Vantage Space Global Trends Report: Q1 2022

1: Global Average Occupancy

The start of 2022 saw a significant decrease in global average occupancy, falling to 37.0% (-15.0% compared to Q4 2021). This sharp drop was most pronounced in APAC, which decreased by 22.0 points to 31.0%. EMEA also saw a decline to 39.0% (-7.0%). AMER remained relatively stable at 42.0% (no change). The beginning of the year often sees lower occupancy due to factors like residual holiday impact and slower return-to-office post-holidays, potentially compounded by regional variations in COVID-19 responses (e.g., Omicron wave).

Table 1: Average Occupancy by Region. Note: The percentage changes are calculated based on the previous quarter’s data (Q4 2021).

2: Average Occupancy by Space Type

Globally, Work Space occupancy dropped significantly to 37.0% (-19.0% from Q4 2021), and ‘Other’ space usage also fell to 37.0% (-7.0%). Interestingly, global Meeting Space occupancy increased to 33.0% (+8.0%), suggesting that while overall attendance was lower, collaboration activities that did occur were possibly more concentrated or prioritized. Regionally, EMEA saw a large drop in Work (-13.0 points) but increases in Meeting (+9.0 points) and Other (+21.0 points) spaces. APAC experienced sharp declines in Work (-25.0 points) and Other (-19.0 points) spaces, with Meeting spaces remaining stable (+1.0 point). AMER saw stable Work (+2.0 points) and Other (+2.0 points) usage but a notable decrease in Meeting space occupancy (-14.0 points).

Table 2: Average Occupancy by Space Type. Note: The percentage changes are calculated based on the previous quarter’s data (Q4 2021).

3: Meeting Room Occupancy

Understanding how meeting rooms are used is key to optimizing collaborative environments.

Table 3: Average Meeting Size by Region. Note: The changes are calculated based on the previous quarter’s data (Q4 2021).

The global average meeting size decreased to 2.4 attendees (-0.5 compared to Q4 2021). This decline was seen in APAC and AMER, while EMEA remained stable. This suggests a return to smaller meetings or more individual use of meeting spaces at the start of the year, despite the overall increase in meeting space occupancy globally.

The mismatch between meeting room supply and demand persisted in Q1 2022. Globally, rooms designed for 1 person accounted for only 7.4% of the portfolio but hosted nearly 40% (39.5%) of meetings. The demand for 2-person meetings was also high (30.9% of meetings) relative to capacity (16.9%). Large rooms (5+ people) represented almost half (approx. 47%) of the global meeting room stock but were used for only about 10% of meetings. This pattern held across regions, with AMER showing the highest usage rate for single-person meetings (42.3%) despite having the lowest relative capacity for them (4.9%). The data consistently pointed towards an oversupply of large, underutilised meeting spaces and a strong user preference for smaller, private settings.

Conclusion

Q1 2022 marked a downturn in global workplace occupancy (37.0%), reversing some gains from late 2021, particularly impacted by sharp drops in the APAC region. While overall attendance was lower, global meeting space occupancy surprisingly increased, although the average meeting size decreased, indicating more individual use or very small group collaborations. The fundamental challenge of aligning meeting space provision with user behaviour remained starkly evident. The high demand for 1-2 person spaces contrasted sharply with the prevalence of larger, often empty, conference rooms. As organisations navigated the start of 2022, the data reinforced the urgent need to reconsider space allocation, favouring smaller, more flexible spaces to support both focused work and the dominant pattern of small-scale collaboration.