From Data to Decisions: Using Workplace Analytics to Optimize Your Real Estate Portfolio

Facilities and real estate leaders are under pressure to do more with less office space. Real estate portfolio optimization has become a top priority in 2025 as organizations navigate a hybrid work era with lower office attendance. Utilization data shows that many offices remain half-empty on a typical day. Analysts even project that nearly a quarter of U.S. office space will sit vacant by 2026. All that emptiness isn’t just wasted space – it’s a lot of wasted money. 

At roughly $30–$40 per square foot in rent, utilities, and maintenance, a 100-person office can burn around $300,000 per year on underused space according to b-line.io). In this context, leveraging workplace analytics to drive data-driven CRE decisions is no longer optional – it’s essential.

The Post-Pandemic Office Reality in Numbers

After the pandemic, many companies reacted by downsizing their footprints, but now they face critical questions about how much space they truly need. In the past two years, about two-thirds of occupiers reduced their office footprint, and only 32% still plan further reductions – in fact, one in eight companies is planning to expand office space again. Meanwhile, actual office utilization is stabilizing at new norms. Average office occupancy has settled around 51–60%, still below the 65–75% pre-2020 level. 

Global studies echo this trend: workplace utilization was just 26% in late 2023, rising to ~36% in early 2024 as more hybrid policies took effect; see more data here: hcamag.com. In other words, even as more employees return, nearly half of workspaces sit unused at any given time.

Crucially, cost remains the loudest driver in portfolio decisions – but focusing on cost alone is shortsighted. Corporate real estate (CRE) leaders are at an inflection point: they must balance cost cuts with support for collaboration and culture. Survey data shows the top three drivers for portfolio changes are #1 cost, #2 talent (employee needs), and #3 operational excellence. An optimized portfolio isn’t just cheaper – it also needs to keep employees productive and engaged. The only way to strike this balance is to ground decisions in real occupancy data.

How Workplace Analytics Informs Portfolio Strategy

Workplace analytics – the tracking of how space is used through occupancy sensors, badge data, or other methods – provides the hard evidence needed to right-size your portfolio. Rather than guessing or relying on outdated seat ratios, companies can analyze actual utilization data across buildings and floors. Key metrics like peak occupancy, average daily attendance, and frequency of use (per desk or meeting room) reveal patterns and opportunities:

• Identify Surplus Space: If a building’s peak occupancy never exceeds 40% of capacity, you might consolidate teams or sublease floors. For example, if mid-week usage peaks well below capacity, it signals a chance to reduce space without harming operations. Data-driven modeling can project how much space is truly required even if every hybrid worker came in on the same day.

• Spot Underserved Demand: Conversely, analytics may show certain hubs or days are over-utilized (e.g. a specific floor hits 90% capacity on Wednesdays). This helps avoid the risk of under-provisioning. Rather than blanket cuts, you can redistribute space where it’s needed or invest in scheduling solutions to spread out usage.

• Inform Lease Decisions: With reliable occupancy trends in hand, CRE teams can approach lease renewals and portfolio planning strategically. For instance, if one office has consistently low utilization, that data builds the business case to consolidate locations and save costs. On the other hand, if certain regions show a utilization uptick as teams re-engage, you might prioritize those for future growth.

• Support Hybrid Work Policies: Data can also validate how well hybrid work arrangements are functioning. Are employees coming in on the expected anchor days? What is the office occupancy rate on mandated vs. optional days? This insight helps refine policies, such as choosing which days to designate as in-office, and avoid investing in space that isn’t used due to scheduling patterns. 

In short, data-driven CRE decisions let you trim the fat and fortify the muscle of your real estate portfolio. 

Organizations can save substantial costs by removing truly excess space while still providing enough desks and collaboration areas for peak demand. The days of relying on industry benchmarks or static formulas (like one desk per employee) are over – now it’s about your company’s actual usage patterns. 

As Cushman & Wakefield’s 2025 survey put it, “CRE leaders must build better frameworks to quantify the impact of workplace investments across cost, culture and performance”. In other words, real-time occupancy analytics is that framework.

Turning Data into Action (and Savings)

Collecting occupancy data and our detailed reports is step one; the next step is acting on the insights. Leading organizations establish a regular cadence for reviewing workplace analytics – for example, monthly or quarterly space utilization reports by site. In these reviews, portfolio managers and workplace strategists should pinpoint quick wins and longer-term adjustments, such as:

• Optimizing Space Allocation: Free up underused areas for other purposes. For instance, if data shows a wing of 50 desks averaging only 10 occupants, those desks could be converted into a new collaboration lounge or flexible project area that adds value, rather than sitting empty. 
• Consolidating Leases: When entire locations or floors consistently show low occupancy, plan to exit or sublease them. One industry analysis found that 24% vacancy is expected by 2026, reflecting how dramatically needs have changed – see cpapracticeadvisor.com for more details on this. Companies that act early to shed excess space can reallocate budget to more critical areas. In fact, every avoided square foot directly saves money – wasting space is essentially wasting money. 
• Validating Workplace Changes: Use data to measure the impact of workplace initiatives. For example, if you implement a “collaboration day” where everyone comes in on Thursdays, check the occupancy trend: did Thursday’s peak occupancy rise? Are those days nearing capacity or still moderate? This helps ensure new programs actually align with utilization and prevents negative surprises, like everyone choosing the same day and overwhelming the space. 
• Building the Business Case: Perhaps most importantly, workplace analytics provides a credible story for the CFO and executive team. It’s much easier to advocate for portfolio changes with solid evidence: e.g. “Building X operates at 30% occupancy on average – maintaining 100% of that space is unnecessary overhead.” Showing potential savings alongside minimal impact on operations creates a compelling case for change. On the flip side, data can justify strategic investments – such as modernizing an office or adding amenities – by proving those changes will address observed usage gaps and encourage higher utilization. 

All these actions feed into the virtuous cycle of continuous real estate optimization. By treating workplace occupancy data as a living metric, organizations can adjust in near-real-time to workforce changes, such as hiring, reorganizations, or new hybrid policies, rather than waiting for annual lease reviews. The result is a portfolio that is lean, cost-efficient, and tuned to how employees actually work.

Empowering Data-Driven Decisions with the Right Tools

Achieving these benefits requires the right tools to capture and analyze occupancy data. Technologies like IoT occupancy sensors and analytics dashboards are game-changers for CRE management. For example, a sensor platform can live-monitor how many people are in each zone of an office throughout the day and feed this into a central dashboard. Instead of relying on manual headcounts or badge swipe reports, occupancy is tracked automatically and anonymously in real time.

Our workplace analytics dashboards distill this data into intuitive metrics and visualizations for decision-makers. You can see trends like average daily attendance, peak occupancy by floor, and space utilization rates at a glance, often with the ability to filter by building, department, or even time of day. Alerts can be set up as well – for instance, an alert if any area exceeds, say, 85% occupancy, indicating a potential capacity issue, or if an office falls below 20% occupancy for a month straight, indicating potential to consolidate. This level of insight enables proactive portfolio strategy rather than reactive cost-cutting.

MySeat’s own technology is an example of how data fuels decisions. With MySeat’s sensors and analytics platform, our clients gain a continuous pulse on space usage. Notably, this data is captured with privacy in mind – sensors measure presence without data tied to individual identities, focusing purely on utilization patterns. Our platform can be your “mission control” for space management: offering both high-level KPIs and granular details. For instance, you might discover through the dashboard that Conference Room A is booked 60% of the workweek but actually sits empty half of that time (a common occurrence if meetings get cancelled or go virtual last-minute). Armed with that knowledge, you could introduce a policy or tool to release unused room bookings – increasing effective utilization without adding any new space. This is just one illustration of turning data into action.

If you’re aiming to optimize your real estate portfolio, it pays to partner with our team at MySeat. We have helped numerous organizations monitor the financial impact of their space decisions. By combining your company’s unique usage data with industry benchmarks and best practices, you can formulate a portfolio strategy that trims waste while supporting your workforce’s needs. Check out our holistic service offering and give us a call today. 

This balanced approach is the essence of real estate portfolio optimization in the hybrid work era we are living in, and will likely remain in for the foreseeable future!