The world has changed. We're all getting used to being connected to each other remotely, and for those of us running a business operating events of any kind, using online meeting tools like Zoom and Skype has suddenly become table stakes for survival. Many of these tools are relatively easy to operate, though they still bring their own added complexity to doing business generally.

At ClearBookings, we're doing what we can to ease this added burden on your business. In this vein, we are delighted to announce support for automated management of Zoom meetings for your events operated through our platform. With this new feature, you can:

• Create Zoom meetings and webinars automatically on publishing of your events,
• Distribute Zoom meeting access details as part of booking confirmations for your customers, and
• Add/remove registrants to your Zoom meeting attendee lists automatically as bookings are completed or cancelled (paid Zoom accounts only)

How does it work?

Now, when creating a new event, you can indicate that it will be operated online via Zoom, either as a standard meeting or as a webinar (requires a paid Zoom subscription with the Webinar Add-on). When doing so, you can configure meeting settings such as password, waiting room, recording and so forth as you would via the Zoom management console. Once you publish your event, we will automatically create Zoom meetings or webinars for each session you define for your event. This includes creating recurring meetings for events spanning multiple days or repeating over a range of dates. After you have published your event, subsequent changes to sessions, adding of new sessions or deleting existing sessions will also result in corresponding meeting/webinar updates on your Zoom account. (Important: Any changes you make to these meetings directly in your Zoom account are not propagated back to your ClearBookings events!)

What do my customers see?

When customers complete bookings for your events, they will receive their booking confirmation email as normal, but will also receive a separate email with meeting connection details for the Zoom meeting. This email includes links for adding the event to their Outlook or Google calendars.

If you opt to collect full name and email address details for individual attendees (as opposed to just for the customer completing the booking), we will issue separate meeting connection emails to each attendee. For paid Zoom accounts, we will even pre-register your attendees on your Zoom meetings and issue them unique links to join your meeting, thereby more tightly controlling access to your meetings.

New to ClearBookings? Try it here!

How do I start my meetings?

As you would for any Zoom meeting you create directly via the Zoom dashboard. That is, simply log into your Zoom account as normal, locate the meeting or webinar and click the Start button.

Is there a charge for this integration service?

No. This integration is a free element included in any use of the ClearBookings platform (normal Zoom subscription charges still apply if you are using a premium Zoom account) until the end of June. From July onward, the facility will remain free to use with paid events, though we plan to introduce a nominal monthly fee for use with free events based upon customer satisfaction and feedback.

How do I get started?

Simply create a new event in the ClearBookings dashboard (or open and un-publish an existing event). On the Who & Where? tab, select the Online event? checkbox, select Zoom and configure your meeting settings as needed. The first time you select this option, you will be prompted to add the ClearBookings app to your Zoom account. This is a simple guided process, after which you can publish your event.

If at any point, you no longer wish to have your Zoom account connected to ClearBookings, or if you need to link a different Zoom account, you can visit your Account Settings page and select the Zoom tab.

Where can I learn more?

You can find our full Zoom integration support page here, or drop us a line with any burning questions you have!

What's next?

We're not stopping here. If you have another online meeting service you are already using or want to use in preference to Zoom, please get in contact with us! We are actively seeking feedback on which platforms to support and what other features we can add to make your life easier.

And as always, we would love to hear from you with any feedback on this (or any other aspect of our service offering), good or bad!