Introduction to Desk Booking Using Microsoft Resource Mailboxes

What is a resource mailbox?

A resource mailbox is a Microsoft Exchange mailbox that can be associated with resources, such as meeting rooms and equipment.  Unlike a typical mailbox, it is disabled for sending or receiving emails, but it does have a calendar associated with it.

If the resource’s calendar indicates availability, the resource can be configured to auto-accept an invitation to a meeting.

You can also associate rules with the mailbox, for example, making accepting an ‘invitation’ subject to approval by a ‘delegate’ associated with that mailbox, such as a facilities manager.

Resource mailboxes can also have attributes, such as room capacity and location, which, when properly configured, can assist with selection of the resource.

Can I use resource mailboxes to book hot desks?

Yes.

Until recently there were only two resource mailbox types:

• Room mailboxes – ideal for representing available meeting rooms but they can also be used for other location-specific workspaces such as a demo suite or training room. 
• Equipment mailboxes – ideal for representing ‘floating’ resources such as projectors and pool cars.  They are not typically associated with a given location and have fewer attributes.

Microsoft has now introduced a third type of resource mailbox that lends itself well to hybrid working spaces and hot desks.

Called workspace mailboxes, they are bookable resources that have an overall capacity associated with them.  This capacity is then enforced by Exchange by allowing multiple bookings for a workspace up to the maximum available.

The problems of using resource mailboxes to book hot desks in Microsoft 365

Although using resource mailboxes to represent and book desks is possible, you will find it falls short in the following areas:

1. It’s not easy for users to select their preferred desk

If you download our eBook, you will see that the steps involved in creating mailboxes and lists, adding attributes, involve working with PowerShell and the Exchange Admin Center.

This makes defining and maintaining available hot desks, meeting rooms, huddle spaces, etc., very much an IT function, and not one that can be easily managed by facilities staff. 

Even if the initial work of adding workspaces is carried out, there will be an ongoing maintenance overhead to reflect office re-organisations, decrease/increase in capacity, and so on.

3. You may need a lot more workspace & resource booking functionality

In addition to booking workspaces there may be other features and functionality you want, such as:

• Automatically releasing workspaces in the event of a ‘no show’
• Booking catering, additional equipment, visitor passes, and so on.
• Digital signage to show free/busy status at a glance & on demand bookings
• Workflows that update the AV, cleaning, catering, security teams, etc. on requests
• Policies to govern who can book which resources when.  
  E.g., Giving certain departments priority for specific workspaces, make certain team spaces only available on a Monday or Friday
• The ability for the FM team to move bookings (e.g., switch a meeting to a different room)
• Capturing utilisation metrics to report on workspace occupancy and trends.

The list goes on.

4. Microsoft workspace booking is an evolving area

Microsoft is working hard in the whole area of connecting people in person and optimising workspace utilisation and developing the way resources are used and managed is part of this vision.

In fact, functionality was changing over the course of writing our eBook.  For example, one day, the Location picker in the Teams Calendar App listed workspace resources, the next day the workspaces we’d added were missing from the list!

Also, at the time of writing, Microsoft was due to launch a new Outlook RSVP feature that allows attendees to select if they’re joining virtually or in-person to a hybrid meeting.  This feature is now long overdue, and it is not clear whether it will operate as intended with the ‘capacity counter’ associated with workspace resources.  You can read more about this in our earlier blog.

Although the RSVP issue is not related to a desk bookings per se, this constant change without warning means it’s difficult to build a system you can rely on.