The story of the coworking space began in 2005, with the software engineer Brad Neubergs’s coworking space within Spiral Muse, San Fransisco. Then the phenomenon of coworking spaces spread around the world and evolved dramatically.
image credit – http://codinginparadise.org/ebooks/html/blog/start_of_coworking.html
“Nomad” is the nickname given to freelancers, software engineers, entrepreneurs, and those who have the flexibility to work in their own region or overseas. Coworking spaces also mean a socializing and networking hub for nomads in many regions of the world.
Coworking space professionals work to reach their potential with the aim of reaching maximum efficiency by offering day passes, private offices, meeting rooms, and weekly, monthly, or periodical memberships, in a way that appeals to the coworkers in their vicinity. There are also other revenue sources such as; catering, F&B, IT support, and teleconference facilities rentals; this list goes long.
In a nutshell, coworking spaces define as “space” by rentable desks and “time” by hours. Like restaurants, they aim to maximize revenue per available desk hour (RevPADH) or day (RevPADD).
Since coworking spaces with large areas such as coworking spaces do not have fixed seating and it is relatively easy to adjust the configuration of the open spaces specifically for the event to be hosted, like TED talks and events, they can also measure their revenue per square meter/foot. We will focus on the first parameter RevPADD.
Hot Desks
Available space utilisation
Coworking spaces implicitly define their available spaces, as they have a maneuver in how space is divided. The basic unit of inventory is the seat, grouped in different forms to meet consumer demand. Occupancy is calculated as a percentage of occupied desks based on the total number of available desks at a given time.
For example, most coworking spaces offer the following options;
Hot Desk
Fixed Desk
Private Office
Meeting Room
Zoom Both
Event Space
Space Ambiance
As guests choose coworking spaces to work more efficiently and get inspired by brand-new innovative ideas from like-minded people, interior design often aims to create a lively yet relaxed atmosphere that encourages open dialogue and brainstorming.
Natural sunlight or lighting components are essentials of the ambiance in coworking spaces.
In more conveniently located coworking spaces, a balanced blend of natural sunlight and artificial lighting would be a head start to creating the perfect working environment and considering energy consumption. Similarly, light-colored and comfortable furniture is as important as lighting.
The layout of the available space should be arranged to provide wide spaces between hot desks, workstations, or zoom cabins according to the sound insulation and usage rate. In this way, it will play a big role in getting maximum efficiency from your coworking space.
Ancillary Service
The most common ancillary service for coworking spaces is F&B. While this service generates additional revenue, it also helps increase guest satisfaction to make the coworking experience more convenient.
Some coworking spaces operate a coffee bar or a bakery inside. Some provide complimentary buffet-style snacks and unlimited tea or coffee to coworkers. Another revenue stream is renting projectors, meeting equipment, and IT support or presentation materials.
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Time
Most coworking spaces sell time through a day pass or membership that grants limited or unlimited access to the space. It exercises control over the service experience’s length like restaurant customers, creating a highly implicit time sale.
Although hourly/daily exchanges are attractive in terms of price/time balance, more than selling coworking spaces with these options alone will be needed in some regions. Long-term packages, which are more economically viable, will be more attractive to customers, with the exception of remote workers, who mostly prefer day passes.
Efficient use of space and time
Several approaches can be used to increase the productive use of coworking spaces:
1 Extend the time the space is used
2 Offer multiple uses (based on the location and demand)
3 Drop non-revenue-generating activities
4 Reduce the amount of idle time between events
Many coworking spaces have applied the first two options. Some coworking spaces are open until midnight or 24 hours to cater to visitors working in different time zones.
Some coworking spaces organize events such as guest lectures and movie nights to get more benefits and additional revenue from the adequately used spaces. This way, while generating revenue from ticket sales, they reach more potential visitors or members.
This approach will be an effective tool for coworking spaces with venues dedicated to events to increase sales during off-peak times (ex, in the evenings or weekends). However, it can be risky for businesses with space constraints to reserve all or part of the coworking space for another purpose during peak usage days/hours. It is critical to plan ahead carefully and forecast the guest arrival and occupancies with tools available, like online sign-up.
Dropping non-revenue generating activities, coworking spaces may outsource the production of, for example, drinks, snacks, and meals to external suppliers or locate the production to a central kitchen. Thus, more space can be used to generate income from occupancy.
Price
The level of complexity in the pricing structure varies. Price packages are set on the maximum days or hours each pass or membership can use and the entitlement to free or discounted use of meeting rooms and other facilities.
Several physical fences can be implemented in coworking spaces, including a few tangible features such as different types of meeting rooms, private offices, or event spaces. The accessible equipment and the meeting rooms’ seating capacity determine the meeting rooms’ prices. Event prices may vary depending on the number of participants and the duration of the event.
Conclusion
It is interesting to see how coworking has shifted how people work and communicate.
While some well-managed coworking businesses may implement a specific revenue management strategy, it will be a key element of how all coworking spaces should proceed in the long run. The next logical step would be incorporating demand forecast capacities within the existing infrastructure. To illustrate, the coworking space could use an online sign-up board to record the show-up of members and occupancy rate changes throughout the day and week. It can also identify less occupied hot desks and rooms and adjust inventory correspondingly to increase occupancy. Moreover, if spaces allow, more ancillary services could be offered and charged at certain rates, including a showering room and sleeping cube, IT service, locker rooms, and many more.
Ultimately, the revenue management process could help coworking spaces better manage the unpredictable duration of the guests and come up with variable prices to extract higher revenue.
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