Set up and use room and equipment mailboxes

Room and equipment mailboxes are special types of mailboxes in Microsoft 365 used to manage the scheduling of physical resources like conference rooms, vehicles, or shared devices. These resources can be reserved just like inviting a person to a meeting.

How to Use Room or Equipment Mailboxes (User Perspective)

1. Open Outlook (desktop or web).
2. Create a new meeting:
   • In Outlook desktop: Go to Home > New Items > Meeting.
   • In Outlook on the web: Go to Calendar > New Event.
3. Add the room or equipment:
   • In the To field, type the name of the room/equipment or click To and select it from the address book.
4. Set meeting details:
   • Add a subject, location, date/time, and any attendees.
   • Use Scheduling Assistant to check availability.
5. Send the invite. If the room is available, it will be automatically booked.

How to Set Up Room or Equipment Mailboxes (Admin Perspective)

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center:
   https://admin.microsoft.com

2. Navigate to:
   Resources > Rooms & equipment

3. Click “Add resource”:

   • Choose Room or Equipment.
   • Fill in:
     • Name: Friendly name (e.g., “1st Floor Conference Room”)
     • Email: Alias used to book the resource
     • Capacity: Number of people or usage limit
     • Location and Phone number (optional)

4. Click Add to create the mailbox.

5. Edit settings if needed:

   • Select the resource from the list.
   • Click Edit to configure booking options, delegates, or auto-accept rules.

Common Questions

1. How can I check if a room or equipment is available?
Use the Scheduling Assistant in Outlook when creating a meeting. Blue = busy, White = available.

2. How do I cancel a reservation?
Open the meeting in Outlook and remove the room/equipment from the invite. This frees it up for others.

3. Does someone need to approve every booking?
No. By default, room and equipment mailboxes auto-accept if available. You can assign delegates if manual approval is needed.

4. Do these mailboxes require a license?
No. Room and equipment mailboxes do not require a Microsoft 365 license.

5. Do I need to assign an owner?
Not required, but you can assign a delegate to manage bookings if needed.

6. Should sign-in be blocked?
Yes. For security, block sign-in for room/equipment mailboxes since they don’t need to log in.