Flexible workspace is expected to account for as much as 20% of London’s office market by 2030, up from 12% today.

But the story is about more than growth, said Natalie Lovett, vice president and general manager for UK and Ireland at WeWork. As flexible workspace becomes an increasingly established part of companies’ real estate strategies, the sector itself is evolving.

“We’ve watched flexible workspace move from what was once considered a relatively niche proposition to a mainstream part of the office market,” Lovett said. “With that comes a new level of maturity. Standards are rising, expectations are higher, and operators are adapting their services and the experience they provide in line with that evolution.”

Bisnow spoke to Lovett about how a more considered approach to hospitality is raising the bar for flexible workspace and what the sector’s continued evolution could mean for the future of the office.


Bisnow: What are the biggest shifts you’re seeing in the flex sector?

Lovett: The flexible office market has grown enormously over the last few years, but most interesting is how quickly the sector has matured alongside that growth.

Flexibility and ease are still core to the offering, of course, but expectations have moved on. The role of an operator is no longer simply to provide a well-designed office with the right amenities, but to create an environment beyond space that makes people actively want to be there.

The bar has moved significantly. Beautiful design and great facilities are increasingly expected. The real differentiator is the experience you create around them.


Bisnow: How has WeWork’s offering changed as hybrid working has become the new normal since the pandemic? 

Lovett: Today, in many ways, we are competing with the home. People have more choice over where they work, so the office has to give them a reason to make the journey in.

Businesses increasingly recognise the longer-term benefits of bringing people together — that social bounce-off, collaboration and the ability to nurture the next generation of employees. Our job is to help facilitate that through the space and service we provide, but also to create an experience that people simply can’t get working from home.


Bisnow: You seem to draw a distinction between service and hospitality. What does hospitality mean in a workplace context?

Lovett: Service is making sure everything works: the WiFi, the facilities, the day-to-day operations.

Hospitality is about knowing what makes people happy, thinking about those moments in the day where you can make their experience personal and memorable, and taking the time to do it. It’s really about human kindness and knowing your guest.

At WeWork, our community teams really get to know our members and find out the three things that matter most to them. It might be knowing their coffee order, welcoming their dog by name, or understanding what their team needs before they ask. Those little things matter.

And businesses see the value in that experience. It’s difficult to replicate that combination of service, hospitality and community elsewhere.


Bisnow: Would you say that elevated hospitality is the new normal?

Lovett: It’s certainly heading that way, but I don’t think there’s one standard for hospitality in flex yet. Different operators are defining what it means for them, and there’s still a lot of variation across the market.

At WeWork, we talk about delivering a “service of excellence.” We’ve invested a lot in that in the last two years, including training with the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

But alongside that consistency, we give our community teams the freedom to be creative and tailor the experience to the people in their building. Ultimately, we want people to leave one of our spaces thinking, “I can’t believe an office company does that.” That’s the bar we’re trying to set.


Bisnow: If the bar for hospitality is getting higher, where do you think flex should be looking for inspiration as the sector continues to evolve?

Lovett: We’ve taken a lot of inspiration from hotels, but the industry I find most interesting is restaurants. That sector moved away from one idea of what fine dining should look like and created much more choice around the kind of experience people wanted.

Flex is going through a similar transition. It’s not just about redefining what good service and hospitality look like. It’s also about diversifying the offer. Different operators are serving different parts of the market, and customers have much more choice in the kind of space and experience they want.

For me, that’s a real sign of the sector maturing. It’s moving from a mainstream option to a much more established, institutionalised part of the office market.


Bisnow: WeWork’s members range from individuals and small businesses to large companies. How do you tailor the hospitality experience to such different needs?

Lovett: It really comes down to knowing your members, listening to their needs and acting on them. WeWork has always had that fun, community element to the brand, but we’re also serving some of the world’s largest companies.

Every company and team is different, so there's no one-size-fits-all model. You have to understand who’s in the building and what matters to them.

We’re both data- and conversation-led about that. With our Net Promoter Score surveys, for example, we ask individual members, not just the company, and we look at how people are actually using our spaces and services. That helps us understand where to invest.

My view is that the money we invest should focus on excellent spaces and making our members' day at work better. We test things, we ask members what they want and then we respond.

Even something as simple as the tea we serve — we recently changed the brand because we asked our members what they wanted.


Bisnow: As one of the more established players in flex, where do you see the sector going next — both in terms of hospitality and the wider experience it offers?

Lovett: I think you’re going to see the sector become more established, but also much more diverse.

The growth is clearly happening, but it’s becoming more disciplined. Investors and operators are much more data-led about where they open and where there’s proven demand. It’s less about planting a flag everywhere and more about customer-led growth.

At the same time, as the market grows, so does the range of people using flex. And just like we’ve seen with restaurants and hotels, I think that will lead to much more differentiation.

Different operators will become known for different experiences, levels of service and types of customer. To be successful, new operators will need to build resilience into their business model and offer something to the market that isn't already there.

I wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point, flex develops something like a star rating system. We all understand what to expect from a five-star hotel versus a three-star hotel. As flex becomes a more established part of the office market, I think customers will increasingly want that same clarity around what they’re getting.


This article was produced in collaboration between WeWork and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.