40 Best Hot Desk Booking Software Reviewed in 2024
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.
Struggling to manage a hybrid office? Hot desk booking software can help by allowing users to reserve not only desks but also meeting rooms, equipment, and parking spaces. It also tracks space usage data to optimize office layouts.
With so many options available, finding the right system can be time-consuming. This article will guide you through the top hot desk booking platforms, helping you choose the best one for your hybrid team's needs.
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Best Hot Desk Booking Software: Pricing Comparison Chart
This comparison chart summarizes pricing details for my top hot desk booking software selections to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.
| Tools | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Tactic | From $2.50/desk/month | Website |
| OfficeSpace | Pricing upon request | Website |
| Kadence | From $4/user/month | Website |
| Skedda | From $99/month | Website |
| Dibsido | From $1.90/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| Tribeloo | From $3.33/user/month | Website |
| Othership | From $4/seat/month | Website |
| Deskfound | From $1/user/month. | Website |
| WorkInSync | From $2.50/user/month | Website |
| Robin | From $1,500/year for their Basic service level | Website |
Compare Software Specs Side by Side
Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.
Compare Software-
Deel
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.8 -
Rippling
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.8 -
Willo
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.8
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.
Tactic
Best desk & meeting room booking software for coordinating in-office schedules
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: With on-demand desk booking and meeting room reservations, team members can 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.
Tactic Features and Integrations:
Tactic's features are 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.
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.
Best hot desking solution for advanced desk usage data & analytics
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:
OfficeSpace includes 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.
Kadence
Best hot desk booking platform for coordinating people, projects, and 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: Their intuitive user interface and interactive floor maps (web and mobile versions) 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.
Kadence Features and Integrations:
Features include 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, and generates a list of who’s booked to come into the office on any given day to help with efficient meeting coordination.
Kadence integrates fully with Microsoft Teams, Outlook and Google calendars so your teams can easily find, and book available spaces all within the tools they already use.
Pricing for Kadence starts at $4/user/month. They also offer a free demo.
Skedda
Best hot desk booking platform with an interactive floor plan and full mobile access
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:
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.
Dibsido
Best desk booking platform for one-click desk, room, and parking bookings
Dibsido is a hot desk booking and office management tool that offers a range of features to assist office managers in streamlining workspace operations and enhancing managerial efficiency. It provides a system for employees to book desks, parking spaces, and shared cars, as well as to organize carpools.
Why I picked Dibsido: Dibsido allows for flexible booking options in one click, enabling users to select desks based on specific attributes and manage their reservations through a user-friendly interface. It incorporates the use of QR codes to facilitate easy tracking of desk usage and provides an overview of 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.
One detail that sets Dibsido apart from competitors is the ease of its customer onboarding process. Dibsido eliminates the need for time-consuming sales calls, allowing companies to independently onboard and start using the platform promptly.
Dibsido Features and Integrations:
In addition to desk booking, Dibsido can also help users book parking spaces, which helps manage limited parking resources and ensures fair access for all employees, as well as company cars, which includes a logbook for tracking car usage. Dibsido also facilitates carpooling arrangements among employees, which can reduce commuting costs and environmental impact.
Dibsido also features a package register for logging deliveries and parcels, incident reports, office notices, which can be used to communicate important information to all employees quickly and efficiently, 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, Microsoft Outlook, Google, Slack, and Microsoft.
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.
Tribeloo
Best for creating customized spaces and managing multiple locations
Tribeloo is a hot desk booking software that offers an array of features to help you manage your workplace and support in-person and hybrid collaboration on your team.
Why I picked Tribeloo: This is an effective desk and workspace booking software that allows you to define 'neighborhoods' and other unique workspace divisions. You can also manage multiple locations and set specific booking rules for these different locations. For example, you can add maximum capacities for shared desk spaces or add access permissions to certain employees or teams.
The software provides a visual floor plan for employees to book desks and rooms through. It allows you to set up policies and safety screenings for employees to read and agree to when they book spaces. Employees can also add team members to their group to see who's in and out of the office, and add conferencing to meetings they're booking with hybrid attendees.
Tribeloo Features and Integrations:
Features include a visual floor plan, desk and room booking, assigned desks, multiple site management, custom areas and wings, special requests, pre-screening forms, and analytics and reporting tools.
Integrations include Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar, so your team can book desks and rooms directly from the platforms they use already.
Best hot desk booking platform for optimizing office use and collaboration time
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 Standout Features & Integrations
Standout 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:
Pricing for Othership begins at $4/seat/month with a free plan available.
Deskfound is a Slack-based workspace management software tailored for a hybrid workforce. It allows employees to find the appropriate workspace, view floor plans, and book desk reservations from an easy-to-use, centralized platform or their existing Slack program.
Why I picked Deskfound: The cloud-based software enables supervisors to strategically assign desks to different employees, evaluate seating arrangements, and manage available workspace for a designated number of days or even weeks. It allows employees to manage work desks across multiple locations, view workspace status & availability, and schedule reservations for dedicated and temporary desks in offices.
Deskfound Features and Integrations:
Features include the ability to view desks by area, book permanent or hybrid seats, and update reservations by simply using the built-in drag-and-drop user interface. In addition, the software enables users to easily track each team’s location, configure user access rights, set up the software’s contact tracing functionality, and manage other critical tasks within a unified system. Users can use QR codes to scan desk labels and ensure the visibility of seating arrangements and locations.
Integrations are available with Slack and other third-party applications, including Google Calendar, Google Maps, and Google SSO.
Pricing starts from $1.00/user/month. A free trial is available for the first 10 users.
Best for hybrid workplace scheduling using virtual assistant software
WorkInSync is a hybrid workplace scheduling solution with all the standard features you’d expect for a hot desk booking application, and more.
Why I picked WorkInSync: The system helps managers stay on top of their hybrid employees by asking staff to fill out an Employee Preference Report once per week, indicating the days they would like to work from home or in the office. When staff are ready to make a booking, they can browse the interactive booking platform to find seats near other team members, and search for workstations with special features, including cubicles with ergonomic chairs, or dual monitors.
Within the same process, employees can also book parking spaces too. On the day of a booking request, the system automatically sends a health risk assessment questionnaire to ensure employees have no cold or flu symptoms before heading to the office.
WorkInSync Features and Integrations:
The platform boasts several unique features that I haven’t seen in other systems. To improve productivity, their software has integrations with Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri so employees can reserve desk spaces during their drive to the office. Once they arrive, the platform’s Mask Detector feature asks employees to confirm they’re wearing a face mask by uploading a selfie of them wearing it.
After that, the next step is a temperature check using WorkInSync’s digital thermal hand scanner, which checks and records employee temperatures to ensure no fevers are developing. QR code scans also work in tandem with their Contactless Access Management module and Digi-Pass, ensuring contactless check-in for booked desks or meeting spaces.
Integrations are available with Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Assistant, Microsoft Outlook, G-Suite Calendars, Microsoft ADFS, Okta, One Login, Honeywell EBI, and Siri.
Pricing for WorkInSync starts at $2.50/user/month. A free plan is also available for organizations with less than 50 employees. A free demo can also be requested via their website.
Robin
Best workplace management software for employee productivity features
Robin’s sophisticated desk booking system aims to empower employees, while giving management teams the tools they need to manage safety, security and space utilization effectively.
Why I picked Robin: Thanks to their real-time analytics, users always know how many desks are assigned, hot, hoteled or flexible at any given moment. Bookings can also be made easily through their mobile app, desktop interface, or through kiosks placed at strategic locations around your office, like meeting rooms.
Robin Features and Integrations:
Their system includes useful functions to improve employee productivity, such as wayfinding features, and platform searchability, enabling employees to find co-workers quickly, rather than wasting time walking around.
For meeting room scheduling, Robin has space utilization features to ensure a meeting room intended for up to 10 people isn’t booked by groups or 2 or 3. Check-in features also remove ghost meetings, meaning a room booking will be released if no one checks-in for the meeting within a set amount of time.
Integrations are available with Microsoft Office 365, BlueJeans, Exchange, Google Calendar, Slack, and Zoom.
Pricing for Robin starts at $1,500/year for their Basic service level. A free 14-day trial and free demo can also be requested via their website.
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:
- NSpace
Hot desk platform for advanced workplace utilization metrics
- Envoy
Hot desk system with a modular configuration and a linked health questionnaire
- Officely
For simple desk booking that lives in Slack and MS Teams
- SpaceIQ
Hot desking software and space management suite with advanced wayfinding features
- Smartway2
Hot desk solution for creating a positive employee experience
- deskbird
Desk & room booking solution for integrating with MS Teams & Outlook
- FLYDESK
Hot desk booking solution with weekly schedules and leave management
- Clearooms
For its pricing per desk and user friendly remote booking system
- Zynq
Hot desk and office space management software for hybrid teams
- HotDesk+
Multilingual hot desk booking software with built-in tools to help companies achieve net zero emissions
- Ronspot
3-in-1 hybrid workplace reservation tool for booking hot desks, parking spots, and meeting rooms
- Condeco
Hot desk booking tool for flexible desk workflows and team collaboration features
- Cloudbooking
Desk and room booking software with advanced real estate planning tools
- Eden
Hot desk and room booking software with a full workplace software suite
- YAROOMS
Plug-and-play desk booking solution with digital signage & visitor management solutions
- SwipedOn
For ease of use desk booking and full hybrid workplace management
- Teem
Hot desk & desk hoteling software for touchless mobile bookings and sanitation flags in between users
- Meetio
Hot desking app for QR code check-ins and a find-a-colleague feature
- Fm:systems
Desk management platform with pan-and-zoom floorplans, touchless check-ins, and QR code readers
- Sharing Cloud Instant Flex
Room booking tool for QR codes and infra-red presence sensors to manage usage data
- Pronestor
For booking flexible and fixed desks in real-time, with an auto-release feature
- FlexO by Oomnis
On-premise or cloud-based booking tool for desks, conference rooms, huddle spaces, parking spaces, and mobile equipment
- Joan Desk
Desk booking tool with an embedded health screening questionnaire
- Agile Quest
Workplace booking platform for landlords, government agencies, higher education institutions & co-working spaces
- Gaia Workspace
Workspace solution for advanced employee screening plus vaccine & COVID-19 test tracking
- Space Connect
Desk booking platform for automatic ‘booking conflict resolution’ and making bookings on behalf of others
- Billie
Hot desk booking app for desk neighbourhoods to keep team members together or create designated quiet zones
- Fischer & Kerrn
For monitoring desk usage via smart desk sensors, occupancy sensors, and ID card readers
- Smart Space
For wayfinding features, occupancy sensors, and advanced desk utilization metrics at a granular level
- Roomzilla
For unique admin features like an approval queue, private bookings, and tools to remove ghost reservations
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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 and my years of experience using meeting room booking software (the ancestor of hot desk booking software) 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 2024
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.
What is Hot Desk Booking Software?
Hot desk booking software is a digital tool that enables employees to book and manage shared workspaces in an office, enhancing space efficiency and flexibility. Features include real-time desk availability, a reservation software system, workspace management, and reporting capabilities for usage analytics.
The purpose of hot desk booking software is to streamline the reservation and management of shared office spaces, which is becoming more common in modern hybrid work 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. Learn what’s new, if it’s hot—or not, and how it will improve desk management in your workplace.
2024 Q4: Hot Desk Booking Software Updates
Skedda Update Notes
In Fall 2024, Skedda introduced a new feature called "Space Attributes" to help users organize and filter spaces. Administrators can assign specific attributes to each space, including Type, Capacity, or custom Space Tags (e.g., Engineering Team, Dog Spots, or Executive Meeting Rooms.)
By implementing Space Attributes, administrators can categorize spaces more effectively, making it easier for users to find suitable options for their needs. Users can filter spaces based on these attributes in Map, Grid, or List views, streamlining the booking process. This customization ensures that spaces are organized in a way that aligns with the organization's specific requirements, such as creating team-based neighborhoods.
The Space Attributes adds value by simplifying the process of locating and reserving appropriate spaces. With the ability to filter spaces based on attributes like Type, Capacity, and custom Space Tags, users can quickly identify and book spaces that meet their specific needs, enhancing overall efficiency and satisfaction.
Verdict: Hot! It simplifies space selection, saves time, and ensures users can reserve spaces that meet their specific requirements.
Kadence Update Notes
Recently, Kadence introduced several new features to improve desk booking and hybrid work management as part of its product release 3.6.0.
The update features a new Remote Working Status, enabling employees to check in and indicate their availability for collaboration from any location. This ensures facility managers have accurate visibility of personnel without unnecessary office space reservations.
Additional improvements include the ability to select multiple workplace announcements for marking as read or deletion, a Public API for room booking and check-in that integrates with existing systems, and enhanced visibility of starred colleagues' office locations.
Users can now search for buildings when making bookings, add Private Offices to floor plans, and include location information when raising tickets.
Verdict: Hot! These significant updates improve coordination, collaboration, and resource management for hybrid teams.
Dibsido Update Notes
During Q4, Dibsido announced updates to improve its workspace management platform. These include new language options, booking credit allocations, time-based desk and parking assignments, and custom booking rules.
The platform now supports Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, German, Finnish, Norwegian, and Polish. Administrators can assign booking credits by group, customize credit deductions by reservation type, and allocate desks or parking spaces by time slots. Custom rules can restrict or allow access based on user groups and timing.
These updates improve flexibility and efficiency. Expanded language support makes the platform accessible globally, while the credit and time-based features ensure fair resource use. Custom rules enhance space management for diverse user needs.
Verdict: Hot! These new updates introduce Dibsido to a larger customer base and the time-based booking features make the platform more efficient and fair.
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. Unsurprisingly, it 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.
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.
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?
As the global pandemic continues its ebb and flow, 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?
If you’re new to the idea of hot desking, these tips will help you get started on the right foot:
- Create a hot desk policy: Whenever you’re introducing a new concept to your workforce, you’re bound to receive a flurry of follow-up questions from your employees. To mitigate the Q&A flood, I recommend creating a Hot Desk Policy that spells out the rules and answers all the most likely questions upfront.
- Make your sanitization policy clear: If you’re able to hire a cleaning service to clean in between each hot desk’s use, definitely go for it. However, if your team is smaller and has lighter needs, you could also consider supplying each workstation with their own set of disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizers, and ask your staff to sanitize at the beginning and end of each use, to ensure the hot desk space is germ-free.
- Set up department or team-based zones: This involves designating specific areas on your floor plan for individual departments to use. By keeping team members in the same zone or “neighborhood” when they’re working in the office, you’ll improve your team’s in-office productivity and strengthen the bond between department members, improving your company culture.
- Offer specialized equipment as needed: You may have some employees with different workstation needs than others. These may include special lighting, ergonomic chairs, an ergonomic keyboard or mouse, or workstations with multiple computer screens. Mark these specialty options in your hot desking solution, and ensure your employees know they are available.
- Offer lockers for storing personal items: Some employees may want to have personal items on their desk while they work. This could include things like personal photos, preferred stationary or office supplies, or even an ergonomic mouse. Rather than asking them to lug these items from home each time they want to work from the office, offer staff the ability to store these items in personal lockers instead.
- Find a hot desking solution that works with your existing tech stack: You’ll get the most out of your hot desking program if the booking process is easy for your staff to navigate. Try to find a solution that integrates with the communication tools your staff are already using, whether that’s Slack, Yammer, Microsoft Teams, an internal intranet, or otherwise.
We also have tips on how to use your office space the most effectively if you need some help with that too.
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 Software Systems
- Office Management Software for Core Functions
- Remote Employee Monitoring Software Systems
- Employee Scheduling Software
- Productivity Tracking Software
- Remote Working Software for Distributed Teams
- Time Tracking Apps
- Remote Collaboration Software for Hybrid Teams
- Team Communication Apps
- HR Analytics Software
- Workforce Planning Software
If you’re looking for more details to support your workforce planning efforts, I recommend reading our article on best practices for workforce planning.
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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Related read: HR Software: What It Costs And How To Decide What’s Best For Your Company