Shared Office Spaces: As modeled on Sharing Economy

The last decade saw a whirlwind of changes in consumption, due to the advent of sharing economy. Sharing economy, or collaborative economy model allows people to share resources such as services, skills and equipment with one another, thereby reducing the cost marginally.

Globally, the sharing economy is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 139.4%, and according to industry estimates, it will swell to around $26 Billion in the coming years.

What’s up with share?

This new trend has changed the way businesses have operated traditionally across all industries. Whether it is renting a cab, a room or any other product/service, the consumption and supply have both evolved.

Today, the sharing economy with its wide reach has brought the service provider and the consumer closer like never before, and as a result almost any service that can be imagined is up for share today adding to the convenience of the end user.

For instance, in the transportation sector, though taxis and rental car companies have been around almost as long as the automobile itself, it is only the sharing economy model that brought about a dramatic change. With apps like Uber and Ola, one can rent a car in no time and with half the price.

Similarly, the traditional hospitality industry, that earlier focused on expensive hotel room and suites also underwent rapid changes with the aggregated lodging services like AirBnb and Oyo rooms.

Shared Office Spaces An Innovation of the Shared Economy

In the commercial Real Estate industry, the growth of flexible working spaces like coworking spaces and business centres marked the trend of sharing economy.

The shared-office spaces  provide a community to professionals who are otherwise isolated at home or in coffee shops, enabling them to work in a flexible, yet professional environment without having to deal with the high investment and various overwhelming logistics that setting up such a commercial space would bring with itself.

Traditional workplaces can be expensive, but shared offices allow startups and freelancers to work in a dynamic office environment at relatively low cost. Shared offices not only spread overhead costs amongst workers, but is also a rich social experience in itself. More often than not, you’re likely to find like minded people and expand your network in a shared office space.

From the consumer’s end, more and more bootstrap start-ups are coming up which need short-term spaces that will allow them to only “pay for they need’. Apart from the low investment cost, this enables them the ease of moving to locations whenever they need to conduct business elsewhere.

For the dynamic breed of entrepreneurs today, these fully serviced serviced working spaces offer reliable Wi-Fi, office materials, along with premium facilities such as ergonomic furniture, teleconferencing, access to a gym, cafeteria and conference rooms, etc.

For the commercial real estate sector, this new innovation of the sharing economy, known as the shared office space is simpler, profitable and easier than anything that it has seen before.

A recent survey of over 200 major commercial real estate organizations in US found that 40% are considering such office spaces because of the obvious benefits they provide.

For an organization, with unused space in their office building renting out the empty desks can be a great way of increasing revenues, thus helping the company grow financially. It also helps in increasing collaboration with the new faces that work with you in your office.

Analysts predict that the particular model of the shared working spaces will help the real estate sector too in the long run.  Reports show that this new trend will help build better office space infrastructure. Additionally, by helping small startups grow profitably the shared working spaces are facilitating a scenario where these small businesses outgrow the shared spaces they use, eventually moving upstairs to a dedicated office space of their own, thus helping the commercial real estate sector grow along with them.