General
What’s Desana?
Desana is changing the way the world works.
We help facilitate flexible working across organisations: enabling seamless management of internal hotdesk booking while giving staff access to a global network of hotdesks and meeting rooms wherever they need them.
We partner with many different flexible workspaces and brands (from single site operators to the world’s largest serviced office providers).
You can give your employees access to any space in our network or curate around your company’s needs.
How does it work?
When we set up your organisation on Desana, we’ll initially get a feel for how you are intending to use the platform and how we can help you get the best out of it. Once we know that, we’ll do all the technical stuff like setting up the staff memberships on the system according to your specific requirements. After that, you can use our simple-to-use dashboard to manage additional staff passes and workspace access. If you would like to know more, feel free to request a demo.Where are the Workspaces?
Anywhere you need them. Although they might not be listed, we’re able to work with operators all over the world. If you have specific locations in mind, simply let us know and we’ll work to partner with high-quality workspaces wherever your business needs them.
There are new workspaces coming online all the time and we’re working full time to make the Desana network the most convenient in all of the UK, Europe… and the world really.
What are the working hours?
The spaces we work with set their own opening hours and we’re as flexible as they can be :)
Jump on to the app at any time to see where’s available, whenever you need to.
What does “Desana” actually mean?
You’re not the only one thinking it and we’re glad you asked.
The Desana are a nomadic Amazonian tribe. They like to be on the move, meeting and spending time with other tribes. Their ways reminded us of our own - often on the move, dropping by lots of coworking space communities as we need to… except we’re mostly not in the Amazon.
Using Desana
How do our employees book a workspace?
When we set up your organisation, we’ll work out how many credits you need per month, based on the number of staff who will be using Desana and how many hours they are likely to use a month. Credits are our way of keeping things simple - this way you don’t have to pay for each individual workspace for each staff member every day; instead, you just get one invoice per month and staff are free to book anywhere in the network using credits.
Every workspace on the app has a set hourly credit rate. When an employee makes a booking, we’ll ask how long they would like to work in that space for. We then calculate the total number of credits for the booking based on the hourly credit rate of the space and the total hours that they would like to book. The credits are deducted from your company total or “bank” of credits. You can choose to cap the number of credits an employee uses per month.
Once an employee has made a booking, what happens?
They’ll get an email with all the details needed to find the work space, check in, securely access the Wi-Fi, and get settled. Their booking is also added to the “Bookings” section of the app (right in the middle down at the bottom of the screen) - you’ll see the booking too in the dashboard.
Every space has a dedicated community manager who is there to help users with anything they might need while in the space. If they have any issues with the app or getting access to a space, please get in touch with your Desana Customer Relations Manager directly.
There’s no availability at the space an employee wants to book — what do they do?
Workspaces on Desana list spare occupancy but it’s possible that they might fill up on occasion. Don’t worry though, we’re always working to expand so that even if a specific space is full, there should be another quality space nearby. If an employee wants to book a specific space, their best bet is to book early. If all else fails, they can try booking again a little later (in case availability opens up) or, again, they can discover another great space nearby - after all, what would life be without the chance to explore?The space they want to work at is open, but they can’t book the times they want! What’s going on?
Our workspaces can set how much notice they need before a Desana user arrives. If your employee is struggling to book a space for the exact time they want but can see that there’s availability later in the day, this could be why.
In that case, they can book slightly later. They can always try booking another space close by and book the first space another day instead.
How do they cancel a hot desk booking?
They must head to the app, choose the booking they want to cancel, and choose “Cancel my booking”.
If there are more than 24 hours to go before the booking starts, the booking can be cancelled with all credits refunded.
Real world example: Two Fridays ago someone in the company booked a space in London on a Thursday. On the Tuesday before the booking, they realised that their plans had changed. Since it’s more than 24 hours before the booking is due to start their credits will be fully refunded to the company “bank”.
If a booking is made within 24 hours before the booking starts, the booking may be refunded within 30 minutes of the booking being made.
Real world example: Someone wants to work from Argyle Works tomorrow 9am until 12pm. They book at 8.00pm and realise at 8.24pm that they have an annual review tomorrow at 9.30am! They cancel before 8.30pm and credits are paid back in full.
If a booking starts within 30 minutes of the booking being made, it may be cancelled with a full refund before the booking starts.
Real world example: Someone in the organisation books a space at Foxglove Offices which is only a 3 minute walk away. On their way over they have to cancel, but their booking was made only 20 minutes ago. If cancelled, all credits will be returned.
How do they cancel a meeting room booking?
They must head to the app, choose the booking they want to cancel, and choose “Cancel my booking”.
The cancellation policies will vary according to the workspace provided, but all the necessary information will be clearly displayed during the booking process.
Outside of this, no refunds will be given.
What if they forget to show up?
No big deal, but we will still need to deduct credits from you to pay the workspace - it’s only fair because someone else could have missed the chance to take their place.Subscriptions
How long is a membership cycle?
Memberships are monthly recurring and payments will continue on a monthly cycle from the date of first sign up - unless you choose to cancel your membership.
For example, if your organisation joined Desana on 19/08/19, the membership subscription will automatically renew on the 19th of every month from then on, with credits allowance refreshing on that date too. If you’d like this date changed, let us know and we’ll do our best to help you out!
How long do my credits last?
All credits are available to use in your organisation for 30 days (starting from each monthly payment cycle) but any future bookings that are made using credits from the previous month can still be attended. For example, if a booking for 30 days from now is made in on the last day of the current cycle, credits will be taken from this current cycle to be redeemed when the booking is completed.
If you cancel your membership subscription, remaining credits will only be available until the end of your current cycle – for more on this see below.