This Week In Coworking

Hector Kolonas
  • 4.5 (4)
  • Business News
  • Semiweekly

Quick recaps and deep-dives from the popular ThisWeekInCoworking.com email newsletters

  1. 20h ago

    Week 44 Recap: Agents, AI Security Risks and Coworking’s Community Debate

    Week 44 of 2026: AI agents for coworking operators, a hidden security risk in plain text files, a Brooklyn space at 100% occupancy, and a debate over whether "grown-up" coworking still needs community. Hector Kolonas is joined by first-time guest co-host Igor Dzhebyan-Benjamin, CEO and co-founder of Spacebring, a week after Spacebring Intelligence's launch. Igor walks through its three parts: an assistant operators can chat with, agents that run on a schedule or trigger (chasing unpaid invoices, flagging member milestones), and MCP connections that link Spacebring with tools like Claude and ChatGPT. He also shares how a prospect's trial was set up from their website in 13 minutes. From there, they get into prompt injections hidden in text files, how Spacebring limits what each agent can access and logs every run, and why the recent PHP and Node.js vulnerabilities show AI finding old security holes faster. Plus: how The Shop Workspace in Gowanus filled every office, why WeWork turning up on Jeopardy is good news for the whole industry, and the debate between Tobias Kollewe and Johanna Voll over whether coworking's "grown-up phase" leaves room for community. Chapters 0:00 This week's lineup 0:58 Meet Igor and Spacebring Intelligence 3:41 Agent recipes: milestones and payment chasers 6:05 A trial set up in 13 minutes 6:56 Designing for the operator experience 8:37 Prompt injection and AI agent security 14:20 PHP, Node.js and AI finding old holes 17:18 Is every system really on fire? 20:00 Gowanus hits 100% occupancy 21:59 WeWork on Jeopardy 24:02 Coworking's "grown-up phase" debate 27:26 One day, coworking is just working Read the Week 44 issue: https://thisweekincoworking.com/week-44-2026/ #coworking #flexspace #AIagents #proptech

    Week 44 Recap: Agents, AI Security Risks and Coworking’s Community Debate

  2. 4d ago

    David Harrell on Manhattan flex, landlords, and why your lease (really) matters

    If New Yorkers are back in the office, what is flex for? David Harrell is an office leasing broker at Colliers. He started out as a prosecutor and later helped launch WeWork's in-house tenant rep brokerage. He joins Hector Kolonas at his office overlooking Bryant Park to talk about Manhattan's flex market: why flex is a permanent part of it, why a 25-desk team room request below 34th Street turned up just two options, which landlords will and won't do deals with coworking operators, and what an operator needs to bring to get space in New York. Links and show notes at https://twic.co/bigcityflex They also get into why management agreements and revenue shares are a hard sell while the office market is this strong, and why a lease is what investors and buyers are really paying for. David covers which US markets do better for coworking than their size suggests, and the trends he's watching: bigger team rooms, dedicated bench desks, and managed office. Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:51 David's coworking story 6:40 Is flex permanent in Manhattan? 12:01 Not two tiers, many tiers 15:06 Do Class A landlords want flex? 18:24 Second-tier buildings and landlord stigma 20:40 What landlords want from operators 24:01 Coming to Manhattan in 2027 27:09 Leases vs. management agreements 31:50 Why leases make or break M&A 33:39 The best markets beyond Manhattan 37:00 Suburban coworking and the "trailing spouse" 38:32 Trends to watch #coworking #flexoffice #NYCrealestate #CRE

    David Harrell on Manhattan flex, landlords, and why your lease (really) matters

  3. Oct 20

    OfficeRnD has a new CEO, and he's taking the company back to its roots.

    More links and show notes at https://twic.co/newceo Ivan Guberkov joined OfficeRnD's early team, helped take it from zero to more than $15M ARR, and went on to lead sales, the hybrid work launch and product before stepping into the CEO role. He sits down with Hector Kolonas to talk about what the company learned from two years of leadership changes, why coworking is getting 80% of its focus again, and how it plans to roll out AI agents and open up its data through MCP without losing operators' trust. They also get into the RealPage vs. EliseAI fight in multifamily, who should be responsible (and who should get paid) when outside tools plug into an operator's data, and what OfficeRnD customers can expect to change over the next 12 months. Chapters 0:00 Welcome 0:51 How Ivan got into coworking 4:16 Lessons from two years of change 8:11 Two products, 80% coworking 11:27 Vibe coding, MCP and open data 15:08 Inside the AI Hub 20:31 Can outside agents plug in? 22:17 RealPage vs. EliseAI and walled gardens 28:29 Who's responsible, and who gets paid? 32:00 What changes for customers (and what doesn't) 34:39 Vibe maintenance and what's next #coworking #flexspace #proptech #AI

    OfficeRnD has a new CEO, and he's taking the company back to its roots.

  4. Oct 16

    28-min rev boost, Hines & Tishman Speyer news + boom in offsites, fractional offices, & hotel clubs

    Hector Kolonas and William Edmundson recap key items from the This Week in Coworking Week 42 (2026) newsletter Follow along with Week 42's (2026) Coworking News: https://thisweekincoworking.com/week-42-2026/ They share iPostal1’s “28-minute” operator checklist to grow virtual address revenue, including updating listing photos and adding iWorkspaceMail as a white-label digital mailbox revenue stream, then “rewarding yourself” after completing the steps. They discuss major real estate and flex signals: leadership transitions at Hines and its building-as-flex approach, and Tishman Speyer’s 150-year Chrysler Building lease with plans to invest $235M and expand pre-built suites and flex. The episode also covers a reported 30% rise in offsite bookings, Flexday’s fractional offices, hotel membership models as a potential competitor, and a “launch week” strategy for new spaces, including staging offices and consultative selling supported by AI research. 00:00 Welcome and Week 42 Preview 01:00 Sponsor Spotlight iPostal1 01:27 28 Minute Revenue Boost 02:48 Step One Update Photos 04:46 Step Two Add iWorkspaceMail 05:58 Step Three Coffee and Tools 07:05 Big Story Hines Leadership Shift 09:03 Chrysler Building Flex Future 10:50 New SKUs Offsites and Fractional Offices 14:48 Hotels as Coworking Competitors 17:23 Launch Week and Space Staging Tips 20:42 Consultative Tours and Using AI 23:53 Wrap Up and Goodbye

    28-min rev boost, Hines & Tishman Speyer news + boom in offsites, fractional offices, & hotel clubs

  5. Oct 8

    Coworking Tenure Survey 2026, Career Paths & AI Agents (w/ Sam Shea of FLOC + Uniti) | Week 41 Recap

    Host Hector Kolonas is joined by co-host Sam Shea (ex-Workbar, ex-WeWork, ex-LiquidSpace; now at Uniti; and founder of FLOC—Future Leaders of Coworking) to discuss the 2026 Coworking Tenure Survey and key Week 41 stories. Read the Week 41 newsletter at https://thisweekincoworking.com/week-41-2026/ Get the free 2026 Coworking Tenure report at https://twic.co/tenure/results They review survey findings from 37 operators across five regions, including that 78% report entry-level staff staying a year or more, with drop-off often occurring around 2–3 years, and that defined career paths correlate with lower churn. Reported reasons for entry-level departures include limited career progression (39%), moving industries (39%), and compensation (31%). They discuss internal promotion splits (some promote most managers internally, others few) and optional revenue-per-employee results where 33% reported $300k–$500k. The episode also covers AI agent adoption (a master agreement bringing Uniti to the Vast franchise network), an IKEA franchisee case study on reskilling, HubSpot’s shift toward consumption-based pricing, Alcove’s expansion to 33 pods including Manhattan, and a FLOC collaboration pub quiz at GCUC UK in London.00:00 Welcome and Sam Shea00:43 What is FLOC01:49 Tenure Survey Key Findings03:18 Career Paths Reduce Churn05:13 Why Staff Leave06:03 Promoting Managers Internally08:11 Revenue Per Employee Insights10:35 AI Agents Enter Coworking12:47 AI Reskilling Lessons17:13 HubSpot Pricing Shakeup20:20 Alcove Pods Expansion21:43 GCUC London Wrap Up

    Coworking Tenure Survey 2026, Career Paths & AI Agents (w/ Sam Shea of FLOC + Uniti) | Week 41 Recap

  6. Oct 2

    Pricing Psychology, AI Agents, and Handling Bad Members - Coworking Week 40 Recapped

    Hector Kolonas hosts the Week 40 (2026) recap of This Week In Coworking with guest co-host Cat Johnson, discussing upcoming events including GCUC UK in London, a Coworking Creators meetup, the Coworking Creator Summit, and October and November convos, plus a surprise trivia game at GCUC UK powered by This Week In Coworking and hosted by FLOC. They highlight a Cobalt resource on pricing psychology (price anchoring, the endowment effect, frictionless signups, and effective discount framing), then explore how AI personal assistant agents from Meta and OpenAI could shift booking and search behavior and what that means for coworking ecommerce, reviews, and positioning. They also cover Google Sheets gaining Gemini-powered board-style interfaces, the risks of “vibe coding” without maintenance, and implications for tech stacks and coworking space sales. Finally, they discuss Tamara’s public response to a “bad member” and review bombing, emphasizing transparency, community trust, and online context. 00:00 Welcome and Birthdays 00:40 Cat’s Event Sprint 01:31 GCUC UK Trivia Tease 02:19 Pricing Psychology Wins 04:33 AI Agents Change Buying 10:08 Aggregators and Incentives 11:26 Gemini Sheets Goes No Code 13:29 Vibe Coding vs Maintenance 15:16 Exit Strategy and Tech Stack 18:34 Handling a Bad Member 22:16 Community Support and Wrap

    Pricing Psychology, AI Agents, and Handling Bad Members - Coworking Week 40 Recapped

  7. Sep 25

    Week 39: Booking Disasters, Better Branding, and Practical AI with Ivailo Ivanov

    In this episode of the Week 39 recap, host Hector Kolonas is joined by Ivailo Ivanov, VP of Product at OfficeRnD, to discuss three critical topics from this weeks newsletter for the coworking industry: 1. A "catastrophic booking failure" case study: Analyzing how breakdowns in access, staffing, SOPs, and Wi-Fi can ruin the member experience despite a successful booking. 2. Branding over overcrowding: An argument that flex workspaces aren’t suffering from overcrowding, but rather a lack of clear branding. We compare coworking differentiation to hotel tiers and emphasize the need for clearer expectations based on specific use cases. 3. AI in coworking: A product-focused deep dive into OfficeRnD’s utility-first approach. We explore implementing sales agents and web chat widgets to drive conversions, and experimenting with conversational analytics for faster data insights. Follow along at https://thisweekincoworking.com/week-39-2026/ Or subscribe for the free email newsletter at https://twic.co/subscribe We also offer a warning against the risks of "vibe coding" bespoke systems, emphasizing that long-term maintenance and security require more than just a surface-level approach. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:23 Catastrophic Booking Fail 04:10 Fixing Ops and WiFi Basics 09:03 Branding Not Overcrowding 12:18 Power Outage Reality Check 12:39 OfficeRnD AI Philosophy 14:44 AI Adoption Types 19:28 AI Sales Agent and Conversion 22:49 Conversational Analytics and Data Trust 24:26 Vibe Coding Warning 25:52 Wrap Up and Thanks

    Week 39: Booking Disasters, Better Branding, and Practical AI with Ivailo Ivanov

  8. Sep 18

    Fit-Out ROI, Berlin’s Vacant Offices & Content Marketing That Converts | Week 38 (2026)

    This Week In Coworking

    Fit-Out ROI, Berlin’s Vacant Offices & Content Marketing That Converts | Week 38 (2026)
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About

Quick recaps and deep-dives from the popular ThisWeekInCoworking.com email newsletters

Information

  • Creator
    Hector Kolonas
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    149
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Hector Kolonas
  • Show Website
    This Week In Coworking

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