How to book a room using the Outlook Add-In

First, how to access the Add-In

Once an admin has installed the Robin Add-In for your organization, it will appear in your Outlook desktop and/or web app toolbar.

1. Open your Outlook calendar > click New Event. 

2. This opens the Outlook event composer. Expand the event composer to full screen if it isn’t already. 

3. In the event composer toolbar, click the overflow menu > Robin Room Scheduling & Desk Booking app from your list of available Add-Ins. 

4. Sign in using your work email address if you haven't already done so, and accept the privacy terms.

   • If you use Single Sign-On, enable pop-ups in your browser. 

5. Click Get Started. 

How to book a room

The Add-In will suggest the best-suited spaces based on your preferred office and the number of people attending the meeting. The space selections are determined based on permissions, preferred office location, availability, and fit. 

1. Open your Outlook calendar > New event or New appointment, depending on your Outlook version. 

2. Click the date you need a room using the calendar module and fill out the event details. 

3. Robin will suggest rooms based on your meeting criteria, your recent and frequent bookings, and your location. Click "more" to see a room's full list of amenities and an expanded picture of the space's layout. 

4. Click Add to Event to complete your room booking.

• If your Robin office supports adding meeting services, click Add a service request and complete your booking in the Robin web dashboard.
• If your Robin office requires booking approval for special rooms, then you'll see "Request room".  Click Request Room to submit your booking request via the web dashboard. 
• You can add a second room to your event with the  “Add another space” option. 

5. After you've added a room to your event and completed the meeting details, click Send in the event composer. 

Making edits

• As the organizer or creator of the event, you can Change or Remove a room from the event directly from the Add-In. To make additional changes, click Edit to open the meeting in the web dashboard for more options.  
• Meeting attendees can add a meeting room (only). They can do this by forwarding the event invite to the meeting room they want to add. Learn more here.  
  • The room calendar will accept the forwarded meeting invite if there are no conflicts, and the room will be added to the event. The organizer and attendees will receive an email with the updated meeting room information.
  • This is helpful if there are meeting attendees who work in a different location than the meeting organizer. This allows the meeting attendees to easily reserve a space in their own office that fits their needs for the same meeting.  
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FAQ & tips 

1. Outlook Add-ins support delegate booking for customers running Outlook API version 1.8 + and above. Check Microsoft's guide to see if your Outlook version qualifies.

2. Robin simply syncs events from your Outlook calendar to the Robin web dashboard, room displays, & mobile app, relying on your native calendar rules to recognize conflict.

3. Meetings booked through the Add-in have the same behavior as booking via Outlook Calendar. For users to book via the Add-in, they need the correct permissions to book events on the resource calendars.

4. When you book events in your Outlook calendar, you're booking through your own Outlook user account.

5. When you book through the Robin web dashboard or mobile app, the booking user makes the reservations on your behalf unless your office has configured the personal booking settings. 

Next up, how to book desks using the Outlook Add-in.