The 8 Most Popular Free and Open Source Meeting Room Booking Systems

Collaboration is one of the fundamental pillars of organizational success - it promotes synergy between departments, individuals, and even third-party vendors. Collaboration also has far-reaching consequences on employee spawned innovation, accountability of actions, and overall business bottom-line. In this regard, meetings have consistently proven themselves as a viable center of communication and collaboration. 

Despite misgivings in the corporate world, meetings are crucial to sustained business collaboration and efficiency when executed well. “That is how you gain experience, how you can gain knowledge - being in meetings and participating. You learn and grow,” revealed Golfing Champion Tiger Woods. It is therefore essential to ensure the process of arranging and executing meetings is streamlined and flawless. It helps maintain employee productivity and promotes business time conservation. Meeting Room Booking Systems helps organizations do just that.

This blog on free and open source meeting room booking systems will enlighten readers on the importance of meeting room booking management. Also, this blog will highlight the challenges of poor meeting room management. Readers will learn about the many features and benefits of MRBS’ to their organization, irrespective of size, scale, or scope. Learn more about meeting room booking software below. 

Impact of Good Meeting Room Booking Management on Business Operations

Meeting room management is anything but mundane. Significant decisions that impact organizational operations and employee productivity and scope arise from important meetings taken at multiple management levels. Therefore, it becomes critical to implement the best meeting room booking practices to elevate business operations.  

Good meeting room booking management helps business owners and stakeholders churn out faster, accurate, and greatly synthesized decisions based on business conditions. Since most decisions arise via consensus, meetings become the ideal tool to drive collaboration among departments and personnel. Booking the perfect meeting room depends on several factors, viz. capacity, meeting room asset infrastructure, dedicated time slots, etc. The ideal meeting room booking management practice will help companies deliver an ideal meeting room for their stakeholders, thereby contributing to quicker business decision-making.   
 
The best meeting room booking management will also avoid double-bookings of meeting avenues. It is a process fault that leads to time mismanagement through constant rescheduling. Double-Bookings lead primarily to lower employee productivity, as personnel constantly need to shift and adjust their schedules, impacting on-job performance. Visitor management is another crucial aspect that good meeting room booking management must consider. Since meeting rooms are present throughout an organization's physical infrastructure, it is critical to have digital directional inputs (Digital Signage). It helps employees reduce time spent commuting to the meeting room itself. Thus, it leads to increased productivity, allowing them to meet operational and financial goals.

It is also important to consider effective communication. Good meeting room booking management conveys room schedules and complementary information - Meeting Room Booking Authority, Occupancy Time-Slot, Occupancy Duration, Meeting Room Assets, etc. This level of information helps businesses reduce workflow bottlenecks, while simultaneously lowering the cost of operations associated with meeting rooms. Reporting and Analytics is also a critical component of meeting room booking management. Optimizing the booking process to reduce redundancies and improve efficiency through intelligent insight pulls organizations in the right direction.  

Challenges Arising Due to Poor Meeting Room Booking Management

Estimation reveals that close to 40 per cent of organizations waste about 30 minutes a day looking for meeting spaces. Professionals also spend close to 5 hours arranging approximately 15 meetings, EVERY WEEK. All this points to the fact that even a minor deviation in organizing meetings could affect employee productivity adversely. Some of the challenges arising from poor meeting room management are as follows:

What is a Meeting Room Booking System?

A meeting room booking system is a set of digital applications, tools, and functionality that streamlines the entire process of booking meeting rooms. The software enables organizations to optimize the conference room scheduling process. It generates greater value for participants in meetings via appropriate reminders, navigation aids, etc. Users can control various aspects of the booking phase including the type of meeting room required, time zone cross-checks and multi-language support, and cancellation or rescheduling of meetings. Meeting room booking software also possesses the capability of reporting on various statistics central to the booking process.  

Importance of Meeting Room Booking System in the Digital/WFH Economy 

Employment models have undergone widespread evolution over the last decade. The in-demand modes include Work From Home (WFH), Work From Anywhere (WFA), and newer, more employee-friendly hybrid options. However, the necessity to manage, administer, and regulate digital meeting rooms is even greater. Online meeting room booking systems prove to be an effective tool. The importance of an MRBS in the WFH era are as follows: 

Key Features of a Meeting Room Booking System

The unmissable features of any meeting room booking software are as follows:

Crucial Advantages of a Meeting Room Booking System

The best conference room booking software not only bridges the gap to outstanding organizational productivity but also brings along multiple benefits which are as below:

Market Options for Meeting Room Booking Systems

Meeting room booking solutions are vastly in demand, irrespective of the size of the organization, scale of operations, or industry. Free and open source meeting room booking software, free meeting room booking systems, freemium meeting room booking solutions, and premium meeting room booking management system, are few variations. Let us take a look at some of the best free and open source meeting room booking systems available.  

Comparison of the 8 Best Free and Open Source Meeting Room Booking Systems

Best Free and Open Source Meeting Room Booking Systems

#1 classroombooking

classroombooking is a free and open source meeting room booking system designed specifically for schools. The latest version is 2.4.1. One of the biggest advantages of the MRBS is its ability to add custom fields and features as per the organization's necessities. Users can now highlight room resources, the time needed per booking, etc. Furthermore, the meeting room booking solution imposes no restrictions of any kind on the number of rooms that implementers can book.

Source - classroombooking

Some of the best features of classroombookings meeting room booking system are as follows:

• Increased Transparency in room booking and scheduling operations
• Easy to operate Online Booking interface 
• The free meeting room booking system facilitates Multi-Location room booking and displays the necessary information on the booking page 
• The open source meeting room booking system facilitates Recurring Scheduling
• Internal Meetings scheduling and facilitation  
• Automated Scheduling Process enhances instructor and school productivity
• Real-Time Availability of meeting and classroom help increase booking efficiency and eliminated double bookings
• Custom meeting room booking features that users can add include: Utilization Reports, Visitor Management, etc.

#2 DeskFlex

DeskFlex is a free meeting room booking system, depending on a trial period. It also comprises several open source meeting room booking system components. The conference room booking software promises to eliminate no-shows or late booking using its user-friendly design and multiple integrations. Besides just meeting rooms, the online meeting room booking system is multi-purpose - allowing easy booking for large capacity ceremonial halls, seminar event venues, equipment, and facilities, etc. The meeting room booking software is integrable with productivity suites such as Microsoft Outlook, Office 365, and Zapier to name a few. The online meeting room booking software is hardware platform-independent.

Source - DeskFlex

Some of the best meeting room booking system management features of DeskFlex are as follows: 

• Recording and display of Real-Time Availability of monitored meeting room 
• Systematic Online Booking channels and website integrations
• Meeting room multi-form reporting - including utilization, system, and facility usage, etc. -  to help optimize functional booking process and potential
• Transparency in booking requirements provided by other organizers, facility booking process, etc. 
• Internal Meeting scheduling and room reservation using open source employee calendar synchronization
• Detailed visitor management - especially badge printing, schedule notifications, recurring appointment reservations, visitor registrations, etc. 
• Multi-Location meeting room booking services
• Facility and Equipment checks of all meeting rooms to finalize the ideal venue  
• Reduced interruptions with open source meeting display - showcasing important information to prevent disturbances

#3 Roombelt

Roombelt is an open source meeting room booking system. The Meeting room booking software primarily deals with digital signage at conference room entrances, specializing on a select set of devices running on iOS, Android, and Philips. The online meeting room booking system is device independent and promises to enhance employee productivity time by providing a simple operating interface. The conference room booking software promotes resource efficiency by cancelling meeting room occupancy if attendees fail to show up more than twice, thereby helping enhance resource utilization.

Source -  Roombelt

The best MRBS features of Roombelt are: 

• Automated Processes - including room usage display, reminders on Internal Meetings, etc. 
• Effective and easy Online Booking Process.
• Dedicated Status board displays to determine Real-Time Availability 
• Booking Transparency to eliminate double bookings through easy calendar integration. 
• Room Utilization reports to help increase the efficient usage of meeting rooms. 
• Reporting and Analytics to organization's meeting room usage, corresponding factors.
• Incredible Visitor Management Systems - Digital signage, navigation, meeting room occupancy details, visitor identification badges, etc.
• Multi-lingual support.
• Custom theme implementation for meetings. 
• Third-Party Application integrations from Google, Microsoft, etc.

#4 Hubbion

Hubbion is a free meeting room booking system. Hubbion helps organizations categorize available meeting rooms by available amenities, allowing users to book an unlimited number of rooms. Furthermore, the meeting room booking solution provides tools for enhanced collaboration.

Source - Hubbion

Some of Hubbion’s best meeting room booking system features are: 

• Simple and efficient Online Booking System 
• Assured Transparency in important meeting room booking information
• Real-Time Availability dashboard to prevent double bookings 
• Useful Multi-Location room booking especially for coworking centers
• Utility and Utilization Reporting for seamless booking optimization
• Internal and External Meetings easily facilitated and scheduled

#5 Picktime

Picktime is a free meeting room booking system. The online meeting room booking system’s creators kept in mind not only co-working spaces but also organizations of numerous sizes and scopes while crafting the code. The result is a free online meeting room booking system that is not only easy to use but also offers exceptional communication tools between organizers, attendees, and third-party individuals. The company also offers purchasers an incredible degree of customization of features on the conference scheduling software but also initiates appropriate security through user access management and authorization, and platform independence. Picktime’s advanced solution set also offers businesses the chance to set up their booking page and website in three simple steps, enabling Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to harness the potential of the meeting room booking management system.

Source - Picktime

Some of the best MRBS features of Picktime are: 

• Optimized Online Booking Management Workflow 
• Multi-Location room booking management 
• Recurring Meeting or Appointment Scheduling and Management
• Users can check the Real-Time Availability and status of conference rooms using the central dashboard on the meeting room booking solution 
• Unmatched Transparency in meeting room booking process
• Granular meeting room Usage Analytics and Reporting
• Visitor Management in the form of meeting alerts, rescheduling, meeting time, etc.
• Internal Meetings Management to reduce time-wastage through scheduling efficiency increases
• Third-Party booking feature for businesses that are customer-service oriented
• Utilization Reporting - especially information on room capacity, amenities, etc.

#6 SuperSaas

SuperSaas is a free meeting room booking system. Integration is one of the highlights of the conference room booking software. Companies can deploy it as a customizable client appointment scheduling or meeting room booking system by integrating SuperSaas into their organizational workflow. The software offers flexibility in terms of platform independence and adopts a user-authenticated data access control. Furthermore, the free online meeting room booking system enforces the highest level of data protection and encryption on the customer database - which is then used for promotion and communication. The meeting room booking solution also comes equipped with a payment gateway.

Source - SuperSaas

Some of the most enticing MRBS features of SuperSaas are: 

• Facilitates a Streamlined Online Booking process
• Multi-Location meeting room booking
• Meeting room Usage Analytics to ensure the optimized booking process 
• Transparent and Real-Time Availability monitoring of meeting room schedules to optimize booking process and avoid double bookings 
• Meeting room utilization reporting to increase 
• Automated Processes - reminder alerts, room utilization reports, meeting room status notifications, etc.  
• Visitor Management - Mapping customers to appointments, managing payments, reschedule information, etc.

#7 SimplyBook.me

SimplyBook.me is a free online meeting room booking system. The conference room booking software is easily customizable. Organizations can brand it as their own, adapt customized templates, and manage bookings for their clients and themselves easily. The software is integrable on platforms such as Facebook, and as widgets on organization websites to manage bookings efficiently. Simplybook.me also provides two applications - one for clients to manage their bookings, and one for organizations to monitor reservations, and perform other activities.

Source - SimplyBook.me

The best meeting room booking system features of SimplyBook.me are as follows: 

• Simple to scale Online Booking management system irrespective of business demands 
• Real-Time Availability monitoring for all meeting rooms to avoid double bookings
• Multi-Location meeting room booking management 
• Transparent booking data - current, past, and future booking schedules, meeting duration, etc. 
• Easy to integrate different tools - including meeting room usage analytics, Zapier, payment gateways, etc. 
• Automation of administrative Processes - such as customer reminders and alerts, etc. 
• Employee management tools monitor efficiency and task management
• Secure client and customer database management for greater CRM and management efficiency. 
• Third-Party Booking Management 
• Increased Visitor Management with tools such as calendar syncing, user registrations, etc.

#8 Meeting Room App

Meeting Room App is a free meeting room booking software, up until the completion of the trial period. The meeting room booking management system integrates easily with a host of productivity applications such as Google Suite, and Microsoft Office 365. Deployment options include an on-premise version or a cloud-hosted module. The MRBS comes with multi-language support.

Source - Meeting Room App

Meeting Room App’s best conference room booking software features include: 

• Efficiency Visitor management including - meeting room navigation, notifications, and alerts, etc. 
• Time-Saving Online Booking workflow and interface 
• Meeting Room Reporting features - including utilization statistics per independent room and organizers
• Real-Time Availability of meeting rooms on display
• Easy management of Internal Meetings with Transparent scheduling       
• Confirmation tracking using a dedicated button
• Automated reminders, alerts, and notifications 
• Dedicated Tools for equipment, and catering   

Meeting room booking systems like Accruent, PlanYo, and YArooms are incredibly efficient and offer enough functionality to provide a bang for the buck. However, one of the most popular solutions in the MRBS space is proving to be Skedda. Let us take a look at it in detail.

Skedda

Apart from being popular, Skedda is a free meeting room booking system. Skedda promises unlimited customization of its interface and easy implementation. The meeting room booking solution provides enough flexibility to be platform-independent and secures data with industry-leading encryption protocols. Customer support is available.

Source - Skedda

Some of the best meeting room booking system features of Skedda are as follows: 

• Skedda Calendar is a central dashboard where users can Transparently observe upcoming meetings, cancellations, etc. 
• Accurate, Real-Time meeting room Availability
• Reporting and Analytics Dashboard to highlight meeting room Utilization and Software Usage Analytics 
• Automation of Administrative Process including reminders, bookings, etc. 
• Ability to book meeting rooms spread across multi-locations from a centralized dashboard
• Interactive maps to guide employees during Internal Meetings
• Visitor Management processes include registration, meeting venue navigation, etc.
• Online Payments using the platform Stripe 

Conclusion  

The meeting room booking system industry will be worth over $129,000, if it continues to grow the expected 9.6 per cent, till 2026. However, certain statistics point to a greater need for these MRBS in every organization’s day-to-day operations. Recent research indicates that only 25 percent of all meetings are usually held in conference rooms, but those meetings usually take up close to 54 percent of all meeting times taken through the year. This means that booking the right meeting room and scheduling it at the right time plays a crucial role in employee productivity. Furthermore, only 25 per cent of those polled believed that they were prepared for a meeting, with over 33 percent of correspondents stating they were invited to an arbitrary meeting, and therefore were unable to contribute well enough. 

These shortcomings are eliminated by the apt implementation of meeting room booking systems. They not only democratize the booking of meeting rooms, but also play a crucial role in empowering employees, reducing operational costs of running meetings through optimized booking processes, and providing insights into room usage. The future is bright for meeting room booking systems, especially those that provide virtual meeting conduction as well. 

Voice an opinion on this blog by using the comments section. All users with previous usage experience of any of the aforementioned software may leave their reviews on GoodFirms’ official Feedback portal. Organizations looking to purchase the best meeting room booking software can refer to the GoodFirms’ Buyers Guide for meeting room booking systems. Any company looking to increase their digital capabilities beyond just online meeting room booking software may refer to GoodFirms’ exhaustive Software Directory for the same.