To set up a conference room in Outlook, an admin creates a room resource (room mailbox) in the Microsoft 365 admin center: go to Resources > Rooms & equipment, click Add resource, choose Room, and enter the name, email address and capacity. The room gets its own calendar, people add it to meetings with Room Finder or the Location field in Outlook, and it accepts or declines automatically based on its booking options.
Step 1: Create the room
Microsoft 365 admin center
- Sign in at admin.microsoft.com as a Global Admin or Exchange Admin.
- Go to Resources > Rooms & equipment.
- Click Add resource.
- Choose Room as the type.
- Enter a name (what users see), an email address, capacity and location.
- Click Save.
Exchange Online PowerShell
New-Mailbox -Name "Boardroom 3A" -Room -PrimarySmtpAddress boardroom3a@contoso.com
A room mailbox doesn't need a license just to be booked. If the room will also run a Microsoft Teams Room device, the account needs a Teams Rooms license and a password. See create a Teams Rooms resource account and assign a Teams Rooms license.
Step 2: Set booking options
In the admin center, select the room and open Booking options:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Auto-accept meeting requests | Room accepts requests if free (recommended for most rooms) |
| Allow repeat meetings | Allows recurring bookings |
| Booking window | How far ahead people can book |
| Maximum duration | Caps meeting length |
| Allow scheduling only during work hours | Limits to set hours |
| Booking delegates | Requests go to a person to approve (for boardrooms) |
With Exchange PowerShell, Set-CalendarProcessing controls the same settings. Common choices for a Teams Room:
Set-CalendarProcessing -Identity boardroom3a@contoso.com -AutomateProcessing AutoAccept -AddOrganizerToSubject $false -DeleteComments $false -DeleteSubject $false -ProcessExternalMeetingMessages $true
Keeping the subject and comments lets the room console show the meeting title and join button.
Step 3: Add rooms to Room Finder
Outlook's Room Finder lists rooms by building and floor. For rooms to appear there, set the room's building, floor and capacity in Exchange (with Set-Place) and add rooms to a room list (a distribution group of type room list):
New-DistributionGroup -Name "HQ Rooms" -RoomList
Add-DistributionGroupMember -Identity "HQ Rooms" -Member boardroom3a@contoso.com
How to book a room in Outlook
- Create a new meeting.
- Click Room Finder (or Browse more rooms in the Location field).
- Pick a building or room list and check availability.
- Select the room; it's added to Location and as a resource attendee.
- Send. The room accepts or declines.
Meeting room calendars in Teams
Teams uses the same Exchange calendar. Add the room to a Teams meeting by typing its name in the Add location field, or invite it as an attendee. A Teams Rooms device then shows the meeting and a Join button. You can also view a room's calendar in Outlook by opening it as a shared calendar (if you have permission).
Conference room not showing in Outlook
| Cause | Fix |
|---|---|
| Room was just created | Wait; address book and Room Finder updates can take time |
| Not in a room list or missing building info | Add to a room list and set building/floor with Set-Place
|
| Hidden from the address list | Uncheck "hide from address list" on the mailbox |
| Outlook using an offline address book | Update the offline address book, or try Outlook on the web |
| Created as a user mailbox | Convert it to a room mailbox |
If a Teams Room isn't showing meetings, see Teams Rooms calendar sync failed.
Scheduling displays outside the room
A scheduling panel by the door shows whether the room is free and lets people book on the spot. Panels like the Logitech Tap Scheduler, Neat Pad Gen 2 and Poly TC10 can run Microsoft Teams panels and read the room's Exchange calendar. See Teams Rooms panels and meeting room booking panels.
Setting up several rooms at once? Ask us for a room plan with hardware.
Related guides
- How to Set Up a Conference Room Scheduling Panel
- How to Set Up Microsoft Teams Rooms: Step by Step
- Zoom Rooms calendar integration: Google and Microsoft 365
- How to Set Up a Conference Room for Microsoft Teams
- How to set up the Microsoft Surface Hub 3 50"
- How to set up the Microsoft Surface Hub 3 85"
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