Is coworking useless? The Nice Room’s progress tells a distinct story.

Based in 2016, The Nice Room now operates seven places in Singapore & has expanded to Australia, Hong Kong, and Thailand

As soon as touted as the way forward for work, coworking has misplaced a lot of its early buzz. The idea—constructed on flexibility, group, and affordability—was meant to be an alternative choice to inflexible conventional places of work. But, in a post-pandemic panorama dominated by hybrid work, enthusiasm for shared areas has waned.

A lot of the negativity got here when the sector’s greatest participant, WeWork, dramatically stumbled. The American coworking large infamously botched its IPO in 2019, filed for chapter in 2023, and closed two key places in Singapore in 2024: a dramatic fall from its US$47 billion valuation and portfolio of 485 places throughout 28 international locations simply 5 years earlier.

This raises the query of whether or not coworking nonetheless is smart within the yr 2025. In any case, when workers can work at home and companies downsize their actual property footprint, demand for communal places of work isn’t what it was.

So the one query that continued to bug us was: Is the coworking scene dying out? We spoke to Su Anne Mi, co-founder and CEO of homegrown coworking operator The Nice Room, to get a way of how the trade is doing.

Elevating co-working since 2016

Su Anne’s journey started when she casually rented out her spare bed room and a neighboring condo on Airbnb for further money, which sparked an curiosity in internet hosting and connecting with folks from completely different walks of life.

This led her to affix forces along with her brother, Yian Huang, and sister-in-law, Jaelle Ang, to create a coworking answer impressed by the hospitality of lodges.

Lots of their early conferences with buyers, shoppers and designers have been held at varied lodges, such because the Conrad. “We might have espresso conferences for like hours and hours, which felt utterly completely different from like inviting somebody to your front room and having a gathering there,” Su Anne shared, noting that the hospitality they skilled turned the principle ethos for The Nice Room.

At a time when most coworking companies centered on affordability or specialisations like startups, The Nice Room positioned itself otherwise, providing elevated experiences at Grade A places of work, which is the highest classification for business buildings in actual property. 

“We need to have a product that’s extra geared in direction of grown-ups, slightly than simply startups,” Su Anne defined.

How The Nice Room tailored to the change in working

When The Nice Room launched in 2016, it turned a hub for MNCs and C-suite executives, who loved taking part in and internet hosting networking mixers and weekly complimentary occasions just like the Monday Breakfast Membership, which, you guessed it, presents free breakfast and occasional on Mondays.

However hybrid work has modified the principles. The pandemic proved many roles could possibly be carried out remotely, and strict return-to-office mandates have been typically met with backlash.

Coworking areas like The Nice Room supply a versatile answer that balances workers’ need for autonomy with employers’ want for collaboration—a profit that, in keeping with Su Anne, has attracted companies that beforehand didn’t think about it as a productive working expense.

Other than bigger MNCs, its members span throughout tech, finance, way of life, social enterprises and non-profit organisations, with staff sizes rising from 20 to 100 because the firm’s inception.

“That has additionally pressured us to degree up our sport,” added Su Anne. “We’ve needed to guarantee that not solely is the providing and the design top-notch, however the IT and safety, all of the seamless safety parts additionally should be top-notch.”

Regardless of charging larger costs than different operators in Singapore, The Nice Room has shared that members have been prepared to pay for the hotel-like facilities and activations it presents. Whereas she stored figures below wraps, Su Anne shared that the enterprise has seen regular year-on-year progress in membership demand over the previous 5 years.

In keeping with a 2023 Insights by PropertyLimBrothers article, The Nice Room has skilled a 30% year-on-year income improve since 2019. The enterprise additionally noticed progress in its total occupancy charges, from a median of 90% pre-pandemic to between 95 and 100% throughout its six Singapore places in 2023, bringing its tenant base to three,000.

The corporate has since added one other location in Singapore and now operates seven places within the metropolis, together with a 72,000 sqft coworking house in Paya Lebar Quarter co-managed with Australian property group Lendlease. Internationally, it expanded to Bangkok and Hong Kong in 2018 and 2019, respectively, earlier than being acquired by New York-based versatile office supplier Industrious in 2022.

These strikes have enabled and accelerated The Nice Room’s native and world enlargement, together with two launches in Sydney—the primary location having a whopping 71% opening occupancy fee in 2024, in keeping with Edgeprop—and two new Singapore places at Shaw Tower and Stamford Court docket (which will probably be renamed Stamford Place) slated for 2026.

So… is co-working dying?

For Su Anne, coworking isn’t dying, it’s simply evolving.

Co-working continues to be very sturdy, it’s been very resilient. It had moments the place it’s been actually excessive and low, however I believe that the general demand for flexibility for a worldwide presence has simply been via the roof since COVID-19.

“I don’t assume that [that demand] has modified, no matter how varied gamers within the trade have gone up or down. I believe that the general demand continues to be a really constructive one,” she shared.

Other than introducing new places, The Nice Room has additionally obtained a small variety of enquiries from companies for them to create and run their very own workplace areas with facilities, occasions, and networking initiatives much like these supplied at their coworking places.

“These world occupiers are coming to us and saying, ‘I would like my groups to return again, I would like them to really feel particular and empowered and delighted. And I truly don’t actually need to run it. Are you able to do this for us? We like what you’re doing,’” Su Anne defined.

To fulfill this rising demand, the staff is growing a ‘managed answer’ arm, which customises areas for companies whereas reflecting their model and tradition.

Extra room to develop

Regardless of WeWork’s many blunders, coworking as an trade appears removed from useless.

The Nice Room’s trajectory exhibits that success within the house now requires adaptation, elevated experiences, and considerate design.

The mannequin is maturing from easy desks for startups to curated, hotel-inspired environments for professionals and companies.

Briefly: the trade is evolving—and there’s nonetheless ample room to develop.

• Be taught extra about The Nice Room right here.
• Learn extra tales we’ve written on Singaporean companies right here.

Featured Picture Credit score: The Nice Room