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Double booking
What is a double booking?
A double booking happens when two meetings claim the same room, desk or resource at the same time. People arrive to find the room taken, one group has to move, and the meeting starts late. It usually means more than one system, list or person decides who has the room.
Why double bookings happen
The most common cause is more than one source of truth: a booking tool with its own database next to the Exchange calendar, a spreadsheet kept by reception, or rooms that accept conflicting requests. When the systems sync late or not at all, both bookings look valid to the people who made them.
How to prevent double bookings
- Let one calendar decide: the room's own calendar in Microsoft Exchange.
- Set rooms to decline conflicting requests.
- Avoid tools that store bookings in a separate database and sync later.
- Release unused bookings so people are not tempted to book around them.
How AskCody prevents double bookings
AskCody is built natively on Microsoft Exchange, so every room and desk is a resource calendar in Exchange and the booking in Exchange is the booking. There is no second calendar to keep in sync. Exchange checks each request against the room's rules, and AskCody adds the services and visitors to that same booking. See meeting room booking and Microsoft integrations.
Frequently asked questions
Can Exchange prevent double bookings on its own?
Yes, when the room mailbox is set to decline conflicts. Problems start when another system takes bookings outside Exchange and syncs them later.
What is the difference between a double booking and an orphaned booking?
A double booking is two meetings in one room. An orphaned booking is an order or reservation that has lost its link to the meeting it belonged to.
Related terms