's favorite desks and parking spots, and free resources in their favorite areas. See Save a desk or area as a favorite.
- Recently used resources: desks or parking spots the user booked in recent weeks.
- Recently used floors and areas: a free resource on a floor or in an area the user usually books.
- Any other available resource: a free resource the user is allowed to book in that office.
If favorites and usual spaces are taken, the booking can land on another floor or area of the same office. Parking is the one exception to the office rule: if several offices share a parking area, the parking spot can be in that shared parking.
💡 Tip: Want a user to always get the same desk? Assign the desk to them. Assigned spaces are booked first, even when the user or the office has not turned on automated bookings.
6. Rules that automated bookings follow
Automated bookings are regular bookings. They follow the same settings as a booking the user makes manually:
| Setting | Effect on automated bookings |
|---|---|
| Default booking hours | The user's default booking hours from Profile > Hybrid preferences are used. If a day has no default hours, the office hours apply. |
| Maximum booking timeframe | Days beyond the user's maximum booking timeframe are not booked yet. They are booked once the day comes within the timeframe. See Booking settings. |
| Access restrictions and weekday restrictions | Resources and areas the user cannot book are skipped, including favorites. deskbird moves on to the next option in the list. |
| Booking limits | The same booking limits apply as for manual bookings. |
| Closures | Closed resources, areas, floors and offices are never booked. See Closing spaces. |
| Check-in and grace period | If check-in is required, users must check in to automated bookings too. Without check-in, the booking is released after the grace period like any other booking. |
| License plates | In parking areas that require a license plate, the user's default vehicle is used automatically. See License plate management. |
Automated bookings cover desks and parking spots only, not meeting rooms.
7. When plans or settings change
Automated bookings that already exist are never removed automatically. They stay in place when:
- the user changes that day from Office to another status,
- the user turns off automated booking, or
- you turn off automated bookings for the office.
What stops is the creation of new automated bookings for shared desks and parking spots. Days that were still waiting to be booked are dropped if they are no longer office days. Assigned spaces can still be booked automatically.
If a user cancels an automated booking, deskbird does not book that day again.
⚠️ Important: Cancel bookings that are no longer needed manually, so the spaces become free for colleagues.
8. When no resource is available
If deskbird cannot book a desk or parking spot because all suitable spaces are already taken, the user receives an email with the subject "No desks or parking spots available". They then need to book a space for that day manually.
- The email is only sent to users who turned on automated booking for that resource type.
- Users cannot turn this email off in Profile > Notifications. It stops when they turn off automated booking.
For all notification types, see Notifications.
9. FAQs
- Automated bookings are on for that office and resource type in Admin > Desks, parking & others: Booking settings.
- The user turned on Use automated booking and the right resource type, and clicked Save. The office appears in the info box below the toggle.
- The day has the status Office for that office. Fixed days from a hybrid work policy alone are not enough.
- If the status needs manager approval, it has been approved.
- The day is within the user's maximum booking timeframe.
- The office has already been processed that day. Bookings from weekly preferences appear gradually.
- The user is allowed to book at least one free resource there (access and weekday restrictions, closures).
- The user didn't receive a "No desks or parking spots available" email, which would mean all suitable spaces were taken.
When the user's favorites and usual spaces are taken or not bookable that day, deskbird books another free resource in the same office, which can be on another floor or in another area. To guarantee a specific desk, assign it to the user.
If several offices share a parking area, automated parking bookings can use a spot in that shared parking. Desks are always booked in the office on the user's schedule.
No. deskbird uses the office on that day's status. For weekly preferences, that is the office the user chose for that weekday, which is often, but not always, their main office.
Yes, if check-in is required in that office. Automated bookings follow the same check-in and grace period rules as manual bookings and are released if nobody checks in.
No. Existing bookings stay in place, whether you turn it off for the office or a user turns it off in their profile. Cancel them manually if needed.
No. Once a user cancels the booking for a day, deskbird does not create a new automated booking for that day.
Yes. deskbird uses the user's default vehicle. Remind users to keep their default vehicle up to date if they switch cars.
Only by turning off automated booking for that resource type in Profile > Hybrid preferences. The email is not part of the notification settings in Profile > Notifications.