Getting Results with Archibus

Hoteling

In today's business environment of telecommuters and contract workers, your site has likely set aside a group of unoccupied rooms specifically intended for temporary occupancy. Or, your site might have eliminated all permanent offices and implemented a hot-desk strategy in which employees book a seat each time they come to the office.

Establishing a system for organizing the occupancy of these rooms can help you use expensive space more efficiently. Moreover, when your contract and telecommuting employees arrive at the site, they will be happy to have offices waiting for them and will be immediately able to start working.

With the Hoteling application, users such as the following can search for and book a working space:

any employee who is not assigned a permanent seat can book a seat for the days they are in the office
contract or temporary workers
employees working only half a day
telecommuters who will be working on site
groups of employees displaced due to renovations
outside vendors and contractors working on a renovation project and requiring office space
work teams requiring team rooms for temporary projects

The process is similar to a booking a hotel room:

search for available spaces given a number of search parameters (dates, type of room, building, and so on)
see the available spaces in a floor plan
select spaces to book
review and the list of booked spaces
confirm (check into) the booked space on the day of the booking (if your site implements this optional feature)

Rooms can be booked for any time period, ranging from half-days to years, and can also be booked on a recurring pattern (such as every third Monday). Depending on your security and how the business process owner has configured the application, a department manager's approval may be required.

Workflow rules ensure that rooms are tagged for cleaning and cleaning is completed before the room is available again for occupancy.

As with permanently occupied space, keeping track of the cost of hoteled space is essential for cost control. All booked spaces are charged back to their corresponding departments in the same way as permanent spaces are charged. By charging departments for their space use, the application encourages a shared responsibility for reducing space costs among department and facility managers alike.

Sites may also wish to provide general staff, building occupants, telecommuters and others with access to the following tools so that they can book and check into rooms directly from their smart phone or mobile device. Bookings made from these programs are then managed with the Hoteling application, in the same way as bookings made from the Hoteling application's Create Bookings task.

the Archibus Workplace Services Portal mobile app
Archibus Workplace self-service portal

Hoteling
Location	Archibus non-SaaS Workplace Services / Hoteling
Business Result	Increase space utilization and decrease space costs. By reporting utilization down to individual rooms, the application enables facility managers to pinpoint space that is underutilized and to make informed decisions about shedding space to decrease costs or designating for other purposes. Hold department managers accountable for space costs. Since temporarily used space is charged back to department managers, they are held accountable for the space they use. This practice aligns department managers to the goal of optimizing space use. Enforce rules on types of space use. The application prevents employees from booking space that they are not authorized to use. This ensures that employees are using space properly. Automate processes to improve operational efficiency. The application supports administrators establishing approvals for only the employees that require it. It also supports automated routing. Maintain employee productivity. Employees can book available space in a self-service manner, eliminating the overhead of manually finding rooms or asking for assistance. In this way, employees remain productive and facilities staff can focus on other tasks.
Used By	Telecommuters Employees visiting other corporate sites Visitors Any building occupant Department managers Facility managers Finance managers Employees who do not have permanent seat assignments
Reasons for Automating	To provide a means for providing temporary workspace to employees and visitors who do not have permanent placement in the office. To understand how space is being used on a temporary basis. To charge departments for their use of booked rooms and encourage department heads to utilize their occupied space efficiently. To decrease space costs by improving space utilization and shedding space that is rarely used. To support current workplace practices, such as agile work environments, telecommuting, and part-time workstation use. To provide a central repository of the temporary use of rooms that can be accessed by key stakeholders over a corporate network or Intranet.
Related Applications	Space Inventory / Room Inventory (prerequisite) Workplace Services Portal mobile app Archibus Workplace self-service portal
Reports	Operational Reports Bookings for a Date Range Rooms Without Bookings for a Date Range Bookings by Employees Bookings by Department Highlight Hotelable Rooms Management Reports Over-Allocated and Under-Allocated Rooms Hoteling Chargeable Costs by Division Overall Utilization by Department Overall Utilization by Room, by Building Hoteled Utilization by Department Hoteled Utilization by Room Hotel Savings by Department Hotel Savings by Building

The following are typical users:

User	Tasks
Telecommuting employees	Book an office to work in when you need to work on site. Check into the booked space the day of the booking.
Employees visiting other corporate sites	Book an office to work in when you are visiting your company's other sites. Check into the booked space the day of the booking.
Any building occupant	Book an office for a temporary contract worker or other visitor reporting to you. Book an office for temporary use for yourself. Check into the booked space the day of the booking.
Visitors	Receive email about the status of bookings made on your behalf.
Facility managers	Find temporary locations for employees whose offices are undergoing renovation. Analyze space usage by examining booked rooms over specific date ranges. Include booked rooms in chargeback analysis. Service booked rooms with basic amenities.
Department managers	Book team rooms for work teams working on temporary projects. Analyze space temporarily used by your department. Shed unused space to increase overall utilization and decrease costs.
Finance managers	Calculate the shared space component of occupancy. Document, justify, and calculate indirect costs for space covered under government grants or insurance carriers in hospitals for those spaces occupied partially by temporary, contract, or telecommuting workers. Determine the number of seats, and their costs, saved by booked rooms.
Business process owners	Define background facilities data. Configure notification procedures. Configure approval procedures.

Getting Results with Archibus

Hoteling

See Also