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✊ Coworking impact.
☕️ Global accelerator offers free workspace to laid off workers #
Lucia Maffei shared that MassChallenge are offering free deskspace, Wi-FI and ‘mediocre coffee’ (Caitlin Reimers Brumme’s words not mine) to recently laid off workers who are interested in pursuing entrepreneurship.
👉 Read this.
🧸 The founder of Build-a-Bear built a community #
Maxine Clark is the powerhouse founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop. And just as she shaped an entire (adorable) brand from a vision, Clark saw a 500,000 square foot derelict property in St Louis and had a vision for something transformative for the community. She brought the vision to life, rechristening it the Delmar DivINe. The campus includes offices for 35 nonprofits, 6k sqft of free multi-purpose community space and a coworking space offering discounts for residents and hyperlocal neighbors.
👉 Read this.
Coworking news & views.
📚 3 questions from coworking-studying academics #
Dr. Alexandra Bernhardt shares 3 questions they have around making coworking-related research more actionable. They ask how research can get closer to the needs of operators, what topics operators would like to see investigated and if operators have any ideas/suggestions for academics looking to do studies of this fast-moving industry.
👉 Read this.
🛫 A look at how airports are supporting remote work #
Merche Blanco Garcia shared 4 shifts in how airports are adopting coworking space (or coworking-like amenities) to support remote workers on-the-go. Interesting to see how Schipol, Dubai, São Paulo and airports around the US are exploring drop in workspaces for travelers. As employers explore ways to for their teams to access/book/leverage more spaces worldwide, this will be part of the puzzle that may sway decision making at the corporate level.
👉 Read this.
🇩🇪 A look into mixing coworking + train stations in Germany #
Helga Moreno chats with Bastian Boss about everyworks’ network of flex spaces in major train stations across Berlin, Frankfurt, Hanover, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, and Nuremberg. They dig into who they serve, the business model, and explore some of the challenges.
👉 Read this.
🤔 Have we entered the “Omnichannel Work Era”? #
Craig Loeber compares the current shift in how/where/when people work to those we saw across retail operations in the last decade, looking primarily at the move towards becoming omnichannel (or across multiple channels). As companies increasingly treat their employees as ‘customers’, and invest heavily into improving the employee experience, then they make the case that providing access, and more importantly choice, to different kinds of workspaces is going to be critical.
👉 Read this.
🤖 Some examples of how to use ChatGPT to write ad copy #
Shlomo Genchin shares an easy-to-follow deck on how to use AI tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E to generate ad copy and images. The examples are based on marketing a kindle, but given that almost everyone knows the benefits/selling points of an ereader, and fewer people know about all the benefits of coworking compared to it’s competitors, I hope it inspires you to think about how Ai can play into your content/copy planning.
👉 Read this.
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💻 Coworking technology.
🤖 Shifting towards ‘dynamic real estate’ #
Sharad Rastogi shares some views from his position as General Manager at JLL Technologies around the path forward and towards more dynamic real estate. They look at the shift from flex to flexed, how to sustainably become more dynamic, putting people first and technology’s role in this shift.
👉 Read this.
💪 Platform flexes their 2022 Flex results #
OfficeRnD share their list of coworking updates they put into their Flex product in 2022. With a big focus on mobile-based access control, a new analytics experience, and deeper integrations, I’m excited to see what they build out next.
👉 Read this.
Coworking data.
📊 FlexIndex returns to pre-pandemic level #
Miro Miroslavov shares a sneak peak at the data from the next FlexIndex report. In it he highlights that for the first time since Feb 2020, the FlexIndex (avg. utilization of coworking spaces) has bounced back up past 5.0.
👉 Read this.
🇮🇳 35% of all APAC premium flex space is in 3 Indian areas #
LinkedIn News India shares that Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Hyderabad account for 35% of premium flex space in APAC according to CBRE data. With over 10.6M sqft of premium flex space, Bengaluru actually tops the Asia-Pacific chart.
👉 Read this.
📑 A flex-sizing opportunity as demand surges #
The Sq by Hines shared a report that states that “The demand for flexible office space has become much bigger than coworking”. In it they share some interesting data points around customer wants/needs from buildings with flex office space, meeting spaces, air quality and connected tech topping the list.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 54% bump in workspace visits across 300 locations #
IWG shared that visits to their 300 UK locations increased by 54% from Jan to Nov 2022, with footfall increasing 25% since June. They do share that Tue and Wed are the busiest days and that suburban spots were amongst the fastest growing locations with demand surging 36% in 2022.
“Bolton and Cardiff (both up 190%), Hemel Hempstead (140%) and Chelmsford (112%) were among the locations with the biggest rise in footfall, according to IWG.”
👉 Read this.
🇪🇺 New EU publication explores the impact of remote working #
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions share a report called “The rise in telework: Impact on working conditions and regulations”. Glancing quickly past the use of the term ‘telework’ in 2023, it’s interesting to look at how regulation is shifting, but also at the impact in widening wage and employment gap between high- and low-skilled workers.
👉 Read this.
Coworking market moves.
🗓 Landlord-focussed flexspace platform shares 2022 results #
Christelle Rohaut shares that Codi partnered with over 100 landlords to help them offer turnkey spaces to their local markets. Interesting to watch more approaches to challenging the traditional office space lease, even if these options do/can compete with larger suites/memberships at coworking spaces.
👉 Read this.
🇩🇪 Local operator expands to second location in Bochum #
Tim Schabsky shared that Work Inn have just signed the lease for a second location in Bochum, for a space called MILESTONE in partnership with DGC_Gruppe
👉 Read this.
🇨🇾 New coworking brand launching in Cyprus #
Stylianos Lambrou shares some thinking behind their new coworking brand The Workin Spaces which will be opening their first workspace in Limassol this month.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
Laura Kozelouzek from Quest Workspaces chats with Liz Elam about the value of a good reputation, recession proofing your business, navigating tricky markets, not taking yourself too seriously, and looking at your business through a different lens on the GCUC Coworking Podcast
David Kinnaird discusses the UX of a ‘lit up’ building and shared IT backbones for buildings with Jamie Russo and Giovanni Palavicini on the Flex Uncensored podcast.