> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getray.info/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Book a space

> How staff book a space from the RAY admin portal with Book a Space: a Standard Booking follows the space's policies, availability and pricing; a Freeform Booking is an admin override that shows overlapping bookings, which are canceled when the booking is made.

## Summary

Staff can book a space from **Bookings → Booking Records** with **Book a Space** (Arabic: **احجز
مساحة**). There are two kinds of booking:

| Kind                 | Arabic label | What the portal says                                                                         |
| -------------------- | ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Standard Booking** | حجز اعتيادي  | "Create a booking based on the configured availability, limits, and policies."               |
| **Freeform Booking** | حجز استثنائي | "Create an admin override booking. Overlapping bookings will be reviewed before continuing." |

## Where to find Book a Space

* Menu: **Bookings → Booking Records**, then **Book a Space** above the **All Bookings** list.

## How to make a standard booking

1. Open **Bookings → Booking Records**, click **Book a Space** and choose **Standard Booking**.
2. **Select Space**.
3. Under **Booking on Behalf of**, choose **Internal User** and pick the user, or **External User**
   and enter the **Full Name**.
4. Choose the **Booking Policy** and the **Pricing Scheme**. Tick **Is Free** to make the booking
   free: "If unchecked, the booking will be charged based on the selected pricing scheme. This is
   selected automatically when no monetary amount applies."
5. Choose the date and time. The fields depend on the booking policy type:
   * **Hourly**: a **Start Date**, then **Start Time** and **End Time**.
   * **Daily**: a date range (**Enter a date range**).
   * Longer types (weekly and up): a **Start Date** and an **End Date** from a list.
     Days that cannot be booked are disabled in the calendar; hover over a day to see why.
6. Click **Next**.
7. Enter the **Title** if asked, answer the space's booking form if it has one, and add
   **Invitees** (**Add Internal Members** and/or **Add External Invitees Emails**, comma-separated)
   and **Booking Notes**.
8. Click **Book**.

## How to make a freeform booking

A freeform booking ignores the space's usual availability and limits.

1. Open **Bookings → Booking Records**, click **Book a Space** and choose **Freeform Booking**.
2. **Select Space**, choose **Booking on Behalf of**, and enter the **Start Date** and **End Date**
   (date and time). Choose a **Sub-spaces** entry if the space has sub-spaces.
3. Click **Next** and fill in the title, form, invitees and notes as for a standard booking.
4. Click **Next** to review overlapping bookings. The portal shows either "No overlapping bookings
   found" or "The following bookings overlap with the selected time and will be canceled when you
   book", followed by the list.
5. Click **Book**.

## Book a Space rules

* **Invitees** can only be added when the space allows invitations (the space's **Booking Controls**
  tab). When the space has **Enforce Invitations**, invitees are required for standard bookings.
* A date range containing days that cannot be booked shows "The selected range contains unavailable
  dates".
* Closing the dialog with unsaved changes asks "Are you sure you want to discard your changes?"
  (**Discard** or **Keep**).

## Common questions about booking from the portal

### How do I book a room for a visitor who has no account?

Choose **External User** under **Booking on Behalf of** and enter their **Full Name**.

### How do I book a space that is already taken?

Use **Freeform Booking**. Its last step lists the overlapping bookings, which are canceled when you
click **Book**.

### How do I book a space for free?

In a standard booking, tick **Is Free**.

## Related pages

* [Booking Records](/bookings/booking-records): where Book a Space is, and the list of bookings.
* [Spaces](/bookings/spaces): invitations and sub-spaces of a space.
* [Booking Setup](/bookings/booking-setup): booking policies, pricing schemes and operating hours.