Is Your Office Ready for Hot Desking? The Practical Guide for Modern Workplaces

Hot Desking Is No Longer a Trend — It’s a Strategy

Hybrid work has permanently changed how offices are used. For many organizations, the traditional model of one desk per employee no longer reflects reality. Employees rotate between remote and in-office days, teams collaborate in bursts, and office occupancy fluctuates daily.

This shift has made hot desking—the practice of sharing desks among employees—a smart operational strategy rather than a workplace experiment. But hot desking only works when it’s supported by the right technology, visibility, and processes.

For MSPs, resellers, and IT dealers, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity: customers need guidance on how to implement hot desking without creating chaos, frustration, or underutilized space.

In this guide, we’ll explore:

• What hot desking really requires to succeed

• Common mistakes organizations make

• How Skedway Desk Manager helps offices prepare, manage, and optimize hot desking

• How Image Star supports partners in designing and deploying these solutions

What Is Hot Desking — And Why Offices Are Adopting It

Hot desking allows employees to reserve a desk when they need it rather than being assigned a permanent workstation. This model works particularly well for:

• Hybrid and remote-first teams

• Growing organizations with limited real estate

• Companies seeking to reduce overhead

• Businesses rethinking space utilization post-pandemic

However, hot desking without structure often leads to:

• Employees wandering the office looking for space

• Double-booked desks

• Frustration and wasted time

• Inaccurate assumptions about office usage

That’s why hot desking must be enabled by software and supported by data—not sticky notes or spreadsheets.

Step 1: Preparing Your Office for Hot Desking

Before deploying any desk booking software, organizations need to assess their readiness.

Key Questions to Ask:

• How many employees are in-office on a typical day?

• Which roles require consistent desk access?

• Are desks identical, or do some include monitors, docking stations, or privacy features?

• Do teams prefer to sit together on collaboration days?

Hot desking is most successful when desks are standardized, clearly identified, and supported by technology that removes uncertainty.

This is where Skedway Desk Manager plays a critical role.

Step 2: Desk Booking Software — The Foundation of Hot Desking

At the heart of any hot desking strategy is desk booking software. Without it, employees lack confidence that a workspace will be available when they arrive.

How Skedway Desk Manager Supports Hot Desking

Skedway Desk Manager allows employees to:

• View available desks in real time

• Reserve desks in advance or on the day of arrival

• Select desks based on location, amenities, or proximity to teammates

• Modify or cancel reservations easily

For administrators, Skedway provides:

• Centralized control over desk availability

• Rules for who can book which desks

• Visibility into booking patterns and peak usage

This eliminates guesswork and ensures desks are used intentionally—not competitively.

Step 3: Visualization of Desk and Room Availability

One of the biggest pain points in hot desking environments is lack of visibility.

Employees ask:

• “Is there a desk available?”

• “Which area is open?”

• “Are my teammates already here?”

Skedway Desk Manager solves this with visual layouts and live availability views, allowing users to see:

• Open vs. occupied desks

• Desk locations within the office

• Nearby team members

This visualization dramatically reduces friction and helps employees feel confident before they even step into the office.

For MSPs and IT dealers, this feature is often the difference between a hot desking rollout that succeeds and one that fails.

Step 4: Check-In Functionality — Ensuring Desks Are Actually Used

Desk reservations alone aren’t enough. Without check-in functionality, desks may appear “booked” but remain empty all day.

Why Check-In Matters

Skedway Desk Manager supports check-in workflows that:

• Confirm employee presence

• Automatically release unused desks after a defined period

• Improve availability for walk-in users

This ensures:

• Higher desk utilization

• Fewer “ghost reservations”

• A smoother experience for employees who didn’t book in advance

Check-in functionality is especially valuable in larger offices where no-shows can significantly skew availability.

Step 5: Analytics for Space Optimization

Hot desking isn’t just about flexibility—it’s about data-driven decision-making.

Skedway Desk Manager provides analytics that help organizations understand:

• Daily and weekly desk usage

• Peak occupancy times

• Underutilized zones

• Long-term space trends

This data enables leadership to:

• Reduce excess real estate

• Reconfigure office layouts

• Adjust desk ratios

• Plan for future growth

For MSPs and resellers, analytics create ongoing value beyond the initial deployment, strengthening long-term client relationships.

Common Hot Desking Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Many organizations rush into hot desking without proper planning. Common pitfalls include:

• Too few desks for peak demand

• No booking or visibility tools

• Lack of employee training

• No data to measure success

By implementing Skedway Desk Manager, organizations avoid these issues by introducing structure, transparency, and insight from day one.

Why MSPs, Resellers, and IT Dealers Should Lead These Conversations

Hot desking touches multiple domains:

• IT infrastructure

• User experience

• Workplace strategy

• Change management

This makes MSPs and IT dealers uniquely positioned to guide customers through the process—not just sell software.

Image Star works with partners to:

• Assess office readiness

• Recommend Skedway Desk Manager configurations

• Support deployments and integrations

• Ensure long-term success through analytics and optimization

Is Your Office Truly Ready for Hot Desking?

Hot desking isn’t about removing desks—it’s about using space intelligently.

With the right preparation and the right technology, organizations can:

• Improve employee experience

• Reduce wasted space

• Gain real visibility into office usage

• Support hybrid work long-term

  
  

Skedway Desk Manager provides the structure, visibility, and data required to make hot desking work—and Image Star helps partners bring it all together.