CLUB RULES

More co-working spaces are springing up in cities

By 2020, it’s estimated that as many as one in two workers in the UK will be freelance or self-employed, collectively contributing more than £51 billion to the economy. The same trend is being observed in the US. And it’s not just the self-employed; being adept at remote working has become an essential skill for anyone frequently operating out of overseas locations. The parallel rise of coworking spaces and private members’ clubs has made it easier for locals to access office environments and professional networks in their home territories, but when you are travelling it is not so easy to find out what your options are or even gain entry to these facilities. Often you make do with working in your hotel room, the executive lounge or a coffee shop with free wifi. However, finding a temporary workplace is being made easier by platforms such as Copass (copass.org), which gives access to more than 750 hubs around the world from €49-€299 a month, and Coworker (coworker.com), which lists 7,000 spaces in 125 countries complemented by user reviews. Another exciting innovation is the launch of invitation-only website Onda (ondalife.com), which offers entry to private members clubs, health clubs and coworking spaces around the world for £80 a month.

The venues it lists are “carefully vetted”, says Luca Del Bono, founder of Onda (and the South Kensington Club in London), and include sites such as Camp David in New York, The Bureau in Paris, The Stack in Cape Town, Griffin Club in Los Angeles and Alma in Stockholm. Del Bono says: “With the ease of remote communication that technology has given us, entrepreneurs and start-ups are on the rise, and so is the need for a versatile working environment. More people want to share time in places they feel comfortable in, and that offer facilities and activities that suit their lifestyle, while being part of a community.”

London undoubtedly leads the way when it comes to clubs and coworking. Recent openings include Allbright (for women only), White City House, Mortimer House and, of course, We Work, which is expanding rapidly with new locations throughout the city. Next year, London’s Home House founders will be debuting a new concept called Home Grown ( homegrownclub.co.uk), in Marylebone.

LETSWORK CATERS TO ON-THE-GO EXECUTIVES

Dubai’s fast-growing remote working scene includes letswork, the start-up from Emaar’s in-house innovation lab e25, which is designed to foster entrepreneurial growth among under 25s. Founded by Omar AlMheiri and Hamza Khan, the co-working concept now has over 400 members and its network covers 14 venues comprising Emaar (five Rove Hotels, Vida, Manzil, Arabian Ranches Golf Club and Polo Club) and non-Emaar locations (such as Molecule at Dubai Design District

and Mr Miyagi’s in Dubai Media City). Executives can opt for daily (AED39), weekly (AED209) or monthly (AED490) packages and benefit from unlimited tea, coffee, water and wi-fi, reserved seating with plugs, meeting room access, free parking and a 20 per cent discount on F&B at all venues.

“More people want to share time in places they feel comfortable in”