How it works
Each space type gets a rule. Desks for full days and meeting rooms for planned meetings are usually bookable. Phone booths, focus pods, lockers, landing pad desks and informal seating are often left first-come, first-served, because booking them takes longer than using them.
Showing both kinds on the floor plan helps people find what they need without booking anything. A person looking for a quiet place to take a call can see where the phone booths are, even though they cannot reserve one.
The split affects data. Bookable space has bookings, check-ins and no-shows. Non-bookable space needs presence signals, such as sensors or check-ins, or it disappears from utilization reports.
How to measure it
- List every space type and record whether it is bookable, assigned or first-come, first-served.
- Measure non-bookable space with presence data so it appears in utilization reports.
- Review the split when a non-bookable space is always full or a bookable one is rarely booked.
Examples
- Desks and meeting rooms are bookable; phone booths and café seating are first-come, first-served but shown on the map.
- Lockers are first-come, first-served at a small site but bookable at headquarters, where demand is higher.
Common mistakes
- Making every space bookable, which adds steps to short, casual use.
- Leaving non-bookable space off the map, so people do not know it exists.
- Leaving non-bookable space out of utilization data and then cutting it.
How Kadence helps
Kadence lets admins make desks, rooms, lockers, pods, parking and private offices bookable, and floor plan search helps people find a person, desk or room. Admins choose whether lockers and parking count toward attendance, and Automatic Bookings records people who turn up without a booking.
Space management · Desk booking software
Frequently asked questions
Which office spaces should be bookable?
Spaces people plan around: desks for full days, meeting rooms, and anything scarce, such as parking or private offices. Spaces used briefly and on impulse, such as phone booths, usually work better as first-come, first-served.
Should phone booths be bookable?
Usually not. Calls are short and often unplanned, so a booking step slows people down and leads to booths that are booked but empty. Some offices make a few booths bookable for long calls and leave the rest open.
How do you measure use of non-bookable space?
With presence signals rather than bookings: occupancy sensors, QR code or kiosk check-ins, or network presence for the area. Without them, non-bookable space looks unused in reports, even when it is busy every day.
Related terms
- Workspace booking Reserving any bookable space at work, such as desks, rooms, lockers, pods, parking or coworking space, from one system.
- Workspace types The settings an office offers, such as desks, focus rooms, phone booths, huddle rooms and lounges, each suited to a kind of work.
- Landing pad A small set of drop-in desks for short stays, visiting colleagues or people between meetings, with no booking required.
- Interactive floor plan A live, clickable map of an office that shows desks, rooms and people, and lets employees book space and find colleagues.
- Walk-in usage Desks or rooms used without a booking. If it isn't captured, utilization reports undercount real demand.
- Hot desking and hoteling Two ways to share desks: hot desking is first come, first served; hoteling means reserving a desk in advance and checking in.
Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed