Resources
Hot desking
Hot desking describes using free desks on a first-come, first-served basis – without prior booking and without fixed assignment.
In short
Hot desking describes an office concept in which desks are neither permanently assigned nor booked in advance: whoever arrives takes a free desk. It is the simplest form of shared desks and differs from desk sharing with booking in that it creates neither predictability nor usage data.
Where hot desking works
In small offices with a clear surplus of desks, hot desking is the most pragmatic solution: no system, no rules, no effort. As long as the probability of not finding a desk is close to zero, there is no reason to book.
Where it tips over
As utilization rises, three problems appear. First, uncertainty: people travel to the office without knowing whether a desk will be free. Second, placeholding: jackets and bags reserve desks nobody uses. Third, the missing data basis: without booking and check-in nobody knows how heavily the space is actually used – and that removes the basis for any space decision.
The usual path
In practice many organizations start with hot desking and introduce booking as soon as the first complaint about missing desks arrives. That is a viable path – it should just be a deliberate choice rather than interpreted as failure.
From the definition to your own offices
Terminology is where an evaluation starts, not where it ends. Thirty minutes with the product open turns the concept into your floor plan.