Workplace Calendar Service for Exchange V3 FAQs

Q.  Eptura Workplace is a SaaS solution for workplace management. What is the use case for an integration with Microsoft Outlook/Exchange?  

A.  The primary use case for customers is to sync calendar events between the customer’s email service provider and the Eptura Workplace Reservations module.  This allows the customer’s employees to manage their work meetings using multiple touchpoints  - Outlook, the Workplace Reservations web page, the Workplace Hummingbird mobile app or the Hummingbird add-in for Outlook.  

The Workplace Calendar Service V3, built in partnership with Nylas, provides a handshake allowing us to pass event data securely between Exchange and Workplace ensuring a stable and reliable user experience and a standardized authentication process. Our native code base has been updated to adopt the Nylas API v3, which leverages Microsoft Graph and admin consent for a more secure and efficient connection to your Exchange tenant. We also provide calendar admin tools for connecting accounts and configuring linked spaces.  

Q.  What personal data is used e.g. name, email etc.?

A.  The Workplace Calendar Service V3 authenticates through the use of a service account with the the room resource calendar’s SMTP address/mailbox, not the individual user’s calendar mailbox.  We do, by syncing events between Eptura Workplace and the customer’s email service provider via Nylas.  We store the user’s email address as an attribute of the created event to allow us to send booking notifications.  Eptura Workplace stores emails for all person records created by the admin in our application for the purpose of conducting operational transactions.  We do not store PII data beyond those values needed to use the application - name, email, phone number (optional). We do not have permissions to the user’s calendar.

Q.  What data elements are needed for this integration? 

A.  A Microsoft service account, a room resource SMTP address and the Workplace room ID of the space that will be linked to the room resource calendar. 

Q.  What do you use to connect to Exchange?  

A.  We connect to the customer’s Office365 Exchange tenant using app permissions. 

Q.  What permissions does the Eptura Workplace Calendar Service require?   

A.  The Eptura Workplace Calendar Service app is configured with the following permission set

• Calendars.ReadWrite
• email
• offline_access
• openid
• profile
• User.Read.All 

These permissions are not configured within the customer's service account, but are accepted and granted to our app during the authorization process as shown on the screen below. 

Q. Can Application Access policies be used to restrict visible rooms or do we need access to the full room resource calendar? Why do we need to grant User.Read.All permission?

A. Yes, application access policies can be used to restrict access. User.Read.All permissions are used by our Azure application to read the user profile information for the room resource calendar.

Q.  Does the Workplace Calendar Service V3 support more than one Microsoft tenant (instance)?

A.  Yes.  To authenticate more than one tenant you will need a service account as described above per tenant.  Follow the instructions outlined in Authorization of the Workplace Calendar Service for each tenant.  

Q.  What type of data from my Exchange/Outlook instance is being stored by Eptura vs Nylas?  How is the data stored?   

A.  We both store resource IDs, event IDs, and calendar items. Eptura streams the data through Kafka and stores it in Azure. All transmission of that data is encrypted. Storage in Azure is also encrypted. Details for Nylas can be found here: https://trust.nylas.com/

Q.  Will the Eptura Workplace calendar service have access to my user’s personal Outlook mailbox or contents? 

A.  We will have read only access for the purpose of syncing calendar events and sending email notifications.  We cannot write to the user’s calendar account. 

Q.  Do you support OAuth2.0 for this integration?

A.  Yes via Office365 SSO.

Q.  Where is the Calendar Service V3 hosted?

A. The service is currently hosted in the US.  Our hosting site in France is expected to be added in the second half of 2025. 

Q.  How is metadata like attachments from meeting room bookings being stored?  Can meta data be stripped from the bookings details? 

A.  Workplace stores metadata about the event itself, such as an eventID and iCalID, but we do not store attachments.  All meta data can be stripped using the Exchange Admin Center.  For information about how Nylas stores data reference this website - https://trust.nylas.com/ 

Q.  Will the Calendar Service V3 calendar service support Google Calendar?

A.  No. Support for Google Calendars and Google Service Accounts is not supported. 

Q.  Does the Calendar Service V3 calendar service have an API?

A.  Yes.  However, it is not exposed to customers.  Workplace calls this API via Kafka or scheduled calls to update events within our application.  Customer will use the existing Workplace Reservations API for any external integration needs.  Documentation can be found here:  REST API 

Q.  Does the Calendar Service V3 calendar service support multi-factor authentication?

A.  Yes.  The service uses OAuth to authenticate the service account can have multi-factor authentication enabled.  We will receive a token and refresh token, and use those to further access the account.

Q.  How are inbound calls handled?  (will Nylas be pulling data from Outlook? What data?)

A.  There are no inbound calls to Outlook. All communications is with Office365 through API calls for the data granted through approved permissions. 

Q.  Will the Calendar Service V3 service support future integrations with Microsoft Teams?

A.   Yes.  The scope and availability of integrations with MS Teams is subject to future approval and prioritization of additional feature sets by the Eptura. 

Q.  Does the Calendar Service V3 update allow for 'edit everywhere'?  In other words, events created in Outlook can be edited in Workplace and vice versa?

A.  No.  Edit everywhere is not available in V3.  Users are advised to edit an event in the application it was created in - Outlook or Workplace.  

Q. If the customer makes changes to the room resource email address, will the connection and sync be lost?

A.  Yes, the room will lose connection to the service. The address itself should not be modified, nor should the room resource be removed or recreated.  

Q.   If the customer changes permissions or restrictions of the room resource calendar, will the connection and sync be lost? For example, we grant a distribution list access to reserve this room calendar on the Exchange side or the admin adds/removes users from the distribution list?

A. No. The connection and sync will not be lost. As long as the email address is not removed, recreated or modified.

Q: In Exchange, what is the difference between Workspaces and Standard room types, and which should we use with Workplace Calendar Service V3?    

A: In Exchange, Workspaces are designed for shared, flexible, or "hot-desking" areas with capacity-based, multi-user, and long-duration bookings (for example, 3+ hours). Standard room types (meeting rooms) are designed for exclusive, single-event, and typically shorter-duration bookings, allowing only one user/group to book the space at a time.

Key Differences

• Capacity & Overbooking - Workspaces allow multiple users to book the same space until the total capacity is reached (for example, 10 people in a 20-desk area). Because of this capacity-based model, Workspace mailboxes can appear “double booked” (or multi-booked) on the resource calendar by design. Standard rooms are exclusive—once booked, they are unavailable for that time slot.
• Booking Duration - Workspaces are generally meant for longer, day-based, or multi-hour stays, and often enforce a minimum duration (for example, 3 hours).
• Best Use Case: Use Workspaces for hot desks, open lounges, or large, subdivided, non-traditional spaces. Use Standard Room Mailboxes for traditional conference rooms, boardrooms, or training rooms.
• Configuration - Workspaces are created and managed via PowerShell with granular control over seat availability, while Standard Rooms are created and managed in the Exchange admin center.

Q: Can a standard room resource in Outlook/Exchange be double-booked?  

A: Yes. Even when a standard room resource is configured to behave as an exclusive, single-booking room, it can still become double-booked under certain configuration or usage patterns. This is because Exchange will only enforce conflict checking under specific conditions (for example, when the room is invited as a resource and automatic processing is enabled). If those conditions are bypassed or relaxed, overlapping meetings can be created on the room’s calendar.

Q: What are the common reasons a standard room resource gets double-booked?

A: A standard room mailbox can be double-booked for several reasons:

• Direct Calendar Additions (Editor access) - If a user has Editor (or higher) permissions and adds an appointment directly to the room’s calendar instead of inviting it as a resource, Exchange’s automated conflict check is bypassed. The meeting simply appears on the room’s calendar, even if another event already exists in that time slot.
• Edits to Recurring Meetings - If a single occurrence of a recurring series is moved to a time that is already booked, the room may accept that individual instance. Exchange often will not decline the whole series, so the modified occurrence can overlap with another booking.
• Room Conflict Settings (AllowConflicts) - If the room mailbox is configured with AllowConflicts = $True (sometimes done to accommodate recurring meetings or specific scheduling patterns), Exchange will allow overlapping bookings up to a defined percentage or count, resulting in double (or multiple) bookings.
• Manual Delegate Approval - If a human delegate reviews and approves room requests, they can intentionally or unintentionally approve a second meeting request for an already-booked time, creating a double booking on the resource calendar.

Q: How does the room’s Capacity setting relate to double-booking for standard room resources?

A: For standard room resources, the Capacity field is primarily informational:

• It is meant to tell users how many people can fit in the room.
• It does not automatically allow multiple separate meetings to be scheduled at the same time (for example, five meetings in a 10-person room).

The main exception is when using Microsoft Bookings:

• In Microsoft Bookings, setting a Capacity greater than 1 can explicitly allow multiple separate appointments at the same time until the capacity limit is reached.
• Outside of Microsoft Bookings, double-booking is governed by the room’s conflict settings and how meetings are created (see reasons above), not by Capacity alone.

Q: What can we do to prevent double-booking of standard room resources in Exchange?

A: To reduce or prevent double-bookings on standard room mailboxes used with Workplace Calendar Service V3:

1. Set AllowConflicts to False - Configure the room to decline all conflicting requests via the Exchange Admin Center or PowerShell. This ensures Exchange automatically rejects overlapping requests when the room is properly invited as a resource.
2. Limit Direct Editing Permissions - Avoid granting users Editor or higher permissions on the room mailbox. Instead, give them Reviewer (read-only) access so they must invite the room as a resource. This keeps Exchange’s conflict checking in the loop.
3. Enable Automatic Processing - Configure the room to “Automatically accept or decline meeting requests” so conflicts are evaluated and declined immediately, without relying on a human delegate.
4. Review Delegate Workflows (if applicable) - If a delegate approves requests, ensure they understand that approving overlapping requests will create double-bookings on the room’s calendar.

Q: Why doesn’t declining or deleting an event from my personal Outlook calendar cancel the booking on the room’s Resource Calendar? 

A: When events are created in Workplace and synced to Exchange via the service account, the service account creates the event directly on the room's Resource Calendar. As part of this process:

• Eptura Host is added as an attendee on the meeting invite.
• Room's Resource becomes the organizer/host of the meeting and is responsible for inviting the attendees.

Because the room's Resource is the organizer, actions taken by individual attendees on their personal calendars, such as declining the invite, deleting the event, or removing it from their own calendar, only affect their personal calendar view. These attendee actions do not cancel or delete the event on the room’s Resource Calendar in Outlook.  

To cancel a room booking that was created in Workplace and synced to Exchange, the event must be cancelled in Workplace (or by the room's Resource/organizer in Outlook), not by attendees from their personal calendars.

Q. Is Exchange the "source of truth" for reservations/bookings?

Yes, Exchange is now the single source of truth for all room booking validations and conflict handling.

Q. What does Exchange allow for double bookings?

• Exchange may allow double bookings

Exchange can permit overlapping reservations depending on how the resource is configured. Workplace will reflect what Exchange allows.

1. Check Your Exchange Resource Settings - To prevent double bookings, ensure the following settings are configured correctly in Exchange:

• AllowConflicts = false

• AllRequestOutOfPolicy = false

2. User Actions Can Bypass Calendar Processing

If users have Full Access permissions and directly add or modify appointments on the room calendar (instead of sending a meeting request), the Exchange Calendar Attendant is bypassed. This can result in double bookings, as the system does not process the reservation through standard conflict-checking logic.

2. Capacity Settings in Exchange Affect Booking Behavior

   • If you set the capacity to 1, the resource mailbox behaves like a traditional meeting room: it allows only one booking at a time and automatically declines any conflicting requests.

   • If you set the capacity to a number greater than 1, such as for flexible workspaces or shared desks, the resource mailbox will accept multiple bookings simultaneously until the defined capacity limit is reached.

• Workplace no longer prevents conflicts when events originate in Exchange

The previous logic that automatically canceled/prevented overlapping reservations that originate in Exchange has been removed. As a result, Eptura will no longer prevent double bookings if they originate in Exchange, since Exchange is now the system of record for booking validation.

Q. What room booking methods are supported?

Q. Why do I see "Customer Service" as the host in my event?

The event host will automatically be assigned as "Customer Service" in Eptura Workplace, in the following situations.