CG Room Reservations

The CG Room Reservation module offers a flexible solution for managing space bookings. Whether you want to integrate your existing Room Reservation system or create spaces with specific reservation rules, this module makes it easy to streamline the process. Users can book spaces effortlessly, customize their reservations, and even invite other participants, enhancing collaboration and efficiency.

There are four steps to focus on before creating your rooms and spaces. First, navigate to Admin > Settings > Custom Values (Lookup).

Step 1: Setting Up Room Types

Filter the list by Room Type. Room types classify the different kinds of spaces available for booking on your platform. Examples include: Classroom, Theater, Auditorium, Study Room.

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Step 2: Adding Room Features

Filter the list by Room Feature. Room features define the amenities or attributes available in your rooms or spaces. Examples include: Whiteboard, Podium, A/V System.

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Step 3: Creating Buildings

Filter the list by Building. Buildings are the physical locations where your rooms or spaces are situated. Add all relevant buildings to organize your spaces effectively.

Step 4: Defining Floors

Filter the list by Floor. Floors specify the levels within your buildings where rooms or spaces are located. Examples include: Ground Floor, 1st Floor, 2nd Floor.

Building Out Your Rooms/Spaces

Once the components above are configured, navigate to Admin > More > Rooms to begin adding and managing your spaces.

• Here is where you’ll find a list of any existing rooms. Use the search and filter options to quickly locate specific spaces.

• Generate reports to view all room information in an Excel file.

• Edit or delete rooms as needed. You can also duplicate rooms for quicker setup.

• Download automatically generated QR codes for each room, making it easy for users to check availability and book on the go.

Adding a New Room

Click Create Room. The only required fields are the room’s Name and Capacity, but you can also include additional details to enhance the setup. Provide a brief Description of the room, select options for Room Type, Building, and Floor from the dropdown menus, and upload a Photo for visual reference. You can also check off any applicable Features (e.g., whiteboard, A/V system). Once you’ve completed the form, click Save to finalize the room’s creation. The new room will now appear in your list of spaces.

Managing Availability

To manage or create availability rules, navigate to Manage Availability and click Create New Rule. Availability rules allow you to define when and by whom spaces can be booked. Begin by entering a name for the rule, then configure the following settings:

• Description: Provide a brief explanation of the rule's purpose.

• Applies to requests made after/before: Set a date range during which the rule is active. These settings control when users can submit booking requests but are independent of the reservation dates. For example, setting "Applies to requests made after" to one week before the semester begins, and "Applies to reservations starting/ending" to the semester's start and end dates, would allow users to submit requests starting a week before the semester for bookings within the semester.

• Applies to reservations starting/ending: Specify the range of dates for which reservations can be made under this rule.

Next, configure Access Rights to determine which users the rule applies to. You can restrict it to specific groups or roles by selecting options under Only applies to requests made by.

Then, choose the Type of Reservations the rule covers. You can select from two options:

• Direct Bookings: Reservations made directly for general use, such as study groups or meetings.

• Event Room Reservations: Spaces booked as part of the event creation process, where officers can request rooms for events.

Finally, under Provides availability slots for, specify the rooms or spaces this rule applies to. You can define this by Room Type, Building, Floor, individual spaces, or a combination of these. Once all settings are configured, click Save to activate the rule.

Once you save your availability rule, you can define specific day and time ranges for general availability based on the rule. These settings will apply to the spaces selected for that rule.

Managing Blocks

The Manage Blocks feature allows you to create Blocks, which override any availability rules. Blocks are useful for taking rooms offline for specific periods, such as during construction or spring break. To create a block:

1. Click Create Block and provide the following details:

   • Name: Enter a name for the block.

   • Description: Add an optional explanation for the block.

   • Applicable After/Before: Set a date range during which the block is active.

   • Access Rights: Specify the groups or roles the block applies to.

   • Blocks Availability For: Choose the rooms or spaces the block applies to by selecting room type, building, floor, individual spaces, or a combination.

   • Days and Time Slots (optional): Specify particular days and time slots for the block.

2. Click Save to finalize the block.

Viewing Reservations and Room Schedules

To view and manage room usage, navigate to Admin > More > Rooms, where you'll find two options at the top:

• View Reservations: See all reservations made by users on the platform. Use search and filter options to locate specific bookings and generate a report of all reservations.

• View Room Schedule: Access a comprehensive schedule of all rooms and spaces.

Features of the Room Schedule:

• Search for rooms by name.

• Apply filters such as room type, room feature, building, floor, or capacity.

• If integrated with 25Live or EMS, manage reservations in conjunction with these systems.

• View room availability across 1, 2, or 3 weeks, or select a specific calendar date.

• Switch to Day View to focus on availability for a single day.

• Scroll through the schedule to see when spaces are open or unavailable. Availability and restrictions will vary for each user based on the access rights and availability rules in place.

Understanding Color Distinctions on the Room Schedule

The room schedule uses color coding to distinguish between different types of bookings and their statuses:

• Blue: Indicates a Direct Booking, made for general purposes like study groups or meetings.

• Green: Represents an Event Booking, created through the event scheduling process.

• Yellow Text: Indicates that a booking is still Pending and awaiting confirmation.

• White Text: Indicates that a booking is Confirmed and finalized.

Access to Booking Details

When viewing the room schedule, users will only see booking details if permitted by access rights. For example:

• If an event is created with access and display rights limited to group members only, then only group members will be able to view that event's details on the schedule.

• Users without the necessary access rights will see the booking's presence but not its details.

This ensures that booking information is visible only to those authorized to view it, maintaining privacy and control over room reservations.

Booking a Direct Reservation

To make the booking process seamless, we recommend adding the CG Room Reservation module to the left-side menu of your homepage. You can do this using the drag-and-drop widget in your Mobile Hub Builder. This ensures users can easily access the room schedule and make reservations.

To create a direct booking, users can navigate to the room schedule, select an open space for the desired day and time, and fill in the reservation details. Once completed, they can click Book Space:

• Without Approval Process: If the space does not require approval, the reservation is automatically confirmed.

• With Approval Process: If approval is required, the user will be directed to a supplemental form with additional questions. Once submitted, the reservation status will be marked as Pending until reviewed and decided upon.

This streamlined process allows users to reserve spaces efficiently while ensuring necessary approvals are managed appropriately.

Setting Up an Approval Process for Room Reservations

To set up an approval process for room reservations, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Admin > Settings > Approval Process > Create Process > Room Reservation Approval.

2. Configure the approval process:

   • Activate Approval: Enable the approval process by setting it to "Yes."

   • Supplemental Form: Choose the form that users must complete as part of the approval process. If the form hasn’t been created yet, you’ll need to create it within a group first. Once the form is ready, return to this screen to connect it to the approval process.

   • Approval Required For Direct Booking Of: Specify the rooms or spaces this approval process applies to. You can select by Room Type, Building, Floor, individual spaces, or a combination of these options.

3. Click Save to finalize the setup.

With the approval process in place, any direct booking requests for the specified spaces will require review and approval before confirmation.

Event Booking Route

When the CG Room Reservation module is active, it integrates into the Location section of the event creation screen. This allows officers creating events to select an on-campus reservation as the location for their event.

During event creation, officers will input the mandatory details such as Event Name, Event Description, Event Type, Date, and Time. They can then select On-Campus Room Reservation, specify a Capacity, and include time for Setup and Breakdown, if desired. These details are used to find suitable spaces.

By clicking Book Rooms, officers will see a list of available spaces that meet their criteria. They can search for spaces by name or filter by Room Type, Building, Floor, and Capacity. Once a space is selected and Book is clicked, the reservation will appear as Pending and be attached to the event’s location section upon creation or submission.

The reservation will then follow the approval or process workflow configured for events, ensuring all necessary reviews are completed before final confirmation.

Should the officer or approver need to make an edit to the room reservation for the event, they must first release the existing reservation by clicking Book Rooms, cancel the existing reservation, close the screen, and make any edits to the Date, Time, or Attendees before selecting the Book Rooms button again to select another room.