The most user-friendly alternative to Ultimo for room booking is a system that works where your people already work: in Microsoft Outlook. Gfacility is one such alternative. You book a meeting room without a separate portal, and in the same flow you register visitors and arrange catering, so booking covers more than just a room. An AI assistant takes care of the details, and the switch from Ultimo is handled for you in full. For organisations now looking for a replacement for Ultimo’s booking module, that is the difference between yet another tool and a system people actually use.
Why are organisations looking for an alternative to Ultimo?
The immediate trigger is concrete: IFS Ultimo will end support for its booking module on 1 January 2028, which means meeting-room booking will eventually have to land somewhere else (see the announcement of the phase-out). For healthcare organisations in particular, which often work across multiple sites, this is a pressing question. Plan the switch around the exact end date and scope that your own supplier confirms.
The deeper reason is more familiar: low adoption. A separate booking tool with its own login is rarely used consistently. People email reception, block a room in their own calendar, or just drop by. The data is wrong, no-shows and ghost bookings pile up, and occupancy cannot be managed. Choosing a replacement is therefore the moment to fix not only the tool, but the adoption problem too.
What makes an alternative simpler and more user-friendly?
User-friendly does not just mean a nicer portal. It means no separate portal. Three things make the difference:
Works where your people already work. Booking happens in Outlook, not in a separate system that has to be learned first.
AI does the work, not the user. An AI assistant proposes a suitable room based on the time, the number of participants and the location, instead of someone searching a list by hand.
The switch is fully taken care of. The migration of existing bookings is carried out automatically, so your teams do not grind to a halt during the changeover.
| Standalone booking tool | Gfacility |
|---|---|
| Separate portal with its own login | Booking from Outlook and Teams |
| Manual search for a free room | AI assistant proposes a suitable room |
| The switch is a complex implementation project | Fully managed implementation |
The comparison describes Gfacility’s approach against a typical standalone booking module, based on publicly available functionality at the time of writing.
How does room booking work in Gfacility?
Gfacility is an AI-native enterprise service management (ESM) platform that brings IT, Facility and Workplace together on one engine. For room booking that means deep integration with Microsoft 365, so an employee books a meeting room from the calendar they already have open. No extra login, no separate portal. There is more about the functionality on the room booking page.
On top of that integration, a personal AI assistant works for every employee. That assistant handles the booking: it understands the request, proposes a suitable room and records the booking, so arranging a room becomes a matter of a single sentence. See also Workplace AI for how AI Workers actually handle the work rather than only making suggestions.
Booking is more than a room: visitors and catering in one flow
Planning a meeting is rarely just reserving a room. Visitors arrive, and catering is needed. In Gfacility you arrange that in a continuous flow: you book the room, register the visitors and order catering, without switching to three separate systems. For the organiser it saves steps; for facility it produces a complete picture of what is coming in on a given day. That way the booking process is not just moved from Ultimo to a new tool, but made simpler than it was.
How does the migration from Ultimo to Gfacility work?
The switch from Ultimo is handled in full. Existing bookings are moved across automatically and by us, so disruption to service stays minimal and employees can simply keep booking. This is deliberate: the reason to switch is ease of use, so the switch itself must not be a barrier. You will find a broader overview of the platform on workplace management.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ultimo retiring its booking module? +
Yes. IFS Ultimo will end support for the room-booking module on 1 January 2028, so organisations need an alternative. Confirm the exact date and scope with your own supplier before you plan a migration.
What is the most user-friendly alternative to Ultimo for room booking? +
A system that works where your people already work. Gfacility lets employees book a meeting room from Outlook, with no separate portal, and an AI assistant that proposes a suitable room.
Can you also book visitors and catering in Gfacility? +
Yes. Booking in Gfacility goes beyond a room: in the same flow you register visitors and arrange catering, so a meeting is complete in one go instead of across three separate systems.
How does the migration from Ultimo to Gfacility work? +
Gfacility handles the switch. Existing bookings are moved across automatically, so service is disrupted as little as possible and your teams can carry on right away in the new environment.