From desk booking to
workplace intelligence.
I led the evolution of a desk-booking product into a broader workplace intelligence platform — moving beyond reservation records into real presence signals, utilisation data, and operational decisions for hybrid teams.
- Role
- Senior PM · Sole Product Lead
- Company
- Seatti
- Duration
- 6 years
- Users
- Admins · Employees
Eight stages of turning a booking tool into a platform.
The roadmap didn't grow by piling on features — each stage answered a real operational question customers were struggling to answer.
- 01
Desk booking
The original product allowed employees to reserve desks and coordinate office attendance.
- 02
Self-service office management
Expanded the admin panel so customers could configure offices, desks, rules, permissions and users independently.
- 03
Visitor management
Extended the platform beyond employee bookings to include visitor and office-access workflows.
- 04
Booking analytics
Added visibility into booking patterns, demand, adoption, and office utilisation.
- 05
Team presence analytics
Helped teams understand who plans to be in the office and improve hybrid-work coordination.
- 06
Actual presence intelligence
Moved beyond bookings by introducing IP- and network-based presence signals for a truer view of attendance.
- 07
Incident management
Added workflows for reporting, tracking, and resolving workplace incidents.
- 08
Workplace integrations
Connected the product with HR and enterprise systems to create a complete workplace operations platform.
Adoption of ~70%. But the data still lied.
The product reached strong usage — yet strong adoption did not mean the most valuable problem was solved. Booking records rarely reflected who was actually present or how space was being used, and that gap was where our customers were losing money and making bad decisions.
- Employees did not always create bookings
- Booking data did not reflect real attendance
- Excess office capacity made reservations less valuable
- Workplace teams lacked reliable utilisation data
- Companies overspent on cleaning and operations
- Space-planning decisions were based on incomplete info
- Admins needed better data for compliance and policies
"Workplace teams don't only need to know who booked a desk. They need to understand who is actually present, how spaces are used, and what operational decisions to make as a result."
This shift reframed the product from a transactional booking tool into a workplace intelligence platform.
Senior Product Manager.
Sole Product Lead.
I owned the full product function — from strategy and discovery through delivery, analytics, positioning, and commercial alignment. One product person, end to end.
Bookings vs. actual presence — the delta customers were missing.
Bookings vs. Actual Presence
Berlin HQ · Last 5 weekdays
Office utilisation heatmap
Floor 3 · Munich
Live presence signals
Berlin HQ · Right now
From reservations to real workplace intelligence.
Helping customers compare planned attendance, bookings, actual presence, capacity, and cost — so workplace teams can make real operational decisions. This initiative is still being developed and validated with customers.
What we're helping customers compare
- Planned attendance
- Desk bookings
- Actual employee presence
- Office capacity
- Space utilisation
- Operational workplace costs
Decisions this data unlocks
- Reduce unnecessary cleaning spend
- Optimise office space
- Identify underused locations
- Support office moves or consolidation
- Improve compliance and workplace policies
- Plan capacity based on actual demand
Two user groups. One shared operational truth.
Workplace administrators
Responsible for office setup, policies, reporting, costs, compliance, and space planning.
Employees and end users
Responsible for bookings, presence coordination, visitor journeys, and daily product usage.
Methods combined
Building a sustainable, profitable product.
The company's goal is a sustainable and profitable business. I adapted the product strategy against the realities of the market — not the ambitions of a feature backlog.
- Changing hybrid-work behaviour
- Customer willingness to pay
- Market demand
- Product adoption
- Operational customer problems
- The limits of desk booking as a standalone category
- The need to create measurable customer value
What shipped, what's landing, and what's still being proven.
Honest distinctions between outcomes achieved, capabilities launched, things currently being validated, and future business potential.
Product usage reached
Product areas launched beyond desk booking
Stronger value for workplace administrators
Better visibility into office demand and use
Foundation for reducing operational spend
More informed space-planning decisions
Broader, more defensible product proposition
Expansion into workplace intelligence market
My biggest learning was that strong adoption does not automatically mean the product is solving the most valuable problem. Employees may use a booking tool, but customers ultimately need reliable data that helps them make operational and financial decisions. This changed how I approached the roadmap — from increasing booking activity to creating workplace intelligence.
The craft behind the case study.
From job creation to talent selection.
Designing a clearer B2B workflow that helped companies create short-term jobs, review available talent, and manage hiring decisions.