Create a Desk Hoteling Floor Plan in 4 Easy Steps

A table with office layout plans and people in the background

The Robin Team

Published on

May 23, 2022

In traditional office environments, each person is assigned to a specific desk. In a desk hoteling model, people book a workspace in advance, whether it’s for one day or a full week. Desk hoteling is a great fit for organizations that give their people the flexibility to work remotely or come into the office, depending on their needs.

Of course, the team members that are working from the office need an easy way to find an available desk. Desk hoteling software allows an enterprise to map out their space and label desks and offices as available or reserved.

1. Assess Your Space From the User’s Perspective

A hoteling desk floor plan is an interactive, digital rendering of your company’s space. Before you begin setting up this floor plan, try to picture your office space from a newcomer’s perspective.

You may be familiar with the layout, but visitors and freelancers may not be. And if you’re managing a return to the office for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s likely been a long time since your teams have been in the office.

Your floor plan should make it easy for individuals to identify a workspace. With desk hoteling software, they’ll probably be reserving a spot from their tablet or phone before heading to the office. So your hoteling floor plan needs to be simple, clear, and straightforward.

2. Use a Simple Design

Blueprints and CAD drawings are great for working with vendors like architects and electricians – not so much for the average user. Your office floor plan doesn’t need to be overly complicated, and it certainly doesn’t need the level of detail that many CAD renderings have. Instead, strip down the office map to its bare essentials:

Entrances/exits
Reception
Individual workspaces
Private offices
Meeting rooms
Restrooms

It’s also helpful to label amenities like kitchenettes, drinking fountains, printers, and supply closets.

3. Clearly Label Your Spaces

Anyone using your hoteling desk floor plan should be able to look at the space and quickly find what they need. Symbols and colors can be very helpful here.

For example, when someone is trying to reserve a desk, available workspaces can be marked as green. Workspaces that have already been reserved can be marked as red. For spaces like meeting rooms, it’s also great to provide information about their features, such as a whiteboard, projector, or conference phone.

4. Match Your Company’s Branding

Finally, pull in design elements and themes that reflect your company’s brand. Whether it’s a signature color or font, or even just adding your company logo, these elements help keep your floor plan consistent with the rest of your organization’s digital and print materials.

Simplify Your Desk Booking Process with Robin

With Robin’s powerful platform, you can set up your floor plan in just minutes. And with over 200 integrations, it’s easy to pair our reservation system with your existing calendar tools. Plus, you can: