"Request Response" not working on Bookings calendar events
I use Microsoft Bookings. When people use my bookings page and book an appointment with me, the appointment invitation is correctly emailed to the person booking the appointment and the appointment shows up on my correct Outlook calendar. The issue I am having is that the calendar event settings do not, by default, enable the "Request responses" option and so when I view the event from my Outlook calendar, I don't see if the attendees have accepted or declined the invitation. When I schedule a calendar event without the use of the Bookings feature, the "Request responses" option is enabled by default. Is there a way to change the Bookings default settings so that "Request responses" is enabled by default so if the attendee accepts the invitation I will be able to see this when I view the event in my Outlook calendar? Is this a known "bug" in Microsoft Bookings that other users have reported to Microsoft or voiced as a concern in online forums? Has Microsoft replied to any of these concerns to other Bookings, Outlook, or Microsoft 365 users?
Allow color coding for different services on Booking page
My team would find it beneficial to be able to set separate shading colors for different Services on our booking site to allow our end-user community to find the training session type they are looking for. For instance, single-user/small group sessions are shaded light blue, and large group sessions (eg:100+ users) be dark blue. This way at a glance on the landing page users could session type they are looking for at a glance when organizations have dozens or more Services offered.Custom fields in book screen
I'd like to add a field to the book screen that requires the user to add a subject to their request. At the moment, calendar entries only show, for example, "60-minute discussion with ...", so it's difficult to know in advance what sort of conversation you're getting into. Copilot tells me there's an "add a custom field" option, but I can't find it. Does anyone have a suggestion? Thanks.
Microsoft Bookings double-booking staff despite busy calendar entrie
Hello everyone, We are experiencing an issue with Microsoft Bookings. Our setup allows external customers to book appointments via the published booking link on our website. However, we have noticed that staff members can still be double-booked, even when their Outlook calendars show them as “Busy.” Here’s what we have already done to try to resolve the issue: Ensured that the option “Events on Office calendar affect availability” is enabled for all staff in Bookings. Verified that in Outlook, the staff calendars have appointments marked as “Busy” to reflect their availability. Shared staff calendars with the Bookings account and set default permissions to “When I’m busy”. Checked that the booking page settings are set to respect staff availability. Despite these steps, the system still allows bookings to be made during times when staff are busy. Our staff mailboxes are hybrid (both on-premises and in Exchange Online), and we are running a hybrid setup in general. We are wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue and if there are recommended solutions or workarounds. Thank you for any insights!
Syncing calendar with Bookings for a shared email account
Hi! I'm trying to create a booking system for a 1-user database. I used my institution's general email account, which is not associated with a particular staff member. I created the shared Bookings page. I added the general email account to it as a staff member. I made myself unavailable for the Bookings page, so that all bookings will go to the general account. However, I am not able to sync the manually added calendar events with Microsoft Bookings. In other words, if I manually add a booking to the general account's calendar, it doesn't show on Microsoft Bookings that the slot has been taken. I believe the solution is to select 'Events on Office calendar affect availability' under Edit Staff. However, the option is greyed out. I asked my institution's IT department, but they were unfamiliar with this. As it is a shared mail box, they don't think it has an admin. My questions are, is it possible to sync a calendar with Bookings for a general account without an admin? If yes, how do you do it? I hope this makes sense. Please let me know if anything is unclear and I will try to explain more. Thank you very much in advance for your help!
Help with intermittent staff availability in Microsoft Booking
Hi everyone, I manage a team of volunteers who provide counseling across ~12 sites. Most of our sites have one counselor, but one site (phone counseling) has 10 counselors with varying availability. Our challenge is that Microsoft Bookings only seems to allow recurring staff availability on a weekly pattern (e.g., every Tuesday 9am–2pm). Many of our counselors work on patterns like “2nd and 4th Tuesday” or “1st and 3rd Tuesday.” Currently, our workaround is to enter recurring weekly availability and then block off the “off” weeks in Outlook calendars. This works, but it gets messy when a counselor wants to make a one-time schedule change (e.g., start an hour later on a specific date or add a non-typical counseling date). We have to manually cross-check other counselors’ availability to avoid conflicts and make sure incorrect appointments do not populate, which is error-prone and stressful. My questions: Is there a way in Bookings to set staff availability on intermittent patterns (e.g., 2nd/4th Tuesday) without relying on Outlook blocks? Is there any way to make one-time availability exceptions for a specific date and staff member? Has anyone else managed multiple staff on a rotating schedule and found a clean workflow? Any guidance, workarounds, or confirmation that this is a current limitation would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!Option to Make Staff Selection Mandatory in Microsoft Bookings
Microsoft Bookings currently allows customers to optionally select a staff member (ANYONE) when booking a service. For workflows like media production, consulting, or specialized services, it's essential that clients must select a specific staff member to ensure proper scheduling and resource allocation. Feature Request: Add a toggle in service settings labeled “Require staff selection” so that customers must choose a staff member before completing a booking. Benefits: Reduces booking errors Ensures correct resource assignment Supports industries with specialized roles Improves client experience and planning Use Case: In multimedia production, clients must select a specific producer or videographer. Leaving this optional causes confusion and delays.
