Companies using assigned seating fell from 83% to 55% between 2021 and 2026, while use of hybrid and desk-sharing models tripled from 12% to 36% (CBRE, 2026 Global Workplace and Occupancy Insights). The tool that makes that shift workable is now standard: 77% of organizations run space reservation systems, most often through Microsoft Outlook (46%). Demand is real but lumpy, with average utilization of 53% and peak utilization of 80% in CBRE’s benchmark, and Tuesday attendance far above Friday in both Kastle Systems and Placer.ai data. The policy push behind it is tracked in our return-to-office mandates statistics. We aggregated data from CBRE, Kastle Systems, Placer.ai, the Leesman Index, the US Government Accountability Office, the UK Cabinet Office, Robin, Owl Labs, Cushman and Wakefield and the other primary sources listed in the methodology.
TL;DR
- Assigned seating dropped to 55% of companies from 83% since 2021; desk-sharing models rose to 36% from 12% (CBRE, Global Workplace and Occupancy Insights 2026).
- 77% of organizations have space reservation systems in place; 46% use Microsoft Outlook as the platform (CBRE, GWOI Part 3, 2026).
- 48% still use no technology to track hybrid workers’ office time, up from 39% in 2024 (CBRE, GWOI Part 3, 2026).
- Average office utilization is 53%, up from 38% in 2024; peak utilization averages 80% (CBRE, GWOI 2026).
- Global occupancy reached 111%, meaning more people are allocated than there are seats (CBRE, GWOI 2026).
- 69% of CBRE clients say more than 40% of their population shares desks (CBRE, The Hybrid Reality 2026).
- Kastle’s 10-city barometer averaged 54.7% of pre-pandemic occupancy, with a Tuesday peak of 65.3% (Kastle Systems, late September 2026).
- US office visits in H1 2026 were 31.2% below H1 2019 but up 6.0% year over year (Placer.ai, 2026 Office Recovery Trends).
- 89% of Americas occupiers expect at least three office days a week; actual attendance averages 2.9 days vs a 3.2-day target (CBRE, 2026 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey).
- Unassigned desks with a variety of settings score 79.0 on the Leesman Index vs 51.1 without variety (Leesman, The Desk Dilemma 2024).
- 17 of 24 US federal agencies used an estimated 25% or less of headquarters capacity in early 2023 (GAO-23-106200).
- 60% of workplace operations professionals say workplace friction worsened year over year (Robin, Workplace Friction Report 2026).
1. Office Occupancy: The Demand Curve Desk Booking Has to Serve
Desk booking software exists because offices are neither empty nor full, they are full on some days and half-empty on others. Kastle Systems’ 10-city barometer averaged 54.7% of pre-pandemic occupancy in its latest weekly reading, but the Tuesday peak hit 65.3% and Class A+ buildings averaged 76.1% (Kastle Systems, Getting America Back to Work barometer). An 11-point spread between the weekly average and the peak day is exactly the gap a shared-desk model is designed to absorb.
Mobile location data shows the same midweek shape. Nationwide office visits in H1 2026 were 31.2% below H1 2019, yet Tuesday visits were down only 19.3%, and Friday accounted for just 9.9% of weekly visits in Chicago and 14.9% in Miami and Dallas (Placer.ai, 2026 Office Recovery Trends Across Major U.S. Markets). City spreads are wide: Miami is 11.5% below 2019 while Chicago is 42.6% below, so a desk-to-employee ratio that works in one market fails in another.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10-city weekly average occupancy, late September 2026 | 54.7% of February 2020 baseline (down 1.6 points week over week) | Kastle Systems, Back to Work Barometer 2026 |
| Peak day, Tuesday September 22, 2026 | 65.3% | Kastle Systems, Back to Work Barometer 2026 |
| Class A+ buildings, weekly average | 76.1% | Kastle Systems, Back to Work Barometer 2026 |
| Highest and lowest cities, weekly average | Dallas 66.3%, Austin 64.7%, New York 64.5%; Philadelphia 40.7% | Kastle Systems, Back to Work Barometer 2026 |
| Nationwide office visits, H1 2026 vs H1 2019 | -31.2% (+6.0% year over year, +8.1% vs H1 2024) | Placer.ai, 2026 Office Recovery Trends |
| Tuesday visits vs 2019 | -19.3% (busiest day nationwide) | Placer.ai, 2026 Office Recovery Trends |
| City recovery gaps, H1 2026 vs H1 2019 | Miami -11.5%, New York -15.8%, San Francisco -41.4%, Chicago -42.6%, Denver -44.6% | Placer.ai, 2026 Office Recovery Trends |
| Friday share of weekly visits | 14.9% Miami and Dallas, 11.9% New York, 9.9% Chicago | Placer.ai, 2026 Office Recovery Trends |
Context note: Kastle measures badge swipes against a February 2020 baseline in buildings it secures; Placer.ai measures device visits to office buildings against 2019. The two methods are not interchangeable, but both point to a midweek peak and a weak Friday.
2. Desk Sharing Goes Mainstream: From Assigned Seats to Ratios
The assigned desk is no longer the default. The share of companies using assigned seating fell to 55% from 83% since 2021, while hybrid and desk-sharing models rose to 36% from 12% (CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative, 2026). In CBRE’s client base, 69% report that more than 40% of their population already shares desks (CBRE, The Hybrid Reality, 2026).
The new debate is about how aggressive to be. Most organizations have settled on mild sharing: 48% now target between 1.01 and 1.49 employees per seat, up from 21% in 2024, while only 33% push beyond 1.5 to 1. The tension shows in the utilization numbers: average utilization climbed to 53% (from 38% in 2024 and 35% in 2023), but peak utilization averages 80%, above the pre-pandemic range of 65% to 70%, and global occupancy reached 111%. Sharing ratios that look safe on an average day can overflow on a Tuesday.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Companies using assigned seating | 55% (83% in 2021) | CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative 2026 |
| Companies using hybrid and desk-sharing models | 36% (12% in 2021) | CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative 2026 |
| Clients with more than 40% of staff sharing desks | 69% | CBRE, The Hybrid Reality 2026 |
| Organizations targeting 1.01 to 1.49 people per seat | 48% (21% in 2024) | CBRE, The Hybrid Reality 2026 |
| Organizations targeting ratios above 1.5 to 1 | 33% | CBRE, The Hybrid Reality 2026 |
| Average office utilization | 53% (38% in 2024, 35% in 2023) | CBRE, Global Workplace and Occupancy Insights 2026 |
| Average peak utilization | 80% (pre-pandemic 65% to 70%) | CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative 2026 |
| Global occupancy rate (people allocated per seat) | 111%, an all-time high | CBRE, The Hybrid Reality 2026 |
Context note: 83% of organizations factor job function into sharing ratios and 78% calibrate them with space utilization data (CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative 2026). CBRE’s January 2026 overview labels the 53% figure as 2026 benchmarking, while its July 2026 article dates it to 2025; both refer to the same benchmark (CBRE, 2026 Global Workplace and Occupancy Insights).
3. Reservation Software Adoption: Booking Is Common, Analytics Lag
Booking tools are now table stakes in large portfolios. 77% of organizations in CBRE’s benchmark have space reservation systems in place, and Microsoft Outlook is the most common platform at 46% (CBRE, Data at the Heart, GWOI Part 3, 2026). That Outlook figure matters for vendors: the incumbent calendar, not a specialist app, is still the most common front door to a desk or room.
The gap is in what happens after the booking. 48% use Microsoft Excel as the primary tool to analyze utilization data, and 48% use no technology tools at all to track hybrid workers’ office time, up from 39% in 2024. Booking data is being captured but often not analyzed, which helps explain why many sharing ratios are still set by policy rather than measured demand.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Organizations with space reservation systems | 77% | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
| Most common reservation platform | Microsoft Outlook, 46% | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
| Use of room check-in and check-out features | 70% | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
| Use of room utilization tracking | 50% | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
| Microsoft Excel as primary utilization analysis tool | 48% | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
| No technology to track hybrid worker office time | 48% (39% in 2024) | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
| Data warehouses or web dashboards in use | 54% (42% in 2024) | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
| Space data audits performed fully manually | 59% (stable since 2021) | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
Context note: CBRE’s benchmark covers its own clients, representing 303 million square feet with an average portfolio of 5 million square feet, so these are large enterprises. Small firms are likely to show lower adoption, and no comparable public survey of small businesses was found.
4. Attendance Policy: The Rules That Drive Booking Peaks
Desk demand is set as much by policy as by preference. 89% of Americas occupiers now expect at least three days a week in the office, up from 78% in 2025, yet actual attendance averages 2.9 days against an average employer target of 3.2 (CBRE, 2026 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey). That 0.3-day gap is the margin desk-sharing plans are built on, and it is narrowing as enforcement rises.
Enforcement is the trend to watch. The share of organizations actively enforcing attendance policies doubled to 37% in 2025 from 17% in 2024, and those measuring compliance rose to 69% from 45% (CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative 2026). Worker surveys match the employer view: in Owl Labs’ July 2025 US survey of 2,000 full-time workers, hybrid workers most often went in 3 days (39%) or 4 days (34%) a week, both up from 2024 (Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Americas occupiers expecting 3+ office days | 89% (78% in 2025) | CBRE, 2026 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey |
| Average actual vs target attendance | 2.9 days vs 3.2 days | CBRE, 2026 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey |
| Occupiers expecting attendance to rise | 32% (fourth consecutive year) | CBRE, 2026 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey |
| Organizations with targeted in-office policies | 96%; ‘mostly at the office 3+ days’ 66% (53% in 2024) | CBRE, The Hybrid Reality 2026 |
| Organizations actively enforcing attendance policies | 37% in 2025 (17% in 2024) | CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative 2026 |
| Respondents saying employees attend less than required | 70% | CBRE, The Hybrid Reality 2026 |
| Hybrid workers going in 3 or 4 days a week | 39% and 34% | Owl Labs, State of Hybrid Work 2025 |
| CRE leaders using hybrid models | 98%; 57% under organization-wide mandates averaging 3 days | Leesman, Mind the Gap 2026 |
Context note: Owl Labs’ sample was 63% in-office, 28% hybrid and 9% remote workers. In Leesman’s April 2026 poll of 129 senior CRE leaders representing about 915 million square feet, only 35% said they had truly found the right approach to hybrid working (Leesman, Mind the Gap). A related flexible-supply story is covered in our coworking space statistics.
5. The Employee Experience of Hot Desking: Variety Decides
Hot desking is not inherently good or bad for employees; its design is. Leesman’s analysis of 476,341 respondents in 1,322 workplaces found unassigned workplaces without variety scored 51.1 on the Leesman Index (Lmi), while unassigned workplaces with a variety of settings scored 79.0, higher than assigned enclosed offices at 73.2 (Leesman, The Desk Dilemma, August 2024). The 27.9-point gap between the two unassigned models is larger than the gap between any assigned layout and the best shared one.
The practical implication for anyone rolling out booking software: a reservation system on top of identical rows of desks reproduces the worst outcome. Only 41% of employees in unassigned spaces without variety said the workplace enables productive work, against 85% where variety exists, and home working scored 89%. Physical basics still matter: chair satisfaction is 70% in assigned workplaces and 67% in unassigned ones (Leesman, Where Workplace Performance Sits, 2025), a topic examined in our workplace ergonomics statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Lmi, unassigned with variety vs without variety | 79.0 vs 51.1 | Leesman, The Desk Dilemma 2024 |
| Lmi, assigned enclosed offices vs designated open-plan desk | 73.2 vs 71.1 | Leesman, The Desk Dilemma 2024 |
| Workplace enables productive work, unassigned without vs with variety | 41% vs 85% (home working 89%) | Leesman, The Desk Dilemma 2024 |
| Workplace is enjoyable, unassigned without vs with variety | 39% vs 88% | Leesman, The Desk Dilemma 2024 |
| Chair satisfaction, assigned vs unassigned workplaces | 70% vs 67% (N=1,380,814) | Leesman, Where Workplace Performance Sits 2025 |
| Satisfaction with noise levels | 35% (70% rate noise as important) | Leesman, Noisy Spaces, Quiet Consequences 2026 |
| Employees saying individual focus work is important | 89% | Leesman, Noisy Spaces, Quiet Consequences 2026 |
Context note: Leesman’s desk analysis covers Q3 2021 to Q1 2024 (most recent available data: Leesman, 2024), and the noise analysis covers 601,570 respondents from Q1 2022 to Q3 2025 (Leesman, Noisy Spaces, Quiet Consequences). Noise is one of the main complaints in shared floors, covered in our open office noise statistics.
6. Booking Friction and the Cost of Failed Reservations
When booking fails, the cost is time. Robin’s Workplace Friction Report 2026 estimates coordination friction costs 4,453 to 14,000 dollars per employee per year, or 4.5 to 14 million dollars for a 1,000-employee organization, based on 2 to 4 hours lost per week (Robin, Workplace Friction Report 2026). The range is wide because it depends on which hourly rate and whose time estimate is used, and Robin sells booking software, so treat it as a vendor estimate.
The more durable finding is the perception gap. Workplace operations teams scored 12.66 points higher than end users on Robin’s Friction Index, with the largest gaps on room availability (+17 points), AV and technology (+14) and desk availability (+13). Employer-side surveys echo the dissatisfaction: 47% of Americas occupiers rate their own workplace experience as average or below average (CBRE, 2026 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey), and across 15 organizations Cushman and Wakefield found satisfaction with the highest-impact workplace features averaged just 48% (Cushman and Wakefield, Experience per Square Foot, April 2025).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Coordination cost per employee per year | 4,453 dollars (conservative) to 14,000 dollars | Robin, Workplace Friction Report 2026 |
| Coordination cost, 1,000-employee organization | 4.5 to 14 million dollars a year | Robin, Workplace Friction Report 2026 |
| Time lost to coordination | 2 hours/week (end users) to 4 hours/week (ops estimate) | Robin, Workplace Friction Report 2026 |
| Ops professionals saying friction worsened vs improved | 60% vs 12% | Robin, Workplace Friction Report 2026 |
| What users do when booking fails | 35% find other space, 25% use non-ideal space, 20% go virtual, 15% postpone | Robin, Workplace Friction Report 2026 |
| Occupiers rating workplace experience average or below | 47% | CBRE, 2026 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey |
| Average satisfaction with top-impact workplace features | 48% (none above 62%) | Cushman and Wakefield, Experience per Square Foot 2025 |
Context note: Robin’s sample was 514 respondents (205 workplace operations professionals and 309 end users), fielded by The Collab Collective. The Cushman and Wakefield figure covers 6,000+ employees across 15 organizations in 2024.
7. Public Sector: Government Offices Under the Utilization Microscope
Governments are the largest single office occupiers and the most transparent. 17 of 24 US federal agencies used an estimated average of 25% or less of their headquarters capacity during sampled weeks in January to March 2023, and the busiest used 39% to 49% (US GAO, federal headquarters utilization report GAO-23-106200). GAO measured 21.5 million square feet of headquarters space, against roughly 2 billion dollars a year spent operating federal office buildings and about 5 billion dollars leasing them.
The UK publishes quarterly HQ occupancy, and departments collect it partly through desk booking systems, alongside Wi-Fi logins, swipe passes and manual counts. In June 2026, occupancy (monthly employee total divided by building capacity) ranged from 100% at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to 56% at the Department for Education and 45% at the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (UK Cabinet Office, Civil Service HQ occupancy data).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US agencies at 25% or less of HQ capacity, early 2023 | 17 of 24 | GAO-23-106200 (2023) |
| Highest US agency HQ utilization, early 2023 | 39% to 49% | GAO-23-106200 (2023) |
| US HQ office space measured | 21.5 million sq ft | GAO-23-106200 (2023) |
| US federal annual office spend | About 2 billion dollars to operate, about 5 billion dollars to lease | GAO-23-106200 (2023) |
| UK HQ occupancy, June 2026, highest | DESNZ 100%, Cabinet Office 86%, MOD 81% | UK Cabinet Office, HQ occupancy April-June 2026 |
| UK HQ occupancy, June 2026, lowest | Wales Office 45%, DfE 56%, DWP 57% | UK Cabinet Office, HQ occupancy April-June 2026 |
| UK departments covered | 20, data published quarterly | UK Cabinet Office, HQ occupancy data 2026 |
Context note: GAO’s data is the most recent available government-wide US utilization measure (GAO, 2023) and predates the 2025 federal return-to-office orders. The UK Cabinet Office warns its data should not be used to compare departments because collection methods differ (monthly table).
Summary: Hot Desking and Desk Booking Software by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Companies using assigned seating | 55% (83% in 2021) | CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative 2026 |
| Companies using desk-sharing models | 36% (12% in 2021) | CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative 2026 |
| Clients with 40%+ of staff sharing desks | 69% | CBRE, The Hybrid Reality 2026 |
| Target ratio 1.01 to 1.49 people per seat | 48% of organizations | CBRE, The Hybrid Reality 2026 |
| Organizations with space reservation systems | 77% | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
| Outlook as reservation platform | 46% | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
| No tech to track hybrid office time | 48% | CBRE, GWOI Part 3 2026 |
| Average office utilization | 53% | CBRE, GWOI 2026 |
| Average peak utilization | 80% | CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative 2026 |
| Kastle 10-city weekly average | 54.7% (Tuesday peak 65.3%) | Kastle Systems, late September 2026 |
| US office visits vs 2019, H1 2026 | -31.2% | Placer.ai, 2026 Office Recovery Trends |
| Tuesday visits vs 2019 | -19.3% | Placer.ai, 2026 Office Recovery Trends |
| Occupiers expecting 3+ office days | 89% | CBRE, 2026 Americas Occupier Sentiment Survey |
| Actual vs target office days | 2.9 vs 3.2 | CBRE, 2026 Americas Occupier Sentiment Survey |
| Organizations enforcing attendance | 37% (17% in 2024) | CBRE, The Affiliation Imperative 2026 |
| Lmi, unassigned with vs without variety | 79.0 vs 51.1 | Leesman, The Desk Dilemma 2024 |
| Productive work, unassigned without vs with variety | 41% vs 85% | Leesman, The Desk Dilemma 2024 |
| Friction cost per 1,000 employees | 4.5 to 14 million dollars a year | Robin, Workplace Friction Report 2026 |
| US agencies at 25% or less HQ capacity | 17 of 24 | GAO-23-106200 (2023) |
| UK HQ occupancy range, June 2026 | 45% to 100% | UK Cabinet Office, 2026 |
Methodology and Sources
Every figure above was read during research for this article on the publisher’s own page or report. No vendor sells hot desking software as a public company with segment disclosure, so adoption figures come from CBRE’s client benchmarking and occupier surveys, occupancy from Kastle Systems and Placer.ai, employee experience from the Leesman Index, and public-sector utilization from GAO and the UK Cabinet Office. Statistics circulating on blogs without a primary document were excluded.
- CBRE: 2026 Global Workplace and Occupancy Insights (January 2026), Part 1, The Hybrid Reality, Part 2, Beyond the Desk (February 2026), Part 3, Data at the Heart (March 2026), Part 4, The Affiliation Imperative (July 2026)
- CBRE: 2026 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey (July 2026), Earning the Commute (September 2026)
- Kastle Systems: Getting America Back to Work, Back to Work Barometer
- Placer.ai: 2026 Office Recovery Trends Across Major U.S. Markets (August 2026)
- Leesman Index: The Desk Dilemma (August 2024), Where Workplace Performance Sits (September 2025), Noisy Spaces, Quiet Consequences (March 2026), Mind the Gap (April 2026)
- Robin: Workplace Friction Report 2026
- Owl Labs: State of Hybrid Work 2025, US
- Cushman and Wakefield: Experience per Square Foot Instant Insights
- US Government Accountability Office: GAO-23-106200, federal headquarters utilization (2023)
- UK Cabinet Office: Civil Service HQ occupancy data and its monthly average HQ building occupancy table (April to June 2026, published August 27, 2026)
- Data watch: CBRE’s benchmarking reflects its own large-enterprise clients (303 million square feet), not the whole market, and it is the only public source found for desk booking adoption and sharing ratios, which is why CBRE appears in several sections; CBRE dates its 53% utilization figure to 2026 in the January overview and to 2025 in the July article. CBRE’s Part 1 page reports Tuesday as the top attendance day for 73% of respondents versus 23% for Wednesday; we did not include it in tables because the page does not define the measure clearly. Kastle (badge swipes vs February 2020) and Placer.ai (device visits vs 2019) use different baselines and should not be mixed. Robin is a desk booking vendor and its 514-person survey has wide cost ranges. Leesman’s desk analysis is the most recent available (Leesman, 2024). GAO’s federal figures date from early 2023 (most recent available data: GAO, 2023). Desk booking software market-size estimates from research firms could not be verified on a readable primary page, so no market-size figure is included; Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Workplace Experience Applications returned 403 and was not used. Web search was unavailable during this research, so sources were read by fetching publishers’ pages directly.
Last updated: October 3, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next refresh is expected when CBRE publishes its 2027 Global Workplace and Occupancy Insights and the UK Cabinet Office releases HQ occupancy data for July to September 2026.