Overview
Room Reservations allows Reservers to subscribe to a personal reservation calendar feed from external calendar applications (Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, etc.). This feed shows the Reserver’s own upcoming approved reservations, including full event details such as name, description, and owner information.
The feed is available in ICS format and automatically syncs with external calendar applications.
Use cases:
- Keep personal reservations visible in a primary calendar
- Receive automatic updates when reservations are approved or changed
Who can access: Any user with a User role in Room Reservations.
Prerequisites
- User role or higher in Room Reservations
- Access to Room Reservations via Concept3D
- A calendar application that supports ICS feed subscriptions (Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Apple Calendar, etc.)
Subscribing to the Personal Reservation Feed
To see personal upcoming reservations in a calendar:
- Navigate to My Feeds or My Reservations
- Go to Generate Reservation Feed
- Select which reservations to include in the feed based on status
- Click continue
- Copy the ICS feed URL
- Open the calendar application
- Select Add calendar or Subscribe to calendar
- Paste the feed URL and confirm
Personal reservations will now sync to the calendar application.
Adding an ICS Feed to a Calendar App
Google Calendar
- On the left sidebar, click the + button next to “Other calendars”
- Select Subscribe to calendar
- Paste the feed URL
- Click Subscribe
- The calendar will appear under “Other calendars” and update automatically
Microsoft Outlook
- In the left pane, right-click Add calendar
- Select Subscribe from web
- Paste the feed URL and click Import
- The calendar will appear in the left sidebar
Apple Calendar (macOS/iOS)
- Select File > New Calendar Subscription
- Paste the feed URL and click Subscribe
- Choose a location to save the calendar
- Click OK
How Often the Feed Updates
The ICS feed itself is real-time: querying the feed URL always returns the most current reservation data. However, calendar applications control how often they pull from that URL, so the data displayed in a calendar app may lag behind. Typical refresh intervals:
| Calendar App | Typical Refresh Interval |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Outlook | ~3 hours |
| Google Calendar | 8–24 hours |
| Apple Calendar | User-configurable auto-refresh: No, Every 5 minutes, Every 15 minutes, Every hour, Every day, Every week |
Refresh timing is controlled by the calendar application, not by Room Reservations. Where the app allows it (such as Apple Calendar), users can adjust the refresh interval in the app's calendar subscription settings.
What Information Is Included
The personal reservation feed includes the following details for each approved reservation:
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Event/Reservation Name | Full name of the reservation |
| Reservation Owner | Owner name and email |
| Description | Event description |
| Date & Time | Reservation start and end |
| Location | Space name |
Troubleshooting
Feed not updating:
- The feed itself is real-time; delays are typically caused by how often the calendar application refreshes (see How Often the Feed Updates)
- Refresh or re-subscribe to the feed in the calendar application
- If supported, lower the app's auto-refresh interval (e.g., Apple Calendar's subscription settings)
- Check that the reserver role has not been removed from the account
- Verify the feed URL is correct by copying it again from Room Reservations
Calendar app won’t accept the feed URL:
- Confirm the calendar application supports ICS subscriptions
- Check that the URL has no extra spaces or characters
Can’t find the Feed option in Room Reservations:
- Ensure the account has a Reserver role or higher
- Refresh the page
- Clear the browser cache and try again
Feed not showing recent reservations:
- The feed displays only approved reservations; check that reservations have been approved
- Verify the Reserver role is active on the account