ITOKI CORPORATION (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Koji Minato) will begin offering the next-generation conference room reservation system "Reserve Any" in 2025 as a new solution to solve the shortage of conference rooms. Together with its algorithm development partner, University of Tokyo Economic Consulting Co., Ltd. (Head office: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yosuke Kawarada; hereinafter UTEcon), ITOKI has developed a "resource utilization value maximization algorithm" that applies market design and implemented it in the solution. The aim is to improve the productivity of the entire organization by minimizing inefficient use of conference rooms and achieving overall optimization, and encouraging behavioral changes in office workers.

The chronic shortage of conference rooms in offices has been addressed by administrative departments, including general affairs, by reviewing operational rules and adding more conference rooms, but the problem has not been resolved. In recent years, hybrid meetings using work remotely have become commonplace in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With noise issues becoming more prominent in offices and the spread of hot desking, there is a demand for spaces that are suitable for web conferences and spaces where people can concentrate, and the number of rooms under management is on the rise (*1).

Furthermore, our office data analysis service "Data Trekking" revealed inefficient use of conference rooms. For example, conference rooms being used for more people than the actual number of people, monopolization by specific employees or teams, gaps in time when no other reservations are available, and concentrated use of popular conference rooms or time slots. "Reserve Any" was developed to solve these root causes and make the most of limited conference rooms.

A distinctive feature of "Reserve Any" is the "points reservation system" for conference rooms. This is a system in which the price of a conference room (usage points) fluctuates daily depending on the reservation status of the conference room, and the person reserving the conference room takes into consideration the points they have. For example, by setting higher usage points for times of high demand or popular conference rooms, the person reserving the conference room is encouraged to select times of low demand or conference rooms. Being aware of the price of the conference room induces behavior that is desirable for overall optimization, and makes it possible for people with a high need to use the conference room they desire.

Another feature is the two reservation styles. With "Automatic Reservation," the person making the reservation does not need to specify a conference room. By simply entering desired conditions such as the number of people using the service, the optimal location will be assigned, reducing the effort and waste involved in reserving a conference room. "Specific Reservation" is a specification for people who have a specific conference room they would like to specify due to the nature of the conference.

By adopting two reservation styles based on the "point reservation system," we can eliminate over-utilization of conference rooms, reduce downtime, prevent monopolization, and spread out usage.

To support these new mechanisms, we implemented a "resource utilization value maximization algorithm" in "Reserve Any." UTEcon participated as an algorithm development partner, and applied a fundamental economic approach that uses price mechanisms to encourage behavioral change to conference room reservations. Specifically, we applied dynamic pricing (*3) based on the idea of market design (*2) in economics, which is currently attracting attention.

Generally, dynamic pricing is a method that aims to "maximize revenue," but this method is different in that it aims to "maximize utilization value." The algorithm improves its accuracy based on daily reservation data, so the more you use "Reserve Any," the more the conference room shortage problem will be solved.

"Reserve Any" was named after the idea of creating a comfortable office that can be shared and used by anyone, anywhere, for anything. It is ideal for managing reservations for various spaces, including not only general conference rooms but also private booths and hot desking seats. By using it in conjunction with "Hoteling Label," which can display information such as "reservation holder" and "reservation time" within the office, it realizes high convenience not only for the system but also for the office space.

Office data analysis service "Data Trekking"
https://www.itoki.jp/special/data-trekking/index.html