- Originally published: February 26, 2024
- Last updated: November 29, 2024
Managing meeting spaces is just as important as the meetings themselves. The last thing you want is your team arguing over a conference room or wasting time because of double bookings.
If you use manual booking methods like emails or random Excel files, chances are you’ve already dealt with these headaches—or you will soon.
Why you need a meeting room booking template
Old-school ways of booking rooms, like using emails or messaging tools, can cause double bookings, mix-ups, and no real-time updates on availability. These challenges can create unnecessary stress and affect productivity in your office. You don’t want that.
The good news is: If you’re not ready to go for a proper conference room booking system, you can start with our free meeting room schedule template and keep things running smoothly without an investment.
Here’s a free meeting room booking Excel template to download
To make managing meeting rooms easier, we’ve created a flexible, free-to-download conference room schedule template. With this tool, you can:
- Track bookings by date, room, and time slot.
- Record key details like the meeting organizer and purpose.
- Quickly check the status of each booking.
How to use the meeting room schedule template
Once you download the free meeting room booking system in Excel, here’s how to tailor the conference room booking template to your needs:
- Enter your meeting room details in the provided columns.
- Add the booking information for each meeting, including the date, time, and organizer.
- Use the status column to update confirmations or cancellations.
Linking your meeting room booking template to Google Calendar
If you’re looking for more automation, copy the template using Google Sheets and connect it to Google Calendar with add-ons like Sheets2GCal or From Sheets to Calendar.
There’s one thing to mention, though. This setup will make room bookings much easier, but it still requires careful configuration and ongoing maintenance. It may also feel clunky compared to dedicated solutions.
Why room booking software beats spreadsheets
Using a spreadsheet for room bookings can work, but let’s face it—filling out rows and columns gets old fast. It’s tedious, time-consuming, and mistakes are bound to happen.
Managing meeting spaces shouldn’t be so tiring. Room booking software takes the stress out of the process and changes how your business handles collaborative spaces. Unlike clunky spreadsheets, these tools make room reservations quick and easy, cutting down on admin work and freeing up time.
In fact, compared to spreadsheets, room booking software like Archie offers:
- Effortless room reservations: Quickly find available rooms, select the resources you need, and send meeting invites—no risk of double bookings.
- Flexible scheduling options: Book meeting rooms through a web app, mobile app, Google or Outlook calendars, Microsoft Teams, Slack, or even on a tablet outside the conference room.
- Interactive office layouts: Forget confusing spreadsheets. See a clear map of available spaces and choose the perfect spot for your meeting.
- Automated confirmations and reminders: No more chasing people with follow-ups or dealing with missed meetings.
- Recurring and multi-room bookings: Easily manage recurring meetings and book multiple rooms simultaneously with just a few clicks.
- Centralized, real-time calendars: Instantly know which rooms are free or booked with an easy-to-view calendar.
- Room usage analytics: Go beyond bookings with valuable insights. See how rooms are used, identify trends, and make smarter layouts and resource allocation decisions.
- Cost-effective space management: By tracking room usage, you can cut costs on underused spaces, improve efficiency, and make the most of your office resources.
Advanced room booking software takes care of everything—from finding the right room to confirming the meeting—without the hassle of back-and-forth emails or messy spreadsheets. If your organization wants a more efficient way to handle schedules, this is a better solution than the meeting room booking format in Excel.
How to choose the best room booking system
With so many options, picking the right room booking system can feel overwhelming. Since many platforms offer similar features, it all comes down to your needs, priorities, and budget. Speaking of…
Room booking systems come with different pricing models:
Per-user pricing: Traditional platforms charge based on the number of users, which can get expensive as your team grows.
Per-resource pricing: Newer options like Archie, Eden, or Tactic charge based on the resources you’re booking. For example, if you have 100 employees but only 10 meeting rooms, you only pay for the meeting rooms—potentially saving you a lot of money.
Some platforms include desk booking and other features in their pricing, while others charge setup fees or require additional costs for add-ons. For example, OfficeSpace has a higher initial setup fee, but others may have a lower starting price with fewer included features.
Plus, while pricing is often shown monthly, many vendors require annual billing, so check the terms carefully.
Luckily, most platforms offer live demos and free trials. Use these to try out the features, see how user-friendly the system is, and evaluate customer support. This hands-on experience will help you decide if the software is the right fit for your business.
By following these steps, you can choose a room booking system that saves time, improves efficiency, and fits perfectly with your business.
Once you’re at it, you might want to give Archie a try
Archie goes beyond room booking—it provides a fully integrated approach to managing hybrid offices and coworking spaces. Every feature works together, from desk reservations to community building, to create a connected and efficient workplace.
Key features of Archie:
- Neighborhood zones: Create dedicated zones for teams, fostering collaboration and team cohesion.
- Map-based booking: Users can visually select and book rooms directly from an interactive office map.
- Employee lookup: This feature lets users see where colleagues are seated or check their in-office status.
- Real-time updates and reports: Instantly see room availability and track usage statistics to make informed decisions about managing your office spaces.
- Detailed analytics: Get valuable insights into how your office space is used to optimize layouts and plan for the future.
- Seamless integrations: It seamlessly integrates with tools like Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, and other third-party systems to fit into your existing workflow.
- Mobile compatibility: Book rooms anytime, anywhere, from your phone, tablet, or laptop.
Archie isn’t just a room booking system—it’s a complete solution for managing hybrid workspaces. Its user-friendly design, powerful features, and seamless integrations make it the perfect tool to help your team work smarter and collaborate better. And if you’re not ready yet, just go ahead and download our free template.
Room schedule template FAQs
A meeting room schedule template is perfect for anyone who needs a simple way to keep track of shared spaces. Here’s who it can help:
- Small business owners: Manage meeting rooms without spending money on advanced software.
- Facilities managers: Keep an eye on room availability and make sure spaces are used efficiently.
- Operations managers: Simplify scheduling, avoid double bookings, and improve productivity.
- Office admins: Make managing multiple room bookings easier and keep things running smoothly.
- Schools and colleges: Schedule classrooms, meeting areas, or event spaces quickly and easily.
This template is a great solution for teams or businesses not ready for a proper room booking system but still need a clear way to manage their spaces.
Yes, you can use Excel as a basic room booking system to track room availability, equipment needs, and attendee lists. However, using an Excel room bookings calendar can be time-consuming, prone to mistakes, and not ideal for businesses with more complex booking needs or higher demand. Google Sheets integrated with a Calendar are a slightly better option, but still won’t replace a proper room scheduling system.
While room scheduling Excel templates can do the job, meeting room booking software offers several advantages that make it a better choice for most businesses. The biggest benefit is automation—it simplifies the booking process, reduces the risk of double bookings, and cuts down on administrative work. Room booking software is a smarter option if you’re looking for efficiency and scalability.
The global coworking management software market was valued at over $530 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $1.34 billion by 2032. The rise of remote work and the demand for flexible, collaborative spaces from freelancers and entrepreneurs are driving this growth. However, the market is becoming crowded, with many coworking software platforms competing for attention.
