Like many people running a coworking space we offer day and week passes to people wanting to use our services for a short stay. Being based in Cornwall there is obviously a big market for this as people come on holiday and perhaps stay longer doing a “workcation”. We charge more per day/week/month than members pay. We set prices so that our memberships are the best value for anyone other than a visitor to the area who isn’t staying there.
Often it’s a family man or woman whose partner gets the joy of entertaining the kids while they work on teams calls with their employers/clients. Sometimes we get ‘digital nomads’, those (usually) young people who earn a living while travelling. Why not Cornwall? It’s a great way to work if you can. I have written a separate blog on this.
But what if your day tripper option is too successful? In the summer we have had times when the numbers have been too high for us. We need to guarantee enough desk space for the flexible members. Luckily, we’ve never had a day when a member can’t use the space which they pay for, because of day visitors. But it has come close.
One answer could be a booking system. Many are available. But these are unlikely in my view to be used by many members and could be off-putting. Perhaps if they are just ‘guarantee a space’ systems they could work. You could take the view that, like a gym, there will be more members than the space can house at any one time. But on balance I take the view that members matter most.
If you must, I suggest restricting the number of day passes in busy periods rather than putting any barriers up to your members.
There are so many companies offering to process all this for you. I have written about this elsewhere. But chances are the visitors will find you anyway on Google. And you still need to welcome the visitors in. In our case we allow a few of these companies to list us, but they don’t create much extra revenue. Sometimes staff of large employers must book this way and that’s fine. But nothing beats a decent Google ranking for coworking, workhubs, hot desking etc. Getting your spaces notice on Google will earn you so much more than any other source of customers in our experience.
Two other issues we have found with the day trippers. One is obvious: it takes staff time to settle them in, show them where to go, how to get a coffee, the wifi pass etc.
The other is that they might not know the culture of the place. They might either be very loud/shouty (eg salespeople). Or the opposite: they might expect a silent library because they are used to working from home not sharing a workspace.
In my experience most day visitors are great and don’t, these days, need too much help. The basic concept of coworking is much better understood these days post Covid. Many understand the value of noise limiting headsets better than our members!
One of our spaces is no longer staffed. We decided that it would not be appropriate for visitors in a member only space. But our other premises gets a good number, and this creates a useful revenue which is equivalent annually to two offices. Not to be sniffed at.
Depending on where you set up a coworking space, your members, your community (if they are like ours) will often be very happy – even keen – to recommend things to the visitors. Where to get lunch, where to go out in the evening or (in our case in Penzance) the best beaches! The same applies to high streets in town centres and city villages across the country.
Just do be careful not to forget that you main priority is your loyal members. And only allow this if it makes enough money to help pay for staff and facilities that they as your regulars will appreciate.
