40 Best Hot Desk Booking Software Reviewed in 2025
10 Best Hot Desk Booking Software List
Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 40 tools reviewed.
Get free help from our HR software advisors to find your match.
Looking for the best hot desk booking software to manage your hybrid office more efficiently? These tools help your team easily reserve desks, meeting rooms, equipment, and even parking, while giving you real-time visibility into how your space is being used.
Whether you're dealing with overcrowded workstations, unused office space, or frustrated employees who can’t find a place to work, the right hot desk booking solution can eliminate bottlenecks and help you optimize your workplace for flexibility, efficiency, and productivity.
These platforms don’t just let employees book a desk—they help you manage resources, analyze usage patterns, reduce administrative overhead, and create a smooth experience for hybrid teams.
As someone who has spent years researching and reviewing workplace software solutions for People Managing People, I’ve created this guide to help you quickly compare your options and choose the right platform for your needs. Now, let’s explore the best tools that can transform your office into a space that actually works for everyone.
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Best Hot Desk Booking Software: Comparison Chart
This comparison chart summarizes pricing, trial, and demo details for my top hot desk booking software selections to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.
| Tool | Best For | Trial Info | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Best MS Teams and Outlook integration | 14-day free trial | From $1.80/user/month | Website | |
| 2 | Best for advanced desk usage data | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website | |
| 3 | Best for platform design | Free version available | From $4/seat/month | Website | |
| 4 | Best for interactive floor plans | 30-day free trial | From $99/month | Website | |
| 5 | Best for coordinating people and spaces | Free trial available | From $4/user/month | Website | |
| 6 | Best for real-time occupancy insights | Free trial available | From $2/user/month | Website | |
| 7 | Best for coordinating in-office schedules | 14-day free trial | From $3/desk/month | Website | |
| 8 | Best for hybrid work schedules | Free trial available | From $159/month | Website | |
| 9 | Best for no limits on desk or users | Free trial available | From $28/month | Website | |
| 10 | Best for quick setup and self-onboarding | Free plan + free trial available | From $1.90/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
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Rippling
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.8 -
Paycor
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.1 -
ClearCompany
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.6
Best Hot Desk Booking Software Reviews
Below are detailed descriptions of my top 10 hot desk booking software solution, including summaries of their key features and why I included them in this list. Any of these systems can help you optimize office space and create a productive, safe work environment. For even more options, check out the 30 additional systems listed below.
deskbird offers a highly intuitive and flexible solution for booking desks and other resources that can be easily accessed by your team members from anywhere. With just two clicks, you can easily reserve a space, whether it's a desk, meeting room, parking spot, or any other facility.
Why I picked deskbird: I included their system because I found their integrations helpful and easy to use. You can book using Microsoft Teams, Slack, their web platform, or their mobile app.
In addition, their software integrates with Outlook and Google calendars, so you can avoid scheduling conflicts and get real-time analytics.
deskbird Features and Integrations:
Features include office capacity settings, seating restrictions, and team zones. Platform administrators can keep track of space utilization data, assign specific zones to teams, and limit access to essential areas whenever necessary.
deskbird also offers health policy reviews before checking in, check-ins via QR codes, and incognito bookings if you want your trip to the office to stay anonymous.
In addition, deskbird offers a seamless HRIS integration that streamlines absence tracking and enhances data accuracy, providing users with optimized workforce and office analytics. Plus, a mobile app is available for both Android and iOS devices.
Integrations are available with numerous calendar programs, communication tools, and active directory systems. including BambooHR, Workday, Personio, Sage, Factorial, HiBob, Rippling, and SAP SuccessFactors.
Pricing for deskbird’s workspace booking tool starts at $1.80/user/month. They also offer a 14-day free trial with no credit card or other strings attached.
OfficeSpace’s software supports hot desking, desk hoteling, free addressing (sensor activated check-ins), activity-based working, and booking neighbourhoods to keep team members closer together.
Why I picked OfficeSpace: Their user-friendly system works from all manner of devices and supports bookings via mobile app, touchscreen kiosk, desktop computers, or even from within Slack or Microsoft Teams. To help limit surface sharing, a touchless check-in feature is also included in their mobile app too.
The platform’s data analytics also aim to help with future demand forecasting by giving administrators access to usage and adoption data in their Insights Hub.
Within the data dashboard you can identify seating preferences, track trends, and see which workstations go unused. This valuable data is intended to improve the flexibility of your hybrid workspace arrangements by optimizing how your desks are configured and used.
OfficeSpace Features and Integrations:
Features include a directory to find colleagues, wayfinding features, tags for customized workstations (e.g., dual monitors, ergo chairs, docking station, etc.), and tools for scenario planning to experiment with different layout changes.
To dive even deeper into your data, their portfolio reports combine your lease information with your usage data to form real estate reports that show you where your budget is going to waste, allowing you to address those issues head-on.
Integrations are available with 35+ commonly used applications including Active Directory, ADP, LDAP, OneLogin, Oracle, PeopleSoft,
Pricing details for OfficeSpace are not readily available, but a free demo can be requested via their website.
Othership provides a set of solutions for hybrid working policies that facilitate collaboration and connection. It offers desk booking, visitor management, and meeting room bookings with features for remote working and out-of-office statuses. Admins and HR can use this data to plan for future work needs.
Why I picked Othership: Othership is a product-led business built from the input of thousands of hybrid organizations of all sizes. Its Workplace Scheduler has an intuitive design that makes it easy to use. Additionally, the platform offers social media-style notifications to help manage office workspaces.
Othership promotes more desirable workplace interactions by using events such as new joiners and combining them with people's skills and places of work to help facilitate more use of shared desk space. The platform also offers rich data and analytics based on remote, hybrid, and in-office utilization patterns.
Othership Features and Integrations:
Features include the ability to set your own schedule and status in the office or anywhere else. Its social media-style notifications and prompts help promote more employee engagement.
Furthermore, the platform allows for event promotion, group creation, and setting your status to open for collaboration. You can even buy additional spaces or sell an empty space on Othership’s adjacent platform, Othership On Demand.
Integrations include all major office and HR applications, scheduling, and video conference software like Microsoft Office, Outlook, Teams, Entra, Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Zoom, and Bamboo.
Pricing for Othership begins at $4/seat/month with a free plan available.
Skedda’s customized booking system allows you to control the allocation of all your corporate spaces including desks, meeting rooms, studios, labs, or anything else you want to make reservable.
Why I picked Skedda: Their system is designed to remove the hassle of manually managing hot desk spaces by automating the process and enabling self-service bookings. This means you only have to set up your bookable items and automated user rules and permissions once. After that, your staff will be able to help themselves.
To ensure easy access, Skedda also has full-featured native apps for Android and iOS devices that work for users, as well as owners and administrators.
Skedda Features and Integrations:
Features include desk booking in 3-clicks, check-in policy management, and space utilization analytics. Their floorplan maps are interactive, making it easy to view and make bookings directly from the map interface.
Included in the floor plan is a time-of-day range-slider, so users can determine exactly when their favourite spot will be available again.
Users can also make reservations through their booking calendar, which allows platform admins to review bookings using day, month, grid (all listings) or list (per hot desk space or user) views.
For pay-per-use venues, the platform also makes it easy to collect payments from users during their initial booking, which is saved for convenient reuse.
Integrations are available with commonly used calendar programs such as iCloud, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook (and Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 to generate meeting invites and video-conferencing links), and with communication tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, Trello, Basecamp, Mailchimp, and many others.
Pricing for Skedda starts at $7 per month. A 30-day free trial of their premium version is available, as well as a free demo. They also have a freemium version with limited features for up to 5 bookable spaces.
Kadence is a full suite of easy-to-use hybrid working software designed to improve the coordination of people, space and time to help your teams work smarter. Their next-generation operating system for hybrid working was designed to unleash the potential of people, powering a more positive way of working.
Why I picked Kadence: I included Kadence in this list due to several unique features, including an auto-release capability that eliminates no-shows and improves availability.
Another unique team collaboration function is their “Personal Kadence” profile feature that helps office managers and teams get a clear view of employee’s personal preferences.
The software can also generate a list of who’s booked to come into the office on any given day to help with efficient meeting coordination.
Kadence Features and Integrations:
Features include an intuitive user interface and interactive floor maps (web and mobile versions) to help your employees find and book available desks in seconds.
Their platform also includes analytics on desk bookings, occupancy, or wasted bookings, to help you get a better understanding of your office space utilization.
Integrations include Microsoft Teams, Slack, Outlook, Google Workspace, BambooHR, Gusto, Jump Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Okta, OneLogin, PingIdentity, Rippling, and many others.
Pricing for Kadence starts at $4/user/month. They also offer a free demo.
GemEx App is a customizable workplace experience platform designed to help teams manage and reserve shared office resources like desks, meeting rooms, and parking spaces.
Why I picked GemEx App: GemEx App stands out for its flexible hot desk booking capabilities. The app’s booking module allows users to filter desks by amenities, occupancy, or environmental factors like temperature and noise, using real-time data from IoT sensors. This helps your team find the right space for focused work or collaboration.
You can also set booking rules, such as priority access for certain teams or assigning permanent desks to specific employees.
In addition, the GemEx App automates office neighborhood creation, allowing you to tailor workspaces to fit your company culture and workflow. Its robust analytics tools also let you analyze trends and generate custom reports, making it easier to optimize space usage.
GemEx App Features and Integrations:
Features include a colleague-finder tool that lets you see where coworkers are sitting, making it easier to coordinate in-person meetings. The app also offers a feedback module, allowing employees to report issues or provide comments on workspaces, which can be geotagged for precise location tracking.
GemEx App even offers indoor navigation, helping employees and visitors easily locate resources and navigate the building.
Integrations include Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, Power BI, Tableau, Akenza, Dormakaba, Jira, Eurecam, Senion, PointGrab, and Vecos.
Tactic’s workplace experience software makes the office a more valuable piece of your company's hybrid work plan. This flexible platform provides a variety of tools that help bring your team together on their own terms.
Why I picked Tactic: Their desk & meeting room booking software is designed to ensure a safe working environment for all. Their system includes optional health check-ins for office visitors, capacity management tools, and detailed analytics to support contract tracing as needed.
On top of all that, the system can also track the vaccination status of your workers—a modern requirement for certain industries.
And the safety features don't stop there. With Tactic's visitor management tools, you can provide guests with a delightful digital check-in process, allowing you to easily collect their information, photo, and necessary signatures.
Tactic puts a heavy emphasis on their user experience to eliminate common technology frustrations.
Tactic Features and Integrations:
Features include on-demand desk booking and meeting room reservations, helping team members plan their preferred hybrid work schedule at the beginning of each week.
Using the interactive office map, employees can see which days their team members will be in the office, allowing them to easily coordinate meetings and events, and facilitate in-person collaboration.
Other useful features include seating assignments, capacity limits, future booking limits, and a feature that allows administrators to require approval for booking certain desk types or locations to ensure proper use.
Integrations are available with many popular scheduling and communication apps, such as Slack, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and Zoom. All features are also available through their Android and iOS apps.
Pricing for Tactic starts at $2.50/desk/month. All plans include a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
Archie is a desk booking software designed to simplify the management of flexible workspaces. It helps hybrid teams easily locate and reserve desks, facilitating collaboration and efficient use of office space. With both web and mobile applications, Archie supports on-the-go desk reservations.
Why I picked Archie: One thing I really like is Archie's interactive floor plans. These visual maps allow you to see available desks and their locations, making it easy to choose a workspace that suits your needs. This visual representation helps in quickly identifying and booking the right spot in the office.
Another useful aspect is the check-in process. Archie offers QR code scanning and virtual check-in options to confirm desk reservations upon arrival. This ensures that booked desks are utilized and helps in monitoring office attendance effectively.
Archie Features and Integrations:
Features include the ability to create specific zones within the office, known as neighborhoods, which can be assigned to particular teams or require special authorization. Users can see who of their colleagues will be at the office on a certain day, and at which desk they’ll be sitting, which makes it easier to manage hybrid work schedules.
In addition, Archie provides options for recurring bookings, allowing you to reserve desks on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, which is convenient for consistent scheduling needs.
Archie also offers seat assignment capabilities, enabling the allocation of permanent desks to employees who need them.
Integrations include Outlook, Google Calendar, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Office 365, QuickBooks, Xero, Stripe, GoCardless, Kisi, Salto, and Tapkey.
Floor Plan Mapper is a cloud-based solution that transforms your static office floor plans into interactive, clickable maps. It allows you to manage and visualize your workspace by assigning desks, employees, meeting rooms, and other assets directly onto your floor plan.
Why I picked Floor Plan Mapper: You can easily identify available desks through visual indicators on the floor plan and book them for specific time periods, whether it's for an hour, a day, or a recurring schedule. This flexibility supports dynamic work environments and helps optimize space utilization. The platform even provides unlimited rooms, desks, and users under all plans.
In addition, Floor Plan Mapper integrates with your existing employee profile data from platforms like Office 365 and Windows Active Directory. This integration ensures that employee information is up-to-date and eliminates the need for manual data entry.
By linking desks to employee profiles, it simplifies the process of locating colleagues and managing workspace assignments.
Floor Plan Mapper Features and Integrations:
Features include the ability to upload floor plans in various formats such as PDF, CAD, or JPG, allowing you to start adding people, desks, and other assets quickly (with unlimited users and desk assignments).
You can also draw shapes to highlight and search for departments or areas of interest, making navigation intuitive. Custom symbols can be added to map anything from PCs to emergency exits, providing a comprehensive view of your office layout.
Integrations include Office 365, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft SharePoint, and Google Calendar.
Dibsido is a hot desk booking software and office management tool designed to simplify workspace reservations for hybrid teams. It provides a system for employees to book desks, meeting rooms, parking spaces, and shared cars, as well as tools to organize carpools.
Why I picked Dibsido: I picked Dibsido because it makes booking hot desks incredibly straightforward for any type of team setup. It supports flexible self-onboarding options in one quick click, allowing you to select desks based on specific attributes and manage reservations through a user-friendly interface. You can use QR codes to easily track desk usage and get an overview of your office occupancy, which can help in reducing operational costs. The tool also supports hybrid work models by offering a scheduler for attendance and providing data on office utilization.
Dibsido also stood out for how much you can customize the desk booking experience. You can define unique booking rules for different user groups, control how far in advance someone can book, and restrict which desks are available to which teams. Admins can set up recurring bookings, apply permission levels based on departments, and manage several office locations from a single account.
Dibsido Features and Integrations:
Features, in addition to desk booking, include parking space booking to manage limited parking resources and ensure fair access for all employees, as well as company car reservations with a built-in logbook for tracking usage. Dibsido also supports carpooling arrangements, helping employees reduce commuting costs and minimize environmental impact.
Other unique features include a package register for logging deliveries and parcels, incident reports, and office notices, which can be used to communicate important information to all employees quickly and efficiently.
Dibsido also includes a hybrid scheduler, which allows employees to schedule their in-office and remote work, and a guestbook where guests can easily check in and provide necessary information on a tablet while the system automatically notifies their hosts.
Integrations include Google Calendar, Outlook, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Entra ID.
Pricing starts from $1.90/user/month (billed annually). A free plan is available for up to 20 users and a free trial is available for premium plans.
Other Hot Desk Booking Software
Here are a few more worthwhile options that didn’t make it into my top 10 shortlist for the best hot desk booking software, but they're still worth checking out:
- Officely
For simple desk booking
- Deskfound
Google Workspace and Slack integration
- Tribeloo
For customized spaces across locations
- WorkInSync
For virtual scheduling assistance
- Robin
For employee productivity features
- Envoy
For modular configuration
- SpaceIQ
For advanced wayfinding features
- Smartway2
For flexible integrations
- FLYDESK
For weekly schedules
- Clearooms
User friendly remote booking system
- Zynq
For hybrid teams
- Ronspot
For an interactive booking map
- Cloudbooking
For workspace planning
- Condeco
For flexible desk workflows
- HotDesk+
Multilingual hot desk booking software
- Eden
For a full workplace suite
- YAROOMS
For digital signage & visitor management solutions
- SwipedOn
For ease of use desk booking and full hybrid workplace management
- Teem
For desk hoteling software with sanitation flags between users
- Meetio
For QR code check-ins and a find-a-colleague feature
- Roomzilla
For an approval queue, private bookings, and tools to remove ghost reservations
- StaffMap
For move management and asset management
- FlexO by Oomnis
On-premise booking tool for huddle spaces, parking spaces, and mobile equipment
- Space Connect
For an automatic ‘booking conflict resolution’ feature
- Pronestor
For booking flexible and fixed desks in real-time, with an auto-release feature
- FM:Systems
For touchless check-ins, and QR code readers
- Fischer & Kerrn
For monitoring desk usage via smart desk sensors, occupancy sensors, and ID card readers
- Agile Quest
For landlords, government agencies, and co-working spaces
- OfficeRnD
For employee engagement features and in-app communications
- Joan Desk
For an embedded health screening questionnaire
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Selection Criteria for Hot Desk Booking Software
Selecting the right hot desk booking software requires an understanding of how each functionality supports common organizational needs. My approach to choosing the best hot desk booking software is grounded in thorough research to pinpoint the features that add a lot of value for administrators and employees alike.
Here are the details I evaluated to decide on my final picks:
Core Hot Desk Booking Software Functionalities (25% of total score): To be considered for inclusion in my list of the top desk booking software, each solution had to offer the following basic functionalities first:
- Digital tools to manage desk reservations, plus other bookings for meeting rooms and other workspaces
- Tools to customize your booking policies for your business needs
- Mobile app functionality to enable bookings via mobile devices
- Detailed usage analytics for space optimization purposes
- Real-time updates and notifications to gauge desk availability
- Software integrations with digital calendars and communication tools
Additional Standout Features (25% of total score): To help me narrow in on the best hot desk booking software out of the numerous options available, I also took note of any unique features, including:
- AI-driven suggestions for optimizing space utilization
- Advanced health and safety monitoring and compliance tools
- Tools to set up team zones, neighborhoods, or other space booking restrictions to strengthen team cohesion when physically in the office
- Interactive maps with wayfinding features for complex workspaces
- The ability to manage multiple office spaces within one platform
- E-commerce features that allow you to offer workspaces for rent
- Advanced physical hardware like digital signage and scannable QR codes that help users check in at physical spaces
Usability (10% of total score): To evaluate the usability of each hot desk booking system, I considered the following:
- An intuitive design that simplifies the booking process, including on mobile devices (both Android and iOS mobile devices)
- A clean, user-friendly interface with features to make bookings using interactive office maps or through drag-and-drop functionality
- Role-based access control that's straightforward to configure
Onboarding (10% of total score): To get a sense of each software provider's customer onboarding process, I considered the following factors:
- Quick setup processes and clear configuration guidelines
- The availability of training materials such as videos or interactive tutorials
- Support for migrating employee data into the new platform
Customer Support (10% of total score): To evaluate the level of customer support each vendor offered, I considered the following:
- The availability of multiple support channels, including email, phone, and chat
- The existence of a self-service knowledge base or other self-help resources to speed up troubleshooting
- The overall quality, responsiveness, and helpfulness of the support team during customer onboarding and post-purchase, as inferred from customer reviews
Value for Price (10% of total score): To gauge the value of each software, I considered the following factors:
- The availability of free trials or demos to test the software before purchasing
- Transparent pricing models that clearly explain which features are included at each level
- Tiered pricing plans that cater to different business sizes, from small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) up to enterprise-level organizations
- Competitive pricing models that offer volume-based discounts for large-scale workspaces
Customer Reviews (10% of total score): Evaluating customer reviews is the final element of my selection process, which helps me understand how well a product performs in the hands of real users. Here are the factors I considered:
- Whether a product has consistently high ratings across multiple review platforms, indicating a broad level of user satisfaction
- Specific praises, criticisms, or trends in customer feedback that indicate the software's strengths or areas for improvement
- Whether customer feedback specifically mentions issues with ease of use, customer support responsiveness, or lacking features
Using this assessment framework helped me identify the hot desk booking software that goes beyond basic requirements to offer additional value through unique features, intuitive usability, smooth onboarding, effective support, and overall value for price.
How to Choose Hot Desk Booking Software
Hot desk booking software can help you manage your office space more effectively, providing a smoother and better experience for your hybrid employees. To help you figure out which hot desk booking software best fits your needs, keep the following points in mind:
- What hybrid office challenges are you trying to solve?
By identifying the challenges you're trying to overcome, you can align your needs with the specific software features and functionalities that will address them. These challenges may include:- understanding whether your office space is being under-used,
- reducing the size of your floor plan based on real usage data,
- encouraging your employees to return to the office more frequently,
- improving your hybrid team's experience coming to the office, and
- making it easier for teams to coordinate their in-office days with other team members.
- What outcomes are important and how will you measure success?
Being clear on your desired outcomes upfront is crucial to avoid wasting valuable time. Key outcomes you may want to measure include:- The rate that your hybrid employees return to the office (hopefully more frequently),
- Improved use of your floor space so you can reduce unused physical space or offer desk space for rent, or
- An improved employee experience, captured via surveys or eNPS ratings, etc.
- Who are your main users? Determine how many licenses you'll need and which groups require access, such as your entire workforce, HR admins, and support staff. Prioritize the needs of different user groups—admins, managers, and employees—to ensure the software meets everyone's requirements.
- Your main user groups will likely be your office administrative staff, HR administrative staff, managers, team leads, and employees.
- What is your budget?
To evaluate cost, do a headcount of your existing workforce and a full tally of your desks and other bookable spaces. Since most hot desking solutions charge a fee per desk or per user, this will help you estimate your monthly costs proactively.- It's crucial to determine a realistic budget for your new software up-front, so you don't waste time considering software that's out of your price range.
- Do you require specific software integrations?
Clarify whether your new software will replace any existing tools or need to integrate with them.- Key integrations to look for include digital calendars, internal communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams, and your HR management system.
- Does the new hot desk booking system satisfy your technical requirements? Consider the software selection alongside your existing workflows and systems. Evaluate what's working well, and any problem areas that need to be addressed.
- Does the new system integrate with your corporate workspace (Microsoft SharePoint, Google Workspace, etc.)?
- Does the new system offer security features that meet your needs (e.g., two-factor authentication (2FA), etc.)?
- Does the software offer a complimentary desk booking app as well as desktop-based tools?
Remember, every business is different — don’t assume that a hot desk booking system will work for your organization just because it's popular.
Companies need to reimagine how they use office space in a hybrid world… Office space should be more about collaboration and less about sitting at desks all day, especially when many people are working from home. Instead of assigning desks, think about creating collaborative spaces that employees can use when they come in for specific projects or team meetings.
Trends in Hot Desk Booking Software for 2025
Hot desk booking software saw a sharp rise in popularity during the pandemic, to match the needs of growing hybrid workforces. Even today, these products continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of hybrid office environments and to leverage new technological advancements, such as artificial intelligence (AI).
Here's a summary of the current trends impacting the hot desk booking software space:
- Advanced Real Estate and Workplace Utilization Analytics: To help businesses manage their physical resources more strategically, developers are embedding complex analytics for desk allocation and real estate optimization. This innovation supports data-driven decisions, helping businesses maximize space efficiency and either reduce operational costs or monetize unused spaces.
- Package Delivery Management and Visitor Management Systems: The introduction of package tracking and sophisticated visitor management features represents a move towards comprehensive workplace solutions. This evolution is driven by the need for seamless operation within the modern office, ensuring security, efficiency, and convenience in handling visitors and deliveries.
(To learn more about how these features work, take a look at our in-depth review of Envoy, which explains it in more detail.) - QR Code Check-ins and Digital Signage: To streamline office navigation and improve visitor management, QR code check-ins and digital signage are being introduced. This approach simplifies access control and enhances the visitor experience, responding to the need for efficient and secure workplace management.
- Smart Desk Sensors and Occupancy Analytics: Leveraging technology for real-time space management, smart sensors and analytics are utilized to monitor desk usage. This trend is motivated by the desire to optimize workspace utilization, ensuring resources are effectively allocated and reducing wastage.
As flexible work arrangements remain popular, these technologies are essential for supporting hybrid office needs. By using hot desk booking software with advanced analytics, integrated office management features, and physical hardware connections, you can boost workplace efficiency.
Recalibrating the workplace to meet the realities of hybrid work means that more companies are embracing desk sharing. In 2024, only 40% of companies report having an employee-to-desk ratio of 1.0:1 or less—down from 56% last year. That number is expected to drop to just one-third of respondents over the next two years, as 1.0:1 seat planning continues to lose favorability among occupiers planning for hybrid work.
What is Hot Desk Booking Software?
Hot desk booking software is a workplace management tool that lets employees reserve shared desks and workspaces in advance.
It helps businesses manage flexible seating in hybrid offices, reduce space conflicts, and track desk usage in real time.
This type of software is commonly used by HR teams, office managers, and operations leaders to eliminate booking chaos, support flexible work, and improve space utilization across modern office environments.
It’s important for hybrid teams to have dedicated time for collaboration and focus. You can set up team check-ins at the beginning of the week and use tools to block out focus time for individual work.
Features of Hot Desk Booking Software
These are the key features I assessed when creating this list of the best hot desk booking software:
- Self-Service Bookings: The ability for employees to make bookings themselves, rather than bottlenecking requests through administrators or managers.
- Flexible Booking Options: The best platforms offer flexible workspace types (e.g., for desks, conference rooms, kiosks, parking stalls, and equipment) as well as flexible room scheduling and booking arrangements (e.g., hourly, all-day, multiple days, etc.) to accommodate a range of business needs.
- Detail-rich Floor Plans: Users should be able to visually locate the workspace they want to book from an accurate, and often interactive map. Some platforms even include wayfinding features that help users orient themselves within the workspace.
- Mobile Device Compatibility: This is an essential feature, as it allows users to book from anywhere, anytime, while also enabling touchless check-ins via mobile devices. When considering this feature, ensure mobile device compatibility exists for both Android and iOS mobile devices.
- Team Zones or Neighborhoods: This feature creates designated areas for specific teams or departments, ensuring better team collaboration while in the office. This feature is also useful for creating designated quiet zones.
- Search Tools to Find Colleagues: To further enhance productivity and collaboration, hot desk booking systems allow users to search for other employees to find out when they’re going to be in the office, and where they’ll be sitting.
- Visitor Management: This feature allows offices to streamline the check-in process for guests, ensuring that only authorized individuals enter the workspace. It adds an extra layer of security and helps maintain a safe and organized environment for employees and visitors alike.
- Health & Safety Features: This covers built-in health screening questionnaires, occupancy limits, social distancing parameters, data to assist with contact tracing, and automations that flag desks for sanitization in between users.
- Usage Metrics: The best systems keep track of usage data to support higher-level workspace analysis processes. This helps you quantify the cost of unused space so you can make informed decisions to further optimize your floor plan or reduce floor space altogether.
- User Permissions & Access Controls: Many tools let you set custom access permissions for different team members to manage who can access specific areas or desks within the office. This helps keep specialized or authorized areas bookable only for those with designated access and assists with ensuring compliance and workplace safety.
- Software Integrations: Integrations with commonly used office programs like Outlook, Gmail, Slack, Microsoft Teams, digital calendars, and other cloud-based simplify the booking process and help your hybrid workers avoid scheduling conflicts.
Implementing hot desk booking software with these features can significantly enhance the management and reservation of desk spaces in a hybrid office environment.
Benefits of Hot Desk Booking Software
Hot desk booking software offers a sophisticated approach to modernizing your hybrid work practices and creating a smoother employee experience for staff who want the flexibility of varying their work location according to their preferences.
By implementing hot desk booking software, you can expect to gain the following benefits:
- Increased Flexibility and Autonomy: Ultimately, by giving employees the ability to choose when and where they'll be in the office, hot desk booking software empowers team members to be more autonomous and in control of their work experience. This, in turn, can lead to improved job satisfaction and productivity.
- Enhanced Space Utilization: By analyzing usage patterns, businesses can adjust their real estate needs accordingly, ensuring that no space goes to waste and potentially lowering expenses related to unused areas.
- Improved Collaboration: By allowing users to book desks and meeting spaces based on team location, hot desk booking software can enhance collaboration, fostering a more cohesive and dynamic work environment.
- Better Data-Driven Insights: Organizations can leverage workspace usage data to make informed decisions about office layout, required resources, and future workplace strategies, aligning them more closely with actual needs.
- Health and Safety Compliance: Providing a safe environment is always a top priority for employers and hot desk booking software can simplify this process by helping teams manage social distancing, track cleaning schedules, and ensure that health protocols are followed. These features both assist with health and safety compliance tracking and provide peace of mind for both employees and management.
These benefits demonstrate the significant impact hot desk booking software can have on an organization's operational efficiency, employee satisfaction, and strategic planning. By prioritizing flexibility, insight, and safety, businesses can create a more adaptive and resilient office environment.
Costs & Pricing for Hot Desk Booking Software
Pricing for hot desk booking software varies depending on the depth of features provided. While some systems offer a monthly price per user, others base their pricing on the number of bookable desk spaces you wish to manage, including some that offer packages or sets of bookable spaces for a flat fee.
To help you understand the pricing landscape, I've compiled the average price ranges for each plan level into a comparison table.
Plan Comparison Table for Hot Desk Booking Software
| Plan Type | Average Price per User | Average Price per Desk | Common Features Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Basic desk booking, mobile access, and real-time availability |
| Basic | $10 - $20 | $5 - $10 | Enhanced booking capabilities, integration with calendar applications, automated reminders, and basic analytics |
| Professional | $20 - $40 | $10 - $20 | Advanced analytics, customizable booking rules, integration with additional office management tools, and support for multiple office locations |
| Enterprise | Custom Pricing | Custom Pricing | Personalized setup and support, advanced security features, comprehensive analytics and reporting, API access, and a dedicated account manager |
When considering which plan to choose, I recommend weighing your specific needs and the features you want to gain against the expected costs for each tier. It's important to select a plan that fits your current requirements while retaining the flexibility to scale as your business grows.
If you have a small number of users and simple space management needs, you can likely get started with a free or basic plan initially. However, there are many reasons why you may want to opt for a more advanced plan, including:
- Growth in Workforce: As your team expands, you may reach the user limit for what a free or basic plan allows. Advanced plans can accommodate larger numbers of employees while also offering more advanced features.
- Increased Office Locations: If your business is poised to open a new office, you'll likely need to upgrade your plan to gain the ability to manage hot desk bookings in a second location.
- Enhanced Reporting Needs: Basic plans often lack in-depth reporting and analytics capabilities. By upgrading to a higher-priced plan, you'll gain advanced analytics to help you optimize your space utilization and uncover user trends.
- Integration with Other Tools: To ensure smooth operations, integrating with HR, project management, and calendar systems is essential. Higher-tier plans typically support a broader range of integrations than any free or basic plans.
- Customization and Flexibility: Basic plans usually don't support any customizations. However, advanced plans allow you to tailor the software to fit your unique workflows, booking rules, operational policies, and corporate branding.
Ultimately, it's important to secure a plan that offers the features you require to satisfy your current needs and solve your challenges without exceeding your budget.
New & Noteworthy Product Updates
Below, I've summarized the most recent release notes and product updates for my top hot desk booking software recommendations. Discover what’s now possible through new feature releases, improvements, and updates for web, desktop, and mobile apps, and how it will improve desk management in your workplace.
2025 Q2: Hot Desk Booking Software Updates
Skedda Update Notes
Skedda rolled out new updates to enhance workspace management and support hybrid work environments. These improvements focus on simplifying booking, offering better data insights, and boosting team coordination.
The updates include a new "All-Day Booking" option for reserving spaces with one click, advanced filtering in the Insights dashboard for analyzing usage by day and time, and improved "Free/Busy" status syncing with calendars. Skedda also enhanced the Microsoft Teams integration with automated “Who’s in?” attendance reports.
Together, these updates streamline scheduling, improve visibility into space usage, and strengthen team collaboration. They help organizations manage their workspaces more efficiently and adapt more easily to flexible work routines.
Verdict: These new features improve the user experience, eliminating common space booking frustrations.
Kadence Update Notes
Recently, Kadence introduced several targeted updates to support hybrid workplace efficiency and smarter space management. The improvements focus on better analytics, smoother booking processes, and a more intuitive user experience for both employees and administrators.
The update introduces Insights Plus, a premium analytics tool that delivers automated, customizable reports to highlight space usage trends and hybrid policy effectiveness. It also adds recurring bookings for pods and parking, auto-release for unused parking spots, enhanced CSV exports, visibility into check-in/check-out activity, profile pictures in the admin directory, and new booking filters for easier navigation.
These upgrades help organizations save time, improve space utilization, and make data-driven decisions about their workplace strategy. The new features reduce manual tasks and offer clearer insight into how employees use the office, making it easier to support a flexible and efficient hybrid work environment.
Verdict: These new features improve Kadence's flexibility and support the diverse and changing needs business needs.
Dibsido Update Notes
Dibsido has launched version 2.3.0 of its workplace booking platform, introducing key updates to improve hybrid office management. The release focuses on enhancing meeting room scheduling and making workspace navigation more intuitive.
The update adds a beta feature for meeting room booking with two-way sync between Dibsido and Microsoft Outlook, reducing double bookings and keeping calendars aligned. It also enhances interactive office maps by displaying user profile images pulled from Google or Microsoft accounts, making it easier to identify who has booked specific desks or parking spots.
These improvements offer a more streamlined booking experience and greater visibility into workspace use. By integrating with familiar tools and adding visual cues, Dibsido continues to support efficient, flexible work environments for hybrid teams.
Verdict: This new update simplifies the booking process for users, despite still being in beta testing.
Hot Desk Booking Software: FAQ
Do you have general questions about hot desk booking software and how it works? You’ve come to the right place! Here are some answers to commonly asked questions I’ve received on this topic:
What is hot desking?
Conceptually, hot desking is a modern-day workspace arrangement where employees no longer have a fixed desk.
The term “hot desks” refers to a first-come-first-served desk reservation software system. In contrast, the term “desk hoteling” describes a system that requires reservations in advance. Thankfully, these flexible software systems can accommodate all types of workspace reservations.
Unsurprisingly, hot desking rose in popularity during the throws of the global pandemic, when workers stopped coming into the office in record numbers. This allowed some organizations to reduce their physical office spaces since the real estate was no longer being used.
What's the difference between hot desking and hoteling?
The main difference between hot desking and hoteling is when the desk space is reserved.
Hot desking is booked on a first-come, first-served basis, allowing you to grab a workspace in real-time when you arrive at the office.
Hoteling, on the other hand, involves reserving a space in advance and may include a check-in process, such as completing a health assessment prior to accessing your space, or require approval from a gatekeeper, like a receptionist or a visitor management system.
Fortunately, most software offers both options, so you can choose what works best for your needs without worrying about the distinction. For more details, this article explains the differences clearly.
How does hot desking software reduce costs from underused office space?
Hot desking software helps teams optimize office space usage by tracking utilization patterns, offering insights to inform decisions about office layout and real estate needs.
This data can lead to downsizing, saving on rent, utilities, and maintenance. It also helps identify underused areas, allowing companies to repurpose space or even rent it out to external users, creating a new revenue stream.
What is the best desk booking app?
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to what the best desk booking app is, since the ideal choice depends on your specific needs and office environment. However, most of the desk reservation systems in this list do offer a mobile app component for easy booking on the go.
If a desk booking app is your primary focus, take a closer look at our detailed review of deskbird, our detailed review of Kadence, or our detailed review of Envoy for more information. These apps offer comprehensive desk reservation systems, plus additional tools to support efficient hot office management.
Each hoteling app provides a user-friendly experience, enabling employees to easily reserve desks, rooms, or other resources through their mobile device.
Choosing the best desk booking app involves considering factors like ease of use, scalability, and specific features that align with your company’s workflow, ensuring that your investment supports a more flexible and productive work environment.
Just how common is hybrid working?
Following the global pandemic, hybrid working has risen as the go-to workplace model of the times. Wondering just how common it is? Here are some interesting hybrid work stats:
- 80% of survey respondents expect to work from home a minimum of 3 times per week
- 63% of high-growth businesses are already using hybrid work models
- 66% of executives report considering reorganizing their office spaces to accommodate hybrid work
Accenture recently surveyed 9,000 workers and found that 83% of workers prefer a hybrid work model instead of working in the office 5 days per week.
With that many employees shifting between home and office work locations, it makes sense to invest in technology that organizes the process and captures useful data at the same time.
What are some tips for introducing hot desking?
Rolling out hot desking for the first time? These tips will help your transition go smoothly and keep your team aligned:
-
Create a clear hot desk policy
Set expectations early with a documented policy. Outline booking rules, etiquette, and FAQs to reduce confusion and minimize the flood of follow-up questions. -
Clarify your sanitization approach
If possible, hire a cleaning service to sanitize between uses. Otherwise, provide disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer at each desk and ask employees to clean before and after use. -
Designate team-based zones
Organize desks by department to keep teams working in the same “neighborhood.” This encourages collaboration, strengthens bonds, and boosts productivity. -
Offer specialized equipment
Some staff may need ergonomic chairs, dual monitors, or assistive devices. Mark these desks in your booking system so employees can reserve what they need. -
Provide lockers for personal items
Not everyone wants to carry supplies or personal items daily. Lockers let staff store what they need without cluttering shared spaces. -
Choose a tool that integrates with your tech stack
For smooth adoption, pick hot desk software that works with tools your team already uses—like Slack, Teams, or your intranet—for easy, intuitive booking.
By following these implementation tips, you’ll help your hybrid team adjust to the new software with minimal friction points.
Can hot desk booking software support multiple office locations?
Absolutely, many hot desk booking software can indeed support multiple office locations. Most modern solutions are designed with flexibility in mind, allowing organizations to manage desk bookings across various sites from a single platform. This means employees can book desks not just in their primary office but in any office location within the company’s network.
Being able to manage multiple office locations not only helps to facilitate a smoother experience for employees who travel between sites or work remotely part of the time. It also streamlines operations and enhances workspace utilization across all your locations, making it easier to manage a dynamic and flexible working environment.
How does hot desk booking software ensure compliance with health and safety regulations?
Hot desk booking software can help ensure compliance with health and safety regulations by allowing organizations to monitor and control the occupancy levels of workspaces, and ensure that social distancing guidelines can be adhered to. This can support a smoother and safer return to work, and shows staff that you’re putting their wellbeing at the forefront.
Additionally, some of these systems can facilitate contact tracing efforts by keeping records of who has booked and used specific desks on particular dates. They can also be configured to block off certain desks to maintain safe distances between employees and to prompt users with health and safety checklists or guidelines when making a booking.
This proactive approach helps in creating a safer workplace environment, aligning with health guidelines and regulations.
Are there any industry-specific solutions for hot desk booking?
Yes, there are industry-specific solutions for hot desk booking, designed to cater to the unique needs of various sectors, including:
- Tech (read our review of NSpace for more information)
- Finance (read our review of Tribeloo for more information)
- Healthcare (read our review of WorkInSync for more information)
- Creative industries (read our review of Deskfound for more information)
These specialized solutions often include features tailored to the operational flow and compliance requirements of each industry, such as enhanced security for sensitive sectors or more collaborative spaces for creative fields. It’s all about finding a system that aligns with your industry’s specific workspace management and employee needs.
Does hot desk booking software go by other names?
This is a great question, and the answer is YES, there are many different names for hot desk booking software, however, the functionality that runs all these systems is the same. Some commonly used alternative names are:
- Office Space Software: This is a more general term that suggests the software offers more bookable spaces than only desks, which is pretty standard among these tools.
- Office Hoteling Software: This term is used to describe systems that support long-term bookings, including the ability to reserve a desk space for months at a time.
- Office Scheduling Software: This describes software that offers additional capabilities beyond reserving desks, including allocating other shared resources such as office meeting rooms and staff schedules.
- Meeting Room Booking System: This term is used to describe systems that are primarily used as a room reservation system. However, they often include the ability to book shared desk space as well.
Regardless of the term the software system uses, these types of desk booking solutions all offer a booking manager and other tools to manage your hot office effectively.
What are team neighborhoods and how can they improve team collaboration?
Team neighborhoods are designated zones within an office space where members of the same team or department are encouraged to sit and work.
Instead of a fully open seating plan, team neighborhoods create semi-structured areas that promote proximity for better collaboration while still offering the flexibility of hot desking. By using hot desk booking solutions, team members can reserve spots near each other when they’re in the office.
By fostering a sense of belonging and proximity, team neighborhoods enhance collaboration by making it easier for colleagues to have quick, informal discussions and share ideas without the barriers of long distances or separate workspaces.
This setup encourages teamwork, builds rapport, and can lead to increased productivity by blending the best of both flexible seating and structured team alignment.
What access control features do hot desk booking solutions offer?
Most hot desk booking solutions offer essential access controls to manage workspace usage and ensure security. Administrators can set rules for who can book specific desks or zones, often based on roles, teams, or departments.
Common features include:
- Role-based permissions for desk or zone bookings
- Integration with identity systems (e.g., SSO, Active Directory)
- Time-based restrictions for booking hours or days
- Audit trails to track desk usage and access
These tools ensure organized, secure, and efficient workspace management.
Tips for Selecting the Best Desk Booking Software for You
Feeling overwhelmed by all the options above? I'm happy to give you some tips. Finding the best hot desk booking system for you does take a little bit of research, but that's why I've created this list for you.
Here are 10 tips to help you hone in on the best desk booking software for you:
- Choose software with a user-friendly interface to ensure it's easy for all your users to make desk bookings.
- Look for a system that offers flexible booking options, such as daily, weekly, or monthly reservations, to give your organization more flexibility.
- Ensure the system you pick works on mobile devices, including Android, Windows, and iOS devices, for your employees' ease of use.
- Consider whether each system integrates seamlessly with other cloud-based applications your company is already using, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. (If native integrations are not available, an API is also useful.)
- Review how quickly the system stores and updates data in real-time, to avoid booking frustrations by your staff.
- Dig into what type of usage analytics are included, if you have advanced space management or optimization needs.
- Find out if the system can be customized to your organization's unique needs, or if it's a one-size-fits-all software structure.
- Review the data security and privacy safeguards for your employee data to make sure they are compliant in your local jurisdiction.
- Find out whether the software is scalable if the needs of your organization grow. For example, how easy is it to add more coworking spaces to your desk booking system if you need to?
- Evaluate the cost of each desk booking system you're considering to make sure it aligns with your budget. Remember to factor in the number of users you may have in the future if your organization expands.
Other Workforce Management Software Reviews
While the hot desking trend certainly isn't going away, there are other types of software that can help you optimize your workforce management practices even more. To save you hours of digging around, take a look at these other specialty software lists instead:
- Office Space Management Systems
- Office Management Software
- Employee Scheduling Software
- Productivity Tracking Software
- Remote Working Software
- Time Tracking Apps
- Team Communication Apps
- HR Analytics Software
- Workforce Planning Software
- Remote Collaboration Software
- Remote Employee Monitoring Software
Depending on the challenges you're facing, I'm sure these lists have solutions to offer.
Stay in Touch
I hope this article highlighted the value of using hot desk booking software to streamline desk space management in your workspace.
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