New ‘Bookings’ feature coming to Microsoft Outlook

Do you use Outlook for your work email? 

Microsoft has just made an announcement that could save you loads of time on a daily basis…

The company behind Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) have revealed that they’re bringing a new Bookings experience to Outlook. The feature will be available to Outlook users by the end of June, and aims to make appointment scheduling faster, easier, and a whole lot smoother.

What exactly is this new Bookings feature? How can you access it? And what does all this mean for you and your company?

What is Bookings for Outlook?

According to Microsoft… 

“Bookings in Outlook lets people schedule a meeting or appointment with you. You can create custom meeting types to share with others so they can easily schedule time with you based on your availability and preferences. You both get an email confirmation and attendees can update or cancel scheduled meetings with you from your Bookings in Outlook page.”*

So essentially, Bookings in Outlook will save you from the time-consuming back-and-forth that happens whenever you’re trying to find a suitable time to meet with somebody.

Instead of having to iron out a time for your meeting, simply set your availability and preferences in Bookings, and allow the other party to choose a time that suits them from your available options. You’ll then both get a notification in your inbox, and both be able to cancel or update the meeting at any time.

How great is that!

As an added bonus, those using a third-party scheduling app like Calendly will soon be able to cancel your costly subscription.

How to use Bookings for Outlook

By the end of June 2022, all Outlook users with one of the following subscriptions will have Bookings available to them:

• Office 365: A3, A5, E1, E3, E5, F1, or F3
• Microsoft 365: A3, A5, E1, E3, E5, F1, F3, Business Basic, Business Standard, or Business Premium

Users will be able to access their personal booking page from the Outlook web calendar, or through https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/

You can find more info on activating this feature here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/bookings/bookings-in-outlook?view=o365-worldwide

If you’re one of our clients, we can activate (or deactivate) Bookings for Outlook for you, members of your team, or your whole organisation. Just get in touch and we’ll take care of it, and any other Microsoft 365 needs you may have!

You can call us on 1300 228 480 and one of our friendly team members will be happy to help you.