Required Roles
| Role | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Platform Admin | Create, Edit, Delete, and View |
| Facilities Manager | Create, Edit, Delete, and View |
You must have one of these roles in the Rooms Admin to create a Space Type.
What Is a Space Type?
A Space Type is a category used to describe and group similar kinds of rooms or spaces within a building. It helps users understand how a space is generally used, for example whether it's a conference room, classroom, or performance venue, and what amenities or activities it supports.
Adding Space Types makes it easier to:
- Provide meaningful context for each space
- Help users find the right type of space when browsing or reserving
- Customize Custom Questions or workflows based on Space Type
Things to Consider When Defining Your Space Type
A Space Type is more than a label. It is the level at which several booking behaviors are set, so the categories you choose shape how reservations work across your whole platform. It is worth sketching your full list before you start creating them.
What a Space Type Controls
| What it affects | Why it matters | Also set at |
|---|---|---|
| Booking rules | Set in the Reservation Policy section of the Space Type form. Advance booking windows, setup and breakdown buffers, and cancellation lead time apply to every space assigned to the type, including reservations created by admins. | Reservation length limits and daily caps on User Groups. Operating hours on buildings and spaces. |
| Custom Questions | Questions can be scoped to specific Space Types, so your categories decide which questions a requester sees. | |
| Who can book | User Group policies can limit a group to certain Space Types, so your types double as an access boundary. | User Groups, which also set auto-approval. Approvers on buildings and spaces control sign-off, not access. |
| Search and filtering | Requesters filter by Space Type when browsing for a space. | Building, guest count, capabilities, and date and time. |
| Reports and schedules | Analytics, the reservation timeline, and the operations schedule all group and filter by Space Type. | Building, status, service provider, and date range. The operations schedule can also group by date, space, or service provider. |
| Calendar feeds | Reservation calendar feeds can be built from a selected set of Space Types. | Buildings, spaces, service providers, or resources. |
Group by Shared Rules, Not Just by Similar Names
Because booking rules live on the Space Type, spaces in the same category also share those rules. If two sets of rooms feel similar but need different requirements, they need to be separate Space Types.
For example, if your small huddle rooms can be booked same day but your large event spaces need two weeks of notice, those cannot be one “Meeting Space” type, even though the name would fit both.
A good test: would every space in this category need the same lead time, the same setup buffer, and the same questions? If not, split it.
Keep in mind that each space is assigned exactly one Space Type, and a Space Type is required when you create a space. There is no way to give a room two types.
Decide How Specific to Get
Fewer, broader types are easier to maintain and give requesters a shorter filter list. More specific types give you finer control over rules, questions, and reporting. Most organizations land in the middle: specific enough that the booking rules make sense, broad enough that admins are not maintaining dozens of near duplicates.
Plan Ahead, Because Types Are Hard to Remove Once in Use
You cannot delete a Space Type while spaces are still assigned to it. To remove one, reassign every space to a different type first. Renaming is always available, so if a category stops fitting, renaming is usually easier than deleting and rebuilding.
Reservations are also categorized through the space they were booked in. If you move a space to a different Space Type, that space’s past reservations will report under the new type. If year over year comparisons matter to you, settle on your categories early.
Watch for Custom Questions That Apply Everywhere
When a Custom Question has no Space Types selected, it is treated as a global question and appears for every Space Type. Select Space Types only when you want to narrow where a question shows up.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Open the Space Types Menu
From Rooms Admin, go to Buildings > Space Types.
2. View or Add Space Types
You’ll see a list of existing Space Types and their descriptions. To create a new one, click Add Space Type.
3. Enter Space Type Details
In the Name field, enter a general label for this type of space, such as “Classroom,” “Conference Room,” or “Event Space.”
In the Description field, explain what kinds of activities typically happen in this space, or what amenities it offers. This helps users and admins quickly understand the space's purpose.
Think of a Space Type as a category, not the name of a specific room.
Examples:
- Name: Lecture Hall
Description: Large instructional space with fixed seating and projection equipment.- Name: Multipurpose Room
Description: Flexible space for student meetings, club events, and informal gatherings.
4. Set Reservation Policy (Optional)
Below the Details section, the Reservation Policy section lets you set booking rules that apply to every space assigned to this type. All fields are optional and default to no restriction. For recommended values and troubleshooting, see Configuring Space Type Booking Policies.
Advance Booking
- Minimum Advance Booking Time (days): the earliest a requester can book. For example, setting this to 2 means the reservation must be at least two days out.
- Maximum Advance Booking Time (days): the farthest out a requester can book.
Buffer Times
- Mandatory Setup Time: required time before the event start. This blocks back-to-back bookings that would not leave time to prepare the space.
- Mandatory Breakdown Time: required time after the event end.
Cancellation
- Minimum Cancel Lead Time (minutes): how far before the reservation start a requester can cancel. Once this window closes, the reservation can no longer be cancelled.
These rules apply to all users, including admins. Reservation length limits, daily caps, and auto-approval are separate settings configured on User Groups. See Configuring User Group Reservation Policies for details.
You do not need to configure these now. You can come back and update the Reservation Policy at any time by editing the Space Type.
5. Save Your Space Type
Click Save to add it to the system.
Tips for Success
- Use broad, recognizable names. This helps users identify space categories at a glance.
- Avoid duplicating specific room names. Space Types should be general, such as Lecture Hall rather than Room 101.
- Be consistent across your organization. Standardize names and descriptions if multiple admins are adding content.
- Use the description field. Clarify how the space is typically used and what features it includes.
- Match Space Types to your reservation workflows and policies. They can trigger Custom Questions and guide filtering and search.
⚠️ Important: The Space Types you create determine which Custom Questions appear during the reservation process. See Things to Consider When Defining Your Space Type above for details.
Common Space Types
Here are some examples of frequently used Space Types:
- Classroom: Standard instructional space with desks and whiteboards
- Lecture Hall: Large fixed-seating space with presentation equipment
- Conference Room: Meeting space with a table, chairs, and display screen
- Event Space: Flexible-use space for student or campus events
- Study Room: Small, reservable quiet space for individuals or small groups
- Multipurpose Room: Adaptable space used for meetings, clubs, or informal gatherings
- Computer Lab: Room with workstations and installed software
- Outdoor Space: Designated outdoor area used for events or recreation
- Performance Venue: Auditorium or stage-based space for performances
- Athletic Facility: Gym, studio, or sports venue