➤ Product: OfficeRnD Flex
➤ Who: Admins
➤ Where: Admin Portal, under Settings > Calendar > Calendar & Bookings
➤ Availability: All Flex plans
Without rules in place, a member can book a meeting room for an entire day, skip check-in and leave the room empty for hours, or reserve the same room back-to-back with no time to clean in between. A booking policy sets limits on duration, buffers, and approval, so every booking automatically follows your rules.
Booking policies attach to resource rates rather than to resources directly, so the same policy applies everywhere that rate is used, across meeting rooms, desks, and other bookable resources.
In this article:
Create a booking policy that sets duration, buffer, and approval rules.
Apply a booking policy to a resource rate.
Limit how far ahead members can book and whether they can book recurring slots.
Require a check-in to automatically free up no-show bookings.
Before you start
A resource rate to attach the policy to. Until you attach a custom policy, a rate uses the default booking policy.
To allow members to book recurring slots, the resource must be of the default meeting room resource type. Recurring bookings from a policy don't work with custom resource types or other default types, such as hot desks.
How booking policies work
A booking policy is a set of rules you define once and reuse across resource rates. It can cap how long or how short a booking runs, require admin approval, force a check-in, add a buffer between bookings, and limit how far into the future or how last-minute a member can book.
Policies apply on the Member Portal and OfficeRnD's mobile apps. They don't apply to bookings admins create directly in the Admin Portal, so admins can always book outside the rules they set for members. Recurring bookings from policies can only be applied to meeting rooms; they don't work for other resource types, even default ones like hot desks.
Create a booking policy
To create a new booking policy:
Go to Settings > Calendar > Calendar & Bookings.
In the Booking Policies section, click Add Policy.
Define the policy rules:
Name – Enter a name for the policy.
Max Duration – Set the maximum booking length in whole-hour increments. Max Duration can't be set to 0.
Min Duration – Set the minimum booking length. Setting it to 0 removes the minimum entirely.
Recurring Bookings – Let members set up repeating reservations. This only works with the default meeting room resource type, not with custom resource types.
Restrict bookings to members with coins or credits – Members can only book with available credits, coins, or both. Restrict bookings to members with coins or credits →
Limit Recurring Bookings Span – Restrict the time span of recurring bookings to up to 24 months from the booking's creation date.
Limit Future Bookings – Limit how far ahead members can book, up to 24 months.
Limit Time Before Start of Booking – Set a notice period so members must book at least a specified number of hours or business hours before the booking starts.
Request Approval – Require admin approval for bookings. Bookings stay 'Tentative' until an admin approves them.
Require Check-In: Automatically cancel a booking if the member doesn't check in within a set time after it starts, up to 60 minutes.
Send booking reminders – Send the member a reminder before the booking starts, up to 360 minutes (6 hours) ahead.
Disable Back-to-Back Bookings – Add a buffer of up to 360 minutes before each booking so the room can't be booked again immediately after. Set up booking preparation slots →
Same as Active Member Rule – Clear the checkbox to set different booking rules for non-active members (members with no active memberships).
Click Add.
Important: Min Duration doesn't apply to resources booked by date; it applies only to resources booked by time, such as meeting rooms and hourly desks.
Apply a booking policy to a resource rate
The policy itself doesn't limit anything until you attach it to a resource rate. Bookings only follow its rules once a rate carrying that policy is applied to a bookable resource.
Go to Billing > Resource Rates.
Click Add Rate and select Hourly Rate or Daily Rate, or open an existing rate to edit it.
Open the Advanced tab and select the policy from the Booking Policy dropdown.
Save the rate, then apply it to the resource you want the policy to control.
Every resource rate uses the default booking policy until you choose a different one. Either way, bookings created by admins are not affected by booking policies.
Best practices
If you manage multiple locations or resource types, name each policy for what it controls (for example, "Meeting rooms - business hours only") so it's easy to tell which resource rates use it.
If you turn on Request Approval, ensure an admin checks pending bookings regularly. Bookings stay Tentative until someone approves them.
If you turn on Require Check-In, apply it only to spaces with a front desk or an automated check-in system that can record it.
If you're trying to stop one company from rebooking a room back-to-back, know that the buffer blocks the room for every booker during that window, not just the same company. There's no separate setting to restrict rebooking by one company.
FAQs
What is a booking policy in OfficeRnD Flex?
A booking policy in OfficeRnD Flex is a set of rules that governs how members book desks, meeting rooms, and other shared resources, covering duration limits, buffers, approval requirements, and check-in behavior.
What's the maximum booking duration I can set?
You can set a maximum booking duration of 1 to 24 hours, in whole-hour increments. You can't set Max Duration to 0.
What's the minimum booking duration I can set?
You can set a minimum booking duration of 0 to 24 hours, where 0 removes the minimum entirely. This setting doesn't apply to resources booked by date.
Why can members still book in 15-minute slots even though I set Min Duration to a lower value?
The mobile app enforces its own 15-minute minimum booking increment regardless of the Min Duration setting in your policy. This is a known limitation that OfficeRnD's product team is tracking as a feature request.
Is it possible to require approval for bookings?
You can require approval for bookings by turning on Request Approval. Bookings stay Tentative on the calendar until an admin approves them.
What happens if a member doesn't check in?
The booking is automatically canceled if Require Check-In is turned on and the member doesn't check in within the time you set, up to 60 minutes after the booking starts. Canceling frees the resource for someone else to book.
Do booking policies affect bookings admins create?
Booking policies don't affect bookings admins create in the Admin Portal. Admins can always book outside the rules a policy sets for members.
Can members make recurring bookings, and where?
Members can make recurring bookings only for resources of the default meeting room type. Recurring bookings from a policy don't work with custom resource types or other default types, such as hot desks.
How far in advance can bookings be made?
Bookings can be made up to 24 months from the date the booking is created, if you set Limit Future Bookings to its maximum.
Can I stop the same company from booking a room back-to-back?
You can't restrict rebooking by one company through a booking policy alone. Turning on Disable Back-to-Back Bookings blocks the resource for every booker during the buffer window, and admins can still override the buffer per booking from the Admin Portal. A setting to limit repeat bookings by one company isn't available yet.
What happens if I don't set a custom policy for a resource rate?
A resource rate follows the default booking policy until you select a different one from the Booking Policy dropdown on the rate's Advanced tab.