How to Turn Off Microsoft Bookings for All Employees in Microsoft 365
If your organization isn’t ready to roll out Microsoft Bookings yet—maybe your support team needs time to review documentation or train staff—you can easily disable it for everyone from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This prevents users from creating or managing Bookings calendars until you’re ready to enable it again.
What Is Microsoft Bookings?
Microsoft Bookings is a scheduling tool included in Microsoft 365 that integrates with Outlook and Microsoft Teams. It helps manage appointments, automate confirmations, and streamline service-based scheduling.
By default, Bookings is turned on for all users in your organization. If you want to temporarily turn it off, you can do so without affecting other Microsoft 365 services.
Step-by-Step: Disable Microsoft Bookings for All Employees
Follow these steps to disable Microsoft Bookings for your entire organization:
1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center
- Go to https://admin.microsoft.com
- Use your Global Admin or Exchange Admin credentials.
2. Go to Org Settings
- In the left-hand menu, select Settings → Org settings.
- Then open the Services tab.
3. Locate Microsoft Bookings
- Scroll down and find Bookings in the list of available services.
- Click Bookings to open its settings.
4. Turn Off Bookings
- Uncheck the box that says Allow your organization to use Bookings.
- Click Save to apply the changes.
This setting immediately disables the Microsoft Bookings app across your organization. Employees will no longer be able to access or create booking calendars.
Why This Is the Correct Approach
Let’s look at other (incorrect) options and why you should avoid them:
- ❌ Disable all Azure AD user accounts – This locks everyone out of all Microsoft 365 services.
- ❌ Disable directory synchronization – This disrupts sync between on-prem AD and Azure AD, which affects all accounts.
- ❌ Disable Bookings from Org settings | Security & privacy – Bookings isn’t managed under security settings; it’s under the Services tab.
✅ Correct Option: Disable Bookings from Org settings | Services — This method only affects the Bookings app, leaving other services (like Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint) untouched.
Optional: Control Bookings Access for Specific Users
If you later want to allow Bookings only for certain departments or users, use PowerShell or group-based access.
Example PowerShell command:
Set-Mailbox <UserName> -BookingsMailboxEnabled $false
Or, in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, manage who can use Bookings under:
- Users → Active Users → Licenses and Apps → Microsoft Bookings
Re-Enabling Microsoft Bookings
When your support staff is ready, you can return to Org settings → Services → Bookings, and check the box to re-enable it. Changes take effect quickly, and users will regain access to their Bookings pages.
Summary
| Task | Location | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Turn off Bookings org-wide | Admin Center → Org settings → Services → Bookings | Uncheck “Allow your organization to use Bookings” |
| Turn off for one user | PowerShell or user license settings | Disable Bookings mailbox |
| Turn back on | Same as above | Re-check the option |
Final Thoughts
Disabling Microsoft Bookings from Org settings → Services is the safest and most efficient way to pause access while your organization prepares for rollout. It keeps your Microsoft 365 environment stable, avoids user confusion, and gives your IT team time to finalize configuration and training.
