🗞 The Video Summary
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🎉 Coworking celebrations.
📖 Who’s that on the cover of Forbes? #
Exciting to see Miro Miroslavov featured on the cover of Forbes Bulgaria as part of a story about how, under his leadership, OfficeRnD is committed to supporting flexible workspaces worldwide.
More coworking-supporting folks on front of big-name national magazines? Yes please.
👉 Read this.
🎂 Perch turns 6! #
Congrats to Sarah Sneddon and the Perch team, thanks for connecting even more humans to coworking spaces.
👉 Read this.
🎂 Dayhouse turned 6! #
Jessica Erickson shared that Dayhouse Coworking has turned 6, celebrating with a day full of warmth, fun and pineapples.
👉 Read this.
✊ Coworking impact.
🇺🇦 How to directly support coworking leaders in Ukraine #
Helga Moreno shares 3 examples of how coworking spaces in Ukraine (FuturaHub, Startup Depot, and WORKIT) are still actively supporting local and refugee communities within a warzone.
The article also shares a curated list of local coworking spaces that accept online bookings and invites other coworking leaders from around the world to directly support these spaces by buying day passes or memberships via the provided links.
If you run a booking platform or would like to support these local coworking spaces through your favorite booking platform, please reply to this email or contact me.
👉 Read this.
💂♀️ Platform + local educational org partner up in London #
Booking platform Flow and non-profit Urban MBA have partnered up to support young people in developing their ideas and to start their own sustainable commercial and social businesses. The formal partnership means all alumni will receive £500 in credits to access 50+ coworking spaces, gyms, spas, and experiences in London.
_Love this tie-up between coworking (and other) access and hyperlocal entrepreneurial support. _
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 How workspaces can be more accessible to 24% of the UK #
Christian Schmitz and Lucy McInally summarize the recent "Accessible Workspaces: Inclusivity, Language, and the Future of Coworking" panel from the Workspace Design Show.
The post shares insights from panelists Dom Hyams, Jeannine van der Linden (DeKamer), Lucy McInally and led by Bernie Mitchell (who stepped in for David O’Coimin). It looks over how workspaces can (actually) be more accessible, create a feeling of belonging, leveraging transparency, and how "inclusivity starts with a seamless user experience".
👉 Read this.
👸🏼 Empowering female leaders via workspace, a social club and more #
Optix shares what it takes to create the next generation of female leaders with insights from Mariska, Fay, Christa, and Fresh of Salon22.
With an opening line that reads "What if women finally had the kind of social club that men have had for decades?", this is a fantastic interview with a team passionate about creating space and support for the next generation of female leaders.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Matching service launches for London charities needing space #
Jules Robertson shared how The London Society are running a campaign and service called FREE SPACE FRIDAYS with the goal of connecting charities who need space to host IRL meetings to ‘socially responsible companies’ who have extra office capacity.
I’m certain there’s a way for impact-focussed coworking spaces to offer under-utilized space to charities, I just wish they asked which days London’s coworking spaces were least busiest.
👉 Read this.
😳 On the lie independent operators tell themselves… #
Every independent coworking space operator carries a version of the feeling: "I’m not running a ‘Real’ coworking space, am I?"
You’re running 20 desks, fifty desks, or even a hundred. You’ve built something real. A community. A local business. Somewhere people who show up because your space matters to them. And you’re constantly aware of the distance between what you’ve built and what you can see in your head.
Bernie Mitchell explores why that gap isn’t failure but proof that somethings working.
👉 Read this.
Coworking news & views.
🇪🇸 Lessons from building a local coworking community in Tarragona #
Laia Benaiges shares the backstory of La Magrana, a coworking community in Tarragona, Spain with Marc Navarro.
_It’s a great read and features IKEA causing local furniture stores to close, a photographer referencing "those spaces in New York with people working", the Coworking Spain Conference, a difficult beginning and the formation of Leca (a legal consultancy for coworking spaces in Spain). _
👉 Read this.
💙 An ode to a coworking community #
Amy King shares a lovely post reflecting on, and thanking, her community for helping Good Coworking survive the pandemic.
The post also highlights that "the coworking industry is back and soaring as the newest and coolest way to get work done."
It is, isn’t it!?
👉 Read this.
📉 How could recent bank failings could impact flex workspaces #
Jonathan Price digs into what the cascading collapse of banks (like Silvergate, SVB and Signature Bank) could mean for the flex workspace industry. How? By looking at what happened following the dotcom crash in 2001. In short, struggling spaces may have get hit by any downtown in occupancy but the market is much stronger than in 2001.
Given I finally ‘got’ coworking by starting coworking communities following a whole country closing ALL banks, I’ve got a few more notes on the opportunities and risks in these situations. Happy to chat about in this week’s recap discussion, or post them on my blog. If you’d like to read those, let me know by replying to the email version.
👉 Read this.
🪄 Has coworking lost it’s magic? #
Drew Jones, who used to run Conjuctured in Austin back in 2010, shares some thoughts on some big things that have changed from the early days of coworking. In short, back then many were looking to build coworking communities, not coworking businesses in their cities.
I agree that many flex spaces today are run with revenue, costs and sustainability in mind (they kind of have to, how many of those amazing early brands still operate today?) but strongly disagree that everyone in our industry is purely focussed on just ‘revenue per square foot’. What do you think? Let us know via the discussion link.
👉 Read this.
👱♀️ This fantastic example of a community building event… #
Jamie Laing (co-founder at the infuriatingly delicious Candy Kittens, and new dad amongst other roles) shares a video from a recent ‘pints and ponytails’ club event hosted by The Secret Life of Dads.
What started as 10 dads sharing a pint and learning how to to style their kids’ hair has grown to an event connecting 35 dads, and is continue to grow. A superb example of bringing a community together. As Jamie said, "more of this please".
👉 Read this.
🖼️ Could this be the best illustration of workspace flexibility? #
Niklas Schöning shares the benefits of a ‘network model’ for hybrid companies (in Swedish), alongside what is now one of my favorite illustrations of what true workplace flexibility could look like for so many organizations in the near-future.
Opportunity for flex workspaces? There’s 4: hosting the office/HQ, the hubs, the 3rd spaces and the meetings.
👉 Read this.
↩️ How one CEO was ‘converted’ regarding coworking #
Sean Johnson shares 10 ways Industrious converted them from thinking "no way" about using coworking for their office location, into admitting that coworking actually "makes a ton of sense".
Reasons shared include that only 20% of the team are in the office on any day; coffee, snacks and vendors are handled; beautiful spaces on flex terms; can flex up/down as needed; no IT stress; multiple locations; and overflow capacity when needed. Could any coworking space have written better copy? I think not!
👉 Read this.
📨 12 email marketing tactics to boost conversions and LTV #
Talemaker share 12 tactics to increase your conversion rate and extend the lifetime value of both one-time users, and members
👉 Read this.
🤔 AI asks how coworking can benefit the self employed. #
One of LinkedIn’s AI experiments is a thing they call ‘Collaborative Articles’ in which generative AI is paired up with LinkedIn users to create sort-of guides on 1000s of topics. Folks who post a lot to the platform get requests to submit answers, and it’s arguably ‘good’ for personal branding (if you don’t mind letting a platform and AI you can’t control use and distribute your words – but I digress).
One such article caught my eye, as it was titled "You’re a self-employed individual looking for a workspace. How can coworking spaces benefit you?". It’s an interesting look at how AI generated content (on left of screen) is augmented by user-generated content, but as a geek has me wondering where it gets the questions from… and could they be used as superbly targeted SEO blog posts that your spaces could create.
👉 Read this.
🧐 Are members’ clubs about exclusion, or belonging? #
Ian Minor explores how most members’ clubs don’t have ‘a concept problem’, but a big ‘clarity problem’, often stemming from the notion that members clubs are about exclusion. Instead Ian argues is that the best members clubs focus first on recognition and belonging, and then localise from there.
Why, oh why, are we sharing members’ club content? Because Members Clubs and Coworking aren’t only on a collision course, they’re already deeply intertwined in some markets.
👉 Read this.
🤭 Behind the scenes and decisions of the Common Desk acquisition #
Nick Clark and Peter Greenspan share more details around WeWork‘s acquisition of Common Desk (announced in w4/22).
An interesting look at how and why things unfolded the way they did, from the first Zoom call to the motivations for the strategic move from both sides.
👉 Read this.
📼 How coworking spaces can think about industry collaboration #
Bernie Mitchell shares a quick video for coworking space leaders who see the value in collaborating with other industry leaders (to do together what they cannot achieve alone), but get hung up on the question of "why am I talking to my competition?".
In short: There are literally MILLIONS of people who could benefit from coworking space, many of whom won’t be the right fit for your own space or community. Agreed. I’d go a little further to say that our one shared goal, if we want to take an infinite game view of things, is to keep getting more people interested in, trying out and increasingly utilizing coworking space.
👉 Read this.
🏨 “I’ve never liked the hotel analogy for coworking…” #
Cat Johnson notes that we should pull from hotel hospitality things that can enhance the experience of members, but not think we can replace the hard work of building connections and a sense of belonging in a coworking space with transactional, short-lived hospitality that never goes below the surface.
👉 Read this.
🤔 What do academics study when they ‘study coworking’? #
Dr. Alexandra Bernhardt shares some thoughts following the RGCS Symposium 2026 in Berlin, where researchers and practitioners discussed coworking and new ways of working from many perspectives.
"Where do you draw the line between coworking and flex office? Is this line needed?"
👉 Read this.
👩💼 What makes a coworking space “for women”? #
Jen Luby shares a great post digging into some reasons why Dayhouse Coworking often gets described as "a coworking space for women" a lot, even though 40% of their members are male.
👉 Read this.
🤔 Decision guide for choosing workspace solutions #
Coworking OG and founder of One Coworking, Christophe Fahle shares the top 12 questions he uses to help mid-sized companies (20-200 employees) determine whether traditional office leasing or flexible coworking spaces are better suited to their needs.
The workflow evaluates key factors including financial considerations, growth projections, facility management resources, talent attraction strategies, and security requirements. Could also be a helpful framework for qualifying larger client requests at your spaces.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Thought the whole “rate disaster” was done and dusted? #
Nope! Jane Sartin shares why the Flexible Space Association is continuing to work on ensuring that the UK government understands the full impact of changing how serviced offices are assessed for business rates. Especially with the CCA deadline looming.
👉 Read this.
😳 “I’ve changed my mind about Coworking!” #
Sarah Athanas shares a story about how Simon Banks, a web developer in New Zealand, changed their mind about coworking.
In short? The community and solution they found at Mountain Club, was "more than just a workspace".
👉 Read this.
💪🏻 Separating DEI controversy from positive impact #
Denise Brouder shared a report from the Future of Work Alliance on the polarization of the term "DEI".
The piece does an excellent job arguing for creative alternatives that can provide the overall benefits of having DEI inform workspace strategy, without being tied to the controversy of the term.
👉 Read this.
💌 Onboarding emails for building member loyalty #
A practical guide from Nexudus to the key onboarding emails every coworking space should include when welcoming new members.
They explore what each email should communicate, from access details and community guidelines to events and perks – to help reduce confusion, improve the member experience, and build engagement from day one.
👉 Read this.
📞 Kicked out of a coworking space for taking calls? #
A member of a coworking space in Madrid shared an experience where he was confronted for taking phone calls in his office. While there may very well have been complaints from other members regarding the volume of his calls, being told by a community manager that he couldn’t be on a call seems a bridge too far. Not to mention being interrupted during the call with the news.
Perhaps a lighter touch from the space would have provided an opportunity to suggest alternative solutions. Or maybe the member continuously ignored community guidelines, and was using hot desk or lounge space to do non-stop sales calls. What would you have done?
👉 Read this.
🥧 Iowa celebrates unique coworking holiday with pie #
Iowa Coworking Day, an official state holiday established in 2016, will be celebrated this Friday, March 14, at Gravitate Coworking locations. The organization is commemorating the occasion by offering free coworking access at their Windsor Heights, Downtown Des Moines, and East Village locations, while serving pie to visitors.
This playful holiday combines Pi Day (3.14) with community building, inviting workers to experience coworking while enjoying complimentary refreshments.
👉 Read this.
🚶♀️ Turning “The Beltline Life” into the business strategy #
Katharine Chestnut, founder of Alkaloid Networks traded soul-crushing traffic for "main character" walkability 11 years ago.
Interestingly, while being "right on the trail" may sound like a lovely perk, the ability to walk along the Atlanta Beltline Eastside Trail to, from and during work has proven a huge productivity strategy for members (and the owner herself).
👉 Read this.
🌍 Quick recap of what was discussed at The 2024 Summit #
I shared a summary of what was discussed at the 2024 Coworking Alliance Summit, and who was "in the room" if you will.
In short, we dug into land trusts, building multi-brand private/public partnerships, what the opposite of loneliness is, hacks for owning the coworking narrative outside our bubbles, IDEA playbooks, ending the lack of diversity on industry stages, and so much more.
👉 Read this.
🇦🇺 27-site network shares 9% rev growth #
WOTSO reported a 9% revenue growth, up to $15.8M, for the first quarter – also forecasting their total funds from operations (FFO) to just under 15% over the next two quarters.
Jessie Glew, the ASX-listed firm’s CEO, notes that their flex space ops business is the engine of the group, producing higher returns than standard leasing deals.
👉 Read this.
🦋 Former NYC coworking HQ for sale… for $22.5M #
The Spaces takes a look into the former NY HQ for The Wing, which is being sold as a turn-key and fully furnished commercial space by Cushman & Wakefield. The former hospital, but pretty-darn-beautiful coworking hub, in the East Village is listed for a cool $22.5 million.
If another coworking space operator does buy it, can we host a TWIC NYC meetup there (for free)?
👉 Read this.
☑️ Pre-lease checklist for coworking operators #
Spacebring share a good overview of some of the major questions (and queries) to run through before signing a lease, or other operating agreement, with a landlord.
Spacebring, the contributor and the TWIC editor are not lawyers, and this should not be taken as legal or other advice. Have a qualified local contract and/or real-estate lawyer (who understands coworking businesses) look over your agreements.
👉 Read this.
Share This Week's Summary
💻 Coworking technology.
😲 Virtual Office platform also gets merged into “Global Marketplace” #
Following on from last week’s IWG + The Instant Group merger ‘thing‘, this week we see Davinci Virtual Office Solutions also being merged into the new entity that is being promoted as the "Global Marketplace for Flex Space".
For folks keeping track, IWG was already a £2.1M (~$2.7M) investor in Davinci since 2016.
👉 Read this.
⚙️ Why a 13-space brand opted for ‘managed’ integrations #
Ben Northrop shared why, in a world full of integration options, Workbox opted for a managed approach to connecting their OfficeRnD and essensys Platform setups via Syncaroo.
Notably, the integration saves their community teams 10-20 minutes of extra work per new member, while also reducing the load (and stress) on their IT team as they scale.
👉 Read this.
🎱 5 amenities coworking spaces need for the ‘metaverse’ #
Even though metaverse is only in its infancy, it is already impacting the coworking space industry by creating new hybrid physiverse/metaverse business models that allow coworking space providers to take advantage of this emerging trend.
This article explores five pieces of technology and amenities that future coworking spaces will need to plan for, in order to offer competitive metaverse services.
👉 Read this.
🇪🇸 Spanish flex work platform raises €1.1M #
Angel Serrano Ceballos shares (in Spanish) the news that zityhub have raised €1.1M to grow their team, marketing and technology.
With a number of EU-based booking platforms shrinking over the last few weeks, there’s a ripe opportunity for new booking interfaces in the demand-generation side. After all the EU says there’s over 189.7M employed workers across the continent.
👉 Read this.
👻 Ghost IT costing enterprises millions in lost productivity #
CIO reports on results from a recent WalkMe study that shows large enterprises are losing an average of $104 million annually due to digital inefficiencies, with employees wasting approximately 36 workdays navigating (or working around) IT roadblocks.
This problem is not limited to just large enterprises. When was the last time you took a minute to think about how this applies to your day to day operations in managing coworking and flexible workspaces? Exactly…
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 A new data player hits the London market #
Enter managed., a new data tool that is focusing on connecting London’s top managed office providers with the dealmakers who drive transactions and deal flow.
While there are other players in the market, founder Shannon Burke is working to provide a solution to streamline the process of navigating dynamic inventory with client needs.
👉 Read this.
🕵️♀️ Sneak peak of market research engine for planning coworking locations #
Craig Baute shares a sneak peak of DenSwap’s market research engine for property owners noting that "The old CRE metrics of office vacancy, lease rates, etc are less relevant than before. Office is now a consumer product and needs a B2C research methodology. It’s about building coworking spaces where customers are and having the right culture and layout that fits their needs. This new dashboard and tool is a big step forward."
👉 Read this.
🤖 Platform adds AI-powered churn & engagement dashboard #
Nexudus’ suite of AI-powered tools continues to grow as they add a new "Churn & Engagement Dashboard" to their Admin Panel. Data and AI modelling are used to determine how likely a member is to renew or cancel their contract with a workspace, allowing operators to re-engage with specific members before they churn.
Given where we are as an industry, and the data that’s been collected to date, I think we’re going to start seeing some amazing new ways to turn data into actionable insights. We even dug into "data as the next superpower" in the panel I led last year.
👉 Read this.
💬 Are we racing towards 24/7 support? #
Andrew Segal shares how Boxer Property leverages an off-shore leasing support team to provide live sales support 24/7. Doing so allows them to fill more of the 13M sqft of office they own, even on a Saturday.
With the proliferation of such services, AI-assisted and fully-blow AI-powered support services, I’m watching closely to see who goes full 247365 and who leverages ‘our humans are sleeping, let’s grab a coffee together in the morning’ as a differentiator, and where everyone else will land in between.
👉 Read this.
📱 Deposit-free rental app taps into coworking market #
Samreen Ahmad shares news from Singaporean-based startup Rently, which launched to make renting a room or apartment faster and deposit-free. The firm is piloting filling coworking spaces (as well as ghost kitchens) through the same technology – allowing startups and SMEs to book larger spaces without having to deploy capital for deposits.
Will keep an eye on this one, as I know there’s a few companies in US and UK trying to also drop deposits from the booking equation through insurance-like financial products.
👉 Read this.
🗺️ Officially add social media feeds to Google Business Profiles #
Search Engine Journal share that Google have released an update for Google Business Profiles (GBP) that allow owners to connect up to one account per social media platform tho their profile, and have those social media posts show on search and maps results.
This is being rolled out regionally, so hop over to ‘Edit Profile’ -> ‘Business Information’ and click ‘Contact’ to see if there’s a ‘Social Profiles’ section for you to set up.
👉 Read this.
📼 Is this the “Blockbuster” moment for office landlords? #
Justin Raymond shares that after meeting 25+ office landlords, some are certainly entering their ‘Blockbuster’ moment, relying on what has always worked and hoping it will start working again. Others, he shares, are way ahead of the pack and exploring how to thrive in what comes next.
👉 Read this.
Coworking data.
🇫🇷 Flex space demand up 23% in France #
Sarah Colwell shares that demand for flex workspace across France is up 23% in 2021.
_A key takeaway from her summary is that the surge is coming from both an increase in tech startups and a growing number of large enterprises leveraging flex space in their workplace strategies. _
👉 Read this.
🇧🇬 Snapshot of the 490k sqft of flex space in Sofia, Bulgaria #
Cushman & Wakefield Forton share a snapshot into the coworking sector in Sofia, Bulgaria.
They note that 2 out of 3 new tenants are seeking or interested in flex office solutions and that there is already 45,580 sqm (~490,619 sqft) of flex workspaces in the city, with another 2,500 sqm (~26,909 sqft) opening in April. Interestingly around 75% of available flex space is located outside the central regions of the cities.
Data from OfficeRnD also notes that 84% of flex space in the city (offered by customers of their management software) is private offices and of the total availability 12% are dedicated desks and 4% are hot desks.
👉 Read this.
🐒 Is CRE headed for a hard landing? #
"KBW’s estimations on office are a 30% or more drop in values with peak-to-trough declines that could top 20% to 30%. That is an average number. Some might do better, others the opposite. And the US is only 30% to 50% into the correction."
If the numbers are right, and the valuations of office buildings drop further, is this a risk or opportunity for flex operators who rent their space?
👉 Read this.
🔼 Landlords drive supply of flex options in EMEA up 10% #
Billy Hodges shares that CBRE’s H1 2023 EMEA Flex Report is now live. They mention that the number of spaces is up 10% with more landlords looking to get involved with flex on their own or through management agreements.
👉 Read this.
👀 Analyzing Google search trends around coworking #
Researchers at CoworkingCafe analyzed Google search trends for some of the most relevant coworking-related keywords. This report provides an overview on almost two decades, as well as a deeper dive into the past 12 months’ data. Key takeaways include that ‘coworking’-related searches peaked mid-2021, over the last year peaks in search volume were seen in mid-July and that the highest ratio of related searches were made from Washington D.C.
As a huge Google trends geek myself, I’m going back to week 27–29 in 2022 to see what market moves or other news may have have been related to those peaks in search volume.
👉 Read this.
📚 Workspace priorities for mid sized companies #
A poll run by WeWork highlights the top considerations for midsize companies when selecting office space, according to brokers.
Cost-effective lease terms dominate decision-making at 45%, followed by location and commute ease at 23%, while scalability and flexibility rank third at 21%. Amenities and collaborative spaces, though important for workplace experience, received the lowest priority at 11%. These findings suggest financial considerations remain paramount for midsize organizations despite growing emphasis on flexibility and employee experience in commercial real estate discussions.
Are you emphasizing how your space addresses these points when dealing with your local office brokers?
👉 Read this.
😮 Just how many IWG locations are there now!? #
Ian Hallett, COO of IWG, shared a chart that shows that their network of spaces (listed just shy of 4,000) is now larger than the next ten competitors combined. While they’ve had their fair share of ups and downs, the network (and group of brands) has been on a path of steady and global expansion of late.
👉 Read this.
📈 Public firm notes ‘best ever’ FY revenue #
Mark Dixon, CEO of IWG, shares the firms FY earnings for 2024 on CNBC, noting revenue is the best it’s ever been while also highlighting that their spread across 122 countries hedges their risk against potential economic volatility in 2025.
What was their FY earnings? $4.4B system-wide revenue and a net debt of $712M.
👉 Read this.
Coworking market moves.
🧾 M&A comes to the community-focussed side of coworking #
Matthew Davis shares that COhatch and Hygge Coworking are merging (I believe the former is acquiring the latter officially). The move brings Hygge’s 5 locations in Charlotte into a network including 30+ others, and the deal was initiated when Garrett Tichy reached out following a press release.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Merger to create 3.1M sqft flex office space provider. #
CityAM shares that The Office Group and Fora plan to merge in a bid to become "the premier flexible workspace company in the UK and Europe".
Although the deal still needs to get regulatory approval, the merger would combine 72 locations into one portfolio. No financial terms have been announced but Olly Olsen will become exec chairman and Enrico Sanna will become CEO of merged entity. Charlie Green will become president and oversee real estate & Katrina Larkin will be chief environment, social and governance officer.
👉 Read this.
🏡 Consolidation comes to rural coworking with Alt Space acquisition #
Brian (and Bonnie) Watson share that Alt Space Coworking has been acquired by Brad Rowland and Brock Predovich at Emergent Campus.
The five Alt Space locations across Colorado (in Telluride, Ridgway, Montrose, Delta and Grand Junction) will become of Emergent’s unified network of local coworking spaces.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 Network enters Kentucky market. #
Erin Maxson shares that COhatch are opening their newest location in Covington in Kentucky.
👉 Read this.
🇸🇪 Real estate firm rolls out second flex location in Sweden #
RE firm Hufvudstaden’s flex brand ‘Cecil Coworking’ are expanding, opening their second location. The 32.2k sqft space will open in Fredstan a shopping mall in Gothenburg, Sweden.
👉 Read this.
🏴 Scottish work-surfing app & network raises £200k #
Nikki Gibson shares that SWURF have closed a £200k round of funding to expand their network of pods and technology.
👉 Read this.
🗽 Work & retreat co opens first Manhattan location. #
Barnfox, who previously opened ‘connected community hubs’ in the Hudson Valley and the Catskills have announced their first Manhattan location and the introduction of its "Residencies Program" to help companies decentralize their workforce.
_The network of "design-focused, community-driven work and retreat spaces" that bridge cities and getaway destinations has grown rapidly from 1 to four locations and launched Residencies in response to a 100+ member waitlist. _
👉 Read this.
🇳🇱 Local brand launches 6th hub #
Rogier Braakman shares that local coworking brand Mr Green are expanding into Amsterdam. This 2k sqfm hub will be their 6th location, joining spaces in Zwollem Klarenbeek, Apeldoorn, Rotterdam and Vianen.
👉 Read this.
🧘♀️ Australian wellness-focussed coworking brand launches #
Fitness entrepreneur Tony de Leede has launched a physical space called Wello Works in the Rosebery suburb of Sydney, Australia. Following this launch, a second location is set to open in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) next month.
The word ‘wello’ was coined by de Leede as a modern and health-oriented variation on Australia’s traditional ‘smoko’, the cigarette break people would take during their working hours. These spaces are built around making it easy to take ‘wellness breaks’ with in-house activities and facilities.
👉 Read this.
🇳🇴 INC. opens 10th location, + extended services contract. #
Coworking Europe shares news of INC.’s newest location, their 10th in Oslo.
The brand, owned by Compass Group Norway, signed an agreement with OBOS to operate the space within a redevelopment project in central Oslo. "Under the agreement, Compass Group will manage coworking areas alongside workplace services for tenants in the complex."
Trend: Coworking + additional hospitality services contracts (as explored in Undercurrents: The New Revenue Stack).
👉 Read this.
🇦🇺 Landlord + brokerage partner up to bring flex into $300M office tower #
Goldfields and JLL are partnering up to launch a new offering within a brand-new $300 million South Yarra office tower. The tower will be home to The Loft, spanning 3,243 sqm (~ 3,243 sqft) over three floors. The first floor is set to open in May.
Tashi Dorjee, JLL’s head of flex space, Australia and New Zealand, noted that demand for pre-built offices, lease flexibility and collaborative spaces is increasing in the post-pandemic workplace environment.
👉 Read this.
🇫🇷 UK brand expands to Lille, France #
Jamie Dundas shares that The Good Space will be launching in France in May, and the space will be ‘intentionally bilingual’.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 Boston gets it’s 12th Workbar #
Sarah Travers shares that the 12th Workbar location will be a 10k sqft space at 50th Church St, in Harvard Square, Boston – an area that’s no stranger to coworking offerings.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Developer appoints flex operator to run incubator & innovation space #
Morgan Pierstorff shares that 22 Bishopsgate have appointed NewFlex (an operator running 50 ‘space-as-a-service’ locations across the UK) to run the 14k sqft innovation space and incubator on the entire 7th floor of the 62-story sustainable building.
50 memberships in the space, which will be called The Exchange (or XCHG), will be reserved for small businesses with high growth potential, following an agreement with the City of London.
👉 Read this.
🇲🇹 Hotel developer launches 7th coworking space #
Munich-based Ruby Group, led by Michael Struck, are mostly known for their design-orientated hotels, but on Feb 1st they cemented their focus into flexible workspace with the launch of a 1090 sqm hub in Malta as their 7th Ruby Workspace location (in addition the one in the lobby of their hotel in Hamburg).
👉 Read this.
🎓 WMS and coworking academy partner up #
Marc Navarro shares that Flexwork Academy and Cobot have partnered up to support the coworking professionals who participate in the intensive masterclass (in Spanish).
Missed this undercurrent trend? Last week we saw OfficeRnD make a similar move to support new spaces.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 London operator sets plan to triple their footprint #
Justina Cruickshank shares news from Andrew Clough and Jamie Hopkins that The Brew are planning to triple their London flex space footprint.
Note: Unfortunately the original link was email-gated, so I swapped it to a related story that notes that Jamie Hopkins, the former CEO of Workspace Group plc, had joined The Brew’s board to advise them on scale-up strategy, business optimization, asset acquisition and financial performance.
👉 Read this.
🇮🇳 State gov partners up with coworking operator to support startups #
91springboard shares a partnership to support early-stage startups in Maharashtra, alongside the state government, through a virtual incubation program. Some of the support given would be access to coworking space, mentoring, legal/financial advice and more.
👉 Read this.
👏 Another acquisition outside of “big city” coworking #
David and Jamie Orr share an interesting M&A deal that includes Chet and Trevor Pipkin buying Bernard and Cristi Creegan out of Cowork Tahoe, in turn merging that space into Untethered.
ICYMI: The Pipkins and Orrs own Untethered. With this move, the same owners also own Cowork Tahoe. Its unclear if they will merge/drop one of the brands, but it’s an interesting consolidation move. Oh yea, if Chet Pipkin sounds familiar, it’s because he is the founder of a ‘tiny’ company called Belkin, and was the CEO there till January 2021.
👉 Read this.
🇳🇱 Amsterdam flexible workspace expands original location #
ScaleHub Offices has announced a significant expansion of its Wibautstraat location in Amsterdam, adding two additional 1,000 sqm floors. The expansion at this strategic location near Amsterdam Amstel station will provide additional meeting rooms, pantries, and workstations for current and new tenants.
Founder Thom van Wijk describes this development as a natural progression for the company, which began operations at this same site eight years ago and now maintains locations in both Amsterdam and Utrecht.
👉 Read this.
🤩 Operator converts building into hybrid events studio #
Qasim Virjee shares how and why they converted a standalone building into StartWell’s new (and Toronto’s first) hybrid event studio.
👉 Read this.
🗽 Unique Brooklyn operator already expanding #
Alcove, which is a creative take on workspace on demand, provides privacy pods that are bookable starting at $19 for two hours. Helen Knight just announced that their Park Slope location has recently added their first Two-Seat Pod designed for client meetings and collaboration. The company has named their new pods after local landmarks and extended their operating hours in response to customer demand.
👉 Read this.
👩🎨 Coming soon? Workbox’s new look. #
Collaborative agency Geletka+ teases some of the brand identity work they’ve done for Workbox.
The new look feels quite modern and allows for a unified brand across the various mediums coworking brands need to think about, from external signage to social media, to merch and other internal uses. I wonder when we’ll start to see this branding rolled out.
👉 Read this.
🇪🇸 UK operator opening deep-connection sanctuary #
Vibushan Thirukumar shares that Oru Space is expanding to El Saltador in Almeria, Spain. The plan is to form a sanctuary for deep connection, rest and renewal, building on the current retreat center that can host groups of up to 30.
The project is currently taking equity and benefits investments from existing Oru Space members, before opening up the opportunity to the wider community.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 Venture X location opens in Chandler #
Venture X has opened its doors in Chandler, in the Phoenix metro area.
Situated just off Loop 101, the space is locally owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Ryan and Brooke Naylor and features 125 private offices, along with meeting rooms, coworking space, and event facilities designed to support growing businesses.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
In this Behind The News episode of the “This Week in Coworking” podcast, host Hector Kolonas was joined by Jason Anderson to discuss the dynamic world of coworking spaces and the private equity acquisition of Vast Coworking Group from the United Franchise Group – and what it means for Venture X, Office Evolution, Intelligent Office, franchising and the industry.
Ana Sousa (Vertical Coworking), Tina Wolder (T Form Spaces) and Will Kinnear (HEWN) join George Sell on the Urban Living Webinar Series to discuss the flex workspace industry, WeWork’s shadow, and more.
Nicole Antolino, Community Manager at Fireworks Coworking in Marietta, Georgia sat down with Jamie Russo on the Everything Coworking podcast to explore some secrets about running a thriving coworking space and community.
Vibushan Thirukumar discusses coworking, high street regeneration and the local economy with Ian King on Sky News, oh any how indie operators like Oru are so different from the IWGs and other big brands of the industry.
Mark Burge from Flex Workspace Solutions joined Jamie Russo and Giovanni Palavicini on the Flex Uncensored podcast again, this time exploring how the biggest opportunity (or flex if you will) in flex is actually knowing which deals to walk away from.
Jamie Russo and Giovanni Palavicini chat with Wayne Berger (CEO, The Americas at IWG) about his 8 years with the firm, and what the public flex space company is seeing and planning for next on the Coworking Everything podcast.
John Egan joins Jamie Russo on the Everything Coworking podcast to discuss his approach to hiring (including his go-to questions), how he screens for "joy" and how his career as a camp director and insurance advisor prepared him for the world of coworking.
William Edmundson, Jerome Chang, Ashley Proctor, Shervonne Cherry, Nick LiVigne, Iris Kavanagh, Katharine Chestnut, Caroline Hecht, Bernie Mitchell, Rubin Beckner and other TWIC readers discussed last week’s biggest stories.
Willie Gutierrez joins Jamie and Gio on the Flex Uncensored podcast and chats about Premier Workspaces’ strategy to grow through leveraging profit, and how deep transparency and support among his team helps to continuously improve the business and guides them through challenging times.
Iain Miln chats with Matt Giffune on the Fully Occupier podcast about the rise of flex workspaces, and how tech is improving the experience for both operators of both the spaces and the buildings
In this episode of the Coworking Values Podcast, Bernie MItchell and Stephen Phillips discuss launching Neighbours & Nomads, a unique coworking-meets-social space in El Nido, Palawan – a town where power cuts and spotty internet were the norm… until Starlink showed up.
Johanna Voll joins Bernie Mitchell on the Coworking Values Podcast to dig into the latest Global Coworking Survey and why YOU should take the survey today.
James Westbrook, co-owner of Magnolia Woods, joins Jamie Russo on the Everything Coworking podcast to share his journey from corporate sales to running two successful coworking spaces in the Houston suburbs.
Jose Antonio Morales chats with Daniar Amanaliev about building a future city for digital nomads in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on the first episode of the Visionaries series on the Coworking Values Podcast.
John Egan (Lucid Private Offices) and John Herring (Fuse Workspace) join Giovanni Palavicini and Jamie Russo on the Flex Uncensored podcast where they dig into how true hospitality is key to long-term success.
On the Everything Coworking podcast this week Jamie Russo dives into why coworking businesses need to focus on solving a problem customers are aware of, and why their solution need to be grounded in something customers would already be aware of.
In this TEDx Talk, Dr. Tammira Lucas challenges the outdated, high-stress, and often inefficient models of traditional business leadership, and explores motherhood as a superpower.
Lucy Pugh discusses the importance of authenticity in hospitality, keeping your mind in a good place for business, and the voice of your space with Liz Elam on the GCUC Coworking podcast.
Lauren Walker joined Bernie Mitchell to discuss the tactical frameworks shared at Coworking Operators Weekend, the circus metaphor that (best) explains marketing, and why operators need each other.
Liz Elam and Cat Johnson talk about coworking’s return to “co,” the power of community to support and create well-being, the bonkers lineup for GCUC Chicago in April and more on the Coworking Out Loud podcast.
Stormy McBride joins Liz Elam for the 100th episode of the GCUC podcast and discusses her career journey from intern to director of ops, some fav. conference moments, and what you can expect from the organization this year and into the future.
📆 Coworking events.
🚀 Growth strategies for flex spaces #
Mar 15: Zoe Ellis-Moore is hosting a free webinar to share some of her top tips for growth and other insights into the flex work sector.
👉 Read this.
👋 Discuss this newsletter. #
Mar 18: Join other readers on Clubhouse to discuss this week’s newsletter and the trends the links represent.
👉 Read this.
💬 Convo: Attracting perfect-fit members to your space #
March 29: How do you attract perfect-fit office members to your coworking space? Let’s chat about it! Join us for a free, informal, community conversation with fellow workspace operators and coworking pros around the world.
👉 Read this.
✅ Convo: Nailing your coworking tours #
Mar 25: How can you absolutely nail your tours and get visitors to convert to paying clients? Let’s chat about it.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 GCUC North America dates announced. #
May 17-19: GCUC North America returns to Seattle.
👉 Read this.
👋 Belonging happens here #
April 2: Learn about the Belongfulness project and how your space can get involved with fighting the loneliness epidemic.
👉 Read this.
🗞️ PR strategies for your coworking space #
How do you generate PR buzz for your coworking space?
Let’s chat about it.
👉 Read this.
🇪🇺 Coworking Europe ’22 dates announced #
Nov 10-11: Coworking Europe, in person, in Amsterdam.
👉 Read this.
💳 Driving e-commerce revenue with OfficeRnD Growth Hub #
Join us on Thursday, 27th March at 11 AM ET to discover how e-commerce revolutionizes revenue generation across industries and how you can harness that power for your coworking and flex workspace business.
We’ll explore the gap between traditional sales methods and modern online bookings, share actionable insights for implementing e-commerce in your workspace, and demonstrate how OfficeRnD Growth Hub drives conversions through instant bookings, seamless checkouts, and automation.
👉 Read this.
💰 Your Coworking Website = High-Performing Revenue Channel? #
Your website should be your strongest revenue driver — not just a digital brochure. Yet many coworking & flex operators lose bookings due to poor conversion, unclear marketing performance, and missed revenue optimization opportunities.
Join OfficeRnD live on March 26th at 11 AM ET to learn how to create a high-converting website, track exactly which marketing efforts drive bookings, and use Growth Hub to optimize pricing, reduce lost bookings, and maximize revenue.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Unreasonable Connection (ONLINE) #
An hour of genuine conversation. No sales pitches, sponsors, or distractions.
Just coworking operators and community builders connecting openly about the realities, challenges, and joys of coworking.
✨ What to Expect:
Small, intimate groups of 3-4 peers.
Real talk about running coworking spaces and nurturing community.
A welcoming space to share experiences, ideas, and support.
👉 Read this.
🗣️ Denver coworking owner meetup #
March 20: Denver Coworks meetup to discuss 10 small insights that give a bigger picture.
👉 Read this.
🏨 Convo: Hospitality as a service #
March 31: Service normally refers to an intangible product that is offered to members. Hospitality is an interaction and refers to the way you treat your members. How can hospitality and service be bridged to better serve our communities? Let’s chat about it.
👉 Read this.