Rent out your office space AirBnB style

co-workingAir BnB is a seriously cool site.  Not only have they given the travel industry a much needed revamp, they have also proven a source of good.  It was reported last year that during the hurricane in New York, people were using the site to house the poor people that had lost their homes during the storm.

Which is pretty cool.  ShareDesk has a similar business model, but as yet without the social good attached to it.  The idea is a simple one.  You take your average office, and any spare desks you have can be rented out to freelancers, entrepreneurs and the like that would like an affordable and flexible office space for a while.

Kia Rahmani, the founder of the site explained the concept to Fast Company recently.

“The problem is this: There’s tons of idle capacity [read: underused office space] out there. There’s been numerous studies that show that an actual workspace is only utilized less than 45% of the time. That doesn’t only apply for small businesses; it also applies for large organizations and corporates. For us, the goal is to try to help workspaces better utilize their real estate assets, better utilize their idle desks, their meeting rooms.”

He would like to see the site used by companies to rent out un-used desk space, conference rooms, the works, all on a temporary basis.  Prices vary, with some offering rent per day, some per month.  For instance you can rent a desk in TechSpace, in the heart of London’s Silicon Roundabout for £360 per month.

At the moment, many of the listings seem to be offices like TechSpace that are essentially designed for co-working, but with the site barely 6 months old it’s inevitable that they would be the first movers.  Rahmani is seeing signs that more traditional offices are coming on board however, and he even envisages people renting out spare rooms in their homes before too long.
ShareDesk take a 15% commission on any transactions made via the site but apart from that it’s free to use.  A really interesting concept and certainly one to keep an eye on.

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14 thoughts on “Rent out your office space AirBnB style

  1. Interesting idea. Wonder how it would work from a security perspective. I mean it's hard enough bringing my own device to work and having web access etc. and I'm a trusted employee (I hope). Can just imagine a stranger coming in and being given access.

  2. Might also be worth companies checking the terms of their lease. Not all tenants will be allowed to sub-let their offices to others.

  3. Renting out the office space is not a new idea but providing it to poor victims is definitely a new idea. I have been using my office space as a source of business providing many people it on rent those who can't afford their personal buildings but even this was indeed a noble task.
    Thanks for the information. I always have learned many thugs from your blog.

  4. Interesting idea. Wonder how it would work from a security perspective. I mean it’s hard enough bringing my own device to work and having web access etc. and I’m a trusted employee (I hope). Can just imagine a stranger coming in and being given access.

  5. I think this kind of business is becoming so common place these days its great to see. Use the spare resources available and help out those that dont have access to enough cash for a desk. There is another great site taking over London atm called Hubble. Go check them out, i am currently looking to rent an office through them.
    https://hubblehq.com

    Let me know what you think… but if you find anything nice in Shoreditch its mine… hands off…! 🙂 #kidding haha.

    Thanks for the post, always exciting to read about new ventures disrupting the status quo!

      • hahaha, i am open to suggestions. 🙂 Is Elephant and Castle a fun place to work? Salubrious is always a word that stokes my interest. 🙂

      • Adi, I know the founders of Hubble and wondered if you might like to include another quote from them in your article above? I know Tushar would love to offer his 'pennies-worth' on the pace of change in this space. Let me know if this works for you. I am sure they will then share the article with all of their newsletter and social fans etc. 🙂 I can nudge them quite hard, i have some leverage 🙂

        • Sure, happy to talk to them. This article is a few years old now so I'd probably look to do a more up to date look at the market. admin at adigaskell dot org is my email if you wanted to connect us up.

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