FlexWorld Series 2026 Recap: Insights and Predictions for the Future of Flex Spaces

FlexWorld Series is OfficeRnD’s annual virtual conference for coworking and flex space operators, where industry leaders share strategies on growth, operations, hospitality, and workspace technology.

This is a recap of the FlexWorld Series 2024 conference, held virtually on Tuesday, May 21st. You can still watch every session on demand and follow the latest edition at the FlexWorld Series website.

Since its first edition, FlexWorld has become a leading event in the coworking industry, bringing together operators, industry professionals, and product teams to discuss trends, challenges, and opportunities in the sector.

The 2024 program drew participants from around the world across four panel sessions:

• Growth vs Efficiency: Finding the Right Balance
• Measure What Matters: Coworking KPIs, Benchmarks, and Industry Standards
• Hospitality as a Competitive Edge
• Navigating Tomorrow’s Technology Innovations (Product Roadmap)

Here’s what each session covered.

Growth vs Efficiency: Finding the Right Balance

One of the standout sessions was the panel discussion, “Growth vs Efficiency: Finding the Right Balance.” It brought together operators to work through the balance between expanding a flex space business and keeping operations efficient.

Moderated by Samantha Kenney, CMO at OfficeRnD, the panel shared strategies and real-world examples covering the tradeoffs between growth and efficiency.

The panelists were:

• Jonny Rosenblatt; Co-Founder, SpaceMade
• Jamie Russo; CEO, Everything Coworking
• Triona O’Neill; Director of Operations, Serendipity Labs
• Radoslav Enchev; Senior Product Manager, OfficeRnD
• Samantha Kenney; CMO, OfficeRnD

Key discussion points

• Defining growth and efficiency
• What metrics do you look at for optimization?

Beyond the obvious metrics like office occupancy, hot-desk sales, and membership sales, the panel pointed to sales activity, contracted revenue, and website sessions per site as useful data points.

Revenue per square foot came up as a metric many flex space operators dislike. Member satisfaction and member retention are commonly used to project ARR and gauge revenue stability.

• What tradeoffs have you made for optimization? Does being efficient mean sacrificing growth?

Efficiency comes before growth. Build scalable operations and processes that serve your team and members. Automate member onboarding and deliver turn-key setups so members can start working within minutes.

Learn from each space and apply what you find. Every space gets better than the last because you keep iterating.

Read this blog post for a deeper look at the session and the tactics the panelists use to grow their spaces.

You can also watch the video recording of the session below:

Measure What Matters: Coworking KPIs, Benchmarks, and Industry Standards

This panel looked at the metrics that drive success in coworking, and where industry standards fall short.

Attendees learned what other operators use as benchmarks and how they compare their spaces against top-performing companies outside coworking to find room to grow.

Moderated by OfficeRnD’s Mihail Kyosev, the panel discussed the “Rule of 40” and measuring your organization against “Blue Whale” companies outside the coworking industry.

The speakers were:

• Alexandra Livesey; COO, Clockwise Offices
• Anna Levine; Chief Commercial Officer, Industrious
• Miro Miroslavov; CEO, OfficeRnD
• Mihail Kyosev; Senior Manager Product & Data, OfficeRnD Flex

Key discussion points

• How often are you using data to make decisions?

The panel agreed on looking at data that predicts where the whole industry is heading, not just a snapshot of right now.

• What are your top 3 KPIs daily? Monthly? Yearly?

Cost of sales is a key data point: where new deals come from and how much they cost the business. The Rule of 40 helps measure growth and profitability together.

Retention rates deserve frequent attention. Winning a new customer is expensive, so keeping the ones you have is the cheaper way to grow.

Checking NPS daily gives you the chance to act fast. If someone raises a concern, you can spot the problem and address it right away.

• How do you evaluate whether your performance metrics meet expectations? Do you benchmark against industry standards, historical data, or specific targets?

You need a north star. Large, successful US companies outside coworking were studied and shared four traits: strong parent-level EBITDA margins, steady revenue growth, high net revenue retention, and low fixed cost as a percent of revenue.

The takeaway: coworking benchmarking and data-tracking standards are still low and rarely standardized.

Read this article for the full set of insights from the session. You can also watch the video recording below:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gvi7qj7ho8A%26amp%3Blist%3DPL1oV6bfMypmZ2yM7VKx22c_lC_su3q4dq%26amp%3Bindex%3D3

Hospitality as a Competitive Edge

The panel for this session included:

• Kenny Kane; CEO, Firmspace
• Ed Hobbs; National General Manager, X+Why
• Ivan Guberkov; VP Product, OfficeRnD

They discussed hospitality in coworking and how it sets spaces apart in a competitive market.

Good service and a welcoming environment attract and keep members, and they raise overall satisfaction and loyalty.

Speakers shared practical tips for building hospitality into daily operations, from personal member interactions to a community-centric atmosphere.

A culture of hospitality drives member engagement and supports growth. Attendees left with clear steps for using hospitality to build a coworking experience members want to stay in.

Key discussion points

• Expectations vary across coworking spaces. How do you define “hospitality” in your operations, and how has it kept you competitive?

Hospitality starts with the welcome: “hi, how are you, how can we help?” Focus on consistent touch points and stay hungry to find solutions. Make sure everyone has the tools and resources they need to come to work and be successful.

• Inspired by Will Guidara’s concept of “unreasonable hospitality,” can you share an example where going beyond expectations changed your space’s reputation or client loyalty?

A playbook helps, but what makes a space engaging is people’s personalities coming through, so let your team be authentic. Track metrics that aren’t only revenue-based but also measure the relationships you build with members.

Read this blog post for the practical tips and strategies Ed Hobbs and Kenny Kane shared.

You can also watch the video recording of the session below:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0yEoxf6lKoc%26list%3DPL1oV6bfMypmZ2yM7VKx22c_lC_su3q4dq%26index%3D5%26t%3D1s

Navigating Tomorrow’s Technology Innovations

OfficeRnD’s Ivan Guberkov, VP of Product, ran this session solo, walking through where coworking technology is heading and what OfficeRnD Flex would ship next.

OfficeRnD Flex is a coworking management platform that automates operations, billing, bookings, and member experience for flex space operators.

The talk covered recent releases plus a preview of upcoming features for coworking operations and member experience, including tools that cut admin and payment work, improve benchmarking and data tracking, and support community engagement.

Since then, OfficeRnD Flex has grown into six connected hubs: Operations, Experience, Growth, Visitor, Data, and Integrations. Read the OfficeRnD Flex product year in review for the latest on what’s shipped, from dynamic pricing in Growth Hub to benchmarking in Data Hub.

You can also watch a video of the session below:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Mh8wMZoj8KQ%26list%3DPL1oV6bfMypmZ2yM7VKx22c_lC_su3q4dq%26index%3D5

In conclusion

FlexWorld Series 2024 covered the ground that matters most to operators: measuring the right KPIs, using hospitality to compete, and reading where coworking technology is going.

Together, the sessions gave coworking operators concrete strategies they can put to work.

Thanks again to every speaker, attendee, and team member who made the event happen.

For updates on future editions, follow the conference site at https://flexworld.io/. You can also follow OfficeRnD on social media and read the blog to keep up with coworking insights.

Questions asked in the chat during the conference

What’s the most effective marketing channel for promoting private offices?

Google Ads drove the most success for the operators on the panel.

How do you build partnerships with other businesses to improve member benefits?

Kenny Kane, CEO at Firmspace, uses a platform called Paylode to build business connections that directly benefit members.

How can we get members to come to the office more often? We host monthly appreciation and in-house events, but it doesn’t help much.

Try incentives like discounted rates for frequent users and partnerships with local businesses for exclusive member discounts.

For events, keep testing new formats until one sticks, and survey members on what they actually want to attend.

Start with the space itself: appealing amenities and a good layout. Then experiment.

How do you monitor NPS without bombarding members?

Build real relationships and ask for open, honest feedback throughout the membership and at renewal.

We want to use the Brivo mobile app but have waited months for Apple to approve our developer account. Any tips?

This is case-specific, but Apple usually explains what the problem is and how to fix it. Reach out and ask for detail on exactly what’s required. A large developer community deals with the same requirements, so most issues have already been discussed and documented.

What is the FlexWorld Series?

FlexWorld Series is a free, virtual conference run by OfficeRnD for coworking and flex space operators. Each edition features panels with industry leaders on growth, KPIs, hospitality, and workspace technology, plus a look at the OfficeRnD Flex product roadmap.

Where can I watch the FlexWorld Series 2024 sessions?

All four sessions are available on OfficeRnD’s YouTube channel, and each is embedded in this recap above.