Scheduling Conference Rooms in George Tower

All George Tower conference rooms are configured as Microsoft 365 room resources. When a room is added to a meeting invitation, Outlook can check the room's availability and help prevent scheduling conflicts.

Creating a Meeting and Reserving a Room

  1. Open Outlook and select New Event or New Meeting.
  2. Enter the meeting title, attendees, date, and time.
  3. In the Location field, select Browse with Room Finder or Browse All Rooms.
  4. Search for George Tower to display available conference rooms. You may need to stat typing the room number.
  5. Select the desired room from the list.
  6. The room will be added to the meeting as a resource and Outlook will be able to check its availability. 
Reserving a George Tower Room in Outlook

Checking Room Availability

Before sending the meeting invitation, use the Scheduling Assistant to verify that the room is available.

  1. After adding the room, click Scheduling Assistant on the Outlook toolbar.
  2. The selected conference room will appear alongside the meeting attendees.
  3. Review the availability grid: 
    White/Open = Available 
    Busy/Colored = Already reserved
  4. If the room shows as busy during your desired meeting time, select a different time or choose another room.
  5. Once you find a time when both attendees and the room are available, return to the meeting invitation and send the request. 

Scheduling Recurring Meetings

For weekly meetings, committee meetings, classes, or other events that occur throughout the semester:

  1. Create the meeting and select Recurrence.
  2. Configure the recurrence pattern (for example, every Tuesday at 2:00 PM).
  3. Set the end date for the series.
  4. Open Scheduling Assistant and review the room's availability across the recurring series.
  5. Verify that the room remains available throughout the semester before sending the invitation.

Because recurring meetings can span many months, reviewing the schedule beforehand can help identify conflicts with existing reservations.

What Happens If There Is a Conflict

George Tower conference rooms automatically process meeting requests through Microsoft 365.

  • If a room is already reserved, it will appear as Busy in Scheduling Assistant.
  • Depending on the room's configuration, the room may automatically decline conflicting meeting requests.
  • For recurring meetings, individual occurrences or the entire series may be declined if conflicts exist.
  • Using Scheduling Assistant before sending the invitation is the best way to identify and avoid scheduling conflicts. 

Reservations that involve non-student minors

Any request for space that involves non-student minors requires written pre-approval, or exemption from Youth Programs Compliance prior to the event. Register and Learn more here: https://youthprograms.gatech.edu  and https://youthprograms.gatech.edu/youth-programs-registration-form-instructions.

Please reach out to ISyE Reservations for additional information and assistance.

Best Practice

Always select a room using Room Finder or Browse All Rooms and verify availability with Scheduling Assistant before sending your invitation. This is especially important for recurring meetings that span multiple weeks or semesters.