Enhance Your Office Space Utilisation with Automated Booking Prompts

News / 03.04.25

Optimising office space utilisation has never been easier with the latest update to the Humly Booking Device. By enabling presence detection, organisations can efficiently manage desk bookings and enhance workplace productivity. This feature, available from version 1.27 or later of the Humly Control Panel and Humly Booking Device, allows for automated booking prompts based on user presence.


Important Considerations

  • Humly Room Display is not supported due to the absence of an accelerometer for detecting vibrations
  • Enabling presence detection allows organisations to collect presence detection statistics for desk bookings via the Humly Control Panel
  • Bookings made through systems like M365, Exchange, Google, Humly Reservations, or directly on the Humly Booking Device (via PIN or RFID authentication) will be included in the statistics


How to Enable Presence Detection Prompts for Desks

  1. Access the Humly Control Panel and navigate to the Resources page
  2. Ensure that the Desk resource type is selected
  3. Click on the Desk Settings tab
  4. Select one or multiple desks and click Edit Selected, or use the location filter and edit a specific structure
  5. In the General Resource Settings, enable the following options:
  6. Under Booking settings, ensure Enable ‘Make instant booking’ is turned on
  7. Under Presence detection, check Enable detecting user presence 
  8. Click Save to apply changes


How Presence Detection Works

Once enabled, the Humly Booking Device will detect user presence through vibrations and display a booking prompt. Here’s how the system functions:

  • If a user sits or interacts with an Available desk, the built-in accelerometer detects presence through vibrations
  • A message prompts the user to book the resource
  • Upon confirmation, the booking status changes to Ongoing, and no further prompts will be displayed for the duration of the booking


Important Notes

  • If a user leaves before the scheduled end time, the booking will not be automatically cancelled. Manual cancellation is required
  • Ensure compliance with workplace policies regarding data collection before enabling presence detection

What Happens if the User Doesn’t Book the Resource?

The system follows these protocols for user inactivity or cancellation:

  • User Inactivity: If no interaction occurs within 5 minutes, the prompt disappears but will reappear after 10 minutes if presence is still detected
  • User Cancellation: If the user selects Cancel, the prompt will disappear but will reappear within 10-15 minutes if presence is still detected and the desk remains available


Upcoming Bookings & Check-In

  • 10 minutes before a scheduled booking, the device will update its status, displaying the upcoming reservation in yellow text and LED
  • During this time, presence detection prompts are disabled to prevent conflicts with scheduled bookings


By leveraging the Humly Booking Device’s presence detection, organisations can improve office space efficiency, enhance user experience, and maintain accurate desk booking statistics. Upgrade your workplace today with Humly’s smart booking solutions.