Week 24, 2025

In a recent LinkedIn post, Phil Kirschner argued that most leaders misunderstand coworking as merely real estate flexibility and cost savings, instead of embracing the concept of "permeable coworking" – originally identified by JLL in 2016 and framed by Serendipity Labs as breaking down walls between "us" and "them" to create innovation opportunities.

He references examples including Michigan Central and Atlassian, emphasizing that leading companies should expand their "surface area of ideas" by leveraging shared workplace concepts to accelerate innovation.

Ophelie Cutier is celebrating 13 years with Australian coworking operator Spacecubed, having started as a community manager and now serving as acting CEO. Under her tenure, Spacecubed has supported thousands of entrepreneurs, launched programs and initiatives supporting small businesses, and expanded its footprint across Australia from its original Perth base. Cutier reflected on the company’s growth from its early days when she handled everything from greeting members and running events to fixing coffee machines, to becoming an organization that has grown far beyond those early walls. She emphasized that leadership doesn’t mean doing everything alone, particularly as a woman leader, but rather showing up with integrity and building spaces where others can grow and succeed.

There’s been a discussion as of late around the need to support and foster career development for those entering the coworking and flexible workspace industries. Those looking to grow a career in the industry need look no further than this example of putting in time, hard work and determination.

Coworks published guidance on creating impact reports to help coworking operators demonstrate value to members, communities, and local economies beyond basic metrics like member counts and events held. The software platform emphasizes that impact reports should showcase tangible outcomes including job placements, business launches, local spending generation, and member collaboration rates, along with community value through nonprofit support and affordable tech access.

These reports can serve multiple purposes including grant renewals, public funding applications, board advocacy, local partnerships, and investor pitches, with their software offering helping operators pull member usage stats, space booking data, revenue breakdowns, and community event metrics.

UK flex space operator Landmark has become the first operator to submit its entire national portfolio for FlexGrade independent quality benchmarking, marking a significant move toward transparency in the UK flexible workspace market.

Two Landmark locations have already achieved Gold ratings: New Cavendish in central London and Wogan House, which reached 100% occupancy within six months of opening. The operator believes the FlexGrade rating system aligns with its client-first approach and provides benchmarks for refurbishments and new buildings as part of its portfolio "premium-ising" strategy.

This post from Tom Wordie shares that one of their clients is looking for 50-60 desks on a fractional basis (ie only 2 days a week) and have a decent budget for this.

The UK was one of the markets that was showing immense early successes with fractional office demand and premiums. We’re continuing to monitor this shift across the UK and in other parts of the world.

Kenny Kane, the CEO of Firmspace, shared his vision for developing an "agentic AI" version of himself that would autonomously handle operations, strategy, and relationship management without micromanagement. In a perfect scenario, AI would proactively identify at-risk members approaching Q3 membership renewals, draft retention plans based on historical data, audit and optimize automation systems, and update standard operating procedures while recommending optimal team training timing.

His general takeaway is that rather than fear AI, he’s focused on the version of AI that reflects the best version of himself and how to build that to make it a reality.

Google listing expert Amy Toman shared that Google Business Profile suspension appeals must be submitted within a strict 60-minute deadline with no extensions or opportunities to add additional evidence after the time expires. She advises business owners to prepare all documentation in advance, including business registration, tax paperwork, lease statements, and photos, with clearly labeled file names for quick identification during the appeal process.

While most businesses receive a second appeal opportunity, some do not, making the initial 60-minute window crucial for reinstatement versus waiting weeks for resolution.

David Weiss shares that ClassPass and WeWork have announced a global partnership allowing ClassPass users to book over 100 WeWork locations worldwide using their ClassPass credits. The partnerships spans cities like New York, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore, and Dublin. The collaboration combines ClassPass’s wellness offerings with WeWork’s premium workspaces.

ClassPass CEO Fritz Lanman noted a 44% increase in reservations over the last 12 months as of May 2025, indicating growing demand for in-person wellness experiences and community connection.

Christy Alexander, the founder of WorkSmart, in Glens Falls, NY shares how coworking spaces serve as a catalyst for local economic revitalization by drawing professionals downtown and boosting business activity.

We absolutely agree that coworking spaces downtown are no longer a nice-to-have, but a necessary part of the puzzle that goes into rebuilding, sustainably revitalizing and reversing the brain drain so many CBDs are facing.