WiFi Desk Booking – No More Booking Frustration in the Office

Booking schedule: full. Office: empty. Three out of four reserved desks remain unoccupied all day. The colleague who should be on site according to the system is working remotely today—something came up. And those who are actually there haven't signed in anywhere.

• No check-in
• No overview
• No system you can rely on.
  

This is not the exception – for many, it has long been the norm.

Desk booking sounds like structure, but in practice it is often the exact opposite. Because no one wants to fill out forms every day. Because it's easy to forget to sign out. And because hardly anyone wants to think about where exactly they will be sitting next Wednesday.

The problem is not the tools – it's how they are designed:

They assume that everyone will participate at all times and consistently think about desk booking every day. And that's exactly why they don't work.

There is another way – one that is quieter, simpler, and more realistic: WiFi Desk Booking. Find out why WiFi Desk Booking works best – even though no one bothers with it.

Why traditional desk booking concepts fail in practice

No one books. No one checks out. And in the end, it's unclear who is and was in the office. This is how it works in many companies. Desk booking systems are in place, but they don't work in everyday life. Some people forget to sign in, others deliberately don't bother. And even when people do book, the information is often useless.

The result: reserved seats remain empty. Other workstations are occupied even though they should be free according to the system. Anyone who wants to know how many people are in the office or whether there are enough desks available has no reliable data to go on.

All of this costs time, causes misunderstandings, and leads to desk booking being perceived as an additional burden rather than a help.

H3: The typical pitfalls of desk booking – a good idea, poorly implemented.

• Sensors and additional technology: Motion sensors, presence detectors, occupancy indicators – it all sounds like an automated solution. In reality, however, such systems are overengineered and expensive, sometimes prone to maintenance and difficult to integrate with existing IT structures. Data protection issues also immediately arise when workstations are to be monitored in this way, as such systems also record coffee breaks and trips to the restroom.
  
• Mandatory apps and check-in systems: Many desk booking tools require employees to actively check in and out, usually via an app. This sounds simple, but is often forgotten or ignored in everyday life. Those who do not sign in leave (data) gaps. Those who ignore it regularly render the system useless. Over time, people become less and less willing to bother with it at all.
  
• Integration with calendar tools: The idea is that if you enter a day in the office in your calendar, you automatically have a place booked. In practice, this rarely works. Appointments change at short notice, arrangements are often made informally, and not everyone keeps their calendar up to date. In the end, the data is incorrect – and no one can rely on it.
  

What all these approaches have in common is that they require everyone to actively participate. This is often not the case in everyday life.

How WiFi Desk Booking from PULT solves the problem

Instead of relying on interaction, PULT WiFi automatically detects whether someone is in the office via the existing WiFi connection.

As soon as an employee's device connects to the company network, that colleague is recognized as present. No app. No check-in. No extra steps. And no one has to remember anything.

The system uses the existing IT infrastructure: Wi-Fi, laptop, company access. No additional devices, no sensors, no effort for IT. The connection is all you need – and it complies with data protection regulations: It does not record where someone is or how long they are sitting at their desk. It only records whether someone is in the office or not.

The result: reliable figures, no additional effort, no feeling of being monitored within the team. And above all: a solution that works without constant attention.

WiFi Desk Booking Example: Enpal decides against classic desk booking (and now uses PULT WiFi)

Enpal was faced with the question of how to map office utilization in a hybrid work model in a meaningful way. The option of introducing a classic desk booking tool was rejected internally at an early stage – based on a very clear assessment: the team would not use it in everyday life.

Not because of a lack of interest, but because such systems are too complicated for many employees. Booking, checking in, remembering to do so regularly—that doesn't fit in with the work rhythm at Enpal. That's exactly why the company was looking for a solution that didn't require any interaction.

{{cta}}

Why WiFi Desk Booking is a good fit for Enpal

PULT Wifi was introduced because it does exactly that: it reliably records office attendance without anyone having to actively participate. As soon as a device logs into the company WiFi, the system recognizes its presence – automatically, in the background, without an app or additional tool.

Nothing changes for the team. No additional steps, no new system to understand or maintain. For Enpal, this was the decisive factor: the system works seamlessly in everyday life.

Insert a suitable image, graphic, or illustration to demonstrate the effectiveness of the WiFi system at Enpal. Similar to Robert's review, but with a stronger focus on WiFi Booking.

Benefits of WiFi Desk Booking – even without desk plans or fixed seats

Enpal does not use static desk plans or booking cards. Nevertheless, PULT WiFi provides all the data that is important for operational purposes:

• How much is the office actually used – and on which days?
• Who is in the building? – for example, in the event of an evacuation or for occupational safety reasons.
  
• Which teams are on site – for coordination, planning, or joint workdays?

Integration with existing tools such as Slack, MS Teams, or the calendar ensures that the overview is not isolated somewhere – but where it is easy to find. Another advantage: implementation was straightforward. No training, no rethinking – the system just works.

Technical background of PULT WiFi Desk Booking

PULT Wifi Desk Booking can be set up in 10 minutes – even in companies with established IT structures. In most cases, the technical requirements are already in place. PULT uses existing WiFi networks to automatically detect presence. No additional hardware is required.

Setup is done via standardized interfaces. Onboarding new devices is also straightforward via central device management.

The following are supported, among others:

• WiFi systems: Cisco Meraki, HPE Aruba, Ubiquiti
• MDM solutions (mobile device management): Microsoft Intune, Kandji, Jamf
• Platforms: macOS and Windows

This makes PULT Wifi ideal for IT teams that do not want to maintain additional systems or introduce new processes.

Integration is a one-time process – after that, the system runs in the background. Stable, low-maintenance, and independent of user interaction.

{{hint-box}}

WiFi Desk Booking – Frequently asked questions and answers