Pull up a chair
The coworking segment is changing again, with players moving into highend malls and fivestar hotels to offer integrated ecosystems that let you shop, read, eat while at work
Even in the few years that they’ve been around, co-working spaces have changed and changed again. They’ve gone from the café model to the high-tech office model, lowcost to extremely high-cost options. And now, they’re also moving into malls and five-star hotels.
The co-working spaces brand Awfis now has centres at the Taj Deccan in Hyderabad, Nucleus Mall in Pune, Raghuleela Mall in Vashi and three malls in Gurugram.
The Hive is setting up spaces at shopping centres in Gurugram, Hyderabad and Pune and malls in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. And the Luxembourg-based International Workplace Group (IWG) has seven centres in shopping complexes across Delhi-ncr, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Chennai.
The aim is to provide integrated work ecosystems where you can work, eat, drink and shop, while also providing additional footfall for the spaces themselves.
“There are several perks in having workspaces in malls and hotels. You get everything in one place — a desk, a movie, shopping and food from the food court. We also get in-built security services and maintenance taken care of,” says Ankit Samdariya, CEO of The Hive. Rents are lower in malls that have unused spaces. “You also get ample parking,” Samdariya adds.
In space-starved cities, the trend of co-working spaces in malls and hotels is also helping utilise space better.
“The demand for all-in-one spaces is increasing. Young professionals want a vibrant social environment while at work and the co-working companies are catering to this demand by renting flexible spaces that come with added amenities,” says Pankaj Kapoor, CEO of real-estate consultancy Liases Foras.
Startups and established cor- porations are also choosing serviced and flexible workspaces over large, conventional spaces. “It helps malls get steady rent from the spaces that are less popular among retailers too,” Kapoor says.
According to Anarock Property Consultants, over 30 new shopping malls covering 14 million sqft are coming up across the cities.
“Leading real estate developers such as DLF, Prestige, Brigade Phoenix Mills and L&T are constructing new malls,” says Amit Ramani, CEO and founder of Awfis, the co-working spaces brand.
“Mixed-use developments are working well for the real-estate sector, says Pankaj Renjhen, the chief operating officer at VR Bengaluru, a high-end shop- ping centre that also hosts a one lakh sqft co-working space by The Hive.
“Employees working here get access to an interesting and vibrant workspace at not-so- big a cost and companies are looking to reduce their initial investment, so it’s a win-win,” says Ramani.