Set up group bookings and classes in Microsoft Bookings

Steps#

1. Open your shared booking page and go to Services → Add new service.
2. On Basic details, enter the name, description, location and duration. Turn on Add online meeting if the session runs in Teams.
3. Set Maximum attendees per event, for example 12.
4. On Assign staff, assign the instructor or host. Microsoft describes capacity per service, staff member and time, so two instructors on the same class service are counted as two separate sessions, not one bigger one.
5. On Availability options, choose when the class runs. For a class at fixed times, use Custom hours so the service is only offered in those slots.
6. Add any Custom fields you need, set up Notifications, then Save changes.
7. If you're replacing an old one-to-one service, turn its Publishing options toggle to Off so customers only see the new one. Hiding a service doesn't delete it or its existing bookings.

Microsoft's own example is a fitness class, but the same setup suits workshops, webinars, open days and information sessions.

Managing attendees#

Open the session in Calendar and select Edit.

• Add customer adds someone to the session.
• Select a person and then Remove customer to take them off. They get an email saying they've been removed.
• You need the Administrator or Team member role to change the attendee list.

The Calendar also shows the current capacity, so you can see how full each session is. For a list of attendees you can work with outside Bookings, see exporting the customer list.

Known issues (as of September 2026)#

• Edit group services in the web app only. Microsoft notes that editing a group service from the Teams app or the mobile app resets maximum attendees to 1.
• No resource booking. Group bookings don't support resources, so a room or piece of equipment can't be tied to the session.
• One cancellation can email everyone. Microsoft lists a known problem where one attendee cancelling sends cancellation emails to all attendees. The documented mitigation is to edit the service, open Notifications and untick Send a meeting invite to the customer, in addition to the confirmation email.
• No documented maximum. Microsoft doesn't publish an upper limit for maximum attendees per event.
• No series booking. A customer signs up for one session at a time. Bookings has no recurring appointments, so a six-week course means six sign-ups or a manual process. See recurring appointments.

Group booking vs Multiple staff#

These are easy to mix up:

If you only want to limit how many one-to-one appointments someone gets per day, group capacity isn't the tool. Limiting bookings per day covers what Bookings can and can't do there.

Accidental group services#

Some admins find that their "one-to-one" service lets two people book the same slot. In a 2026 Q&A thread, the cause was Maximum attendees per event set above 1. If the field can't be edited on that service, create a new service with the value set to 1, switch the old one off in Publishing options, and share the new service's link.