👋 Guess who’s back!
At Archie, we’ve been hard at work digging into product research, and realized that switching to new coworking software doesn’t only take some effort—it often comes with those dreaded setup fees, too…
If you’ve been thinking about making the switch but are worried about the cost, we’ve teamed up with TWIC to bring you an exclusive offer: a 10% discount plus $1,200 worth of free migration support for Patron Brands.
Not ready to switch just yet? Lock in this offer by the end of 2024, and we’ll guarantee it for you throughout 2025.
👉 Check it out.
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✊ Coworking impact.
💔 What wouldn’t you do? #
Helga Moreno is no stranger to being mentioned in TWIC summaries, but this time it’s not about the insights, resources, or events she’s put together for coworking leaders.
This time, Helga and her son, need our help.
Thom Wernke shares more about the situation, and why by doing everything she can to save her son’s life, she is need of assistance. Whether it’s supporting the crowdfunding campaign, recommending great international lawyers, or sharing this with you network – I know Helga and Vlad would appreciate it.
👉 Read this.
🆓 6-month free membership for local entrepreneurs #
Maggie Terhune shares that Spark Coworking in Baltimore is celebrating Small Business Saturday by giving away a six-month workspace membership to a deserving entrepreneur or small business owner.
The initiative, now in its fourth year, invites applications and nominations until 11:59 p.m. on November 30, 2024, with the winner announced in early December. The selected recipient will begin their membership in January 2025.
👉 Read this.
📰 Coworking news & views.
🎰 13,500 employees get corp-covered coworking access #
One of the biggest stories in our industry this week was the public acknowledgement from Allstate that it is doubling down on hybrid work. A quarter of the firm’s 54,000 employees who are based in cities like Atlanta, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Columbus, Ohio – where there are between 100 and 1000 team members will get coworking access to gathering and working spaces via LiquidSpace.
For some background: Allstate has stated that "there’s no going back", slashing their annual spending on corporate offices from $382M in 2020 to $138M, reducing their office footprint from 12M sqft to 4M (numbers exclude their 7.1k local storefronts which are owned by individual agents).
👉 Read this.
📖 Hot take: Is “coworking” holding back necessary collaborations? #
Mike LaRosa shares a contrarian observation from the Coworking Europe conference. It appears that flexible workspace operators are further distancing themselves from using ‘coworking’ as a description for what they do, while more independent coworking operators are also stepping away from attending the conference due to the number of multi-location operators in attendance.
Mike’s take? Now more than ever, operators of all types of shared workspaces should be gathering, connecting and collaborating, rather than continuing to drive division due to what is or is not "coworking". Yes Mike!
👉 Read this.
🔥 Google Ads keywords that burn budgets for coworking spaces #
Spacefully published a blog with analysis that reveals that common Google Ads keywords like "coworking space" and "rent office space" often attract irrelevant search results, such as garage rentals or unrelated services. This misalignment can lead to inefficient ad spending and reduced return on investment for coworking operators. To avoid this, check out the post for strategies on how best to refine your keyword strategies.
👉 Read this.
⏳ The time paradox: how busyness hinders progress #
In "The Time Paradox: When Being Busy Keeps You Stuck," Keke Patissier from Koho explores how constant busyness can impede personal and professional growth. The article discusses the illusion of productivity that busyness creates, often leading individuals to neglect strategic planning and self-reflection. Patissier emphasizes the importance of prioritizing tasks that align with long-term goals over merely staying occupied. The piece offers practical strategies to break free from the cycle of busyness, encouraging readers to focus on meaningful activities that drive progress.
👉 Read this.
🧾 How to address the “but coffee shops are cheaper” objections. #
With numbers. Obviously. Colleen from Coco shares exactly what an average day working from a coffee shop or restaurant in downtown Minneapolis would cost (in both cash and focus).
Content like this, in your marketing and in your community managers’ SOPs, makes handling objections a breeze.
👉 Read this.
☕️ Another reminder about your opportunity with laptop-free cafes #
Hector Kolonas was recently in a coffee shop in Manhattan that had 13 "laptop + tablet free café" signs, and not one "try coworking instead" prompts, cards, free trials and discount card to be seen.
This is such an opportunity for any of the 5 brands with locations within walking distance from this spot. Are there any spots around your space that would happily send ‘desk campers’ to your business? If so, what deal can you cut that helps them help you?
👉 Read this.
🪦 Is “Space as a Service” dead? #
Jeremy Bamberg asks if the "space as a service" term that was popularized by CRE thought-leaders a little while ago has (finally?) fallen out of favor?
What Jeremy thinks is the replacement term? "Operational Real Estate". Thoughts!?
👉 Read this.
🚃 Will new tolls re-draw the NYC coworking landscape? #
The BBC reports that NYC is set to become the first cit in the US to implement a London-like congestion charge. The day-time toll for cars will be $9 in Manhattan below 60th Street, and will begin being enforced on January 5th 2025.
Should this be implemented, and stay in force, it could change where people are willing to drive, park and work around the city – in turn changing where great coworking spaces should exist or be created. We’re expecting to see even more spaces pop up around the perimeter of the congestion zone, with recent moves from local Industrious, WeWork and regional newcomers like The Shop.
👉 Read this.
💰 Landlord-flex brand doubles members’ referral bonus #
Spacemade has announced double referral bonuses through the end of the year. The referral is paid out via either a gift card vendor or as a credit on the referring members’ own rent bill.
Spacemade founder Johnny Rosenblatt joined Hector for an insightful discussion on the TWIC podcast this week. Tune in to hear more about what makes Spacemade… well… Spacemade, and their unique approach to management agreements.
👉 Read this.
☠️ Is coworking dead? Some say so… #
Digital nomad expert Goncalo Hall argues that traditional coworking spaces have shifted toward "co-offices," prioritizing profitability over the original coworking mission of idea-sharing and community-building. He suggests this transformation may mark the end of desk-rental coworking but believes the shift could ultimately better serve the needs of remote workers and communities.
A lot of chatter this week about what is or is not coworking and whether people care about what you call shared workspace. What say you? Let us know – tag us in your comments on social or the TWIC podcast!
👉 Read this.
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💻 Coworking technology.
💳 10x in 30-day membership sales online via ecommerce #
Eyal Lasker at Flexspace AI shared that from January to October this year, they saw a 10X increase in 30-day memberships purchased entirely online through their e-commerce platform.
The "need to see it in person" mindset is shifting as more businesses are confident in choosing their workspaces online. Coworking spaces without direct e-commerce capabilities may evidently be leaving money on the table.
👉 Read this.
🎟️ Are you using coupons and promo codes? #
Helga Moreno and the team at Spacebring share an interesting resource for any operator exploring using coupons or promo codes to attract and retain coworking space members.
With Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the holidays just around the corner, is discounting a part of your end-of-year plans? If not, why not?
👉 Read this.
🤖 Understanding the AI agents stack #
Letta published an article that delves into the evolving landscape of AI agents, highlighting the distinct challenges they present compared to traditional LLM chatbots. The piece outlines the AI agents stack and emphasizes the importance of state management and tool execution in ensuring they are efficient. They provide additional context on various frameworks and platforms that support the development and deployment of AI agents, providing insights for developers navigating this dynamic field.
What’s this got to do with coworking? As any stack evolves and matures, knowing where your own stack, databases, and workflows could plug in will become a necessary skill. The AI agents market is rapidly evolving from no-code setups, to highly customizable and manageable parts of how businesses interact with customers, prospects, vendors, employees and other partners or stakeholders.
AI stressing you out? You can explore the related resources and summaries on the topic here, including this framework for thinking about ai-ready data strategies.
👉 Read this.
📈 Coworking data.
🐣 What do the “NextGen” want from their workspaces? #
Fora and CoreNet have co-published a report that identifies 7 key drivers that will define the NextGen workplace, and highlights the importance of staying ahead of these trends to attract and retain top talent.
What are the 7 drivers? Flexibility, Social & Integrated, Diverse & Inclusive, Wellness Focussed, Tech- & AI-powered, Growth Orientated and Purpose & Value Driven.
👉 Read this.
🌍 European flex market grows despite supply challenges #
Jesse Derkx shared CBRE’s H2 2024 report. It highlights a 17.5% rise in operator take-up for flexible office spaces compared to H1 2023, with London, Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona driving demand. Despite this growth, the flex market’s expansion rate has slowed, with penetration now at 2.45% of the total office market, reflecting a gap between demand and supply.
CBRE also introduced the FOMO (Finder of Market Opportunities) tool to help operators pinpoint high-demand areas and guide investment. Management agreements continue to play a key role in expanding flex offerings, enabling operators and landlords to collaborate for mutual benefit.
This new FOMO tool is a great resource for those building owners that are afraid of another type of FOMO (fear of missing out) when it comes to positioning their assets for flex.
👉 Read this.
🤝 Coworking market moves.
🇯🇵 JustCo adds luxury coworking concept #
Wan Long Kong, co-founder of JustCo introduced the launch of THE COLLECTIVE, a luxury coworking concept with it’s first location in Marunouchi, Tokyo.
What makes it luxury? Signature offerings like a TWG Tea Bar, coffee from Arabica, daily gourmet breakfasts, Aperitif Hour for networking, and a dedicated Wellness Sanctuary.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Firm makes first iconic building acquisition #
Kinrise, the firm we introduced you to in Week 8 of 2024, have shared the first of their acquisitions at 81 Colmore Row, in Birmingham.
ICYMI: The firm buys iconic buildings to convert them into inspiring workspaces, and play a part in the renewal of UK cities.
👉 Read this.
🎀 Ribbon Cutting at Workspace Beverly #
On November 4th, the Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce hosted a Ribbon Cutting Event at Workspace‘s newest location in Beverly, MA!
This is their 5th location and our first on the North Shore of Boston.
👉 Read this.
🪩 Techspace (also) adds new venue event and gathering brand #
UK based flexible workspace brand Techspace has launched Techspace Venues across London and Berlin. In addition to event venues, they will also be offering premium boardrooms, and plug-and-play production facilities.
Trend watch: We’ve seen multiple operators add meeting and event focused spaces to their offering. Check out the TWIC podcast for recent interviews with leaders at both Piloto 151 and Spacemade on the how and why they’re diving deep into event-based opportunities and revenues. We also heard from iQ Offices while compiling Undercurrents Ep1: Fractional Offices that this was a growing part of their part-time office business.
👉 Read this.
👩🍳 Restaurant-based coworking space network lands $100k funding #
Benjamin Schwartz shares that Tavern Community Coworking have raised their first outside funding in the form of a $100k angel investment. The firm aims to create membership-based social network with access to a network of hybrid restaurant-coworking spaces.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
Jonny Rossenblat joined Hector Kolonas on the TWIC Podcast to reveal why they started Spacemade, their sales & marketing strategies, why they’re obsessively focussed on building meaningful connections and why they’re excited to share their most valuable data with their closest competitors.
Bernie Mitchell chats with Sonya Whittam and Julie Firth on the Coworking Values Podcast, where they explore how coworking professionals can incorporate AI into marketing, streamline content creation, and adapt to ever-changing customer needs.
Jonny Rosenblatt also joins Gio and Jamie on the Flex Uncensored podcast where the UK market is going, how they increasingly use AI to boost efficiency and Spacemade‘s approach to long-term partnerships.
