Josh Paul wonders how you can miss an office when you've never had one.

A third-year associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Paul has been working out of client offices for the past six months. Now between assignments, he has relocated for a four-day stretch in the firm's downtown San Diego high-rise.

Paul reserved his favorite private corner desk — the one that affords him an expansive view of San Diego Bay. He knows, though, that this view is only temporary. He will be leaving for another client's office soon. "I probably haven't been in this office, but for two hours here or two hours there since November," he said.

Welcome to the concept of "hoteling," where employees make reservations for work space, check in for an afternoon, a day or a week, and then move along to make room for someone else.

Welcome to hotelling, where no one "owns" a workspace any more. Instead, in a process managed and maintained by a co-ordinator, or "concierge," spare desks, offices and conference rooms are booked for the time required through an elaborate reservation software system, which also directs the employees' telephone calls to their apportioned location.

With hoteling, an employee calls the office to reserve space when he needs to be there, checks in at the given time, and then checks out with another employee checking in after him — just like a hotel,