Human company, café latte, that little buzz of background noise that is so conducive to thought…it all sounds perfect. What I don’t want to do is a full-on commute in a crowded and expensive train or Tube just to get a morning’s respite from the dog whining about going for a walk.
Having read in the business press of the trials and tribulations that the big players in this sector are going through, it’s hard to see how they will be able to pivot to a new suburban and rural model. Both WeWork and Regus are trying hard to re-engineer their portfolios to stop the huge outflow of cash that rents in the city demand. This could well be a niche that is open to a fast-moving company ready to take advantage of the current changes in business needs.
The pricing will need to be right, of course. The current membership model will need to be augmented by a walk-in price that is within what I refer to as the ‘oh go on then!’ range. Just enough to make us concentrate when there, but not so high as to make us think twice before going.
Ultimately, I believe the future of the office has changed beyond all recognition and will become somewhere we go only occasionally. So…we need some options in the suburbs and rural towns where all those ex-commuters live.
This is partly a thought-provoking piece about the future of the coworking sector, and partly a plea for somewhere else to work occasionally as the dog is driving me mad!
Mike Walley is Senior Director of Global Real Estate & Workplace Strategy at Criteo.