Higher ed just posted its biggest utilization jump since the return to work.
Classroom and office usage on campus rose sharply in Spring 2026 – the biggest year-over-year gains we’ve measured since the post-COVID recovery began.
Classroom utilization climbed 7 percentage points, from 40% in spring 2025 to 47% this spring. Office space rose 8 percentage points, from 37% to 45%, after sitting essentially flat since 2022. If the trend holds, we expect office utilization to reach the 50s by fall 2026.
Both class and office space usage still fall well short of the targets most institutions set. Offices aren’t half full at their busiest moment of the day, and classrooms sit empty 31% of the time between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Anyone allocating capital for the next academic year should read these trends closely.
Full Spring 2026 space utilization report here.
AI is only as smart as the data underneath it – and most of it isn’t good enough.
Every proptech vendor is adding an AI feature right now. JLL’s 2026 research found that 88% of CRE investors, owners, and landlords have piloted AI in the past year. Deloitte reports 87% of firms increased their technology budgets specifically for AI.
But investment isn’t translating into daily use for most facilities teams. The gap is less about the AI itself than about the data driving AI answers.
AI based on badge swipe data shows when someone entered a building. It doesn’t know whether they actually used the conference room they booked, or whether the third floor sat empty all afternoon. Likewise, AI working from booking calendars knows what was scheduled, but not what actually happened.
The organizations that will get the most from AI in buildings are the ones that invest in the data foundation first.
The question worth asking about any AI recommendation: what data is it reasoning from and is it complete enough to trust?
How a major research university avoided $55 M in capital costs.
Department leaders at a large research university with 41,000 employees, kept submitting build-out and expansion requests – and leadership kept approving them. Capital budgets kept climbing. But when leaders looked around, they saw empty work areas across the same departments asking for more space.
The instinct that “space was scarce” was real. The data told a different story.
The university introduced a “use it or lose it” policy: departments would have to demonstrate actual utilization to retain – or justify expanding – their footprint. Occuspace sensors went into a one-million-square-foot pilot, measuring average and peak occupancy, dwell time, and traffic patterns across space categories.
It turned out one department’s growth was legitimate. But the data also showed empty space next door. That department expanded into what already existed. No new construction required.
The result: two planned buildings totaling 90,000 sq. ft. were delayed. $55M in capital costs avoided over 1.5 years.
Read the full case study →Four pieces we sent around the office this month.
The latest published data on how corporate real estate teams are actually using space right now. Actual utilization is at 56% – 18 points short of the 74% target.
This white paper discusses the benefits and opportunities of AI-enabled technologies, plus the key requirements needed to implement AI across real estate portfolios. It notes “only a small fraction of buildings adjust HVAC based on occupancy, leading to over 30% of total HVAC energy consumption wasted.”
Franco Faraudo discusses where building technology is heading. Occuspace’s Nic Halverson is quoted.
Federal agencies have reported on space utilization as required by the USE IT Act. FNN reports on the results.
This is issue one. We’re building Dwell Time to be the newsletter we wish existed when we started measuring campus and workplace occupancy nine years ago. If it hits the mark – or misses it – reply and tell us. We read every response.
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