We are thankful to have attended and sponsored the Workspace Association of New York’s 2017 event. We were thrilled to once again fly back up to the big apple and spend memorable time with the people who help make the flexible workspace industry amazing. Here is what was discussed at the WANY 2017 event.
Workspace Demand in New York
Servcorp, a renowned Coworking and flexible workspace provider serving over 155 locations, addressed a crowd of over 50 attendees on the benefits to offering an environment that champions collaboration. Making sure that the virtual member, hot desk, dedicated desk, and private office users can have everything within their business to operate, while having a seamless bridge to reach out, collaborate, “sell and socialize” with. Marcus Moufarrige, COO of ServCorp, spoke on how the company got started and evolved into serving 53 cities globally, organically, and without any debt. Moufarrige stressed the importance of having a good system and technology platform to invest in. He believes the best way to grow is by having one database that manages all leases and prospects. Per Servcorp’s insights, Flexible space in the United States is 3% of commercial real estate. In U.K. It is 8%. Leaving room for exorbitant growth.
Shifting Costs and Demographics
Cushman and Wakefield did a presentation about Midtown becoming the least expensive place for workspaces despite it being more expensive than Midtown South and Downtown New York. While expecting for this to correct itself due to the market being cyclical, it is important to note that costs are becoming a continuous driving factor in the minds of CRE leaders, especially with rent costs expected to be on the rise. Cushman and Wakefield believes that New York is a gateway city for this rising trend. Coworking continues to remain attractive for businesses given the ease of access to amenities, lower costs, provided privacy and security as well as scalability. CRE leaders have also embraced the model of Coworking for it’s variety of work settings, the open concept, and flexible hours.
Attracting Corporations and “Bigger Picture” Coworking
Bernhard Mehl, Founder of Kisi, presented on how the model of Coworking is continuing to catch on in the eyes of corporations. Comparing it to Coca Cola Light, Nonfat Greek Yogurt and Organic Heinz Ketchup, Coworking is attracting big brands who collectively want to practice a different model. Mehl outlined this as a win-win situations: corporations receive the benefit of creating a new “workvibe”, providing an open layout, friendly community-oriented staff, a collaborative culture, and having the option to open spaces in every city that is well populated. Mehl believes that down the road landlords will be engaging more Coworking operators and corporations will develop greater relationships with Coworking spaces to find more space with the quality and size that they need.
We appreciate the opportunity to attend the WANY 2017 event and look forward to attending the next event. We had a great time meeting with the industry’s sharpest minds and look forward to seeing operators capitalize on these insights. If you wish to learn more about WUN’s solutions for the flexible workspace industry click the button below to contact us.