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One thing I never see mentioned in any analysis of WeWork is Regus, which does more or less the same thing but with less fanfare. They’ve been running coworking

One thing I never see mentioned in any analysis of WeWork is Regus, which does more or less the same thing but with less fanfare. They’ve been running coworking spaces and short term office rentals around the world for a long time. Do the two companies have similar business models? Can we look to Regus’s long history to better analyze WeWork’s prospects? It’s not like WeWork invested co-working spaces, so I don’t understand why everyone acts like they did something novel. On a personal note, I’ve been a happy user of Regus for nearly a decade and I can’t imagine switching to WeWork. The WeWork offices I’ve been to are large open offices or glass-walled. They have better kitchenettes but not astronomically better. And the whole vibe feels very unprofessional, one step up from a coffee shop. And they cost a lot more. I don’t get it.

bertil 7y ago
I was genuinely surprised to read your impression of Regus. I worked at their offices twice and both times, I was surprised they were still in business. The first time I’ve heard about WeWork, I was excited precisely because I thought Regus was hogging a necessary service.
joelhaasnoot 7y ago
Regus is the 1990s business services company that has never heard of the internet...
notahacker 7y ago
WeWork has a lot of brand differentiators from Regus (free beer and networking vs quiet efficient blandness for getting stuff done. Different strokes for different folks). But yes, there's nothing remotely new about the model (Workspace Group has also been doing it for three decades in the UK) and whilst these companies are certainly profitable, their valuations are somewhat closer to the real world.
danpalmer 7y ago
I had a look at working in a Regus when I was on a long trip to a foreign country. The whole feeling was super stuffy. I first had to have a sales call with someone who didn't really seem to know what they were talking about, then he wanted me to come and visit, then it became apparent that he was talking about the wrong location. The space was a very boring environment with a cheap fit-out. The price wasn't great. I ended up working in a local co-working space. I walked in off the street and the owner showed me around. I said I was only there for a short period and he suggested some custom pricing. He was friendly and knew what he was talking about, the office manager was friendly and again had answers to everything I wanted to know and more. The space was interesting and felt nice to be in, while still providing a good working environment to put my head down and work in. I've never worked in a WeWork, but I've visited a bunch, and they always strike me as much closer to the latter than the former.
ageitgey 7y ago
I've worked at a lot of different WeWork locations in different cities and countries. They are essentially Starbucks for working - you get the exact same product in every location and it is "good enough". The overall product is definitely designed for a younger generation, but it is very easy and fast to use. I've also used Regis occasionally when a WeWork wasn't nearby. It was like stepping back 30 years into the past. Instead of getting my corporate-allocated portion of predictable factory-generated open office space, I got what was equivalent to a random left-over desk at your weird uncle's small town real estate agent office 25 years ago. The whole Regis experience felt like something from the mid-90s. It was a whole different thing than WeWork. The crowd skewed 30 years older and heavily into non-tech industries, the architecture was very "90s small office", etc. I honestly felt like I would turn a corner and see someone using a Packard Bell 486 with a giant CRT. That's how much it reminded me of working in offices in the 90s. I'm not saying one is good and the other is bad depending on what you need. WeWork often comes off as a parody of itself and can be a ridiculous place to work. But WeWork is also something that most people in their 20s think is a "fun place" where you just "hang out with your friends" where as the Regis offices would probably feel like an old school work prison to them. I think WeWork is probably a ridiculous business in the long run and I'm not convinced they are even a "coworking" business at all, but I'm happy to spend their VC money to get free office space as long as they want to give it out. Likewise, I can also totally understand why Regis would never excite any investor.
- OkGoDoIt 7y ago
  I feel like what you and the other replies are saying is WeWork is super trendy and hip whereas Regus feels old-fashioned and stuffy. This feels surprisingly superficial to me. 1. The old fashioned office feel at Regus is not necessarily a bad thing. I’m able to focus much better in a Regus office. And I feel like I’m actually getting what I’m paying for (if I want beer, I’ll go to a supermarket). I’ve never had client meetings in either place, but from what I’ve seen Regus is much more the kind of place I’d want to bring clients to if I wanted to give a good impression. This kind of feels like a parallel to the open office versus cubicle debate. Open offices are undoubtedly trendier and more community driven and just feel cool, but if you want to actually be productive and get work done then open offices are kind of a step backwards. 2. Regardless of what’s better in our differing opinions, the business models are more or less the same, so it feels like Regus could be a useful case study when thinking about WeWork. I still find it confusing how most articles about WeWork imply it’s the first company to do what it’s doing at scale and therefore it’s in uncharted tech startup growth mode territory.

bertil 7y ago

I was genuinely surprised to read your impression of Regus. I worked at their offices twice and both times, I was surprised they were still in business. The first time I’ve heard about WeWork, I was excited precisely because I thought Regus was hogging a necessary service.

joelhaasnoot 7y ago

Regus is the 1990s business services company that has never heard of the internet...

notahacker 7y ago

WeWork has a lot of brand differentiators from Regus (free beer and networking vs quiet efficient blandness for getting stuff done. Different strokes for different folks). But yes, there's nothing remotely new about the model (Workspace Group has also been doing it for three decades in the UK) and whilst these companies are certainly profitable, their valuations are somewhat closer to the real world.

danpalmer 7y ago

I had a look at working in a Regus when I was on a long trip to a foreign country. The whole feeling was super stuffy. I first had to have a sales call with someone who didn't really seem to know what they were talking about, then he wanted me to come and visit, then it became apparent that he was talking about the wrong location. The space was a very boring environment with a cheap fit-out. The price wasn't great. I ended up working in a local co-working space. I walked in off the street and the owner showed me around. I said I was only there for a short period and he suggested some custom pricing. He was friendly and knew what he was talking about, the office manager was friendly and again had answers to everything I wanted to know and more. The space was interesting and felt nice to be in, while still providing a good working environment to put my head down and work in. I've never worked in a WeWork, but I've visited a bunch, and they always strike me as much closer to the latter than the former.

ageitgey 7y ago

I've worked at a lot of different WeWork locations in different cities and countries. They are essentially Starbucks for working - you get the exact same product in every location and it is "good enough". The overall product is definitely designed for a younger generation, but it is very easy and fast to use. I've also used Regis occasionally when a WeWork wasn't nearby. It was like stepping back 30 years into the past. Instead of getting my corporate-allocated portion of predictable factory-generated open office space, I got what was equivalent to a random left-over desk at your weird uncle's small town real estate agent office 25 years ago. The whole Regis experience felt like something from the mid-90s. It was a whole different thing than WeWork. The crowd skewed 30 years older and heavily into non-tech industries, the architecture was very "90s small office", etc. I honestly felt like I would turn a corner and see someone using a Packard Bell 486 with a giant CRT. That's how much it reminded me of working in offices in the 90s. I'm not saying one is good and the other is bad depending on what you need. WeWork often comes off as a parody of itself and can be a ridiculous place to work. But WeWork is also something that most people in their 20s think is a "fun place" where you just "hang out with your friends" where as the Regis offices would probably feel like an old school work prison to them. I think WeWork is probably a ridiculous business in the long run and I'm not convinced they are even a "coworking" business at all, but I'm happy to spend their VC money to get free office space as long as they want to give it out. Likewise, I can also totally understand why Regis would never excite any investor.

OkGoDoIt 7y ago
I feel like what you and the other replies are saying is WeWork is super trendy and hip whereas Regus feels old-fashioned and stuffy. This feels surprisingly superficial to me. 1. The old fashioned office feel at Regus is not necessarily a bad thing. I’m able to focus much better in a Regus office. And I feel like I’m actually getting what I’m paying for (if I want beer, I’ll go to a supermarket). I’ve never had client meetings in either place, but from what I’ve seen Regus is much more the kind of place I’d want to bring clients to if I wanted to give a good impression. This kind of feels like a parallel to the open office versus cubicle debate. Open offices are undoubtedly trendier and more community driven and just feel cool, but if you want to actually be productive and get work done then open offices are kind of a step backwards. 2. Regardless of what’s better in our differing opinions, the business models are more or less the same, so it feels like Regus could be a useful case study when thinking about WeWork. I still find it confusing how most articles about WeWork imply it’s the first company to do what it’s doing at scale and therefore it’s in uncharted tech startup growth mode territory.