Hot Desking vs. Office Sharing: What's the Difference?

As offices adjust to hybrid schedules, two ideas come up again and again: hot desking and office sharing. They sound alike, but they work very differently, and they suit different teams.

What is hot desking?

With hot desking, nobody has an assigned desk. Everyone picks from a shared pool each day, either first come, first served or through a booking system. Desks are cleared at the end of the day so the next person can use them.

Good for: open-plan floors, teams that are rarely in at the same time, and companies redesigning their space from scratch.

Watch out for: people losing a space of their own, setting up from scratch every morning, and the daily scramble when more people come in than expected.

What is office sharing?

With office sharing, people keep their own offices. On the days an owner is away, they offer their office, and someone without one can use it for those days. When the owner is in, the office is theirs as usual.

Good for: workplaces with private offices, like law firms, clinics, universities and agencies, where some people have an office and others don't, and where owners are often out for travel, court, classes, client visits or leave.

Watch out for: it only works if owners actually offer their away days, so offering has to take seconds.

Side by side

• Assigned space: hot desking has none. With office sharing, owners keep theirs.
• What gets booked: hot desking books a desk from a pool. Office sharing books a specific office on the days its owner offered.
• Change needed: hot desking usually means a new floor plan and policy. Office sharing works with the offices you already have.
• Who gives up what: with hot desking, everyone gives up a fixed spot. With office sharing, owners give up nothing on the days they're in.
• Best fit: hot desking suits open-plan floors. Office sharing suits buildings full of private offices.

Can you do both?

Yes. Many workplaces have a few unassigned guest desks alongside private offices. Treat the guest desks as always available and the private offices as available only on the days their owners offer them, and you get the best of both.

Where OfficeSwap fits

OfficeSwap is built for office sharing. Owners offer their office for the days they're away, people without an office request the days they need, and the app matches them automatically. Desks with no owner can be added as guest desks, which are always available. Read what office sharing is for a deeper look.