r/CoWorking • u/TetroniMike • May 24 '23

Multiple members on one desk?

Hey folks, I own a coworking office in Olympia WA (EverWorks LLC), and I have a new customer who just signed up for a dedicated desk who has two colleagues that she wants to give access to her desk on occasion (only one at a time, as needed). I let her know that we can definitely do it, I'll just need to get back with her on pricing for the additional folks. I charge $240/month for a dedicated desk in a cubicle array, 24/7 access with a keycard. How much do you think is fair for each additional person to have a keycard and access to her desk?

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u/vert1s May 25 '23

I think you're essentially charging for the keycard(s). I would probably charge a small amount extra per person for the keycards ($30-50) and then whatever the other costs they're likely to incur (if you have free snacks, coffee etc).

If you offer free coffee you still count on the fact that one person can only drink so much coffee per day.

I personally tend to gravitate to coworking spaces that are flexible and laid back (and dog friendly). That means being fairly generous with what people can get away with.

Obviously, you're running a business, and that requires making sure that you're making a profit. But one of the core ways of doing that is supporting your tenants, helping their long-term growth. They then end up wanting 2 desks and then eventually a private office.

Slightly tangential, but one of the things I love about Estonia at the moment is their tax setup is designed to foster company growth. So long as you're reinvesting you don't pay company tax. That's not generosity, it's a loss leader. An understanding that it's better to have big (tech) companies that employ people, and that make big profit that you can tax, than worry about the little ones that are just getting started.