Week 23, 2022

Unfortunately this is a paywalled piece, but in it writer Kwame Anthony Appiah dives into the ethics of writing about a tragedy they witnessed. So why is this in TWIC? Well, the tragedy in this case, was the brutal murder of the office manager at a coworking space who was trying to evict a member who’d been living in their private office.

Please look after yourselves, your team and take as many precautions and deescalation steps as possible when dealing with tough situations. Especially if times are going to get tougher for a lot of folks.

SHB share a glimpse into 4 flex workspaces’ gym setups. Onsite gyms aren’t extremely popular, but with the shift to hybrid strategies, it’s understandable that more and more members could factor such amenities into their workspace decisions.

Alex Latham from The Ministry notes that their gym was definitely not an afterthought. Other providers features are Ocubis, The Office Group (TOG) and LABS.

David Pilling digs into coworking has found a good fit in African cities for the FT, citing shorter leases, bundled utilities/amenities, and being able to support pan-African teams as drivers for the increasing adoption.

Notable mentions since coworking proliferated the continent in 2010 include AfricaWorks (in 9 cities with an aim to reach 100 offices in 25 locations in 4 years), Cape Town Office (founded in 2011), 7AY Co-working (Rabat, Morocco), Nairobi Garage (4 locations in the Kenyan capital).

Interestingly, AfricaWorks are also rolling out a “One Africa Pass” for businesses looking for coworking access across the continent.

Thousands of employees are taking part in a trial that is paying them 100% of their wages for 80% of the usual work hours.

The experiment has been organised by a group campaigning for a shorter working week, but for no loss in wages. Academics from Oxford and Cambridge universities, as well experts at Boston College in the US, will manage the experiment in partnership with the think tank Autonomy.

Tony Lystra shares the story of how Peter Chee and the Thinkspace team watched their competitors disappear around them at the height of the pandemic, how they survived, and are now sitting with both locations at 100% and 92% occupancy. The piece also looks into how Don Morrison and the TractionSpace team offered huge discounts during lockdowns, but now nearly all their spaces are full or workers, and considering expansions. Robin Cardoso from WeWork also notes that “There has never been a stronger moment for flex office space”.

Agreed. And excited to see how these (and your) brands continue on this trajectory.

TheRealDeal shares a candid conversation with Rob Speyer, CEO at Tishman Speyer, which manages a 90M sqft property portfolio.

It’s a fascinating look into the fifth-generation family firm, how they diversified their porfolio, have invested in (or SPACed) proptech co’s over the last 5 years, and how their own coworking brand (Studio) unlocked a 265k sqft lease with HSBC.

Jamie Hodari shares how a $30 digital typewriter helps him focus without distractions when writing memos or anything that requires deep thinking.

Incase you’re wondering, this newsletter is definitely not curated on such a device. But are you finding ways for you to focus on your writing and deep work amongst the distractions of your devices, members and.. everything else?

Sam Bender from Cobot shares a summary of takeaways from the German Coworking Federation’s (returning) annual conference.

They touched on the beautiful venue and barcamp sessions on coworking platforms (and API connections), coworkations and tech & tools. Other sessions included explaining coworking to those unfamiliar with the movement, and brining community back after lockdowns.

Menno Lammers shares an interesting invention of modular building bricks made from cork. The eco-friendly, sturdy, heat-resistant, and soundproof blocks can be assembled and disassembled easily, without the need for tools, screws, or glue.

Given how many operators are offering modular spaces, could Corkbrick be a new option worth exploring?

andcards shares how operators are able to cut transaction costs by accepting direct debits (or automated bank transfers). The topic of how best to charge direct customers on a recurring basis has come up in multiple calls, including the community-led discussions of these newsletters over on Clubhouse.

Those 2-3 percentage points on transactions add up, and offering secure payment processing for bank-to-bank transfers (direct debit in the UK, ACH in the US, etc) nets operators higher yields per seat, office, membership or floor. Have you explored alternatives for recurring billing/payments?

Matthias Zeitler shares insights from building coworking spaces, ecosystems, and Bankso Nomad Fest within Bulgaria.

Melissa Román Burch introduces M-CORE, the Manhattan Commercial Revitalization tax incentive program announced by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The program, limited to 10M sqft, aims to catalyze investment to modernize aging office buildings, decrease vacancy, and attract world-class tenants.

M-CORE applications open June 8th. Excited to see where coworking and flex operators and products can fit into these plans.

An undercurrent trend I’ve been watching from back in Week 3, 2022 seems to be making a strong comeback as apartment developers explore adding coworking into their placemaking strategies.

Interesting to see firms like Lisa Management using coworking “to keep tenants in the buildings as long as possible”.

Suzannah Cavanaugh shares in TheRealDeal that banks “that long delayed writing down distressed property debt, favoring an extend-and-pretend approach in the hopes of a turnaround by the struggling asset, are abandoning that strategy, preferring to rip off the Band-Aid instead.”

Keep an eye on the changes behind who owns buildings, or at least the debt tied to them.

Ian Minor asked if folks prefer day passes or memberships for accessing (and possibly offering/running) workspaces. An interesting array of answers followed.