# Set up rooms and equipment

> In Velarya, a service that needs a room or a device reserves a free one automatically when it is booked, so patients see only times when one is free. Add room and device types in Organization settings > Resource Categories, each location's rooms and hours in Manage > Resources, then pick the categories each service needs.

- Source: https://velarya.com/help/set-up-rooms-and-equipment
- Who can do this: Admins and Location Managers: Rooms & equipment (per location) at Manage for rooms and their hours; Service catalog at Edit for resource categories and each service's required resources
- Plans: Basic, Scale, Branded, Connected
- Time: 15 minutes
- Last verified: 2026-10-01

## Before you begin

- Your services are in the Service Catalog: Create a service patients can book.
- The location's operating hours are set: Set your hours and staff schedules.

## Add your resource categories

A resource category in Velarya is a kind of room or device, such as "Laser Room" or "Treatment Rooms". Services require a category and Velarya picks the room, and one list serves every location. Give a device its own category when a service needs that exact one.

1. Select **Organization settings** in the menu at the bottom of the sidebar, then **Resource Categories**.
2. Select **Add category**.
3. Enter the category's name, such as "Laser Room", and a description if you like.
4. Select **Add category** in the dialog. The category is listed as **Active**.

![Resource Categories listing Treatment Rooms, Laser Devices and Injectables Suite as Active, with Add category outlined](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-rooms-and-equipment/resource-categories-987808a7.webp)

To rename a category, select the pencil next to it. Deleting a category that a room or service still uses deactivates it instead, and it stays attached where it is already used. Select **Restore** to bring it back.

## Add the rooms and devices at each location

Each room or device belongs to one location and one category. Add every one the location has, because Velarya books a category only as many times at once as the location has active rooms of it.

1. Go to **Manage** > **Resources**. Under **Rooms & Equipment** the page lists the current location's rooms and devices.
2. Select **Add resource**.
3. Enter the name, such as "Room 5", and choose its **Category**.
4. Pick a **Calendar colour** if you like, then select **Add resource**. The room is listed as **Active**.

![Add room or device with Room 5 typed and Treatment Rooms chosen as the category, the category outlined](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-rooms-and-equipment/add-room-dialog-23a8d943.webp)

To add rooms at another location, choose it from the menu at the bottom of the left sidebar first.

## Set each room's hours and maintenance windows

A room or device in Velarya is reserved only inside its own weekly hours. A room with no hours is never free, so give every room hours, usually the same as the location's.

1. On **Rooms & Equipment**, select **Hours** next to the room.
2. Under **Weekly operating hours**, select **Add hours**, choose the days and set the start and end times. Add a second row on the same days to leave a gap.
3. Select **Save Hours**. The button reads "Saved".

![Room 1 hours and availability: an Every day row from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM under Weekly operating hours, Save Hours outlined](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-rooms-and-equipment/room-hours-20a79c0d.webp)

4. For a service visit or repair, select **Add window** under **Time off & maintenance**.
5. Set when it **Starts** and **Ends**, add a reason if you like, and select **Add window**. The room cannot be reserved for the whole window, whatever its weekly hours.

Visits already booked in that window keep the room, so move them on the **Calendar**.

## Link rooms to services

A service reserves rooms through the categories it lists under **Required Resources**, set once in the Velarya **Service Catalog** and used at every location that does not set its own.

1. In **Organization settings** > **Service Catalog**, select the service.
2. Under **Required Resources**, select **Browse**, select each category the service needs, such as a laser room and a laser device, then select **Done**.
3. Select **Save** in the **Unsaved changes** bar. The bar closes, and new bookings of the service reserve a free room or device of each category.

![Required Resources on a laser service with Laser Devices selected and the Browse button outlined](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-rooms-and-equipment/service-required-resources-a9078499.webp)

A service that lists two categories reserves one free room or device of each. [Create a service patients can book](https://velarya.com/help/create-a-service) covers the rest of the service editor.

## How does Velarya assign rooms?

Velarya treats rooms and devices as part of every booking, from the patient app, the web booking page, the **Calendar**, walk-ins and the waitlist.

| Situation | What Velarya does |
|---|---|
| A patient or staff member books a service with **Required Resources** | Picks a free room or device of each category at that location and reserves it automatically |
| Every room of a category is busy | Offers patients no start time then. Staff see "This conflicts with the schedule" and can select **Save anyway**, which shares a room |
| The location has no active room of a category | Offers patients no times for the service at that location |
| The visit has hands-off or transition time | Holds the room for the whole visit, hands-off and transition time included |
| A room has no weekly hours, or a maintenance window covers the time | Treats the room as unavailable then |
| The visit is moved to a new time | Picks a free room again at the new time |
| A visit is cancelled, marked a no-show or completed | Frees the room |
| You narrow a room's hours around booked visits | Asks "Hours conflict with booked appointments", and keeps the visits if you select **Save anyway** |

## What do patients see?

Patients never see rooms or devices. They are offered only times when a room of each kind the service needs is free, and the app shows "Not bookable at this location" when a location has none of a kind. Staff see the reserved room on the appointment, under **Rooms & equipment**, and can move the visit to another free room there. [Book an appointment for a patient](https://velarya.com/help/book-an-appointment-for-a-patient) covers booking from the **Calendar**.

## If something goes wrong

**Resources is missing from Location Settings.** Your role lacks **Rooms & equipment (per location)** at **manage** at this location. Ask an Admin to update your role.

**Add resource is grayed out.** There are no active resource categories yet. Select **Manage Resource Categories** on the page and add one first. If categories exist, your role also needs **Service catalog** at **edit** to list them.

**A service has no times, although providers are free.** A room it needs has no weekly hours, or every room of that kind is booked or in maintenance. Select **Hours** on each room and check its rows.

**"Not bookable at [location]: [service] needs …" on Rooms & Equipment.** **Rooms & Equipment** lists every service that needs a category the location has no active room of. Add a room of that category, or change the service's resources for this location in **Manage** > **Services**.

**"Hours conflict with booked appointments".** Upcoming visits already hold the room outside the new hours. Select **Save anyway** to keep both, or widen the hours.

**"The end must come after the start."** The maintenance window ends before it starts. Fix the **Ends** date or time.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can staff put an appointment in a different room?

Yes. Open the appointment on the Calendar, and under Rooms & equipment choose another room or device of the same category. Rooms that are busy at that time are marked busy and cannot be picked. Moving a visit to a new time picks a free room again, because the original room may not be free then. Changing rooms takes Calendar & appointments at Manage.

### Does a room free up during a service's hands-off time?

No. A room or device is held for the whole visit, hands-off time and transition time included, even when the provider is free to see someone else. So a second patient fits a provider's hands-off gap only when they need no room, need a different kind, or another room of the same kind is free at that time.

### Can one location use a different kind of room for a service?

Yes. In Manage > Services, select the service, change Resources required at this location, and select Save changes. The list you set there applies at that location only, and the line under the heading shows what the organization requires. A location can require another category or none at all, while every other location keeps the organization's list.

### What happens to booked visits when I delete a room?

Booked visits keep the room. Deleting a room or device in Velarya deactivates it, so it is no longer reserved for new bookings, and upcoming appointments that already hold it are untouched. When upcoming appointments hold it, the message after deleting says how many. Select Restore on the room to bring it back.

### Do patients choose a room when they book?

No. Patients never see rooms or devices, in the patient app or on your web booking page. Velarya picks a free one of each kind the service needs at the time they choose, and offers only times when one is free. When a location has none of a kind the service needs, patients read "Not bookable at this location".