Required room type for location: how do I set this up?

On a resource of type Location (see the different resource types) an extra field appears: “Required [product] for location” — for example “Required room type for location” if you work with meeting rooms. The label changes per sector, but it always refers to a regular bookable product.

This field is independent of the “Resource [products]” table on the right of the screen. That table shows which products need this resource in order to be booked (product → resource). This field works the other way around (resource → product) and serves a different purpose, see below.

What happens when you fill in this field?

As soon as you select a product here, you link this physical location to a bookable product. This link is used by the Activity module (the internal roster/agenda):

• If you schedule this location on an activity, i-Reserve automatically creates a booking on the linked product, for the same date and time.
• If the linked product is already (partly) booked at that time, i-Reserve refuses to save the activity: you get a message that a conflicting booking exists.
• If you leave the field empty, nothing happens: the location is then only used “standalone” on the activity, with no effect on the availability of any product.

Setting it up

1. In the admin panel, go to Configuration > Objects > Manage resources.
2. Open the resource of type Location you want to link.
3. Under “Required […] for location”, choose the product that represents this physical space for regular (public) rental.
4. Save the resource.

This link is specifically meant to prevent double bookings when the same room is both used internally (via activities, e.g. trainings or courses) and rentable to the public. See How do I block a room while an activity is taking place? for a complete example.