Room assignments become difficult when names live in messages, room details live in a booking email, and the final answer lives in one person's spreadsheet. Put those three facts in one small plan.
Start with confirmed travelers
Use one recognizable display name per person. Keep tentative travelers outside the active plan or mark them clearly in a separate working note. Duplicate names are real, so add a short group label when two people could be confused.
Record physical capacity before preferences
List every usable room and the number of people it can actually sleep. Add a short bed label when it changes the decision, such as “one double” or “two singles.” Never solve an over-capacity plan by hiding the extra person in a note.
Keep unassigned people in front of you
Fill rooms while a visible unassigned list remains beside them. This makes omissions obvious and prevents a visually tidy room list from concealing someone without a bed.
Make changes in one current plan
When someone cancels or a room changes, update the assignment first and then message affected people. Avoid circulating screenshots that become stale immediately.