In short: Departments connect user groups with space groups and activities, and activities have booking rules. Space types are not a linking element in the department chain. If one part of this chain is missing, users may not be able to see or book spaces.
Who this article is for
This article is for workplace administrators and customer admins who manage booking access in Spaceti Admin.
Key terms
Term | What it means |
Department | A logical access group that connects user groups with space groups and activities. It can represent a real team, such as Finance, or a broad group, such as Everyone. |
User group | A group of users who should have the same access. |
Space group | A group of spaces that should be controlled together, such as all desks on one floor or all bookable spaces in a location. |
Space type | The kind of bookable space, such as Workspace, Meeting Room, or Parking. Space type helps classify spaces, but it is not a linking element in the department chain. |
Activity | The action users perform, such as Book a Workstation, Reserve a Meeting Room, or Book Parking. Activities are connected to departments and have booking rules. |
Booking rule | A rule that controls under what conditions a user can create bookings, such as time, duration, frequency, allowed days, and advance booking limits. Booking rules do not decide who can book or what they can book; that access is controlled by the department configuration: user group → space group → activity. |
How department-based access works
Department access works as a chain:
User → User group → Department → Space group → Activity → Booking rules → Published activity
All required parts must be connected. If a user is in the wrong group, a space is missing from the space group, or the activity is not published, booking may fail even if the space looks available.
Before you activate departments
Prepare the user side and the space side before enabling department-based booking or visibility rules.
Create or review user groups. Decide which users should have the same access. For an unrestricted setup, create one user group such as Everyone or All Users and include all active users.
Create or review space groups. Decide which spaces should be controlled together. For an unrestricted setup, create one space group such as Everything or All Bookable Spaces and add all relevant desks, rooms, or parking spaces.
Check space types. Make sure every bookable space has the correct space type, such as Workspace, Meeting Room, or Parking. Lockers are managed separately and are not bookable through the standard activity and department system.
Create the department. Link the relevant user group and space group together. For an unrestricted setup, create one department such as Everything & Everyone.
Connect the activity. Add the required activity to the department and connect it to the correct space group.
Save and publish the activity. Publishing makes the activity available to users.
Important: If a user is not included in a matching department, they may not be able to access the relevant booking activity. If a space is not included in a matching space group, nobody may be able to book it through that department setup.
If everyone should book everything
If the goal is no restriction, keep the setup simple. Do not create several partial departments unless different teams need different access or different booking rules.
Create one user group: Everyone or All Users.
Add all users who should be able to book.
Create one space group: Everything or All Bookable Spaces.
Add all bookable spaces for the relevant location or space type.
Create one department: Everything & Everyone.
Connect the Everyone user group and the Everything space group to this department.
Add the required activities, such as Book a Workstation, Reserve a Meeting Room, or Book Parking.
Use default booking rules unless you need different limits for specific teams.
Save and publish each activity.
Test with a standard user account, not only with an admin account.
Tip: Avoid mixing a broad Everyone department with restricted departments unless you are sure the same activities are published everywhere they are needed. If a user belongs to multiple departments, Spaceti applies the rules from the department that grants access to the space being booked. Where more than one matching department grants access to the same space and activity, the softer booking rules should apply for that user.
Default booking rules and custom booking rules
Booking rules define the conditions for an activity, such as how far in advance users can book, how long a booking can last, how often they can book, which days are allowed, and whether overlapping bookings are allowed. Access to spaces is controlled by the department configuration: user group → space group → activity.
Default booking rules
Default booking rules are set at the activity level. They apply to all users who can access that activity, unless a department has custom booking rules enabled.
Rule | What it controls |
Advance booking limit | How many days ahead a user can book, for example 10 days. |
Minimum and maximum duration | The shortest and longest booking time allowed. |
Allowed days | Which days users can book, for example Monday to Friday. |
Non-overlapping bookings | Whether the same space can have more than one booking at the same time. |
Use default booking rules when all users should follow the same booking limits.
Custom booking rules
Custom booking rules are set at the department level. They override the activity default for users in that department. To use them, open the department settings and enable Customize booking rules.
Example:
Activity default: users can book 10 days in advance.
Department Directors+: custom booking rules are enabled and users can book 31 days in advance.
Result: Directors can book 31 days ahead. Everyone else can book 10 days ahead.
How Spaceti decides which rule applies
Spaceti checks whether the user belongs to a department that grants access to the space and activity.
If custom booking rules are enabled for that department, those department custom rules apply.
If custom booking rules are not enabled, the activity default booking rules apply.
If a user belongs to multiple departments, Spaceti uses the department that grants access to the space being booked. If more than one matching department grants access to the same space and activity, the softer booking rules should apply.
Recommendation: If you do not need different rules for different teams, leave custom booking rules turned off. The default booking rules will apply to everyone equally.
How to connect a department to a booking activity
1. Define the access requirement
Write the rule in simple language before changing settings.
Example: Finance users can see and book Finance desks. Other departments cannot book them.
Confirm which users need access, which spaces are included, which activity is affected, and whether users should be able to view, book, or both.
2. Check or create the user group
Open Spaceti Admin.
Go to the user group management area.
Check whether the required user group already exists.
If needed, create a new user group using a clear official name.
Add the correct users to the group.
3. Check or create the space group
Open the relevant building, floor, or space configuration.
Find the spaces that should be controlled by the rule.
Check that each space has the correct space type.
Add the spaces to the correct space group.
4. Create or review the department
Open the department management area under Building Administration menu.
Check whether the department already exists.
If needed, create the department using the official name.
Connect the correct user group.
Connect the correct space group.
Tip: Use one official name for each department. Avoid using both “HR” and “Human Resources” unless they are meant to be separate departments.
5. Connect the activity
Open the relevant booking, access, or visibility activity in Spaceti Admin.
Select the space type or space group the activity should apply to.
Select the department or user group that should have access.
Choose whether users can view, book, or both.
Review the default booking rules.
Enable custom booking rules only if this department needs different booking limits.
Save the activity.
Publish the activity so the rule becomes available to users.
6. Test before rollout
Test with at least two users:
A user from the allowed department should be able to see and book the space, if booking is allowed.
A user from another department should not be able to access restricted spaces.
If changes were made recently, ask users to log out and back in. If your organisation uses automatic user provisioning, wait for the next sync to complete.
Best practices
Start with the simplest setup that matches the organisation’s need.
Use one official source for department, user group, and space group names.
Avoid duplicate or similar department names.
Use one broad department for unrestricted booking.
Use custom booking rules only when specific teams need different booking limits.
Review users without departments or user groups regularly.
Update rules after team changes, office moves, floor plan updates, or provisioning changes.
Always test access before making the setup available to all users.
Summary
Departments help Spaceti decide which users can access which spaces and activities. Prepare user groups and space groups first, connect them through departments, configure the activity and booking rules, then publish and test. For unrestricted booking, use one broad user group, one broad space group, one department, and default booking rules.
Related articles : Departments - Troubleshooting