Coworking was once seen as unfamiliar territory — a turn in the tide of how people networked, communicated and produced work. Despite some early skepticism, landlords started warming up to the idea of having these modern offices in their buildings and now it is moving towards the mainstream.
The question from landlords and CRE firms used to be: “Why should we do business with coworking?” Now, it has shifted to “How do we do business with coworking?”
The past few years have seen coworking move beyond an option for entrepreneurs and startups, and have started to appeal to major enterprises.
For example, Uber is opening a new office in Dallas’ The Epic, but until the towers are completed, the firm will relocate an initial wave of 400 employees into coworking spaces.
This is just one of many examples why coworking is not going anywhere. More and more, corporate occupiers are demanding flexible space.
Ryan Hoopes, a director at Cushman & Wakefield’s Dallas office, said the practice is the busiest it has ever been in discussing flexible workspace strategy with corporate tenants.
Hoopes said that is why the firm believes that coworking spaces will continue to take a higher portion of the market, particularly in London where the sector has already double the percentage of New York.
Now, companies are finding the value of short-term, flexible deals and nothing indicates that going away anytime soon.