Hot desking means nobody owns a desk: employees take any free workstation when they come in, and clear it when they leave. Companies adopt it when a hybrid work policy leaves a large share of assigned desks empty on most days, and they would rather pay rent for fewer seats.

Hot desking, hotelling and neighbourhoods

• Pure hot desking: first come, first served, no booking. Cheapest to run, most friction on busy days.
• Hotelling (desk booking): employees reserve a desk in an app before coming in. This is what many hybrid offices actually mean by “hot desks”.
• Neighbourhoods: each team gets a zone with fewer desks than members, and books within it, so a payroll team still sits together at month end.

The planning number is the desk-sharing ratio: people assigned to a floor divided by desks. A 200-person office at a ratio of 1.4 needs about 143 desks (200 / 1.4 = 142.9). Size for the peak day, not the average. If every team picks Tuesday to Thursday for its in-office days, a ratio that works on paper fails by 10 a.m. midweek, which is why many companies pair hot desking with fixed anchor days set by roster.

What HR should settle before the desks go

• Exceptions. Employees needing an adjusted workstation or fixed setup under a reasonable accommodation should keep an assigned desk. So, usually, should roles handling confidential files such as payroll and HR casework.
• Storage and hygiene. Lockers, a clear-desk rule and cleaning between users. Get these wrong and no booking app will save the rollout.
• Booking data. Who booked which desk, when, is personal data. Decide whether it will ever be used as attendance evidence and say so in the policy; using it quietly for performance conversations damages trust fast.

Frequently asked questions

Can desk bookings replace attendance marking?

Not on their own: a booking shows intent, not presence. Pair it with badge, biometric or app check-in through your attendance management system if office days must be counted.

Does the DPDP Act affect desk-booking apps?

The DPDP Act’s main duties on notice, consent and rights apply from 13 May 2027, not yet. Collect only what the booking needs and plan retention now, as set out under DPDP and employee data.

Do employees resist hot desking?

Often, especially senior staff who lose a personal desk and new joiners who cannot find their team. Neighbourhoods and a guaranteed seat on team anchor days reduce most of the pushback.

Hot desking works only if office days are predictable, which is a planning question before it is a furniture question.