Update Building Time Zones

Use the Building time zones tool to update buildings affected by Canadian time zone changes. The tool finds buildings using U.S. time zones and lets you move them to the correct Canadian time zone.

On November 1, 2026, British Columbia, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Manitoba stop changing their clocks. Buildings in these locations that use U.S. Pacific, Mountain, or Central time zones can display incorrect times after the change.

The Building time zones feature is available with EMS 226.3.1. When you convert a building, EMS updates the building time zone, recalculates stored GMT times for applicable future bookings, and updates linked calendar events.

Considerations before you begin

  • Schedule the conversion during a period of low booking activity. Booking may be slow or unavailable during the conversion.
  • If a building has future Exchange Room Integration (ERI) bookings, the conversion can take longer because EMS might need to rebuild linked meetings in Outlook.
  • EMS does not change building or booking data until you confirm the conversion.

Convert building time zones

  1. Open EMS Platform Services and select Building time zones.

    The wizard opens displaying considerations for using the tool.

  2. Select Get started.

    The tool identifies buildings that use U.S. Pacific, Mountain, or Central time zones and displays buildings that might require conversion.

  3. Optional: To convert all suggested buildings, select Select all filtered buildings.

    The tool's suggested conversions display under Target time zone for each building for you to verify before confirming.

  4. Under Target time zone, select the appropriate Canadian time zone for each building.

    Available choices depend on the building's current time zone. For example, you can change a building using U.S. Pacific to the corresponding British Columbia Pacific time zone.

  5. Optional: To clear any changes in Target time zone, select Clear all filtered buildings.

  6. Select Preview buildings.

    Buildings selected for conversion display, along with impacted bookings and building hours. See What happens to bookings below for more information.

  7. Verify the conversion information, and then select Start conversion.

    The tool converts the selected buildings and processes affected future bookings. A progress indicator shows the status of the conversion.

  8. Review the conversion results.

    The tool displays the final conversion status and any errors. The system also stores information about the conversion so you can review the change later.

What happens to bookings

When you convert a building, EMS keeps applicable booking times consistent with the building's local time and recalculates the stored GMT times as needed.

EMS updates future bookings that overlap the new time zone behavior. EMS does not convert previous bookings. They keep their original time zone information.

If a building uses Exchange Room Integration, EMS also attempts to adjust the associated Outlook meetings. If an adjustment isn't possible, EMS rebuilds the meeting. Buildings with many future integrated bookings can take longer to convert.

Settings that don't update

The Building time zones conversion doesn't update the following settings:

  • User time zones
  • Reservation or process template time zones
  • Automated report schedule time zones
  • Group notification rule time zones
  • Building-limit record time zones
  • City-to-time-zone mappings
  • Server time zone

Update these time zone settings separately when necessary.

If the conversion reports an error

If EMS can't complete a conversion, return to the building selection and run the conversion again. A conversion can fail when a database contains customized time zone settings that the tool can't process.