How To Pre-Approve and Approve Automated Change Requests for Reservations

This article will assist administrators with processing automated change requests submitted by renters on reservations.

With Facilitron’s new automated change request feature, applying renter’s requested changes to add, move, or remove dates, change time slots, or cancel reservations may be automatically be applied upon approving. Renters still have the option to request changes to facilities, services, equipment, and others using notes that are sent to administrators for approval. 

Please see the following training video for administrators here. We will also walk through how to review, pre-approve, and approve or decline these requests below.

What Is an Automated Change Request?

The new automated change request feature allows renters to request the following modifications be made to their reservations, without the need for administrators or Facilitron Support to manually apply the changes.

• Change time
• Add dates
• Move dates
• Remove dates
• Cancel the reservation

Once the renter has submitted one of the above change requests, if the reservation is pending the change request will automatically be applied. If the reservation is approved, approval of the change request will need to be made by the administrator. If the request is approved, the change will automatically be applied, without the administrator needing to manually apply the change.

Please note that the renter will still have the option to request other changes in the automated change request feature. This option functions the same as the regular change request feature has in the past, where the renter will be able to leave a comment with their requested change for administrators to review and advise if the change can be accommodated. The change will need to be applied manually either by the administrator, or a member of Facilitron Support.  

For more information on how renter’s utilize automated change requests, please see Requesting a Change to your Reservation.

How Will I Know When My Attention Is Required on a Change Request?

When an automated change request is made on a reservation, the below email will be sent to any administrator capable of approving or declining this change. Please note that your ability to approve or decline an automated change request will be based on your role configuration, as set by your district.

In addition to this email, there will be a new section on your administrator dashboard titled "Administrative Action Required", just above the "Recent Comments" section.

You may click on the hyperlinked reservation ID either in the email received, or from the "Administrative Action Required" widget on your dashboard to navigate to the reservation details page to proceed in reviewing and either pre-approving the change request, or approving or declining the request.

How To Review and Pre-Approve a Change Request

On approved reservations, district administrators will be required to either approve or decline a change request. As a pre-approver at a school site, you will be able to give a thumbs up or thumbs down on the change request to let the district administrators know if the change can be accommodated by your school site or not.

Begin by navigating to the reservation details page and click on the "Review Change Request" button in the red banner at the top of the page to review the renter’s request.

A pop-out will appear for you to review the requested change, and either give a thumbs up (okay) or thumbs down (not okay). This pre-approval decision will be shown both in the "Comments/History" section of the reservation, as well as in the pre-approver widget.

If you do not give a pre-approval decision for the requested change, the pre-approver widget will shown an orange thumb (either up or down) next to your name, indicating your previous decision on the reservation prior to the change request being received.

How To Review and Approve or Decline a Change Request

On approved reservations, district administrators will be required to either approve or decline a change request. 

Begin by navigating to the reservation details page and click the "Review Change Request" button in the red banner at the top of the page to review the renter’s request.

A pop-out will appear for you to review and either approve or decline the change request. 

If the request can be accommodated, choose "Approve selected" and click "Submit" to complete processing the change request. Once approved, the change will automatically be applied to the reservation. The change request, pre-approvers decision (if one was made), and final decision will be recorded in the "History" section of the "Comments/History" widget on the reservation details page.

If when reviewing a change request it is determined that the school site administrators pre-approval is needed, or additional information is required before a final decision may be made, you may choose to leave a note on the change request.

This note will be included in the change request itself, and will be visible for both the renter and the school site administrators to view when reviewing the change request. Please note that if the clarification required should only be reviewed by the school site administrator, and the renter should not have access to the information in the note, you should instead leave an internal comment for the designated administrator.

Once a decision is received from the school site administrators, you may proceed with declining the change request, and optionally may leave a note advising why the request was declined. Be sure to click "Submit" to process declining the request. No change will be made to the reservation.

The change request, pre-approvers decision and/or comment, and final decision will be recorded in the "History" section of the "Comments/History" widget on the reservation details page.

Special Notes Regarding the Automated Change Request Feature

Please note that when an automated change request has been made to a reservation, the reservation will be “locked” to any other changes. No manual adjustments, suspensions, or cancellations may be made on the reservation until the change request has been resolved.