Companies are turning to flexible office space as they attempt to accommodate new post-pandemic work arrangements.
According to Industrious CEO Jamie Hodari, the sector is seeing fast-paced demand. In fact, Hodari claims that his company has hit three times their pre-Covid sales in June.
“I have to think we’ve hit the ceiling,” said Hodari. “There’s no way we’re going to hit four or five times, but you never know. But yes, we are in the heart of a moment right now where there’s an extraordinary rush to use flex. It’s pretty widely distributed. There are some cities that are lagging, but it’s happening all across the country. They are definitely buying flex in volumes that exceed what you saw pre-Covid.”
New York in particular has been a notable market for Industrious, with its spaces growing to 97% occupation rates from the low of 40% to 45% during the midst of the pandemic.
Other cities like Austin “almost filled up overnight.” Hodari added that companies who have wanted offices in secondary cities are using flexible offices as a chance to expand into these markets.
“We see them saying, I want a broader network of employees, I want a broader reach and I’m going to use flex to test those markets,” said Christelle Bron, Americas Agile Practice Leader at CBRE.
