Desk booking refers to the process of making work stations available for reservation throughout an office, typically through a software solution that employees can use for booking. 

As many companies are increasingly adopting a hybrid work model, a desk booking system is a critical piece of the puzzle to create flexibility for employees while maintaining a meaningful office presence for at least a subset of the employee base.

A “hot desk” is a desk that isn’t assigned, meaning that any employee can use it. “Desk hoteling” is similar to desk booking, and refers to the process of reserving a desk and “checking in and out” as you would at a hotel. 

All that said, it is common for people to use the words interchangeably, as they all refer to an office that has at least some workstations without permanent employee assignment. To simply allocate open desks or meeting rooms, companies typically use a desk booking software tool.   

Desk booking software is a tool that allows you to book desks in an office, either on a one-time or recurring basis. Many desk booking tools also include an office floorplan, information on desk amenities, and list of employees who have booked desks on any given day.