We thought Airbnb was only for having a temporary place to live. But a new trend is fast becoming popular and relates to office spaces available as temporary work spaces. But who will likely rent a temporary office space? It used to be that small office spaces within an area rented out. These have a common reception lounge, a conference room and even a pantry. They share the same secretary or receptionist included in the rental of their office space.
This setup is ideal for those who are just starting their business and need a small space and business address for calling card and web site purposes. They may also require an impressive conference room and lobby. Thus, for a small rent they can enjoy all these. The spaces are rented out for months or even years.
And now comes a more temporary requirement for office space. The people likely to be attracted to this are those who need a temporary space to work with their teams when out-of-town or they just need to have a space where they can temporarily work in peace and unimpeded. These can be rented for an hour up to one day and, instead of going to coffee shops where often there is so much noise with so many people around, such can be good alternative spaces to work in, whether you need to finish that thesis or book, study for an exam, meet with your team mates, etc.
Airbnb types of offices are becoming very popular in major cities, such as New York, London, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles and even in Canada. Hopefully, they also open in Manila. But the point here is that, like technology, office spaces are also evolving to meet the needs of individuals. Who would think that even in a small city like ours we have Airbnb for lodging? Thus, it is not impossible to have Airbnb for office spaces later on.
I am surprised, too, that sometimes people merely want to get out of the office or home and be in a place different from where they are to work well and more effectively. Some customers use the spaces for informal coffee meet-ups and lunches, too.
Airbnb was founded in 2008 by Joe Gebbian and Brian Chesky who are design graduates from Rhode Island School of Design. They came up with a web site that allows travelers to stay in homes, rather than hotels. Now they are not only renting out homes, but also office spaces. When they first built their web site, there was much skepticism from Silicon Valley. But now they have proven their skeptics wrong because the business has grown much bigger than most hotel chains in the market.
If I were to have that office space, I will have to complete it by providing a bathroom where people can take showers after a long night of study or work. They can go straight to school or office or to their next appointment after freshening up. In Manila, where traffic is at its worst, an office space like this where one can work or study for a few hours or overnight can help save precious time in going to and from the office or home to avoid the long hours of commuting.
Airbnb is so full of ideas. What could probably be next? Your guess is just as good as mine.
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Wilma Miranda is the chairman of the Media Affairs Committee of FINEX, Managing Partner of Inventor, Miranda & Associates, CPAs and Treasurer of KPS Outsourcing Inc. The opinions expressed herein are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of these institutions