In a world of flexible schedules and remote work, many offices sit half-empty on any given day. Workplace and real estate leaders are turning to hot desks as a cost-effective solution to optimize office space and improve the employee experience.

This guide explains hot desking, why it matters now, and how to implement it successfully. By the end, you’ll understand how hot desks can reduce costs, boost collaboration, and support your hybrid work model.

What Is Hot Desking and Why Does It Matter?

Hot desking is a workplace arrangement in which employees share desks instead of having individually assigned workstations. In this system, an employee arrives at the office and finds an available desk rather than returning to the same desk every time.

Hot desking has gained momentum due to major shifts in work schedules and office utilization.

Why are companies using hot desks?

In 2024, an estimated 92% of companies globally have adopted some form of hybrid work, and office utilization rates dropped below pre-pandemic levels. This means traditional one-to-one seating often leads to empty desks and wasted space.

Hot desking addresses this inefficiency by matching the new reality: not all employees are in the office at the same time or every day.

Hot desking is an excellent cost-saving measure for workplace and real estate leaders. By reducing the number of unused desks and consolidating the real estate footprint, companies can cut rent, utilities, and maintenance costs.

Types of Hot Desking Models

Not all hot-desking arrangements are the same. Organizations can implement variations of the concept depending on how structured or flexible they want the system to be.

Here are a few common hot desking types:

First-Come, First-Served Hot Desking

The most basic form of hot desking works on a first-come, first-served basis. Employees come in and claim any open desk without prior booking.

Pros: This model is flexible and requires minimal formal process. It can work well in smaller offices or highly casual workplaces where teams are comfortable with a fluid seating arrangement.

Cons: Without any system, first-come, first-served can become a daily scramble. Popular desks or spots might fill up early, disadvantaging those arriving later.

Desk Hoteling

Desk hoteling is a structured model in which employees reserve desks ahead of time, similar to booking a hotel room. The company typically uses desk booking software that allows workers to book workstations in advance.

Pros: Hoteling brings order to hot desking. Letting employees choose and book specific desks helps with team bonding, while still

Cons: A clunky booking tool or process can deter usage. Additionally, no-shows are possible, leaving a desk unused. Many reservation-based systems mitigate this by requiring check-in or releasing bookings after a no-show grace period.

Office Hoteling vs. Hot Desking

You might hear the term office hoteling used interchangeably with desk hoteling. In practice, both hot desking and office hoteling involve unassigned seating; the difference is simply whether you book the desk ahead or grab it on the fly.

Hot Racking

Hot racking is a term from naval jargon that describes multiple employees sharing workstations not just over days, but within the same day on different shifts.

Pros: This system maximizes the utilization of each workstation even further. It can significantly reduce the number of workstations needed if you have groups of employees who never overlap in the office.

Cons: This model requires even more coordination and care. Because employees share workspaces so closely in time, cleaning and resetting the desk for the next user is critical.

Benefits of Hot Desking

When implemented thoughtfully, hot desking can deliver significant advantages for both businesses and employees. Here are the key benefits:

Reduced Real Estate Costs

Hot desking lets companies trim excess desks and office space, directly lowering overhead. If many people work remotely part of the time, you don't need one desk per person.

Employers have reported saving as much as 30–50% on office lease costs by moving to hybrid work with desk sharing.

Improved Space Utilization

Along with cost savings, hot desking greatly boosts space utilization. Rather than sitting idle, each workstation supports multiple users over time. 

Hot desks help tackle this problem by ensuring workstations are used only when needed. Companies can then reallocate freed-up space for other purposes, such as creating more collaboration zones or bookable meeting rooms.

Flexibility for a Hybrid Workforce

Hot desking is inherently compatible with a hybrid work model. It gives employees flexibility to choose when and where they work. This flexible work environment can boost employee satisfaction for those who appreciate autonomy.

Based on their work habits, people can sit near different colleagues or in different zones (quiet focus one day, a social open space the next). This makes accommodating remote workers and more employees easier for the company.

Encouraging Collaboration and Innovation

Removing fixed seating can break down silos and spark new interactions. Without assigned seats, employees aren’t segregated by department or hierarchy day after day. Instead, marketing might sit near engineering this week, or two project teams might comingle in a shared office space.

These chance encounters and team mixing can lead to knowledge sharing and creative ideas. Plus, freed space can be converted into communal lounges, huddle areas, or collaboration spaces that further promote teamwork.

Agility and Scalability

A hot desking model makes it easier to adjust your office setup as your company evolves. Need to add more employees or a new team? No need for a costly remodel; you can accommodate growth with existing space by increasing the sharing ratio.

Conversely, if headcount drops or more staff go remote, you’re not left with a sea of unused furniture. Hot desks give you the agility to scale up or down, which is especially valuable in uncertain times or high-growth phases.

Implementing Hot Desking at Scale: Best Practices

Here are some key considerations and tips for introducing hot desking to your office:

Analyze Space Needs and Set a Sharing Ratio

Start by understanding how many people typically come in vs. how many seats you have. Look at peak vs. average attendance. Most hybrid workplace models see only 40–60% of employees in on a given day.

This data will help determine a staff-to-desk ratio. Industry surveys show a clear trend toward higher sharing ratios as hybrid work continues. It’s wise to pilot a ratio and adjust if needed.

Design an Effective Floor Plan with Zones

Rethink your office layout to support hot desks and create zones to suit different activities. This approach is often called office neighborhoods or activity-based working.

For example, allocate areas for quiet focus work, separate collaboration zones for teamwork and brainstorming, some conference rooms and phone booths for private calls, and perhaps some private offices for teams who need them.

Group some desks by team or department in “neighborhoods” to enable people to find colleagues easily. A well-designed floor plan with clearly marked zones and amenities will make hot desking more intuitive.

Leverage Desk Booking Technology

Desk booking tools are indispensable for managing hot desking at scale.

Modern desk booking software lets employees see a live map of which shared office spaces are free, book a desk, and even find where coworkers are sitting. From an admin perspective, these tools provide data on space usage and permission controls like booking limits, check-in requirements, etc.

These platforms help you streamline the implementation of hot desks, from standalone desk booking apps to integrated workplace management systems. Ensure that whichever system you choose is user-friendly—if it’s easy, employees are more likely to use it.

Establish Clear Policies

Successful hot desking requires a culture shift and clear agreements on using the space. Develop a hot desking policy and communicate it to all workers.

Key points to cover include:

• Clear expectations on how to use workstations
• How to store personal items
• Time limits on desk use, if any
• Rules for meeting rooms, private offices, and other amenities

If you’re using hoteling, outline the procedure: how far in advance can one reserve seats, what happens if someone doesn’t show up, etc. Setting ground rules helps everyone understand how to interact in the new setup and prevents confusion.

Provide support

Recognize that moving to unassigned seating is a big change, especially for employees accustomed to their personal desk, and support them through the change.

This could include a one-time stipend for setting up a home office, giving out welcome kits like a portable laptop dock or noise-cancelling headset, and ensuring IT support is readily available.

Little touches like creating a friendly orientation for using the new system or having floor ambassadors on the first few days can smooth the adjustment.

Monitor Usage and Gather Regular Feedback

Implementation doesn’t end on launch day. Continually monitor if the hot desking works for your employees. Use your desk booking system’s analytics or simple observation to see occupancy levels:

Are seats filling up on certain days to 100% capacity? Are some zones or resources underused? This data can inform tweaks – maybe you need to add more capacity on Tuesdays through Thursdays, or convert underused areas into additional communal spaces.

Just as important, solicit feedback from employees frequently. You can do surveys, drop-in sessions, or have managers collect input. Employees might point out issues that you can address with minor adjustments.

Anticipate Challenges and Have Solutions Ready

No workplace change is without bumps. Common hot desking challenges include employees feeling a loss of personal space, concerns about finding colleagues, and potential seat shortages on busy days.

Proactively address these. To help people find each other, some desk booking tools let you see where team members have booked, or you can set up team zones. To avoid running out of desks, monitor that ratio and consider a backup plan, perhaps arrangements with a nearby coworking space for overflow, or enabling people to drop into an unused meeting room as a last resort.

Hot Desking FAQs

In this section, we answer some common questions and concerns:

What is hot desking, and how does it work in practice?

Answer: Hot desking is a flexible seating arrangement where employees do not have assigned seats or private offices. Instead, they choose an available desk each day. This can work on a first-come, first-served basis or via a booking system. When using hot desking, employees come in, pick a spot, plug in, and get to work. Multiple people might use the same desk at different times.

The goal is to have the right number of desks for the people in the office on a given day, rather than one desk per person. Hot desking is often managed with desk booking software to make it easy for hot desk users to find and book desks or conference rooms.

What’s the difference between hot desking and desk hoteling?

Answer: Hot desking and desk hoteling are related concepts about desk sharing, but there’s a subtle difference. Hot desking usually refers to using seating on an ad-hoc basis: you arrive at the office and take any open desk. In contrast, desk hoteling means you book hot desks ahead of time, typically through a reservation system. 

Both hot desking and hoteling let employees share workstations and have no permanent seats, but hoteling lets employees reserve desks.

How do we handle storage with hot desking?

Answer: The solution is to provide alternate storage and clear guidelines. Companies often install lockers, cubbies, or filing cabinets where staff can securely store personal items. Employees might get a small drawer or cabinet to keep things. Coat racks and laptop docking stations at each desk can help, too. With lockers and a clear routine, employees can access their belongings without needing a permanent desk.

How can we make sure there are enough workstations for everyone?

Answer: Ensuring you have enough desks on busy days requires good planning and active management. First, analyze your office usage patterns to understand peak demand. Set your desk-to-employee ratio such that even at peak, there are a few spare desks. A common best practice is designing for peak occupancy around 80%.

Desk booking can help manage this: you can intervene if the schedule shows that tomorrow is overbooked. Many companies also implement reservation system rules, like not allowing a hot desk booking more than X days in advance or releasing unused reservations after 30 minutes.

Does hot desking actually save costs, and how much?

Answer: One of the primary benefits of hot desking is reducing the money spent on real estate. By eliminating dedicated seats that go unused when people are out, companies can operate in a smaller footprint or accommodate more people in the same space.

The savings can be substantial. A study by CBRE found that companies can save up to 30% on real estate by implementing flexible seating arrangements. 

What are the biggest challenges of hot desking, and how can we solve them?

Answer: Common challenges include:

(a) Cultural resistance: Some employees simply prefer assigned seating and private offices. They may feel a hot desk is impersonal or worry about finding their team. To address this, involve employees in the planning process and gather their input. Consider a hybrid solution: certain groups get assigned desks or a team neighborhood. Emphasize the benefits and give them time for the new norm to settle.

(b) Tech and coordination: Hot desks can fail if there’s confusion about where to sit or if booking systems fail. Solve this by using reliable desk booking tools and making sure your Wi-Fi, VPN, and office tech can support a mobile workforce. Provide quick IT support for any docking monitor or connection issues, especially in the early days of the rollout.

(c) Logistics: Ensure cleaning crews treat every workstation used daily and disinfect surfaces regularly. Give everyone a locker or storage option so they’re not inconvenienced by carrying things around. Also, make accessories available. Finally, monitor employee satisfaction through surveys. If the score dips, pinpoint why and respond with adjustments.

Ready to try hot desking in your office?

Hot desking is a strategic response to the hybrid work era. By enabling employees to share workspaces and managing your office more dynamically, you can unlock cost savings, better space utilization, and a workplace that adapts to how people actually work today.

When done right, hot desking can create a vibrant, collaborative office atmosphere while keeping real estate portfolios lean. As you consider implementing hot desking, use the tactics and insights in this guide to help design a solution that works for your organization’s goals and your employees’ well-being.