5 ms·

I've rented coworking space for about 6 years and evaluated WeWork in 2 cities. It was never a good value, so I've chosen smaller places with single locations.

Gys 3y ago
Seems co work spaces do not really profit from scaling into more locations? Or maybe just a few local ones.
- ecshafer 3y ago
  There should be some scale due to bargaining position. But i dont think they should be tech company scaling. They can at least centralize corporate (it, hr, accounting, etc). But this is the mindset of a frugal business and not a vc funded business.
- toast0 3y ago
  There's certainly some customers who benefit from having a provider with multiple locations in different metros, but I don't think it's enough to be a strong selling point. In contrast, a small coworking space could be an offshoot of another local business; some people will build or rent more space than their office needs, and sublet the extra for coworking. Often, cost / square foot is lower when you have larger spaces, so if there's demand for smaller spaces, you can probably offset the cost of the larger space (and maybe it gets you into a building with a better location or amenities). And it provides you flexibility --- if your company is growing, you accept fewer coworking customers, etc. But a dedicated coworking business has to cover the whole rent, and won't gain anything from flexibility to expand its workforce.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    I can see a larger company wanting to manage a contract with just a single provider across multiple locations. But, at the individual level, it seems as if it would be primarily a local thing.
- ghaff 3y ago
  I have to believe that for most uses, the primary appeal of a coworking space for individuals at least is having an office outside of a cramped urban apartment/condo and having access to a conference room on-demand rather than having an office available wherever you're traveling to. (Maybe the conference room for some purposes.) I did a lot of travel pre-COVID and I never felt the need for an office in whatever city I was visiting.
- marcosdumay 3y ago
  There exists some amount of people that need rooms in many different locations. The problem is with the size of that market, and how do you serve it. WeWork wasn't actually a valid experiment about any of those.

Gys 3y ago

Seems co work spaces do not really profit from scaling into more locations? Or maybe just a few local ones.

ecshafer 3y ago
There should be some scale due to bargaining position. But i dont think they should be tech company scaling. They can at least centralize corporate (it, hr, accounting, etc). But this is the mindset of a frugal business and not a vc funded business.
toast0 3y ago
There's certainly some customers who benefit from having a provider with multiple locations in different metros, but I don't think it's enough to be a strong selling point. In contrast, a small coworking space could be an offshoot of another local business; some people will build or rent more space than their office needs, and sublet the extra for coworking. Often, cost / square foot is lower when you have larger spaces, so if there's demand for smaller spaces, you can probably offset the cost of the larger space (and maybe it gets you into a building with a better location or amenities). And it provides you flexibility --- if your company is growing, you accept fewer coworking customers, etc. But a dedicated coworking business has to cover the whole rent, and won't gain anything from flexibility to expand its workforce.
- ghaff 3y ago
  I can see a larger company wanting to manage a contract with just a single provider across multiple locations. But, at the individual level, it seems as if it would be primarily a local thing.
ghaff 3y ago
I have to believe that for most uses, the primary appeal of a coworking space for individuals at least is having an office outside of a cramped urban apartment/condo and having access to a conference room on-demand rather than having an office available wherever you're traveling to. (Maybe the conference room for some purposes.) I did a lot of travel pre-COVID and I never felt the need for an office in whatever city I was visiting.
marcosdumay 3y ago
There exists some amount of people that need rooms in many different locations. The problem is with the size of that market, and how do you serve it. WeWork wasn't actually a valid experiment about any of those.