On-the-road workspace rental options grow for business travellers

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On a recent trip to Silicon Valley, Elizabeth Caley and her team from Toronto-based artificial-intelligence-powered search engine, Meta, scheduled an early-morning strategy session in San Francisco. “We had several hours to kill before our afternoon meeting,” she says. “And we wanted to plan and strategize for the next conversation.”

The problem: an Uber ride to and from the hotel outside the city would have eaten up a couple of hours in commuting time. And a coffee shop was out of the question. “The WiFi is dodgy — it’s not secure,” says Caley. “And if you’re having any sort of private or strategic conversations, you don’t know who you’re sitting next to.”

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So Caley turned to a service she has relied on in the past. She pulled out her phone and accessed breather.com.

The handy app provides business spaces for rent on demand. “We got a great room a few minutes away with a table for four and a couch,” says Caley. As always, it was stocked with a whiteboard and supplies, as well as having working WiFi and temperature controls. “You can see a photo of the room so you know what you’re getting,” she says.

WiFi is not secure in coffee shops and your private conversations may not be so private

As for many companies, travel has been a crucial element in building Meta’s business, but it takes time and money. Having access to cost-effective, professional-looking spaces to unwind or meet with partners, clients or suppliers outside of their home city has been a boon. For startups in particular, says Caley, “you want something that looks professional, but doesn’t look like you’re spending all the money you’re looking to raise on space.”  

Here’s how to get the workspace you need without spending your company’s precious funds on a room you only need for a few hours.

Breather.com: Travelling entrepreneurs have used Breather space for everything from pop-up designer fashion shops to workshops, says Ashleigh Berger, Breather’s Canadian general manager. “And in cities where real estate is expensive, like Toronto, entrepreneurs sometimes take on a smaller office space and then utilize Breather when they need a meeting space.”

Breather is available in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and London, England. Sample listing: a boardroom in Montreal rang in for as little as $25 an hour.

As You Stay: Sometimes a hotel room to flop in for a few hours is all you need. This New York-based mobile app launched in 2016 allows you to pay as you stay. You can rent hotel rooms for a few hours for as much as 60 per cent less than the nightly rate.

Perfect for long layovers, extended day trips or if you simply need a shower and a place to freshen up on the road. Operates in 10 major cities across the U.S. Hotel partners include Marriott, Carlson, Choice Hotels, IHG, Cassa Hotel and Residences and Hilton.

LiquidSpace: This app acts as a kind of matchmaking platform that links companies in need of office space with those that have space to sell by the hour, by the month, or for as long as three years. “We branched out into longer term rentals in order to give entrepreneurs the flexibility they need,” says CEO Mark Gilbreath.

A company headquartered in Toronto, he points out, might make the decision to hire two sales people in Vancouver, with the prospect of adding as many as four more by the end of the year. “You could rent space for six people on a long-term lease,” says Gilbreath, “or you could just take the space you need and upsize or downsize as business dictates.”

Short-term meeting space ranges in cost from $25 to $100 an hour through LiquidSpace. And a desk in a shared workspace could be $25 to $50 per day. Operates in Canada, the U.S. and Australia.

Tangent at Westin: Introduced in 2013, these well-equipped meeting rooms reflect Westin’s recognition that business travellers frequently need to connect with colleagues across the table and even across the globe while travelling.

Available at 50 hotels (five in Canada), and you don’t have to be a guest to book. Sample listing: a 200-sq.-ft. meeting room with video conferencing, HD LCD televisions, printer, sound system and refrigerator with “light refreshments” costs $95 an hour at the Westin Ottawa.

Regus: With 3,000 locations in 120 countries, this is perhaps the largest flexible work space solution on the market. It offers everything from short- and long-term office space to co-working space, pay-as-you-go meeting rooms, lounges and virtual offices for businesses looking to crack new markets. In the latter case, you get a professional address, telephone answering, mail handling and use of an office space. 

Camilla Cornell is a business writer and intrepid traveller, who nonetheless appreciates a little comfort when away from home.
camillacornell@gmail.com
Twitter.com/camillacornell