How to remove the 'Anyone' staff option in Microsoft Bookings

What the settings actually do#

The staff choice is controlled per service, on the Assign staff page of the service editor. Microsoft's FAQ says it can also be changed from the Booking page, where the wording is "Allow customers to choose a specific person for the booking".

Automatic assignment picks from the staff assigned to the service who are free at that time. Microsoft calls it random. Community testing suggests people higher up the staff list are picked first. See how Bookings assigns staff for the details and the conflicting evidence.

The demand is real. "How do I disable the automatic assignment of staff members?" has 37 "same question" votes on Microsoft Q&A, with no solution in eight replies. Newer threads asking to remove "Anyone" got the same answer, and a Capterra reviewer describes "no way to remove the wildcard 'Any staff' option". Microsoft hasn't documented a change since.

Workarounds that get close#

Make the choice meaningful#

"Anyone" matters most when several people deliver a service. If a service is only delivered by one person, assign only that person. There's then nothing for automatic assignment to decide, and every booking goes to them.

One service per person#

For practices where customers must choose a named clinician, adviser or tutor, create a service for each person, for example "Initial consultation – Dr Patel", and assign only that person. The customer's choice of service is their choice of staff. Each service has its own URL, so you can link to it from that person's profile page. See linking to one service. This multiplies services, and Microsoft recommends keeping to 50 or fewer per booking page, so it suits small teams.

Separate booking pages per team#

If "Anyone" is a problem because the wrong group gets pulled in, split the teams into separate shared booking pages. "Anyone" can then only mean someone from the right team.

Reassign after the fact#

If a manager needs to allocate work, let Bookings assign automatically, turn on Notify when a booking is created or changed, and have the manager move appointments in the Calendar. It isn't a true "unassigned" queue, but it's the closest native option. The customer receives an updated confirmation when the booking changes.

Doing this with BookingsXP#

If you embed your shared booking page with the BookingsXP widget, the widget's Staff choice setting can follow your Bookings page, or hide staff selection so visitors never see a staff list. It can also show only the people you tick, and the staff attribute preselects one person, for example staff="STAFF_ID" on the widget embedded on a consultant's profile page. When the widget does show a staff list, it still includes an "Anyone available" option. When selection is hidden, Microsoft Bookings assigns the staff member by its own rules, so this changes what visitors see, not how Bookings assigns. See embedding for the setup. BookingsXP is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.