A hot desk office is one where desks are shared rather than owned: there are fewer desk positions than people, and who sits where is decided each day by a booking or by arrival. The hot desking definition is that simple, and what are hot desks is answered by the ratio under them, seven desks for every ten people on the worked example this site uses, a number the attendance decides rather than the furniture. The hot desk setup that works is four decisions written down and one record kept, and this guide walks them in order: the ratio from the attendance, the desks marked shared or assigned, the booking rule, the day the floor is over, and the count that says afterwards whether the ratio held.
What are hot desks, in numbers
180 people assigned to a floor, 84 in on an average day and 126 on the busiest, against 140 desks: 60% average utilization, 90% at peak, 14 desks spare, and a sharing ratio of 7 desks per 10 people that the attendance supports. Those desks are hot desks the moment fewer of them exist than people, and the ratio is the whole definition. The space utilization worksheet on this site works it from your own counts with no account, and it is the first figure a hot desk office needs.
The hot desk setup: four decisions
Which desks are shared and which stay assigned; how a desk is booked and how far ahead; when an unclaimed booking releases; and what a person does on the day the floor is over. Desks kept assigned change the ratio the rest must carry: 120 desks with 20 assigned leaves 100 shared desks for 160 people, 6.25 per 10. Write the four down as a policy, because a hot desk setup that lives in the app's settings is an argument waiting for its first Tuesday. The return to office policy template works the arithmetic and the paid plan builds the document.
The record that says whether it worked
Each booking is one person on one desk on one day, and filed against the desk the bookings become the attendance count. That count is the only evidence for the ratio: a hot desk office running at 90% of desks on its busiest day held; one at 110% did not, and either the days are spread or the desk count changes. HardFM Pro keeps the desks, the bookings and the counts against the building and exports all three for $24 a month for the whole team.
Reading the hot desking companies lists
Every list of hot desking companies ranks the floor map, the interface and the integrations. Ask each product two questions instead: does it export the bookings as a table by desk and day, and can the desk record hold assigned and shared desks side by side with the ratio visible. A product that does both is worth a demo whatever its rank; one that does neither is a calendar. HardFM publishes no other vendor's figures on this site; read each company's own pricing page.
Questions people ask about hot desk office
What is the hot desking definition?
Desks shared rather than owned, with fewer desk positions than people and who sits where decided each day. The number under it is the ratio, desks per ten people, and the attendance decides it: peak attendance over headcount, times ten.
How do I set up a hot desk office?
Work the ratio from the attendance first, then decide which desks are shared, how a desk is booked, when a booking releases and what happens when the floor is over, and write the four down. The worksheets on this site work the arithmetic free; HardFM Pro keeps the desks and bookings.
How many hot desks do I need?
Enough for the busiest day plus the desks kept assigned. On the worked example, 126 at peak from 180 people is 7 desks per 10, worked by the free space utilization worksheet from your own counts.