WeWork On Demand’s global roll-out takes in Cambridge

Global flexible space provider WeWork has made WeWork On Demand, the company’s pay-as-you-go offering to access workspace and meeting rooms, available at its 50-60 Station Road, Cambridge facility.

WeWork On Demand was piloted in New York last December as an app for pay-as-you-go shared office space – an hourly rate for conference rooms, and a daily rate for workstation access.

The popularity of the low-commitment option in the aftermath of lockdowns proved so popular it was rolled out to six other US cities in January and has since become available more than 200 locations in 22 states.

The international expansion follows strong growth and positive user feedback in North America, where monthly On Demand bookings for a seat at WeWork’s communal co-working areas – where users get unlimited coffee and fast wifi – has quadrupled and meeting room bookings have more than doubled since March. There have been around 70,000 bookings to date.

The concept addresses the growing interest in alternative workspaces, whether as a third space for employees to leverage in between their home and office or for fully-remote teams to come together.

The new rollout takes the format to the UK, Ireland, Singapore and Australia. The expansion takes WeWork On Demand to nearly 300 locations across 47 major cities globally including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Dublin, Singapore, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, as well as Cambridge, whose WeWork centre opened in 2019.

Samit Chopra, president & COO, International, WeWork, said: “Now more than ever, flexibility is of utmost importance to both businesses and individuals as they navigate a new world of work.

“Leveraging our expansive portfolio of inspiring spaces in sought-after locations, WeWork On Demand fulfils the need for flexibility through accessible, convenient workspace in the era of hybrid work. With the expansion of pay-as-you-go access to spaces in major markets across the UK, Ireland, Singapore, and Australia, we’re providing more workers with the choice and tools to decide how, where, and when they want to work, right from their phones.”

WeWork was founded in New York by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in 2010 with the vision “to create environments where people and companies come together and do their best work”. The organisation has grown into a global flexible space provider “committed to delivering technology-driven flexible solutions, inspiring spaces, and unmatched community experiences”.

Reimagining how the workplace can help everyone, from freelancers to start-ups to Fortune 500s, to be “more motivated, productive, and connected”, has proven productive for WeWork as the economy adapts to hybrid working.

WeWork is expected to seek a stock market listing later in the year. Its first attempt at an IPO in 2019 proved an overstretch and Neumann sold his interest for $1.5bn. Since McKelvey left last year, new management with a successful history of turnarounds has overseen the revamping of its services.

The vehicle to go public in 2021 is via a March merger with the California-based special-purpose acquisition company BowX Acquisition.