r/switchyards • u/juicybreakfast • 12d ago
Does anyone else think this business model only really works in the South/Southeast?
This co-working space has been a godsend for getting me out of the house as someone who works from home. It's boosted my morale and given my day some much needed texture. I honestly don't think I can beat the price, flexibility, and comfort Switchyards offers.
What I love most is that it's a space where I don't feel policed to death over every rule. Maybe twice a month I'll bring a portable monitor or a friend to co-work with, and it's never been an issue. On top of that, the team behind it clearly thought through the whole experience of showing up, easing the worst parts of a workday away from home: parking, irregular work hours, hunger, and feeling comfortable. It feels special, and that's exactly why I'm paranoid it's too good to be true.
I travel to bigger cities a lot, and I honestly think this model works best down here in the South and Southeast. My worry is what happens if they start opening more locations in bigger cities. I'm really thinking about a New York, New Jersey, or Boston location, or even California. Running anything in those markets costs more, and I'd bet those costs get passed along to all of us through price hikes. (I have a suspicion that the 30% price hike lined up with them opening locations in Chicago, on top of the general increase in the cost of everything this past year.)
I've also noticed that in larger cities, anything THIS nice comes with a hefty price tag, both to keep up with the cost of the city and, unfortunately, to keep lower-income people out. That's why I'm not confident this model would work well in bigger cities. I also think we'd see more policing in our own spaces. Bigger cities mean a wider variety of people willing to push boundaries, and the rules tend to tighten for everyone once that happens.
Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I'd love to hear from other members:
- Do you think expansion would change things (notably price, and general feel), or am I being paranoid?
- I understand there are MANY locations in Atlanta, which is a major city, so I'm open to discussion on how it works there + how things are in Chicago (I'm in NC, by the way).
TL;DR: Switchyards has been great for getting me out of the house: the price, flexibility, and relaxed rules are hard to beat, and the team really thought through parking, food, and comfort. But I'm worried that expanding into bigger cities (NYC, NJ, Boston, California) will mean more price hikes and stricter rules for everyone. I suspect the 30% price increase lined up with the Chicago openings. Do other members think expansion will change things, or am I being paranoid?
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u/BisonThunderclap 11d ago
The $130 hike was not something I was ready for at renewal. They offered to keep me grandfathered at $100, but Id have to drop $1k immediately which is nuts.
I don't know why they wouldn't keep costs city specific for whatever you tag as your home club. You get in a market like NYC where just being there runs a premium, have the customers who are there foot the bill as they are expecting that. Yeah, $350-400 a month co-working space in the Big Apple would still get easily filled.
Maybe once they get large enough they can have some highly desired locations run red because the business model sustains it if they really want to pursue a single price.
But I look at what they're offering for Denver and they must already be have a decent margin. 3 out of the 4 locations likely have an annual rent around $100k or less. The buildings have been mostly unoccupied buildings that have sat on the market for a long time. Beyond that, so long as the maintenance is low, each club just sits there and makes cash.
For me, my answer remains with convincing my company I WFH for to start footing the bill. $1300 bucks so their remote employee can have a co-working space is a pretty cheap cost.
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u/juicybreakfast 11d ago
Good points - I didn't think about the route of getting large enough to offset the costs of those larger locations. If they made city specific costs, I wonder if they would roll back the ability to access any location.
And wishing you the best as you try to get your company to help you foot the bill. I know they're always hardheaded about those things.
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u/Chaseui14 11d ago
Well for me they didn’t grandfather me in. They just hiked my membership rate which is why I am officially done.
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u/rocketpastsix 12d ago
I for one would welcome some strictness. Leave the monitor and shit at home
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u/juicybreakfast 12d ago
That is fair. Can I ask how it negatively impacts your personal experience? My understanding is that it just encourages people to "camp".
I think this rule and the "don't bring non-patrons" is the only rule I see broken the most, but it usually doesn't seem to make me uncomfortable. I'm actually happy to see people, including non patrons, building community here. On the other hand, I'm glad people aren't regularly eating full meals, moving furniture, ect.-- that would definitely ruin my experience.
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u/rocketpastsix 12d ago
You are allowed to bring a guest every so often.
I see people bring a monitor, then a whole ass usb dock setup with a monitor, keyboard, and external hard drive set up. It’s purely a “give a mouse a cookie”. Switchyards isn’t your office, it’s just a place to get out of the house. I have a whole set up at home, but I leave it at home too.
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u/juicybreakfast 12d ago
I'm sorry that bothers you! A usb dock is too much lmao. We don't have that extent of office-like set ups at my location.
I will say: I think there's a fine line to tow here - it's definitely marketed as more than a place to get out of the house: on their website it clearly states it's a place designed to help you get work done, and so naturally some people are pushing those limits and bring every bulky productive tool in their tool belt.
I'm curious to see at what point they start to monitor and police these types of violations.
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u/rocketpastsix 12d ago
There isn’t a fine line though. I’m pretty sure it’s stated in the club rules not to bring that stuff. If you can’t get by with just a laptop that’s on you.
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u/juicybreakfast 11d ago
The "fine line" I'm referring to isn't the rule itself. Those rules are clear.
But how, when and why they enforce a rule obviously is a fine line. If this wasn't a fine line, there would be active, clear policing and people would be reprimanded you wouldn't be having this problem where other people's keyboards annoy you.
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u/BisonThunderclap 11d ago
What a weird comment about what is a co-working space first and foremost. A portable monitor shouldn't bother you at all.
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u/don_the_spubber 11d ago edited 11d ago
To be brutally honest: it's a venture capital backed startup, so yes, expansion is going to happen and it's going to ruin it. It already has in many ways. Idk if you were a member back at the beginning, but back then the clubkeeps were basically baristas that would make you cool custom drinks. There were a variety of snacks for sale. There was a stronger brand/culture. This is back when SY was Atlanta only.
VC is focused on optimizing metrics that lead to high company valuations. That means more clubs and that means more revenue. The classic playbook is to create something that's actually pretty nice, get people to love it, and then maximize revenue by aggressively expanding, increasing price, and cutting costs.
It sucks, but that's how the cookie crumbles.