💰 Is Alliance a no-brainer?
Instead of letting Alliance Virtual Offices share how they help operators drive and scale new revenue, we got four operators from across the coworking landscape to share their thoughts
Hear from Jerome Chang, Brian Miles, Kristin Hardwick, and Jeanette Rodriguez about how Alliance has worked for them (and their revenue) since as far back as 2018.
We asked, “Is Alliance a no-brainer?”
▶️ This is what they had to say.
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▶️ 25-ish Minute Weekly Recap
🙏 Coworking Impact
🚀 Local operator launches residency program #
Sheila Burmistrova shares that Narra Collective are rolling out a residency program, giving 10 local startups, businesses, creatives, creators and builders a boost with a 6-week program, free coworking space, and access to a supportive community and support.
"Not everyone gets a head start. Sometimes they just need one room that believes in them."
👉 Read this.
👏 How operators are supporting Dubai’s laid off workers #
Matt Hewitt from OneSpace Dubai shares how a post he made offering free workspace to anyone in Dubai who had recently lost their jobs led to him being overwhelmed with responses.
He’s now calling on other operators and owners to jump in and offer a few desks to support the community… and folks are getting involved.
👉 Read this.
📰 Coworking news & views.
🤔 BIG coworking just opened next door. Now what?! #
As a small or medium sized coworking space operator, a big chain opening nearby can instinctively feel like a threat. Cobot breaks down why it can actually work in your favor, and what to do so the members who don’t fit the chain find your space instead.
👉 Read this.
😵💫 “But what is a managed office anyways?” #
Ralph Dorey (MD at beem, prev. MD, UK at Industrious) breaks through some of the confusion landlords, agents, brokers and end-users have around what "managed offices" actually mean, and why they can range in prices.
An underlying message is ‘tiers’ of service and quality. Another call for even more taxonomy and categorization, given that managed offices could be seen by many (like myself) as a SKU of coworking products._
👉 Read this.
🙌 On the “recalibration” of coworking… #
This growing, industry-wide realization that coworking was never about the space, is music to the ears of those of us who have championed community-focused coworking for a long time.
Cat Johnson shares that it’s also a call to action for all of us to keep going, to dig deeper, and to move courageously into the future of coworking, taking everything we’ve learned from its evolution from a scrappy movement into a global industry.
👉 Read this.
🇨🇿 Are Prague’s workspaces shifting like London’s? #
Adam Zvada of Scott.Weber Workspace argues that Prague’s office market is evolving in the same direction as London. Rising demand, limited new office supply, and hybrid work expectations are pushing companies toward “workspace as a service” models that prioritize flexibility, hospitality, community, and employee experience over traditional leased space.
He argues that the future winners in commercial real estate will be providers that understand why people want to come into the office, not just those offering the most square footage.
👉 Read this.
🏤 Pioneer shares it’s untraditional journey to 4 space #
Audrey Hoyt shares Egan Ward’s interview with her Pioneer Collective co-founder and husband Christopher Hoyt.
Audrey also shares that it’s been a wild ride that started with roughly $50k and a mission to address social isolation among gig workers.
"I don’t know exactly where we are headed but I feel so grateful to have made it to where we are today and to still have the freedom to get to pick out every piece of art and furniture by hand"
👉 Read this.
💭 How building owners think about capital allocation… #
Gosh I love it when folks get geeky with metrics and CRE acronyms. In this post Sam Gamble digs into some of the numbers, formulas and decision-trees office building owners explore when deciding between deploying spec suites, cat a+ buildouts (or partnering with a coworking brand).
Wondering what "Equivalent Monthly Annuity" means? Read on.
👉 Read this.
👎 A leading broker’s frustration with flex reneges #
Gabe Marans (at Savills) voiced his frustration around a situation in which a full-floor renewal was negotiated over weeks, but was reneged for a 10% bump in rates weeks after approving the deal and requesting the paperwork.
"That’s bad faith, plain and simple."
👉 Read this.
⌛ Fractional offices are real, but not the main event #
Damian Cotter at Nexudus shares what a panel (feat. Mark Goldfinger, Hannah Mojica, Michael Everts, and Kane Willmott) in New York revealed about fractional office trends.
Namely they were: Sprint Spaces, Tues-to-Thurs, Daypasses as lead drivers and how fractional offices are already making up 10-20% of the rev stack.
PS. TWIC readers were tipped off about Fractional Offices in our original Undercurrents edition back in June 2024. Want even more early tip-offs and intel? Check out TWIC Intelligence.
👉 Read this.
😅 Did… did we win?! #
CRE & Hotel investor Brian Friedman breaks down the perceptions around WeWork vs Industrious and why "Coworking won. Most of the industry just hasn’t admitted it yet."
Love this take, and how investors (and cap markets) are changing their viewpoint around leveraging well-executed coworking to turn distressed assets into stabilized cash flows.
👉 Read this.
🛝 Dubai rolls out Work from Park initiative #
Omar Al Mheiri shared a Gulf News piece about Dubai’s “Work from Park” initiative that transforms public parks into vibrant spaces where entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote workers can be productive while still enjoying the beauty of nature.
This initiative is part of Dubai Municipality’s plan to make parks versatile urban hubs that not only support today’s work styles but also boost economic productivity and bring communities together.
👉 Read this.
💡 Some quick and easy ideas for European Coworking Day #
Helga Moreno and the Spacebring team share 15 quick (and one not-so-quick) event ideas for coworking spaces to use for next week’s European Coworking Day.
Not participating yet? Join in and host an event (or few) on May 6th to celebrate coworking across the European continent.
👉 Read this.
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💻 Coworking technology.
😖 The one sentence costing coworking millions… #
After hundreds of coworking ops calls, I just couldn’t hold it anymore!
In this quick LinkedIn post I highlight seven of the real ways that using Google Calendars to sync availability is hurting coworking businesses that are looking to systemize, sell, or scale.
Disagree strongly? Feel seen? Drop a comment and join the discussion on the post.
👉 Read this.
📞 New booths can also be booked and paid for centrally #
Tyler Robarge shares that PrivacyPod have just shipped their first SmartPod. These pods book, pay and unlock themselves through existing workspace management systems.
It’s no surprise that we’re seeing more and more deeply integrated tap-to-use systems, allowing billing and members to be centrally managed inside systems like Nexudus, OfficeRnD, Cobot, and Andcards.
👉 Read this.
🦾 Did this co-founder just let their agents out of the bag? #
Nexudus co-founder Adrian Palacios shares a sneak peak at their new multi-modal (ie multi-channel) AI agent capabilities coming to their platform.
The cheeky 1-2 thrown in there? The agents work day 1 across Email, Chat and WhatsApp to support prospects, members, team members and provide general space support.
👉 Read this.
🙊 In 9 seconds, an AI agent deleted this entire database. #
The Independent reports on how Cursor (a popular coding agent) wiped out a firms entire production database, and all backups, in a number of seconds.
The firm’s founder noted that the agent figured that the best way to resolve a routine challenge was "by just deleting the database".
Now, and stick with me, this is the best case scenario when it comes to agents that can write to databases (either directly or through secondary data flows). Why? Because at least they knew something went wrong. What if the the agent decided to do something less obvious to fix issues over time? Like reformatting the data, updating arbitrary values, or renaming every customer at random – how long would it take teams to recognize and fix that issue?!
👉 Read this.
👀 Inside the PilotoMail x Yardi Kube integration #
Sofia Stolberg shares a quick interview with Michael Everts on the integration between PilotoMail and Yardi Kube and what it means for operators.
👉 Read this.
📈 Coworking data.
🇺🇸 U.S. coworking grows 3% QoQ #
CoworkingCafe’s Q1 2026 report found the U.S. coworking market grew to 9,136 spaces nationwide, up 3.2% quarter-over-quarter, with Los Angeles (351), Dallas-Fort Worth (337), and Chicago (336) leading by location count.
The report also highlighted continued fragmentation beyond major brands like Regus, HQ, Industrious, Spaces, and WeWork, which together control just 23% of the national market.
National square footage stood at 163.94M sqft, up 2.9% compared to Q4 2025. For those tracking it, this still represents just 2.28% of the total US office space… with loads of space to grow into.
👉 Read this.
🌍 UK & Ireland race past 4,500 coworking hubs #
The UK and Ireland are home to 4,550 coworking spaces as of Q1 2026 according to CoworkingCafe’s latest State of the Coworking Industry Report, based on proprietary data from April 2026.
The UK accounts for 4,270 coworking spaces, with England hosting the majority (3,729), followed by Scotland (311), Wales (131) and Northern Ireland (99). Greater London is the coworking epicenter (1,209), representing nearly 30% of the UK’s total supply. Beyond the capital, Manchester (123) leads as the UK’s strongest regional hub, followed by Glasgow (72). Birmingham (68), Bristol and Leeds (64 each), and Edinburgh (62) also rank among the top markets. Cardiff (43) and Belfast (45) anchor their respective nations.
The national median monthly membership stands at £180, but prices vary sharply by market, from £244 in Oxford to £139 in Liverpool and Aberdeen. Day passes have a median price of £25 nationally, rising to £30 in London, Oxford, and Belfast and £33 in Edinburgh, while Aberdeen (£18) is the most affordable major hub. VO subscriptions cost £115 per month, peaking in Liverpool (£175) and dropping to £35 in Bristol and Cardiff. Meeting rooms have a median price of £30 per hour nationwide, with London topping the list at £52, compared to £16 in Nottingham.
Ireland contributes 280 coworking spaces, with Dublin hosting 128, nearly half of the national total. National median pricing stands at €205/month for memberships, €25/day for day passes, €79/month for virtual offices and €40/hour for meeting rooms, with Dublin commanding higher rates across most services.
👉 Read this.
📊 Is the 9am space race a trap?! #
Most coworking spaces are fighting the same battle at the same time… chasing demand in the first few hours of the day says Jane Robathan at Nexudus.
The latest Flexspace Observatory data shows just how concentrated that competition has become, and why it’s starting to work against operators. The real opportunity isn’t in winning the 9 AM rush. It’s in building for the parts of the day, and the "other" types of demand that most spaces still ignore.
👉 Read this.
🤝 Coworking market moves.
🇻🇳 Flexi adds another Hive in Thu Duc City #
The Flexi Group partnered with Megafarm JSC to take over and rebrand the former MicroSpace site in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as the Hive Rivermark.
Opening May 1, 2026, the 800 sqm workspace in Thu Duc City will accommodate 230+ members and become the Hive’s fourth location in Vietnam.
👉 Read this.
🇨🇭 Westhive closes additional funding round #
Westhive announced the closure of a new growth-focused fundraising round.
The round is led by DRG Investment AG, the venture arm of an entrepreneurial family that is partnering with exceptional operators across sectors shaping the real economy. No amounts or valuations were shared, but the firm did share that annual revenues were "well above CHF 20 million" (~US$ 25.3M).
👉 Read this.
🇵🇹 Sitio expands, and nichifies, with 14th location #
Coworking Europe shares that Sitio is opening its 14th location in Évora, marking its first site in Portugal’s Alentejo region.
The expansion reflects growing flexible workspace demand beyond Lisbon and Porto, while Miguel Ricardo says the operator is also building sector-focused hubs around AI, health, urban tech, Web3 and gaming.
👉 Read this.
🇫🇷 Newton adds 5k sqm in Paris region #
Coworking Europe shares news that French operator Newton Offices have expanded into Paris, adding 5000 sqm in Clichy.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
Sofia Stolberg and Stephanie Schrage share what they learned in the most recent Freedom from Sq Ft meetup where they explored 5 key elements of VO offerings, experience plays and self-service VO options.
In this episode of Brave Ideas Caleb Parker is joined by Alexandra Livesey Fractional MD at Mantle Space Ltd and CEO of Little Red Donkey, with Eyal Lasker, CEO of Flexspace AI, joining as co-host for a conversation around why occupancy can be one of the most misleading metrics in flex and why pricing quality and margin matter more than vanity utilisation targets.
Most conversations about AI in coworking are either evangelical or dismissive, but Carlos Almansa Ballesteros, co-founder of Nexudus and author of the Coworkings AI newsletter, tells Bernie Mitchell why he isn’t interested in either.
Mike Kriel shares a hot take on why "it’s OK" for coworking (or flex) to not be a landlord’s first, or second, option.