How it works
Booking data records intent. When someone sits at a free desk or takes an empty room without booking, booking data shows that space as unused. In offices with landing pads, first-come desks or informal meeting spaces, the gap can be large.
Walk-in use is captured from presence signals rather than bookings: office network presence, desk or room sensors, kiosk or room display check-ins and badge data. Some systems create a booking automatically when a person turns up without one, so the visit appears in the same reports as booked use.
With walk-ins captured, teams can compare booked use, walk-in use and no-shows for each floor. That shows the real demand for each type of space and whether the booking policy fits how people work.
How to measure it
- Compare check-ins or presence with bookings for the same space and day. Presence without a booking is walk-in use.
- Report walk-in use as a share of all use, by floor and by space type.
- Look for spaces with high walk-in use and low booked use. They often work as landing pads in practice.
Examples
- A floor shows a low booked rate, but network presence shows it busy every Wednesday: most people sit wherever is free.
- Small rooms near the kitchen show little booked time but steady sensor use, because people take them for short calls.
Common mistakes
- Sizing space from booking data alone, which undercounts demand and can lead to cutting space people use.
- Counting a walk-in twice when an automatic booking and a presence record describe the same visit.
- Treating walk-in use as a policy breach rather than as evidence of how people prefer to work.
How Kadence helps
Kadence Automatic Bookings creates a booking when someone turns up without one, so walk-in use appears in occupancy reports. The Kadence Agent checks people in automatically when it detects them on the office network, and check-ins can also come from kiosks, room displays, badge data or the API. Workplace Insights then reports attendance, occupancy and no-shows side by side.
Workplace occupancy · Workplace analytics · Desk booking software
Frequently asked questions
Why does walk-in usage matter for utilization reports?
Utilization reports built on bookings count only planned use. Every desk or room used without a booking looks empty, so the report undercounts demand. Teams that cut space on those figures can end up short of space on busy days.
How do you track walk-in desk use without sensors?
Use signals you already have: office network presence from a desktop app, kiosk or QR code check-ins, and badge data. A system that creates a booking when someone checks in without one records the walk-in in the same reports as booked use.
Should offices allow walk-in desk use?
Many do, for short visits and people between meetings, often in a landing pad area. The key is to capture it so space plans include it. Organizations that require bookings everywhere still see some walk-in use, and capturing it shows where the rule does not fit.
Related terms
- No-show rate The share of desk and room bookings nobody checks in to, which makes space look busier than it is.
- Desk check-in Confirming that you are at the desk or room you booked, by app, QR code, badge or Wi-Fi presence, so unused bookings can be released.
- Presence data (sensorless occupancy) The record of who was actually in the building and when, from signals you already have: network, badges and check-ins.
- Landing pad A small set of drop-in desks for short stays, visiting colleagues or people between meetings, with no booking required.
- Desk utilization The share of available desk-hours people actually use, measured desk by desk from check-ins or presence data.
- Ghost booking A desk or room that is booked but never used, so it shows as taken while it sits empty.
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