Microsoft 365 - Shared Bookings page basics

Summary

This article will walk you through how to set up a Bookings page so that you may utilize the "Booking with Me" feature within Microsoft 365. With this feature, other end-users will be able to browse to a link and view your general availability, then select a time that works for them to meet with you. 

There are two different types of Bookings pages available:

• Personal - Use these booking pages when users will only be booking with you.
• Shared - Use these booking pages when users need to be able to select from a team of users.

If you require Personal Bookings pages, please click here for the TDX article on setting up a personal page.

Procedure

Creating a Shared Booking Page

1. Browse to the following link: https://outlook.office.com/bookings
2. Under the "Shared booking page" section, click "Create booking page"
    
3. In the new window, set the following:
   • Name - Sets the title of the booking page for the team.
   • Logo - (Optional) Sets a custom logo for the booking page.
   • Business Type - Set the type of business.
     • Note: Most types will likely be Education, in our case.
   • Business Hours - Set the time that booking can happen for the team.
4. Click "Next" when ready.
    
5. On Step 2, add necessary team members to the page and set their role within the booking page.
   • Roles are dependent on the user and how they will interact with the booking page:
     • Administrator - Manages the booking page and it's members.
     • Team member - Can manage their own appointments and availability.
     • Scheduler - Can manage appointments for both end-users and the team.
     • Viewer - Can read all parts of the calendar but cannot make any changes.
     • Guest - Cannot open the calendar but can be assigned appointments. 
6. Click "Next" when ready.
    
7. On Step 3, you'll set up your initial "Service", or appointment type, that end-users can select.
   • You can create multiple services later (15 minute meetings, 30 minute meetings, etc...)
   • Click on "Change" to begin editing.
      
8. Set the initial service details up, then click "Update Service" when ready to proceed.
   
    
9. Click "Next"
10. On Step 4, set who can book appointments with your team, then click "Create" to finish.
     

Create Additional Services (Appointment Types)

1. Browse to: https://outlook.office.com/bookings
2. Click on the Shared booking page you want to edit.
    
3. In the new window page, expand "Services" on the left-hand pane, click on the ellipses, then finally click on "Add Service"
    
4. On "Basic Details", fill out the form as needed with the following details:
   • Title - Sets the title of the service.
   • Description - Gives a quick description to the end-user as to what the service is about.
   • Location - You can select if this is a physical meeting and/or if it can be a Teams Meeting.
   • Duration - Sets the meeting duration.
   • Buffer Time - Sets an amount of time before/after the meeting that cannot be booked against.
   • Price - If the service charges a fee, you can disclose this up-front.
   • Notes - Any information that needs to be in the meeting details will be displayed here.
   • Maximum Attendees - Sets the maximum number of attendees for the meeting.
   • Let customers manage their appointment - Allows the end-user to cancel or reschedule the meeting time once created.
      
5. On the left-hand pane, select if the service will follow the default scheduling policy (typical, unless setting custom availability in the next step) and if you want the service published publicly.
   
    
6. On the left-hand pane, select "Availability options"
    
7. Set up the basics of the scheduling policy, filling in the following details
   • Time increments - Sets the interval at which you want meetings available.
     • Example: If you set "10-minute intervals", your available meeting times will be 8:00AM, 8:10AM, etc... 
     • Availability, buffer times, and meeting durations are still taken into account.
   • Minimum Lead Time - Allows you to set the soonest that someone can book a meeting with you.
   • Maximum Lead Time - Allows you to set how far in advance someone can book a meeting with you.
   • Availability - Sets the general availability for staff ("Bookable when staff are free" tends to be the default for most teams)
   • Set different availability for a date range - This is used if you know the office will be closed during certain dates ("Not Bookable") or if the hours change during a set time frame ("Custom Hours")
     
      
8. On the left-hand pane, select "Assign Staff"
   
    
9. Select the staff assignments through the following options:
   • Assign any of your selected staff for an appointment - Used if the service is going to assign to only ONE of the staff members (most typical).
   • Assign all of your selected staff for an appointment - Used if the service will assign ALL staff members to attend.
   • Allow customers to choose a particular staff for booking - Allows the end-user to select a staff member from the dropdown while booking.
   • Select Staff - Here, you'll see the list of staff you selected to be part of this team earlier - you can now choose if any of those staff members will be assigned to this service - select the Check Box next to each staff member you want to be available for scheduling.
     
      
10. In the left-hand pane, select "Custom Fields"
    
     
11. Select if the customer email, phone number, address, and notes section should appear in the form.
    • If you need an additional custom field, you can select "Text Question" or "Dropdown question", then format the question as needed.
    • Click "Save Changes" on the question before proceeding
       
12. On the left-hand pane, click on "Notifications"
     
13. Set the following notification details:
    • Text Message Notifications - We do not have Teams Premium licensing at this time - keep this option unchecked.
    • Notify the Business via email - This will send an email to the assigned staff when a booking request is scheduled.
    • Send a meeting invite to the customer - This will send a meeting invite to the customer, in addition to the confirmation email. 
    • Add additional information - Set the body of the confirmation email with any additional information or links that might be relevant to the user.
    • Email Reminders - Set up the cadence for reminders to be sent to the customer or staff.
    • Email Follow-up - Send automatic follow-up emails to collect feedback from the person who booked time with you or remind them to book their next appointment.
      
       
14. Click "Save Changes" on the bottom right of the window.

Manage Existing Services

1. Browse to the following link: https://outlook.office.com/bookings
2. Click on the Shared booking page you wish to edit.
   
    
3. On the left-hand side, click on the ellipses next to "Services" and click "Manage Services"
   
    
4. From this pane, you can select which service you wish to edit, copy, or delete.
   
    

Edit Business Information

1. Browse to the following link: https://outlook.office.com/bookings
2. Click on the Shared booking page you wish to edit.
   
    
3. On the left-hand side, click on "Business Information"
    
4. Expand each section as needed and change the information - once completed, click "Save" at the top of the screen.
   
    

Additional Notes

• If you require a shared book page to be deleted, please submit a ticket with IT.