The coronavirus pandemic has hit the flexible office industry particularly hard as customers transition to working from home and ending their leases.

Although the pandemic will have a negative impact on the sector for the time being, many industry experts believe that the demand for these spaces will continue to grow in the long run.

“This is no doubt a severe stress test to the business model,” said Michael Kloppenburg, senior consultant for flexible office solutions at Avison Young. “But the strong operators and owners positioned to survive the effects of this crisis will be rewarded with even greater focus by enterprise occupiers looking to apply flexibility to their real estate portfolios.”

Kloppenburg added that the real-estate-as-a-service model should have the ability to survive and thrive beyond the current health and economic crisis.

The hospitable nature of many of these spaces has grown beyond flexible workspaces. Now, traditional offices are recognizing and trying to meet the demand for flexibility and hospitality in their spaces in order to keep tenants satisfied.

More so, businesses looking for office space when things start to return to normal will likely opt for a more short-term, flexible solution that they can easily exit if they are forced to work from home again.

Additionally, as people have no choice but to work from home, enterprises might reevaluate their traditional 9 to 5 models in favor of more remote and flexible work options.