The booking system for renting meeting rooms in office centres has become a great help. Offices Unlimited operates serviced offices and coworking in three locations in Prague. Each centre offers several meeting rooms for which they were looking for a simple and intuitive booking system.
Our SmartFP solution Offices Unlimeted has convinced tenants and they can now use the system to book any meeting room in any of our centres.
Starting points for cooperation
“We have been booking meeting rooms through direct contact between the tenant and the receptionist, which has its limitations, especially in situations where the tenant has a client on the phone and needs to see online what time the meeting room is available.” Marie Kantorová, office manager, Offices Unlimited, describes the situation before working with Gappex. “We place great importance on personal contact with our tenants, but we were aware that in 2022 digitalisation is a must for just such a process.”
Briefly about Offices Unlimited
Offices Unlimited offers a flexible concept of fully furnished office units with flexible lease periods, which are ideal for those looking for a furnished office or coworking space without long-term commitments. Users of shared offices benefit from both closed offices and shared spaces such as meeting rooms. Offices Unlimited has been in business for six years. In November 2021, their premises expanded to include a new facility with an additional seven meeting rooms. Tenants who have a contract with Offices Unlimited can use the shared space across all three buildings in Prague. This was the impetus that convinced the company to introduce an online booking system.
Marie Kantor had an idea that there would be a reservation system:
- available via web or phone
- have simple and intuitive operation for users (tenants and receptionists)
- give notice to the receptionist when refreshments are required for the meeting room
“After showing a demo version with the addition that we could have the booking system up and running within a week, there was nothing to wait for.” adds Marie Kantorová.
Addressing meeting room occupancy is just the beginning
During the presentation of the Reservation System in the SmartFP system to Maria Kantor, we demonstrated other functionalities that could be used in the system:
- report on the occupancy of meeting rooms by individual companies as a basis for the billing of meeting rooms
- automatic sending of information that the date for renting a meeting room is approaching, both to the receptionist and to the person who reserved the meeting room
- sending calendar invitations directly from the system
“We were surprised how in just one meeting we saw more potential for what else we could use the system for. I imagined that we would give all the information to the tenants via a bulletin board where we would post news or that we would put documents such as instructions on how to connect the printer etc. into the system,” Marie Kantorová recalls. “My only fear was that some of our ‘old tenants’ were so used to personal orders that they would avoid the online system. This fear did not come true, the on-line system was accepted by these tenants due to its simplicity.”
Fast commissioning
The meeting room booking system was deployed to the client in 2 days and the following 3 days were spent in collaboration with the client fine-tuning the text and images. Dalibor Nemec, CEO of the company, adds: “We have once again confirmed that clients find it easier to comment on already created applications than when they are invented from scratch and only on paper. Therefore, we can manage the process of deploying the basic version and implementing the required modifications in cooperation with the client really quickly and at minimal cost thanks to the high level of configurability of the SmartFP platform.”
“The cooperation was excellent”, says Marie Kantorová: “The demonstration, listening to our requirements, joint fine-tuning of the assignment, quick implementation and all in a very positive and friendly spirit. And what’s more? No user training needed. Everything is so simple that although an instructional video was made, we have had feedback from tenants that they don’t need instructions at all.”
Practical benefits of Gappex solutions
Meeting rooms are currently booked through the online system. Each tenant, after logging into the system under his/her identifier, can see which meeting rooms are reserved exclusively for his/her company, which are free, which are occupied. If refreshments need to be ordered, for example, the receptionist will receive an email notification directly from the system. At the same time, the system automatically sends a “reminder” some time before the start, both to the receptionist and to the orderer. Just as a meeting room can be easily booked, it can also be cancelled up to a certain time. All bookings are recorded and subsequently used as an overview of meeting room usage and as a basis for billing.
“Until now, all the records were kept in an excel file stored on a shared disk, which was accessible only to receptionists at individual buildings. Each reservation had to be made in person or at least by calling the reception. The transition to an online system has benefits not only for us, the current tenants, but also for our future contracts. Digitalization is introduced as a bonus to our current services when leasing new offices.” Describes Marie Kantor.
A vision for the future: a digital evolution that makes work even easier
“What appeals to us most about the system is its simplicity and the possibility to have all the agenda in one place. In connection with the booking of meeting rooms, it is beneficial for us to have a clear accounting for each tenant in the system, which we can also share with each tenant. Similarly, we would like to have a record of printing on shared printers, a clear record of the entry cards of each tenant. I liked the ability to record receptionist attendance in the system and there was much more. I am convinced that our cooperation with Gappex will not end with the use of the reservation system through SmartFP,” says Marie Kantorová.
Do you want to simplify booking management in your company? Try SmartFP’s booking engine, which allows you to quickly and easily manage space rental, save time and ensure visibility. Visit our booking engine page to see how it can make your day-to-day operations easier!