In today's hybrid workplace and facility-driven environments, managing meeting rooms, labs, equipment, or shared spaces efficiently is a must. While SaaS tools like Microsoft Bookings or Calendly dominate the cloud-based booking space, many organizations — particularly those focused on data privacy or budget — prefer self-hosted solutions.

Self-hosting a room booking system gives you full control over your data, no recurring license fees, and the flexibility to customize as needed. In this article, we'll explore some of the best open-source, self-hosted room booking systems you can deploy on your own servers.

1. MRBS (Meeting Room Booking System)

Website: mrbs.sourceforge.net

Overview: MRBS is a long-standing open-source room booking solution built using PHP and MySQL. It was designed for use in schools and offices and supports simple yet effective room and facility booking features.

Features:

Best suited for: Educational institutions, hospitals, and SMEs looking for a lightweight but effective booking calendar.

Limitations:

2. Booked Scheduler (formerly phpScheduleIt)

Website: bookedscheduler.com
GitHub: github.com/BookedScheduler

Overview: Booked Scheduler offers a more modern and responsive interface compared to MRBS. It supports booking not just rooms, but also equipment, labs, and shared resources with detailed rule-based permissions.

Features:

Best suited for: Businesses, universities, and research labs needing flexible and scalable booking logic.

Limitations:

3. Easy!Appointments

Website: easyappointments.org
GitHub: github.com/alextselegidis/easyappointments

Overview: Although originally designed as a client appointment booking system (e.g. for salons or consultants), Easy!Appointments can be adapted to book meeting rooms and facilities. It boasts a clean UI and smooth booking flow for end users.

Features:

Best suited for: Organizations looking for a polished appointment system that can be customized for room booking.

Limitations:

Why Go Self-Hosted? 

Here are a few good reasons to pick a self-hosted room booking system:

What About MFA? 

While none of these systems support native Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) out-of-the-box, you can secure them by:

Final Thoughts

Self-hosted booking systems are perfect for organizations that need customization, privacy, and cost savings. Whether you want a simple calendar like MRBS, a robust system like Booked Scheduler, or a polished experience with Easy!Appointments, there's a solution to fit your environment.

With a bit of setup effort, you'll have a fully functional and secure booking system tailored to your needs — all while keeping your data on your terms.