This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: New blog articles in Microsoft Tech Community.
Today we are getting you up to speed on the two biggest features that have launched within Microsoft Bookings in the past few months. Two of the most consistent pieces of feedback we received is that you conduct many meetings online and have “class-style” services where you need several people to book the same appointment time. We listened to that feedback and have added that functionality to Bookings to help you succeed.
Support for online meetings
In today’s world, people are engaging with businesses more and more from the comfort of their home, or even from across the world. Online meetings allow you to maximize appointment scheduling and allow your customers to meet with you from anywhere.
To add more flexibility to your business’ service, we have introduced the ability to add an online meeting to a booking. The services your business provides and the appointments your customers need to make are different, so we know your booking options may need to be different too.
When creating a service within your Bookings page, you will see a toggle to indicate whether or not you would like the service to have an online meeting option when booked. If the toggle is turned on and your organization has a Skype or Teams license, each booking that is made will automatically have a Skype or Teams meeting link added to it. Staff members must have online meeting capabilities as a part of their Office 365 license to schedule online meetings. Have a particular service that is still better done in person? Simply leave the toggle off and see the same booking experience you’re familiar with.
Once an online meeting has been booked, the Skype or Teams link will be available in the calendar event. This is shown in the customer’s calendar, as well as the staff’s. People who booked the appointment will be able to join the online meeting directly from the confirmation and reminder email, and even from their calendar. When it’s time for the appointment, participants simply join through the meeting link via a web browser in one-click, directly from the Teams mobile app, or by dialing in from any phone, and can then carry out the appointment with ease.
Ability to book
One of the most frequent requests we get from our users is the ability to accommodate booking multiple customers for a single service, which is why we have prioritized this feature and are rolling it out now. Whether you want to make it easy for customers to sign up for a yoga class or have participants register for a conference session, group bookings is here to help. Now when you set up a service to be booked, you will be able to specify how many people will be allowed to book that service. As people start booking the service, the specific time slot and staffer will remain available until all bookable slots have been filled. When customers cancel their appointment, the spot opens up for others to book.
As always, please let us know what you think about these features and Bookings overall! We love seeing your feedback in UserVoice and learning about what you want to see in the future. It’s our goal to continue to make Bookings a powerful solution for your business.