Dive Brief:
- WeWork has partnered with Vast Coworking Group to launch a third-party workspace affiliate program, the Coworking Partner Network, to give its members access to more workspaces in more markets, the company announced Tuesday.
- Vast Coworking Group, which says it’s the world’s largest privately-owned franchisor of coworking spaces, brings more than 75 workspaces in more than 50 markets across the U.S. and Canada to the network, according to a release.
- Vast’s presence in fast-growing suburban markets complements WeWork’s more than 500-location footprint in major metropolitan areas, strengthening its ability to meet growing demand for flexible workspaces from hybrid and distributed teams, WeWork said.
Dive Insight:
Pandemic-era changes to where and how people work have raised questions about the role of an office. In a May WeWork survey of 500 North American business decision-makers, 83% said the office is more important to their bottom line and profitability than it was five years ago, and 86% said it will be even more important in the next five years, the company reported in September.
While many of the largest office tenants in the U.S. are still trimming space or relocating to more efficient buildings as leases in their portfolio expire, more tenants are growing their real estate portfolios than are shrinking them, according to a third-quarter U.S. office market report by JLL. Almost all, or 95%, of remote-work companies plan to increase their workspace in the next two years, with nearly three-quarters of these organizations planning to invest in coworking and flexible offices, according to WeWork’s survey.
This compares with almost two-thirds each of fully office-based companies and hybrid companies saying they plan to invest in coworking and flexible spaces, WeWork says.
“With demand for flexible office solutions increasing, Vast’s convenient locations further enable us to meet our members where they need us most, with high-quality workspaces that enhance productivity and collaboration,” WeWork CEO John Santora said in a statement. Vast’s coworking locations include the brands Venture X, Office Evolution and Intelligence Office, WeWork said.
WeWork said it plans to continue expanding the CPN and investing in its technology-driven products and services to scale its product offerings, expand into new and existing markets and enhance member experiences while supporting its “newly strengthened business model.”
Santora, who worked at Cushman & Wakefield for over 40 years, joined WeWork as CEO in June alongside the company’s announcement that it had successfully completed its operational and financial restructuring, emerging from bankruptcy in the U.S. and Canada.
As part of the restructuring, property management and real estate investment software firm Yardi Systems provided capital to WeWork in exchange for a majority stake in the company, following a technology partnership that began in 2022. Yardi Kube will power theCoworking Partner Network, according to the release.
In other coworking space news, the International WELL Building Institute and the Instant Group have launched the WELL Coworking Rating. The new rating, derived from health strategies in the WELL Building Standards, serves to validate and showcase how coworking and flexible workspaces meet evidence-based health and well-being measures, Instant Group said in a release Tuesday.
