Flexspace: it’s all about the details

Trends

Flexspace: it’s all about the details

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Co-working spaces have grown up in recent years and so have the services they offer

 

Co-working spaces are becoming ever more popular with businesses and workers alike. The providers behind these expanding flexible office spaces are  evolving their offerings to keep up with modern companies’ changing needs, while ensuring their clients are continually impressed with the service. 

Flexible offices that now offer award-winning food and health experiences are a far cry from the start-up culture of yesteryear that saw people hunched over laptops in a shared room. Indeed, real estate advisor Avison Young’s chief executive Mark Rose says new forms of workspace are being developed as a result of organisations adapting to changing workforces and new technologies, Workplace Insight reports. 

In North America, he says, “The transit-oriented developments rich in amenities or new, first class spaces will win the leasing race.” Tenants have displayed a willingness to pay higher rents while looking for efficiency through design and technology.” 

IWG’s Regus, Spaces and HQ brands already seek to provide tenants with easy and convenient event spaces, meeting rooms, shared spaces and private offices that have attractive contemporary interior design and are well located within cities. Its luxury No18 brand has taken the company to the next level when it comes to providing clients with a first-class office experience. 

Described as a cosmopolitan members club for businesses, No18 offers shared and private areas within co-working offices, with the addition of members’ lounges and on-site health clubs, state-of-the-art technology and concierge levels of service while creating a space designed for like-minded people to connect. Each site is filled with sumptuous furnishing and curated art, and often No18 spaces have collaborations with local restaurants and spas. In the newly opened Atlanta office, members can enjoy breakfast and lunch cooked up by a full-service chef each day. 

But the first-class treatment doesn’t stop with No18 – IWG is keen to ensure members of all its brands are experiencing the level of service businesses have come to expect from flexible office spaces. “Back in time, ‘amenities’ were a boardroom that customers could use, or a receptionist meeting and greeting guests,” Michael Berretta, vice president of Network Development at IWG, recently told Commercial Observer. “Now, we’re putting full-service baristas and coffee shops in our Spaces locations, and many of our locations have roof decks or outdoor patios. It’s the natural evolution of a competitive industry,” he said. 

Elsewhere in the market there’s the design-led Canopy flexible workspaces dotted around San Francisco that feature extras such as an outdoor terrace, wellness programmes and cultural programming and events, while displaying its striking interior design that gained it an award nomination. Spring Place, which has outlets in New York and LA, offers Michelin-star dining experiences, while Convene gives members a “farm-to-desk” dining experience from their award-winning chefs, and healthcare services on-site. A relatively new kid on the block is woman-focused The Wing, which has just opened a new hub in LA and has everything from high-profile members to providing exclusively women-owned brands in its beauty room alongside women-identifying artists in its gallery. 

The Wing appears to have picked something of a hotspot for co-working spaces, too. With the demand from the booming media and entertainment industries in the LA, it’s unsurprising that a recent CBRE report named the city as the second-largest market for co-working spaces in the US. 

And as the offer from co-working spaces in America develops, the growing call for flexible office spaces across the globe is showing no sign of slowing down. Avison Young’s recent Mid-Year Global Office Market Report shows the growth of these spaces in the world’s major markets is continuing apace. 

“The ever-increasing demand for flexibility from occupiers, as well as the evolution of technology, has resulted in a coworking boom across the globe,” said Rose. “This growth has led to new markets being opened for providers of shared workspace.” 

“The most significant story now is the proliferation of co-working space,” he added.

 

Want to find out more about what a flexible workspace could offer your business, visit Regus here