Room Mailboxes
Manage conference rooms, meeting spaces, and other physical locations as bookable resources. Room mailboxes integrate with Outlook calendaring to enable meeting room scheduling, availability checking, and resource management.
Room Mailbox List
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Room display name |
| Room mailbox email address | |
| Capacity | Maximum number of attendees |
| Building | Physical building location |
| Floor | Floor number |
| Features | Room amenities (display, phone, etc.) |
| Room List | Room list membership |
Room Properties
Location Information
- Building — Physical building name/address
- Floor — Floor number or level
- Floor Label — Custom floor name
- Section — Wing or area of building
- City — City location
- Country — Country/region
Room Features
Available feature tags for rooms:
Display/TV, Video Conferencing, Phone, Whiteboard, Projector, Audio Conferencing, Surface Hub, Wheelchair Accessible
Custom tags can be added to help users filter rooms by available amenities.
Room Lists
Room lists group rooms for easier discovery in Outlook Room Finder:
By Building
Group rooms by physical building. “HQ Building A”, “Seattle Office”
By Floor
Group rooms by floor level. “Building A - Floor 3”
By Region
Group rooms by geographic region. “EMEA Offices”, “North America”
By Type
Group rooms by purpose. “Training Rooms”, “Executive Boardrooms”
Booking Policies
Scheduling Window
Control how far in advance users can book:
- Booking window — Maximum days ahead (default 180)
- Minimum duration — Shortest allowed meeting
- Maximum duration — Longest allowed meeting
Acceptance Policy
- Auto-accept — Automatically accept in-policy requests
- Require approval — Delegate must approve each booking
- Tentative and notify — Mark tentative, notify delegate
Conflict Handling
- Decline conflicts — Reject overlapping requests
- Allow conflicts — Permit double-booking (rare cases)
- Enforce free/busy — Only accept when free
Privacy Settings
- Show organizer name on calendar
- Show meeting subject on calendar
- Add organizer to calendar event
- Delete subject and location from response
Outlook Integration
Room Finder Experience
- Select Building/Room List — User selects from available room lists.
- Filter by Capacity — Filter rooms that fit meeting size.
- Filter by Features — Select required amenities (video, display, etc.).
- Check Availability — View which rooms are free at the desired time.
- Book Room — Add room to meeting and send invite.
Room Management
Delegates
Assign users who can manage room calendar, approve bookings, and access room settings. Typically assigned to office managers or facilities team.
Working Hours
Define when room is available for booking. Block after-hours or weekend bookings for rooms without 24/7 access.
Booking Restrictions
Restrict who can book certain rooms. Executive boardrooms may be limited to specific groups.
Out of Service
Mark rooms as temporarily unavailable for maintenance or renovation. Blocks new bookings during the period.
Best Practices
- Consistent naming conventions — Use format: Building-Floor-RoomName (e.g., “HQ-3-Cascade”)
- Accurate capacity information — Keep capacity updated. Users rely on this when selecting rooms.
- Maintain feature tags — Update room features when equipment changes. Helps users find the right room.
- Review utilization — Monitor room usage to optimize space allocation and identify no-shows.
API Reference
GET /api/exchange/room-mailboxes
List all room mailboxes
POST /api/exchange/room-mailboxes
Create room mailbox
GET /api/exchange/room-lists
List room lists
PUT /api/exchange/room-mailboxes/:id/properties
Update room properties (capacity, features)
GET /api/exchange/room-mailboxes/:id/availability
Check room availability