Dynamic workplaces: Is hoteling right for you?

Pew Research Center’s findings remain relevant today, with many reflecting on how the disruptions of recent years have brought both hardships and opportunities. The swift adoption of generative AI, for example, has transformed industries, while the resurgence of in-person connections in 2024 has fostered new ways of blending physical and virtual collaboration. These trends redefine society and the workplace, setting the stage for even greater innovation in 2025 and beyond.

Hoteling adoption surges

Hoteling is one workplace practice that is enjoying a resurgence as a hybrid option for many organizations. Office hoteling began in the 1990s due to advances in mobile technology, with consulting and accounting firms rising as first adopters. Through this office management approach, workers reserve their use of desks, cubicles, and offices in advance, replacing the traditional method of assigning workers fixed spaces. Most companies that use hoteling require employees to reserve a workspace before they come to the office. Hot-desking is a less common practice in which a worker chooses a workspace upon arrival at the office.

The benefits of hoteling are numerous, including cost savings on office real estate, increased worker flexibility, mobility, and autonomy, and unique opportunities for cross-functional employees to interact and collaborate.

Hoteling best practices

A hoteling model works best for knowledge workers in a hybrid workplace, in which employees are expected to split their time between a physical office and home. It also suits large corporations with regional offices whose remote workers travel frequently and require physical hubs in various locations.

Hoteling is especially popular this year in the federal government setting, with organizations like the Navy, Federal Aviation Administration, and National Institutes of Health adopting this approach with their workforces. NIH shares a list of hoteling best practices and lessons learned, which include the following.

A catalyst for connection

Perhaps the most significant benefit of hoteling is the connection it allows remote employees to make with one another. Much of your organizational culture is built on the values, beliefs, and norms expressed through face-to-face interactions. Providing your workforce the opportunity to continue to meet in a physical location on their terms is the best of both office worlds: They have choice and flexibility about when they leave their home to go to an office, and they can enjoy human connection and socialization regularly.

Are you ready to consider hoteling as an approach for your new workplace? We at Cynuria help organizations transform their workplace, culture, and the change management that comes with it.