For Toronto-based entrepreneur Daniela Saioni WeWork has been a lifesaver — literally.
In January, Saioni bought an international membership with WeWork, which operates co-working spaces worldwide. For $441 a month, including taxes, she has unlimited access to WeWork’s sites. Wherever she travels, she knows a WeWork office space will include a desk, private offices or phone booths to hold meetings or video calls — and good coffee.
Saioni runs Director Whisperer, a coaching business for film industry workers. She started it during the pandemic after spending more than 30 years in the film industry. When Covid restrictions lifted, she decided to see as many of her clients in-person as possible. She’s used WeWork locations in Toronto, New York, California and London, England. She estimates she’s at WeWork at least three times a week.
But one night in May, while working in Santa Monica, her overnight accommodations suddenly fell through. She had no money and hotel rooms cost hundreds of dollars. So, she slept at WeWork.
“It kept me off the streets of L.A,” she says.
But now, the company needs saving. On Monday, the company announced it was filing for bankruptcy. It filed for creditor protection in Canada on Tuesday.
In a statement to Canadian Affairs, the company said it was an “important step to restructure” the business. “We have exceptional confidence that we will emerge from this process as a financially stronger company… WeWork spaces remain open, and there is no change to the way we operate for our members in Canada.”
WeWork rents office space, which it then lets users use for a fee. It has 770 locations in more than 30 countries, court filings say. Its website lists 19 Canadian locations in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Burnaby and Vancouver. On Tuesday, it was reported that Toronto, Burnaby and Vancouver locations could close.
WeWork is still busy, even though in September the company told members locations would close between midnight and 6 a.m., instead of being open 24 hours, Saioni said.
The bankruptcy announcement “has harmed the perception of [WeWork] more than anything,” she says. “I hope it doesn’t shut down.”
Still viable
Despite WeWork’s financial woes, operators of co-working spaces across Canada say that co-working is still viable.
This is not a “death knell for co-working” or a sign that it’s a “failed experiment,” says Brandon Houston, owner of the Collingwood Foundry, a co-working site in Collingwood, Ontario.
Business has surged since the pandemic, said Houston.
At the beginning of 2020, the Collingwood Foundry had 40 members. The site — which started in 2017 — was shuttered for most of 2020. Now it has 225 members. Some rent office space, others use networking tools or attend events the Foundry hosts.
Houston says it’s partly because of remote workers fleeing Toronto. Collingwood’s population has grown 21 per cent since 2016, rising to 26,350 from 21,800.
“Co-working is very strong and still going forward, and there’s more spaces opening up,” says Houston, who consults with co-working spaces in rural communities. “There’s more people looking for those spaces and community that co-working provides.”
“Co-working is so much more than a desk,” says Mark Eaton, owner of The Corner Co-working, the first co-working site in Cochrane, Alta. It has three locations in Cochrane and one in Okotoks. Eaton started the company in 2018. He was working for a Toronto-based company at the time and was tired of working alone at home.
The Corner has weekly social events and themed meal days. Each Wednesday, for example, people can make their own waffles and make grilled cheese sandwiches on Fridays. “It’s a way to build community,” he says.
‘Shiny people’
WeWork could have more social events, said Saioni. She’s met a lot of people at WeWork locations, but she hasn’t made any friends there, she says. She enjoyed people watching, describing many urban WeWork users as good-looking and “shinier people.” At 54, she sometimes feels like “the old lady” among an office bustling with professionals in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
At Danforth Creative Commons, community is key. The East Toronto co-working site, which also has a recording studio, just secured its first tenants. It has a mix of offices and desk space. But unlike WeWork or other co-working companies, there’s no option to just rent a desk for a day. Office space requires a one-year commitment, desks a one-month commitment, said managing partner Rylan Kinnon.
“We’re looking to build a bit more of a consistent community,” he says.
WeWork’s bankruptcy filings are “disconcerting,” he says, but he doesn’t think it’s a bad sign for him. His business model has “less risk” than the former co-working giant. While WeWork would lease space, Kinnon’s family has owned the building where Danforth Creative Commons is for decades. His space is also smaller.
“I think it will be a while before folks really understand what the impact of WeWork shutting down is,” he says.
If WeWork shutters completely, Saioni says she has options for other co-working spaces. It won’t be the same though. She’s gone to other co-working places and WeWork was the “king.” Besides, its coffee was better than at cafes.
