Hoteling (or "hotelling" in English) is an office space management method that enables employees to reserve a workstation, meeting room or other shared space in advance for a set period. Inspired by the hotel business - you "take a room", you "give back the key" - the system works on the basis of temporary occupancy: when the period ends, the workstation becomes available again for another user. The aim is to adapt to flexible working patternsremote work, field missions, customer visits) while optimizing the use of real estate.
The company defines a catalog of spaces: individual offices, call rooms, project areas, meeting rooms. Each resource has a calendar synchronized with a reservation software. From their computer or cell phone, employees choose the location, date and time slot, often as easily as setting up a meeting in their diary. On arrival, they "sign in" or scan a QR code; the system confirms occupancy and feeds usage data (fill rate, peak use, under- or over-utilized workstations).
Hot desking is based on the "first come, first served" principle: you sit wherever there's a free space, without any guarantee.Hoteling, on the other hand, favors predictability: everyone knows before they leave that their office or room is waiting for them. This anticipation reduces the stress of the morning search, makes it easier to welcome visitors or freelancers, and enables teams to voluntarily group together for a project or a sprint.
By correlating actual presence with occupied surface areas, organizations quickly measure real-estate savings: fewer square meters needed, the possibility of transforming fixed offices into collaborative zones. Analysis of occupancy data helps adjust cleaning, maintenance and air-conditioning based on actual use, contributing to energy cost reduction and CSR initiatives.
For hybrid workers, hoteling offers a coherent experience: the workstation responds to the need of the day (silence for writing a report, a visio booth for a confidential call, a high table for a creative workshop). The ability to know where colleagues are reinforces collaboration and limits those days when you feel alone in an empty open space. Last but not least, flexible working hours can be better combined: you can book earlier or later at your own pace, without worrying about overcrowding.
Like any system, hoteling requires clear governance: cancellation rules to avoid "no-shows", priority management for special events, support for employees accustomed to a dedicated office. Excessive technical complexity or parameterization discourages adoption; the tool must remain intuitive and integrated with applications already in use (diary, messaging).
Hoteling transforms the office into an on-demand service: book it, use it, let it go. This approach reconciles flexibility for employees and value for money for thecompany. Properly implemented - with simple software, transparent rules and a results-oriented culture - it becomes a pillar of a modern working environment: more mobile, more collaborative and more efficient.
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