shared bookings

Hello @Audrey Rippingale,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Since the information is not quite clear about the issue with your Bookings setup, could you kindly share how the booking page and services are currently configured? 

Specifically, it would be helpful if you can provide a screenshot of the setting based on the example bellow:  

Note: Before sending the screenshots, please make sure to hide/censor any personal information, such as email addresses, full names, phone numbers, or any internal or sensitive details. 

Once I can see how everything is currently arranged, I will be able to pinpoint exactly where the setup is failing and guide you through the correct configuration. If anything is unclear, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. 

To support this kind of staff development day in Shared Microsoft Bookings, the setup needs to use group services and appropriate attendee limits, then let each staff member book three separate appointments (one per morning timeslot) plus one afternoon block. A working approach looks like this:

1. Use a single shared Bookings calendar

• Create one shared Bookings calendar for the staff development day (it sounds like this is already done).
• All sessions (morning and afternoon) should be defined as services on this one calendar so that everyone only sees the single date.

2. Define each session as a separate service Use the “Define your services” and group service capabilities:

Morning sessions (9 services):

• Create 9 separate services, one for each distinct session topic (e.g., “Session A – Topic 1”, “Session B – Topic 2”, etc.).
• For each service:
  • Set duration to 60 minutes.
  • Set the location (in-person or online) and description as needed.
  • Under pricing/notes, add any extra information staff need.
  • Configure reminders and confirmation emails as desired.

Afternoon sessions (3 services):

• Create 3 separate services for the afternoon choices (e.g., “Afternoon Option 1”, “Afternoon Option 2”, “Afternoon Option 3”).
• For each afternoon service:
  • Set duration to cover the full block, e.g., 1:30–4:00 (150 minutes or 180 minutes depending on how you want it represented).

3. Make each service a group (1:N) service so multiple staff can attend To allow multiple staff to book the same session at the same time:

• For each service, configure it as a 1:N service:
  • On the Bookings page, go to Services.
  • Select the service or Add a service.
  • In Maximum number of attendees, set the capacity (for example, the maximum number of staff allowed in that session). This converts it from 1:1 to 1:N.
  • On Assign staff, select the staff member(s) who will host/facilitate the session.
  • Choose Assign any of your selected staff for an appointment so that only one host is assigned per booking, but many attendees can join the same timeslot.

This ensures many staff can book the same session/time while Bookings enforces the capacity limit.

4. Restrict availability to the staff development date and times To ensure only the single staff development date and the specific timeslots appear:

For each morning service:

• Configure availability so that:
  • The service is only available on the staff development date.
  • Time increments or custom availability expose only 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30.
• If needed, use custom hours for that service so that only those three start times are offered.

For each afternoon service:

• Configure availability so that:
  • The service is only available on the staff development date.
  • Only a 1:30 start time (or the exact start time of the afternoon block) is available.

5. Ensure staff can book multiple services on the same day Bookings will allow a person to book multiple services on the same day as long as:

• The times do not overlap.
• The booking page is configured to allow them to make multiple bookings.

Because the morning sessions are separate services at non-overlapping times (9:30, 10:30, 11:30) and the afternoon is a separate long block, each staff member can:

• Book one 9:30 session (choose 1 of the 9 services).
• Book one 10:30 session (choose 1 of the 9 services).
• Book one 11:30 session (choose 1 of the 9 services).
• Book one afternoon session (choose 1 of the 3 services).

6. Make sure bookings go into attendees’ Outlook calendars Bookings integrates with Outlook and uses Exchange shared mailboxes:

• When a staff member books via the booking page, Bookings creates an appointment and sends confirmation emails.
• Because Bookings is part of Microsoft 365 and uses Exchange shared mailboxes, the appointment details are stored in Exchange and appear in the attendee’s Outlook calendar.
• Verify that:
  • Staff use their correct email addresses when booking.
  • The confirmation/meeting invite options are enabled in the service’s Notifications settings so that calendar invites are sent.

7. Staff roles and access

• Anyone with a supported Microsoft 365 subscription or who is added as staff (Administrator or Viewer) can access the Bookings app and manage calendars.
• For this scenario, only the organizer (staff development email account) needs to be an Administrator on the shared Bookings calendar to create and manage services.
• Attendees do not need to be added as staff; they can simply use the published booking page to choose their sessions.

8. Common pitfalls that cause “it won’t work” If the page is not behaving as expected, check:

• Services not defined as group (1:N) with a higher Maximum number of attendees: if left at 1, only one person can book each slot.
• Availability not restricted correctly: if the service is available on other dates or times, staff may not see the intended single-day pattern.
• Staff not seeing the booking page: ensure the booking page is published and the link is shared, and if using the “Require a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 account from my organization” option, that everyone is in the same tenant.
• Email/notifications: confirm that the services have confirmation emails and meeting invites enabled so bookings appear in Outlook.

This configuration uses Shared Bookings’ group services and Exchange-backed calendars so that multiple staff can choose three morning sessions and one afternoon block, all on a single staff development date, with each booking appearing in their Outlook calendars.

References:

• Shared Bookings Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Creating personalized and group services in Microsoft Bookings
• Define your services in Shared Bookings
• Microsoft Bookings
• Add team members to Bookings