Before You Start: Quick Checks
Before working through the full decision tree below, rule out the simplest explanations first:
Is the resource turned off for booking? Coordinators, Building Admins, and Global Admins can disable booking on any individual resource. Check Allow booking under Edit Resource.
Is it already booked? A greyed-out resource for a specific date is often simply unavailable at that time, not restricted.
Is the user's account active and correctly assigned to a building? An inactive or misassigned account will block bookings regardless of any of the settings below.
The Decision Tree
Kadence checks access in a specific order. If any layer below says no, the person can't book - even if every layer after it would say yes. Work through them in this order.
Two different settings are both called "Restrict Access" - don't mix them up. Neighborhood restrict access controls which teams can book at all in a neighborhood. Resource-level restrict access assigns one specific desk, office, parking spot, or locker to one specific person. They're configured in different places and solve different problems - see Layers 2 and 4 below.
Layer 1: Team Membership
Most access rules in Kadence are built around teams, not individuals. Start here:
Is the person on the team that's meant to have access?
Are they on more than one team, with conflicting rules?
See How to Create and Configure Teams to check or update team membership.
Layer 2: Neighborhood Restrict Access
If the desk sits inside a neighborhood, that neighborhood may have Restrict Access turned on, allowing only specific teams to book - either on a recurring weekly schedule or on specific calendar dates.
Is the person's team assigned access to this neighborhood?
Is today's day of the week (or date) actually one of their assigned days? A team can have access Monday-Thursday and still be blocked on a Friday.
Layer 3: Priority Booking / Early-Access Window
Even with access to the neighborhood, timing rules can still block a booking:
Neighborhood priority booking (optional): lets specific teams book earlier than everyone else in that neighborhood. If the person isn't on a priority team, they may simply be outside their booking window yet.
Global booking window: a separate, resource-type-level setting for how far in advance anyone can book, everywhere. This applies even where no neighborhood or priority booking exists at all.
These are easy to conflate. See How Far in Advance Can Employees Book? for a side-by-side comparison.
Layer 4: Resource-Level Restrict Access
Separately from neighborhood access, an individual Desk, Private Office, Parking spot, or Locker can be assigned to a specific person. If it is, only that person (or others explicitly added) can book it - unless "Make public on unassigned days" is enabled.
This layer doesn't apply to Meeting Rooms or Pods - they don't support resource-level restrict access at all. See the full breakdown by resource type in How to Create and Configure Resources.
Layer 5: Building Hours
Finally, check the building itself. Every building has defined opening hours, and a booking request outside those hours will be blocked regardless of team, neighborhood, or resource settings. See How to Create and Configure Buildings.
Summary Table
Layer | Controls | Configured In |
1. Team Membership | Which team the person belongs to | Teams |
2. Neighborhood Restrict Access | Which teams can book in this neighborhood, and on which days | Neighborhoods |
3. Priority / Booking Window | How far in advance the person can book | Neighborhoods (priority) / Global Resource Settings (booking window) |
4. Resource-Level Restrict Access | Whether this specific desk/office/parking/locker is assigned to someone else | Resources |
5. Building Hours | Whether the requested time falls within the building's operating hours | Buildings |
Frequently Asked Questions
The person is on the right team - why are they still blocked?
The person is on the right team - why are they still blocked?
Team membership only satisfies Layer 1. Check whether their team's access is limited to specific days (Layer 2), whether a priority or booking window is delaying them (Layer 3), or whether the specific resource is separately assigned to someone else (Layer 4).
A colleague on the same team can book this desk, but this person can't - why?
A colleague on the same team can book this desk, but this person can't - why?
This usually points to Layer 4: the desk may be individually assigned to their colleague through resource-level restrict access, which is separate from - and doesn't follow - the neighborhood's team access rules.
Does this apply to Meeting Rooms and Pods too?
Does this apply to Meeting Rooms and Pods too?
Layers 1, 2, 3, and 5 all apply. Layer 4 (resource-level restrict access) does not - Meeting Rooms and Pods can't be individually assigned to a specific person.
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