Fix Microsoft Bookings Showing Staff as Off Work at the Wrong Time
Question details
Users are experiencing an issue where staff members are shown as unavailable or off work at incorrect times on the Microsoft Bookings page.
- Product
- Microsoft Bookings
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Configuring staff availability and business hours on a public booking page.
- Observed behavior
- The booking page displays staff as off work during their actual working hours, typically due to a mismatch between the default Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the local time zone.
Verify the actual working hours of the affected staff members and confirm the precise local time zone your organization operates in.
Adjust Booking Page Time Zone Settings
Correct the default Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) setting on the booking page to match your local time zone.
Microsoft Bookings pages are sometimes created with Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) as the default time zone. This causes a discrepancy between the staff's actual local business hours and what clients see on the booking page.
Log in to Microsoft Bookings and select the 'Booking page' tab from the left-hand navigation menu.
Scroll to the very bottom of the Booking page configuration and click on 'Region and time zone settings' to expand the menu.
Locate the 'Current time zone' dropdown menu. If it is set to Coordinated Universal Time, click the dropdown and select your correct local time zone.
Save your changes. Review the staff member's working hours and buffer times to ensure they are now displaying correctly based on the new local time zone.
Verify Individual Staff Member Working Hours
Ensure that the specific staff member's personal business hours are configured correctly and align with the general booking page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Microsoft Bookings default to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)?
Microsoft Bookings sometimes defaults to UTC during the initial tenant setup depending on your Microsoft 365 server configuration. It requires a manual adjustment in the Booking page's Region and time zone settings to match your specific operational time zone.
Can individual staff members have different time zones in Bookings?
The main booking page operates on a single time zone. However, if staff members are accessing their synchronized Outlook calendars from different time zones, their personal calendars will automatically adjust, which might affect their availability blocks.
What should I do if the time zone is correct but staff availability is still wrong?
Check the staff member's personal Outlook calendar for blocking events, such as all-day meetings or 'Out of Office' statuses. Also, ensure the 'Events on Office calendar affect availability' option is correctly configured in their individual staff profile.
