What is service-based real estate?
Service-based real estate refers to a new approach to managing corporate buildings in which spaces are no longer seen purely as fixed areas, but as a set of on-demand services.
In this model, offices, car parks, meeting rooms, and collaborative spaces are managed as flexible resources and can be booked according to employees’ real needs.
The goal is no longer simply to occupy a building, but to provide a complete, seamless, and adaptable workplace experience aligned with hybrid working patterns.
Why is service-based real estate growing in companies?
The shift towards hybrid working, the widespread adoption of flex office models, and the need to optimise real estate costs have profoundly changed how office space is used.
Companies must now manage variable occupancy rates, underutilised spaces, and increasing expectations for flexibility.
Service-based real estate addresses these challenges by turning buildings into service platforms: spaces are no longer static, but can be activated, booked, and continuously adjusted.
How does service-based real estate work?
Its operation relies on the digitisation of spaces and their shared usage.
Employees access a single application (such as Sharvy) to book and use different company resources: desks, meeting rooms, parking spaces, EV charging points, and event areas.
Spaces are managed according to dynamic rules: occupancy rates, on-site presence, teams, remote working days, business priorities, and more.
This approach enables real estate to continuously adapt to actual needs rather than relying on fixed and rigid allocations.
The role of solutions like Sharvy in service-based real estate
In practice, Sharvy acts as a single entry point to access all building services: workstations, meeting rooms, car parks, EV charging points, and dedicated zones.
For example, an employee can book a workstation in a dedicated team zone (such as an HR or project zone), ensuring better alignment between physical presence and team organisation. At the same time, they can also reserve an associated parking space without needing multiple tools.
In another scenario, if an employee does not show up on site (a no-show), their desk or parking space is automatically released and made available to another user, immediately improving actual occupancy rates.
The company can also finely structure its usage rules: reserving certain zones for specific job functions, prioritising parking spaces near entrances for visitors, or managing rotation rules to prevent resource monopolisation.
In car parks, this can translate into very concrete examples: automatic allocation of the closest spaces for visitors, intelligent floor-by-floor filling, or priority assignment of EV charging points based on company-defined rules.
Thanks to data from bookings and actual on-site presence, organisations can continuously adjust their real estate, understand real usage patterns, and optimise each space as a living service rather than a fixed asset.
What are the benefits of service-based real estate?
Service-based real estate enables companies to make better use of their space while improving the employee experience.
It reduces unused areas, optimises real estate costs, and supports the transition to hybrid working models.
For employees, it provides a smoother experience, with on-demand access to better-adapted spaces.
Finally, it allows real estate, HR, and facilities teams to manage buildings more strategically, based on real usage data rather than static assumptions.