Meeting room approvals

The meeting room approval feature is designed for rooms that host “special” events-- spaces like auditoriums, training rooms, interview rooms, or other types of spaces.  When the "request only" setting is enabled for a space, a designated admin has to approve the meeting reservation request before the organizer can move forward with other event details like adding invitees, to complete the event booking. 

Setting up meeting room approvals

Admins can choose which spaces require approval before users can officially reserve the space.

1

To flag a space as "request only" navigate to Manage > Office > Building > Select a space > Schedule configuration > check "Request only" option.  

2

Next up, connect a room calendar.  

This is required for scheduled and request-only spaces. Choose your calendar system, then enter the email address for your room. Refer to the following guides for further assistance on connecting a room calendar: Google or Microsoft 365.

Assigning designated approvers 

Global admins can manage which users are authorized to approve or deny meeting room approval requests with the custom roles & permissions feature. Learn more about configuring custom permissions here. 

Note: The bell notification icon only appears in an approver's web dashboard if they have the "Approve/deny requests" permission at the building level. They won't see the bell icon in their dashboard if they can only approve specific spaces, not a whole building or more. 

How it works as the requester

"What does a request-only space look like?"

• Spaces that require approval will appear in the search results in both the extension and the dashboard, however, the requests can only be completed using the dashboard. Note, that the mobile app doesn't support meeting approval spaces yet. Spaces that are "Request only" spaces will not be visible in the mobile app. 
• Spaces that require approval will be flagged with a "Request this space" note and will have a "Create Request" button option.
• Take a look at the image below to see the difference between a "bookable" space and a "meeting approval required" space.  

The space search in the extension will look similar, but you'll be redirected to the event composer in the Robin dashboard to complete the request.

When a space has a pending approval, it will appear as "on hold" until the request is approved or denied so other users won’t see that space as available. 

"How do I create an event in a request-only space?" 

Using Microsoft 365?

You'll need to complete 3 extra steps so Robin can manage approvals smoothly:

1. Enable Personal Booking on the organization level.
2. The person making the request is part of the same domain (e.g., "robinplatform.com") as the room's calendar.
3. The person making the request has connected their individual Microsoft 365 calendar to Robin.

Without these changes, the admin approving the meeting may hit an error that looks like the image below, and the event approval response cannot be completed. 

To submit a meeting room approval request, select a green time pill or the Create request button next to the space you want to reserve.

Like a typical space booking, this will open the event composer where you can add the meeting details.  However, there are a few things to keep in mind for this type of booking request: 

• The following fields in the event composer are required in order to move forward: title, date & time, & estimated number of invitees.
• Invitees can be added to the event once it's been approved. 
• Meeting services, like catering, can be added, but they will not be submitted to the designated service provider until the space has been approved. Meeting services cannot be added to the event after it's been approved. 
• Conference call links must be added at the time of the request.  Zoom or Bluejeans links cannot be added to an existing event later. 
• Users can add only one space per approval request.
• If you're an admin, your event will automatically be approved. 

"Who receives the request?"

• Admins and users who have been assigned the "Approve/deny request" permission for that building/space receive the request.  
• The designated approver will then be able to accept or reject the request.
• A recurring event comes through as one request for the entire series.
• 

"What's next after submitting my request?"

While the request is pending, you, the organizer, can see the event on your calendar, but the space response is flagged as “tentative” until it's approved or declined. 

When a space has a pending approval, it will appear as "on hold" until the request is approved or denied so that other users won’t see that space as available.

The organizer of the event will receive an email notification when an admin responds to the request:

Once the event is approved the only thing left to do is add invitees. This can be done from your calendar or within the web dashboard. Navigate to your event from the "view request" link in the event approval email notification or locate your event on the room calendar to finish the event booking. 

Note: After the space has been approved for the event, editing abilities are limited to the title and invitees only. All other event details cannot be changed. If you need to make more significant changes, like date, time, location, etc. you'll need to cancel the event and submit a new request. 

How it works as the approver

By default, global admins are the designated space approver(s) and users with the custom "Approve/deny request permission " can also approve requests for the buildings/spaces granted.

When a new space request is submitted, the approver receives a notification in the web dashboard (see note below) and an email notification. 

Web dashboard:

Email notification:

Select the event or click "view request" to review the meeting details and then select approve or reject. If you reject the request you'll have the option to add a note and/or require more information. 

A meeting approval request will look something like this: