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If a company isn't careful, when they check-in the hotel office concept they may be given the key to mass confusion.
But using the so-called hotel office arrangement can result in significant cost savings if the offices are designed correctly, according to Cleveland-area designers and their clients.
At the hotel office, employees are not assigned a desk, file cabinet or other office supplies. Rather, they make reservations for office space and equipment when needed.
The idea slowly has been taking hold here over the last few years, as technology has given birth to the non-traditional office. Laptop computers and portable fax machines allow many workers to operate as efficiently from home, or from a client's office, as at their desk at corporate headquarters.
Enter what office designers call "alternative officing," a concept that borrows techniques from the hotel industry and applies them to the business office. But a poorly designed hotel office can cause confusion and low employee morale, eating up the perceived savings, experts say.
William T. Eberhard, principal in charge of Oliver Design Group, an office planning and design firm in Cleveland, believes the hotel concept can produce dramatic savings in rent and office equipment and increase employee productivity --if it's used properly.
"I've seen some very bad hotel jobs," he said. "But it can be done well. Most moderate and large size companies can benefit from hoteling."
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