Fixed Desk vs Hot Desk
One is your desk. The other is just a seat. Here is why that matters.
What a hot desk actually means
A hot desk means you don't have a permanent spot. You turn up each day and sit wherever there's space. Some hot-desking spaces let you book a specific desk in advance, but most work on a first-come-first-served basis. At the end of the day, you pack up your things and take them with you, because someone else might be sitting there tomorrow.
Hot desks are usually the cheapest coworking option, and they work well if you only need a workspace occasionally or if you move around a lot. But if you're planning to use a space every day as your main place of work, the limitations start to show quite quickly. You can't leave a monitor there. You can't personalise the space. And you're constantly working alongside different people, which means the environment around you changes every day.
What a fixed desk actually means
A fixed desk is permanently yours. You set it up once and leave it that way. Your monitor stays there, your mug stays there, your things stay exactly where you left them. Nobody else uses it, and the space around your desk becomes familiar because the same people are there every day.
At RedDeskCo, people bring in their own monitors, printers, and personal items. Some people have extra storage for files or equipment. It feels more like having your own office than sitting in a shared space, because in practical terms, that's exactly what it is. Your desk is your workspace, and the area around it is yours to arrange however you want.
The cost difference
Hot desks are typically cheaper per month than fixed desks, which is why they're popular with people who only need a workspace a few days a week. In Peckham, hot desks at larger spaces start from around £210 per month plus VAT, which comes to about £252.
A fixed desk at RedDeskCo is £225 per month with no VAT. So despite being a fixed desk with a permanent setup, it's actually cheaper than a hot desk at some of the bigger coworking spaces nearby. That comparison surprises a lot of people, but it's simply because we don't charge VAT and we keep our overheads low.
If you're using a coworking space 5 days a week, a fixed desk almost always makes more sense financially because you're getting significantly more for a similar or lower price.
Why we chose fixed desks only
When we set up RedDeskCo, we made a deliberate decision not to offer hot-desking. The reason was simple: we didn't want strangers coming and going every day. We wanted a space where everyone knew each other, where people felt comfortable leaving their equipment out, and where the environment stayed consistent and calm.
Hot-desking creates a transient atmosphere. People come in for a day or two, you never learn their names, and the dynamic of the room changes constantly. For some spaces, that's part of the appeal. But for us, and for the people who use RedDeskCo, stability and familiarity are more important than variety. When you walk in each morning, you know exactly who's going to be there and exactly what your desk looks like. That's the whole point.
A fixed desk is permanently yours. You leave your equipment set up and nobody else uses it. A hot desk is shared, meaning you sit wherever is available and pack up at the end of each day.
Not necessarily. A fixed desk at RedDeskCo is £225 per month with no VAT, which is actually cheaper than hot desks at some larger coworking spaces in Peckham that charge £210 plus VAT (£252).
Generally not, because hot desks are shared and you need to pack up at the end of each day. With a fixed desk, you can leave monitors and equipment permanently set up.
No. RedDeskCo is a fixed-desk-only space. We made that choice deliberately so that everyone has their own permanent workspace and the community stays consistent.