Asset managers have begun to recognize the value of attracting vibrant corporate coworking facilities to their projects across all asset categories. For example, Serendipity Labs, a franchised coworking brand that targets mobile professionals, has been designed into a variety of projects: as an amenity floor in office towers, urban retail, high-rise residential as well as hotels. Workspring, which also offers corporate coworking, has been integrated into a Marriott hotel and a landmark office building. WeWork, a brand that has tapped into the independent, entrepreneurial class ethos, has reportedly signed leases for a dozen New York City locations totaling over 1,000,000 square feet.

Meanwhile publicly traded Regus, the behemoth business center company, continues to add over 200 locations per year, and has added coworking style lounges to its standard fare of executive suites in Class A office buildings.

Hospitality Revs Up Workplace Services

Over the past five years, hotels have invested over $6 billion in reinventing themselves, according to New York University's hospitality school. With virtually flat demand from the coveted business traveler, the battle among hotel brands for market share has moved from the guest room to the lobby and other common areas.

But after years of countless iterations of redesigned desk-space in the hotel guest room, that trend is over. Current research reveals that business travelers no longer want to work in their rooms. This explains the proliferation of redesigned lobby spaces that now double as work-lounges and ad hoc meeting spaces. Some leading hotel brands are taking this idea one step further, by creating more purpose-built workplace and meeting space offerings.

Enter coworking. Offering coworking also solves another challenge for hotels: delivering exceptional small meeting experiences. Large business hotels are great at ballroom-sized events, but have a tough time delivering much more than sweaty water pitchers and skirted tables to groups of under 25 attendees. A move toward satisfying the needs of smaller business groups has prompted hospitality brands to offer coworking style amenities, like media-enabled studios and work-lounges. More are sure to follow as business travelers increasingly choose to stay at hotels based on the need to maintain momentum while on the road.

Live-Work-Play-Work

The resurgence in demand for urban living has given rise to the creativity in design of residential towers set in live-work-play environments. To amp-up returns, developers are now providing residential amenities that go well beyond fitness centers and concierge services. Buyers looking to support their lifestyle can now choose buildings offering onsite day care, dog grooming, and car sharing services.

Meanwhile, the average size of an apartment continues to fall since the hyper-social, consumption-conscious Millennials require less space than the previous generation. But smaller living quarters make it close to impossible to work from home. So residential projects are increasingly adding club lounges, and workplace amenities to meet the “live, work, play” needs of today's young professionals. By partnering with coworking brands, residential developers are delivering an amenity with professional service standards to attract buyers, while adding net operating income to the project pro-forma.

Coworking has come of age in a new world of work. On-demand workplaces are becoming an essential service. Witness the brilliantly renovated Delta Airlines terminal at Laguardia Airport, with phone charging stations and high workbar seating complete with built-in iPads.

With the new workplace megatrends showing no signs of slowing, look for more workplace-as-a-service offerings across all real estate asset categories in the future.

John Arenas is CEO of Serendipity Labs, a franchised corporate coworking brand. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this column are the author's own.