Did you hear that Coworking Resources is hosting a free webinar on building both culture and revenue at the same time?
It’s true, and as it’s Kisi-powered, we hope you don’t mind us interrupting this week’s newsletter to personally invite you to join us.
Join David, Anne, James, and us (Bernie and Daniela), as we dig into insights around growing and optimizing both within coworking spaces.
Get future weekly summaries in your inbox.
✊ Coworking impact.
👏 Firm awards hundreds of coworking scholarships #
Christy Burns shares that COhatch has now provided over 400 scholarships to non-profits, driving millions of dollars of value through free coworking membership for their local impact-focussed organizations.
The link provides more data noting that the network has awarded 588 nonprofit scholarships, 361 startup scholarships and 60 community partner scholarships totaling $3.4M in value.
👉 Read this.
📰 Coworking news & views.
🏦 4th largest US retail bank provides coworking operator loan #
Charlie Morris shares how NYC coworking firm Jay Suites is shifting from operator to owner-operator, having secured a $19M loan from Citibank, to buy 8 West 38th Street for $35M.
Why this matters? A lot of operators are exploring (or dreaming about) buying the buildings they operate within. This loan does set some precedent for equity and capital market funding for coworking and related businesses.
👉 Read this.
😱 Have we shifted too far from spaces where serendipity thrives? #
David Walker from CoworkingConsulting.com shares an interesting look at how coworking has, as the industry has evolved, shifted from creating spaces where people connect to a highly commoditized business model – and if it’s too late to shift back (a little) to be able to grow both revenue per square foot AND the rate of serendipitous connections.
👉 Read this.
🖐️ 5 things other spaces are doing better than us #
Evan Preslopsky from Venture X Charlotte shares 5 things he found that other coworking spaces were doing better than they are.
What were they? Increasing meeting room revenue, implementing dynamic pricing, asking for reviews, optimizing SEO and hosting gatherings. I loooove operators sharing when they’re inspired by other operators. Thanks for sharing Evan!
👉 Read this.
🧗♀️ Is bouldering the newest UK coworking amenity? #
Jonny Rosenblatt shares coverage in the Daily Express about one of Spacemade‘s tools for creating meaningful connections in a workspaces… a climbing (or bouldering) wall.
Warning the link shared has a lot of ads (like… a looot) but the following quote highlights a paradigm shift from just socializing to wellness: ""The days of going to the pub at lunchtime have gone – the new generation of workers doesn’t have that same drinking culture. It’s at loggerheads with the idea of good health, wellness and fitness." Wells aid Jonny!
👉 Read this.
📺 Australian coworking brand taps into TV ads #
When was the last time you saw a coworking advert, on an actual TV channel? Hannah McNulty shares WOTSO‘s first ever TV ad (that she also stars in). I’m all for coworking being promoted on local and national TV.
👉 Read this.
🎨 Approaching brand differentiation as a strategic intent #
Keke Patissier from Koho discusses the importance of brand differentiation as a strategic necessity to stand out, reduce churn, and ensure long-term success in a competitive market – particularly as the market becomes more commoditized over time.
👉 Read this.
☕️ A look into “work cafes” #
Helga Moreno at Spacebring dives into work cafes, a blend of traditional coffee shops and coworking spaces, their profitability and business models to think about.
👉 Read this.
🤖 How to build a coworking lead-generation machine #
Oliver Easton-Hughes from Koho walks through some of the foundations you’ll want to have in place if you’d like to reduce your reliance on broker leads for your flex workspace business.
👉 Read this.
🤔 Do tech cos think coworking is too commoditized? #
Daniela Mallarino from Kisi was also wondering if coworking has become too commoditized, with both landlords and operators looking to monetize space more efficiently. For a different set of opinions, she asked some of the platforms in the space for their thoughts.
Alberto Di Risio (Archie) shared thoughts about the impact on member retention, Helga Moreno (Spacebring) looked at challenges of differentiation, and Kelly Karn (Optix) dug into how spaces who do more than standard desks are succeeding.
👉 Read this.
📆 3rd European Coworking Day announced #
Consider this a save the date for the next European Coworking Day celebration on for Wednesday 14 May 2025.
ICYMI: The distributed event continues to grow in popularity, aiming to have 250 participating coworking spaces this year, in 25 countries across the European continent.
👉 Read this.
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💻 Coworking technology.
🇯🇵 Corp booking app soft launches in Japan #
Deskimo expands with a soft-launch of their corporate-focussed coworking booking app into the Japanese market, their 6th.
👉 Read this.
💡 Software co forms partnership with 110 space network #
Cobot and Impact Hub Network have signed a partnership deal to make it easier (and cheaper) for 110 Impact Hubs to use their software.
I’m hearing more and more about software cos brokering network-wide or franchise-wide deals like these. Definitely a trend to watch.
👉 Read this.
👋 Operator’s accelerator intros cohort, including a booking platform #
As you may, or may not, already know Workbox runs an accelerator that backs future of work startups. They just announced their summer 2024 class which includes Soundspace niche booking platform for shared spaces focussed mostly on artists/creators/podcasters, alongside tools for employees, financial advisors and HR professionals.
I think this is an interesting investment, given that I (still) believe there is still so much opportunity in introducing and fascilitating coworking, and other shared spaces, to specific niches.
👉 Read this.
📑 How to plan for AI implementations #
Syncaroo shares some insights and tips for coworking spaces who are exploring bringing in various AI tools into their businesses. In summary, it runs over the importance of integrations, live data, keeping in mind what systems can access which information, and thinking ahead to an AI-augmented tech stack.
👉 Read this.
🤖 How a social club is automating their workspace business #
How KWENCH is automating member communication, invoice follow-ups, task management, and more in their coworking space using an integrated tech stack and Optix Automations.
I love how the brand set up 30+ automations, and reduced their teams workload by over 5000 actions in just 60 days. Task automation (and data-synchronization) is going to define the new kings and queens of community-focussed spaces. Calling it.
👉 Read this.
📈 Coworking data.
✅ Cushman highlights flex as a component of workspace strategies #
A piece by Cushman & Wakefield looks at how various recent coworking data sets correlate to their recent survey with CoreNet of of office occupiers. In it they highlight three main shifts: 1. there are more and more coworking spaces, taking less space on shorter terms. 2. Companies continue to leverage flex spaces to congregate distributed employees. And 3. global firms believe that by 2029 20% of their employees will be in coworking spaces.
👉 Read this.
🤝 Coworking market moves.
🇬🇧 Wizu opens 7th Leeds location #
Wizu Workspace opens their 7th location in Leeds, at One Embankment offering offices for 4-100 desks.
👉 Read this.
🇮🇳 OYO raises series G down round #
Various outlets are reporting that the parent company of OYO (the hospitality & short-term rental platform in in India) has closed their series G round which brought the firm’s valuation down 75% from $10B to just $2.4B. The firm shelved plans for a local IPO in 2021.
Why is this coworking news? Bear with me… So OYO has a coworking sub-brand called OYO Workspaces, which in turn has two products or brands namely "Workflo by OYO" and "Innov8" (which was Y Combinator backed and that OYO acquired for around $31.84M in cash). So, if they’re taking a down round, could we see Workspaces being sold off soon?
👉 Read this.
🇦🇺 Australian network with onsite childcare preps for growth #
Business News Australia covers BubbaDesk‘s story from Lauren Perrett’s idea (read: frustration) of sharing workspaces ‘and a few nannies’ with other working mums, to launching a coworking space in 2022 on the Central Coast, to growing to 4 locations, securing Canva as a coworking-with-childcare employee-perk partner, to preparing to expand to seven locations.
Yes. I know that was a looong sentence. But I’m also really excited about seeing coworking + childcare concepts hitting their strides!
👉 Read this.
🎤 UK music coworking brands partner up #
H.O.M.E (the recently launched coworking space for independent music entrepreneurs and companies) shared that they’ve formed partnerships with creator collective and workspace provider The Halley and industry body Music Technology UK.
The reciprocal deal provides members of all three with discounted access to each others workspaces, studio time and networking opportunities.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Flexible workspace operator secures second Soho site #
Runway East signed their 11th site in the landmark 58 Wardour Street in a 10 year partnership deal with Soho Estates. The 7k sqft site have managed offices for teams between 20-100 people and is scheduled to open in November 2024.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 The City gets a new boutique workspace at Frederick’s Place #
Danielle Jones shared some snaps of The Boutique Workplace Company‘s new offering, their first in the City of London. The space, set to open in October, will offer private suites for 2-50 people.
Previously this location used to be the home of Bathtub to Boardroom (a non-profit coworking space) and Escape the City .
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
Emily Breder hosts Gavin Neate who shares his fascinating journey from Royal Air Force police dog handler to a disability advocate and entrepreneur, and how simple yet powerful ideas can significantly improve the lives of many.
Jamie Russo digs into on-demand offerings, pricing, user demands and mindset shifts on the Everything Coworking podcast.
