➤ Product: OfficeRnD Flex
➤ Who: Admins
➤ Where: Admin Portal: Space, Settings, and Billing. Members book on the Member Portal.
➤ Availability: Essentials, Start, Grow, and Scale plans
Without hot desk booking, your team records each drop-in request and prices each visit by hand. Bookable hot desks give members a Hot Desks page on the Member Portal, where they reserve a desk themselves. Flex prices each booking with the resource rate that you attach to the hot desk.
Hot desk booking connects 3 objects in Flex: the 'Hot Desk' resource type, the hot desks, and a resource rate. The setup follows the same pattern as meeting room setup.
In this article:
Create your hot desks.
Set the booking mode for hot desks.
Price hot desk bookings with a resource rate.
Add the Hot Desks page to the Member Portal.
Book a hot desk for a member on the Admin Portal.
Before you start
You select these items when you create the resource rate, so set them up first:
A revenue account for booking charges. Flex includes a default 'Booking Fees' revenue account. Set up a revenue account →
(Optional) A booking policy, if you want rules such as a maximum booking length or admin approval. Set up a booking policy →
(Optional) A cancellation policy, if you want rules for canceled bookings. Set up a cancellation policy →
(Optional) Day passes for your members, if they pay for hot desk bookings with day passes. You can grant day passes through a billing plan.
Create your hot desks
Members can book only hot desks that exist as resources in Flex. Each hot desk is a resource of the 'Hot Desk' resource type.
To create hot desks one at a time:
Go to Space > Desks.
Click Add Desk.
In the Type drop-down menu, select 'Hot Desk'.
Click Add to create the hot desk.
If your floor plan has empty desk shapes, create the hot desks on the floor plan instead. Select an empty desk shape and click Add. Each hot desk then has a position on the floor plan.
If you have many hot desks, import them all from 1 CSV file. Import resources from a CSV file →
Set the booking mode for hot desks
Your hot desks exist now, but Flex does not yet know whether members book them by the day or by the hour. The booking mode decides how members book hot desks. The booking mode is a setting of the 'Hot Desk' resource type, and it applies to every hot desk.
Important: The booking mode decides which type of resource rate you create in the next section. The 'Date' booking mode needs a daily resource rate. The 'Time' booking mode needs an hourly resource rate.
To set the booking mode:
Go to Settings > Space > Resource Types.
Select the 'Hot Desk' resource type.
Ensure that Can Book is selected. The Booking Mode menu is available only when Can Book is selected.
In the Booking Mode drop-down menu, select 1 of these values:
Date: Members book a hot desk for full days only.
Time: Members book a hot desk for a time slot, by the hour.
Click Update.
Price hot desk bookings
The booking mode is set, but Flex has no price for a hot desk booking yet. A resource rate holds the price. You then attach the resource rate to each hot desk.
Create a resource rate that matches the booking mode
The type of resource rate must match the booking mode of the 'Hot Desk' resource type:
If the booking mode is 'Date', create a daily resource rate. Create a daily resource rate →
If the booking mode is 'Time', create an hourly resource rate. Create an hourly resource rate →
In the resource rate, you also choose how members pay. A daily resource rate has 2 payment methods: coins and credits with currency as a fallback, or day passes. If you select day passes, 1 day pass always covers 1 full day. A booking shorter than 1 day also costs 1 day pass.
Tip: To add rules to hot desk bookings, select a booking policy and a cancellation policy on the Advanced tab of the resource rate.
Attach the resource rate to your hot desks
A resource rate prices only the resources you attach to it. Each hot desk carries its own resource rate.
To attach the resource rate to a hot desk:
Go to Space > Desks.
Open the Hot Desk tab and select a hot desk resource.
Open the Calendar tab.
In the Rate drop-down menu, select the resource rate.
Click Update.
Repeat these steps for every hot desk that members can book.
Add the Hot Desks page to the Member Portal
Your hot desks are bookable and priced. Members still cannot book a hot desk until the Member Portal has a page for hot desk bookings.
To add the page:
Go to Settings > Experience Hub > Member Pages.
Select Hot Desks booking.
Scroll down and click Update.
After you turn on the Hot Desks booking page, the Member Portal displays a Hot Desks page. Members open the Hot Desks page to book a hot desk.
Book a hot desk for a member on the Admin Portal
Members can now book hot desks themselves on the Member Portal. You can also book a hot desk for a member from the Admin Portal. For example, you book a hot desk for a member who asks at the front desk.
Note: Booking policies do not apply to bookings that admins create on the Admin Portal. For example, a booking that you create can be longer than the maximum length in the booking policy.
To book a hot desk for a member:
Open Calendar on the Admin Portal.
Select the 'Hot Desk' resource type to show your hot desks on the calendar.
Click Book.
In the dialog that opens, enter the booking details to create the booking.
Best practices
If you have many identical hot desks and members don't need a specific desk, use 1 resource with flexible capacity. That resource holds a set number of seats. Flex prevents overbooking of those seats. Set up a resource with flexible capacity →
If members pay with day passes, grant the day passes through a billing plan. On the Passes tab of the billing plan, you can limit day passes to specific locations.
If you want a different weekend price, set a weekend price in the daily resource rate. If you leave the weekend price empty, the business-day price applies on weekends too.
FAQs
Why is the Hot Desks page not on the Member Portal?
The Hot Desks page is displayed on the Member Portal only after you turn on the Hot Desks booking page. To turn on the Hot Desks booking page, go to Settings > Experience Hub > Member Pages. If the Hot Desks booking page is already on, ensure that Can Book is selected for the 'Hot Desk' resource type.
Can I assign a hot desk to a member?
You cannot assign a hot desk to a member. The 'Hot Desk' resource type is bookable and not assignable. To give a member a fixed desk, use a dedicated desk.
Do booking policies apply when I book a hot desk for a member?
Booking policies do not apply to hot desk bookings that you create on the Admin Portal. Booking policies apply to the bookings that members create on the Member Portal.
Can members book a hot desk for part of a day?
Members can book a hot desk for part of a day only when the booking mode of the 'Hot Desk' resource type is 'Time'. With the 'Date' booking mode, every hot desk booking is for a full day.
Do day passes still work if I rename the Hot Desk resource type?
Day passes still work after you rename the 'Hot Desk' resource type. Day passes apply to the 'Hot Desk' resource type under any display name. For example, day passes still apply after you rename the type to 'Flex Desk'. Learn how day passes work with hot desks →