Reuters – March 19, 2018

By Paula Gomprecht | March 19, 2018

Cracking the co-working code in commercial real estate

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Real estate brokers scoff that just a fraction of U.S. office space is occupied by co-working and other flexible workspace options, yet data shows over one-quarter of new leases signed in the past two years came from this burgeoning business.
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FOCUS ON HOSPITALITY
Serendipity Labs’ rollout is a franchise model that draws partners mostly from the hotel industry who have signed area of development agreements for the suburbs or secondary markets, said John Arenas, founder and chief executive.

The franchisee commits between $1 million and $1.5 million, depending on a location’s size, and will operate several sites within its area of operation, the company said.

“We’re targeting hospitality operators, those who own and operate hotels,” Arenas said, noting the company owns sites in Manhattan and Chicago. “They see workplace hospitality today as they saw the maturity of the hotel business 20 or 30 years ago. They’re getting in early,” he said.

Maximum Hospitality, a franchisee of Serendipity Labs in Nashville, Tennessee, already has marketing, accounting, legal and sales teams for the hotels it manages, Arenas said.

“The corporate culture of other companies is really a landlord-tenant culture, whereas our culture is a guest-member service provider culture,” he said.

Source, Herbert Lash, Cracking the co-working code in commercial real estate Reuters.