In this guide 7 sections
A coworking booking system needs five rules before any software: slot length, buffer, plan hours, cancellation window and what happens after the hours run out. Write them down, then check that a tool enforces them. A shared calendar can hold a booking, but it cannot count hours against a plan.
Why a shared calendar stops working
It works with one room and ten members. It breaks at five rooms and a hundred. Two people book the boardroom for the same hour, a client waits in reception, and the front desk becomes the referee.
The deeper fault is that a calendar knows nothing about the member. It cannot say who has used their hours. So heavy users are never billed for the overage, and light users subsidise them.
Write the booking rules first
Decide the rules on paper. Software only enforces what you have already chosen.
Slot length matters more than it looks. Phone pods work in half-hour blocks and boardrooms in hours. A buffer of ten or fifteen minutes between bookings gives housekeeping time to reset chairs and clear whiteboards.
- Minimum and maximum slot per room
- Buffer between bookings
- How far ahead a member may book
- Cancellation window and no-show rule
- Who may book which room, by plan
Count hours against the plan
Each plan should carry an allowance of room hours, and every booking should draw from it. When a member books the second boardroom hour of the day, the balance drops on their screen.
Once the allowance ends, decide what happens. Either the member pays a set rate per hour, or the booking is blocked until they top up. Both are fair. Surprise bills are not, so show the rate at the moment of booking.
Handle no-shows and walk-ins
No-shows block rooms that someone else wanted. A simple rule helps: cancel more than a few hours ahead and the hours return, cancel later and they are used. Display the rule where members book.
Outside visitors and non-members need a way in too. Allow external bookings at a price you set, paid in advance, and show their rooms on the same calendar so the front desk sees one picture.
Connect bookings to the invoice and the door
A booking is only useful if the month-end invoice reads it. Overage should appear as its own line with the room, date and slot, so a member can check it without a call.
Access works the same way. A visitor pass or door permission for a booked slot is better than a note on the front desk’s pad. Ask any tool you test to show all three in one trail: booking, invoice line, door entry.
Put the advice to work.
Use a test copy or fictional example to turn the discussion into something your team can check.
Write the booking rules first
What becomes available when a booking is moved or cancelled?
Use “Write the booking rules first” to move a booking, then cancel a second example. Check the released slot, the person or resource still assigned, and any amount left to settle before accepting the revised schedule.
Background reading: ERPNext: appointment records
Room rules card
Rows for each room, with columns for slot length, buffer, plans allowed, rate beyond plan hours and cancellation window. The bottom of the page lists the walk-in and external booking rules.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Can members book from their phones?
They should be able to. A member app or a browser page that shows live availability cuts calls to the front desk.
How do I stop double bookings?
Use one calendar that every room draws from, and lock a slot the moment it is taken. Mixed channels are the usual cause.
Should meeting rooms be free for members?
Include a set number of hours in each plan and bill beyond that. Free unlimited rooms get taken by the few who use them most.
What about recurring bookings?
Allow them for fixed recurring meetings, but release the slot if the member misses two in a row.