MS Bookings - Schedule a Shared Mailbox with Bookings

Issue/Question

  • I want to schedule a shared mailbox with Bookings.
  • I want to schedule a shared calendar with Bookings.
  • I want to schedule a room calendar with Bookings.

Environment

  • Oregon State University
  • Microsoft Bookings
  • Exchange Email

Explanation

By default, if you add a shared mailbox as "staff" or a location in Bookings, Bookings will not synchronize with that calendar's availability. A shared mailbox will only show as "Guest" in the Staff listing in Bookings and the option for "Events on Office calendar affect availability" will be grayed out. Some changes need to be made to the account for the shared mailbox to have it synchronize correctly with Bookings.

Resolution

The following steps need to be completed by your IT team as they require Exchange administrator access:

  1. Run the following command in PowerShell:
    set-mailbox emailaddress@oregonstate.edu -type Regular
  2. Wait for directory sync
  3. Apply an EOL license to the shared mailbox

The following steps need to be completed by the owner of the Bookings calendar:

  1. Sign in to Bookings at: https://outlook.office.com/bookings
  2. Select your Bookings calendar
  3. Select "Staff"
  4. Select "Add new staff"
  5. Enter the email address of the shared mailbox
  6. Initially the type will be set to "Guest" - you will change this later. For now, click "Save changes"
  7. Edit the staff entry for the shared mailbox
  8. Click on "Guest" and change type to "Viewer"
    • If Bookings keeps reverting the shared mailbox to "Guest" try waiting 1 hour and making the change again.
  9. Scroll down and put a check next to "Events on Office calendar affect availability"
  10. Click "Save changes"

Room Calendars:

The steps above can also be followed for a room calendar. The room calendar will need to be added as "staff." You can set a room calendar as the location for a Bookings service, but no invite will be sent to the room. 

If you need to book a person and a room at the same time:

  1. Follow the steps above to add the room calendar as "staff"; remember to set the type to "Viewer" after adding
  2. Select Services
  3. Edit your service
  4. Select "Assign staff"
  5. Select "Multiple staff"
  6. Put a check mark next to both the person and the room

Assistance

For assistance, contact the Service Desk.

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