Week 21, 2022

Christoph Fahle shares an interesting thought experiment inspired by/with Brian Chesky, in which future workspaces will be rated by the experience they offer.

Likening these ratings to a hotel-like star system, what would the be the ideal/desired experience for each star rating? Starting from 1-star rating offering just the basics, the open-ended post asks you what a 10-star workspace would look and feel like.

It’s an interesting way to think about the future of flex, and sits pretty close to how Jason from CoWorks described his vision of hotel-like workspace networks last week.

Phil Kirschner summarizes a chat he had with Wybo Wijnbergen about the challenge of hiring enough community operators, highlighting that there’s a huge opportunity for flex workspaces to recruit experienced hospitality professionals on the benefit of not having to work nights or weekends.

I like it. Rewarding positions + happy hospitality managers = thriving communities?

Hopi Stradling shares that Industrious are seeing a five-fold increase in the number of HR teams attending leasing tours since 2020 (and a 10x increase over the last 6 months).

As these conversation shift from sqft to experience and from features to benefits, I’d be interested to see/hear if this shift is happening across the flex workspace market, and how it’s changing the sales and onboarding processes.

Carolin Bakowski shares how in modern open work environments, acoustic sensory overload can be a hindrance to productivity, satisfaction, and wellbeing. Employers and employees increasingly recognizing the value of good acoustics in their company premises and expect this.

This interesting piece looks into what noises qualify as distractors, our bodies’ biological responses, the impacts of noise-pollution and the commercial consequences of a lack of acoustic environments. As operators of multi-tenancy workspaces, acoustics should be something you keep an eye, and ear, on as capacity fills back up.

Veery, co-founded by Johnny Yeh and Vickey Li (both previously at coworking brand OnePiece Work), has developed an innovative approach to office management by "fractionalizing" the role for companies with 5-25 employees. The company focuses on transforming affordable Class B buildings into premium Class A experiences by providing comprehensive office management services to the tenants, at approximately 25% of the cost of a full-time on-staff manager.

Veery’s process involves understanding each client’s culture and needs through an intensive month-long onboarding process, creating spaces that reflect company values and making offices truly "commute-worthy." The startup has built strategic partnerships with venture capital firms and property managers, positioning itself as a solution for the post-pandemic workplace where companies need quality office experiences but can’t justify full-time management staff.

We’re seeing new services like Veery, Codi and Tandem fill in various voids within the CRE market for small businesses that are looking for dedicated space of their own, but with the amenities or flexible terms of coworking. Industy leaders have been exploring spinning out coworking-perfected solutions to provide enterprise-level type services without the enterprise-sized price tag.

A fairly hidden iPhone, iPad and Mac setting (only available when in a call) can automatically remove background noise from your end of the call.

This is a perfect pro tip to help your team and members sound even better when making calls from within your space. Now to find the setting to make everyone remember to make sales calls from the phone booth and not from the middle of the open plan space.

Josh Dane of Runway East delivered a passionate appeal at the recent Flexible Space Association Conference, urging coworking companies to consider hiring teachers seeking career changes.

Drawing from his own challenging transition from education to the flexible workspace industry, Dane highlights how the valuable skills teachers possess—exceptional time management, attention to detail, emotional intelligence, clear communication, and "customer service" experience with parents—make them ideal candidates for various roles. Despite applying to 70 companies during his career change with fewer than 10 even responding, Dane eventually found success at Runway East when their CEO, Natasha Guerra, took a chance on his "rogue" application.

Now thriving as Business Operations Manager, he advocates that "there are no junior, and very few mid-level, roles that a teacher couldn’t do," encouraging hiring managers to see beyond traditional experience and recognize the transferable skills educators bring to the workspace sector.

At the Flexible Space Association conference, Yardi‘s Justin Harley sparked industry debate by suggesting flex workspace operators should "disintermediate the brokers" to improve profit margins, noting that only 46% of flex operators are currently profitable according to Deskmag research. Harley proposed creating a Rightmove-style platform for the flex market, though he acknowledged such development could take up to 10 years.

However, Workthere‘s Tom Leahy countered that intermediaries democratize market access and level the playing field for operators of all sizes through their knowledge and efficient user experience.

The debate reflects growing tension in an industry where nearly 20% of operators aren’t profitable and another 36% barely break even, raising questions about whether direct-to-consumer models are inevitable or if brokers remain essential in the fragmented ecosystem.

Graham Clarke, CEO of Baseworx, shared a very thoughtful and insightful take on the importance of offering a trial day to prospective customers.

In today’s experience economy, allowing your space to speak for itself through direct interaction honors the human and tangible aspects that cannot be conveyed through websites or listings. The key to success lies in implementing seamless systems—from booking to check-in to follow-up—that prioritize a pressure-free, natural experience without aggressive sales tactics, ultimately letting the workspace’s genuine qualities drive conversion.

Cat Johnson shares 5 keys takeaways in her giant recap of last week’s GCUC in Seattle.

From how there’s so much room for coworking growth, to a coffee-chain analogy, to when fabulous alone isn’t enough, into radical differentiation and the service mindset – Cat takes us through some big ideas you should keep in mind. There’s also some bonus quotes from other conference attendees.

Antonette Benting from Workshop17 raises a fantastic point about hybrid work policies and strategies in places like South Africa, where great/any work-near-home solutions often times do not exist in rural areas or townships.

To quote them "only once the spatial and digital divide has been considered, can one say that all staff needs are being attended to". Yes, Antonette. Yes!

Euronews reports that cafes across the continent are fed up with "space-hogging digital nomads", noting that while some have outright banned laptops or disabled WiFi – others have shifted to charging hourly rates for using laptops.

We’ve known, since the very begging, that one of the biggest competitors of coworking spaces was coffee shops – where for the price of 1 coffee, people could work and lounge almost all day. Well shop owners are done.

In some ways this opens up an opportunity for local coworking spaces (or fast moving booking platforms) to strike partnerships to redirect those laptop-wielding patrons. In others, the fact that spaces are charging (far less than day pass rates) for use of the space and WiFi could make selling coworking a little harder.

Adam Goldstein’s SWAY gets featured in this piece as they shift from a ‘traditional’ coworking space to support companies needing space to gather, hosting social events and other celebrations.

On the heels of the news of expanding their network, The Malin knock it out of the park with a "Neighborhood Icon" campaign to promote the first of their new locations in a creative way… by recording and sharing thoroughly enjoyable videos featuring small business icons from around their neighborhoods.

The FT highlights how Stevenage in the UK is reimagining their town center.

One of the firms supporting the shift away from retail to creating jobs and homes is Co-Space (led by William Stokes) who now occupies a recently closed retail space off the town’s main square.

Melissa Myers poses a question to other workspace leaders about what spaces surprised them, but what caught my attention was the attached quote and subtitle.

"The desk is where work gets documented. The spaces in between are where it gets done. Amenity space isn’t a reward for showing up. It’s the infrastructure that makes your best work possible."

Deskie shared a free guide Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for coworking spaces around maintaining a clean, hygienic and welcoming environment.

Are you creating SOPs for all your repetitive tasks and processes? You probably should be.

Darin Andersen from The San Diego CoWorking Alliance (SDCA) announced two major initiatives following their recent meeting: CoWorking Week (August 9-16), which will open member spaces to the local business community, and the AI Reinvention Initiative that will transform coworking spaces into educational hubs for workforce development.

Operating since 2011, the SDCA brings together workspace leaders dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation through collaborative environments. Eight member spaces Ansir Cowork, Aquillius Innovation Hub, CoWork + Connect, Firestation Innovation Cowork, Ivy Street Cowork, NEST CoWork, Downtown Works, and Hera Hub, will participate in these initiatives designed to showcase the value of shared workspaces and advance technological skills throughout San Diego.

Loren Bartley shares a lovely short flashback video about how Business Addicts coworking space came together.

I love this kind of content, and it resonates well for community-focussed spaces. If you’re building a new space, or expanding, or refurnishing, or just running a superb space, capture video that captures your story and culture – and think about resharing them often.

FlexWorld Series 2025 delivered key insights across sessions focused on shaping flexible workspace strategy amidst economic volatility and technological advancement. Industry leaders emphasized focusing on core offerings during turbulent times, with OfficeRnD‘s CEO Miro Miroslavov highlighting how coworking emerged stronger from the 2008 financial crisis.

Benchmarking emerged as a crucial tool, with the introduction of FlexIndex tracking key performance metrics across 3,000+ spaces globally and the Workspace Intelligence Network pooling data from 250+ UK locations to establish industry standards.

Another session explored AI and smart technology integration, featuring panelists who demonstrated how predictive occupancy models, dynamic pricing, and IoT-driven systems are transforming operations. Executives urged operators to adopt an experimental mindset toward AI implementation while ensuring solutions integrate properly with existing systems rather than implementing shallow chatbot solutions.

Barry Greenfield shares why Manzo Freeman Development partnered up with LocalWorks to run their flex space in Lawrence Massachusetts.

In short? The goal was to support and nurture local business, hoping they’ll graduate to larger spaces in the rest of the building. Great to see more landlords partnering up to nurture their local communities.

With the blurring between coworking and members club in recent newsletters, a few folks sent me this link regarding a members club/lounge for Pickleboard players.

Whilst I’m not sure how much work can be done here, if business can be done on golfcourses, maybe it’s a good meeting spot?! Also, I know that a few spaces are exploring adding pickleball courts as an amenity.

Note: Just learned this week that pickleball and paddle board are not the same thing. 🤦‍♂️

Oliver Easton-Hughes from Koho explores how if you ask 3 people for their definition of "occupancy" in our industry, you’ll probably get 4 different answers.

"Is it contracted desks over total? Physical presence over capacity? Revenue-weighted? Does a hot desk count? And some of that disagreement is worth keeping….The mistake isn’t the definition varying between companies. It’s letting it vary inside one."

Amanda Hoover penned a piece in WIRED about how hyperlocal coworking spaces are cropping up in disused churches, schools and motorcycle garages to offer remote workers a place nearby to work from.

It explores how Michael Hartofilis bought and refitted a formed church that was set to be leveled into Main Space. It features commentary from Jonathan Wasserstrum (from Unwritten Capital who invested in Switchyards) that "coworking is a great product". It looks at Work Heights expansion to 7 hubs in Brooklyn, and how even WeWork had repurposed old buildings, a historic theatre and at some point a century-old ballroom.

Vanessa Sans shares how there may be an inevitable merger between coliving and coworking.

"As remote working is becoming the norm, the concepts of coliving and coworking are merging, resulting in the hybridisation of both to meet the new needs of today’s society."

The Trampery, a mission-driven workspace provider dedicated to making business a positive force in society, marked significant growth in 2024 with the addition of two locations, Wood Green in Haringey and Peckham Levels —a 95k sqft workspace transformed from a multi-storey car park into a thriving hub for arts, enterprise, and community action in Southwark.

Founded in 2009 as London’s first Tech City startup workspace, the organization now hosts over 700 members across its six London locations, with more than 50% being purpose-led businesses including social enterprises and charities. Beyond providing physical space, The Trampery runs learning initiatives like Evo Fashion and Evo Pioneers while maintaining community space programs in Tottenham that connect with local businesses. Their B Corp certification and Good Business Charter accreditation (maintained for over three years) demonstrate their commitment to social and environmental standards, with a pledge that by 2027, 75% of their members, partners, and suppliers will be purpose-led organizations.

The Trampery’s impact extends beyond workspace provision, having helped launch successful companies including Etsy, Citymapper, and Oatly, while reinvesting revenues into providing free training and discounted workspace for underrepresented groups.