IWG’s ‘manless’ co-working centre opens doors in Hong Kong

The flexible workspace brand was previously available only in Japan.

The increasing number of organisations planning to downsize their office footprint — not only to respond to the new way of how people are working, but also to cut on costs — have pushed IWG to bring its self-service brand,OpenOffice, to Hong Kong.

IWG’s first-ever OpenOffice in Hong Kong opened in June at 60 Gloucester Road in Wan Chai, offering over 8,000 square feet of workspaces.

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Prior to its entry to Hong Kong, OpenOffice was only available in Japan.

“We’re trialling this in the market to see how it comes across to the people and we’re seeing a very big uptick in it. Within the first few weeks, we already sold more than expected level of the inventory within that location,” Paul MacAndrew, country manager for IWG in Hong Kong & Greater Bay Area, told Hong Kong Business.

MacAndrew said OpenOffice is perfect for organisations that do not really need common facilities and just want a flexible workspace. Outside the rooms, however, there are small waiting areas as well as a pantry.

The OpenOffice has no reception services and all office spaces, virtual offices and meeting rooms in the building are operated in an unmanned manner, making it a self-service and “manless” location.

So, clients who wish to book spaces in the centre can do so through IWG’s digital platform.

For firms that want to have common facilities but still want a lower price point, MacAndrew suggested its HQ brand.

Recently, IWG opened two HQ co-working centres in Hong Kong: one at Leighton Centre in Causeway Bay, and another at K11 ATELIER King’s Road in Quarry Bay.

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The HQ at Leighton Centre can provide up to 15,000 square feet of workspaces. It also has meeting rooms, event space, and two outside balcony areas. The HQ is fit for businesses looking for professional and functional environments.

HQ at K11 ATELIER, on the other hand, opened on 1 August. It offers 21,200 square feet of flexible work solutions and provides 30 hot desks, three meeting rooms and offices for one to 50 people.

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Apart from having common facilities such as meeting rooms, business lounges, and boardrooms, what makes HQ different from OpenOffice is its location, floorspace and the type of building they belong to. .Another distinguishing design of HQ is its dominated by blue paint. 

“HQ is a very well-designed space at a lower price point. We’re trying to reduce the common facilities so we can put more desks in and we can overall provide a lower price point but the look, the feel to design is still very, very nice,” MacAndrew said.

“If you’re more budget conscious, you will be gravitating towards the OpenOffice and the HQ,” said MacAndrew.
 
For firms who have bigger budgets for office spaces and want a more corporate feel, MacAndrew suggested the Regus brand. Regus spaces are located in Grade A buildings.  

In June, IWG opened a new Regus co-working centre at Grand Century Place in Mong Kok. The space can provide up to 22,200 square feet of workstations, meeting rooms and private offices.

MacAndrew said their clients choose spaces based on their personal preferences, adding that some multinational corporations even choose to lease even in their brands that are not on the higher-end.

The opening of the four new centres — two HQs, one Regus, and one OpenOffice — added 66,600 square feet to IWG’s footprint in Hong Kong. Currently, it has 21 centres in the city across five brands.

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Moving forward, MacAndrew said IWG will continue to grow its Hong Kong presence by parenting with building owners in the city.

“We haven’t stopped growing. Now with the way the market and the way people are working, the demand we’re seeing for flexible workspace is just getting started,” said MacAndrew.