1
TRENDING NEED FOR CO-WORKING SPACES IN
INDIA
Abha Pilli*, Anjela Prakash*, Preeti Anjali Barwa*, Shraiya Mathur*, Valliammai RM*, Vishesh Srivastava*, Piyush
Vijayan*
*
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi
Abstract- Recent years have seen the birth and advancement of
co-working spaces that are probably going to influence models of
work and organizations. This paper means to through a light on
the trends, and marketing tactics that should be proposed for
setting up a co-working space. To describe this growing
phenomenon, the current paper presents an in-depth analysis of
existing literature and identifies the social, organizational and
managerial issues raised by the development of co-working. How
managers and professionals can can increase a superior handle of
the wonder and the potential advancement of working
environments and associations, just as a superior comprehension
of the degree to which creating cooperating spaces may summon
development in associations and the executives rehearses.
Index Terms- Co-working space, technology, contractors, trends
I. INTRODUCTION
The topic taken up by us is upon the trending and growing real
estate sector initiative of co-working spaces. An unfamiliar
concept 10 years ago and poorly understood even now, co-
working is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the commercial
real estate market. In the few years since the concept began to
take hold, the industry has grown to include more than 11,000
shared workspaces around the globe. While major U.S. and U.K.
co-working markets are beginning to show signs of maturity, the
demand in second-tier cities and emerging markets is fueling
double- and even triple-digit growth for co-working centers.
Though its growth has been profound, the shared workspace
market—including serviced offices, co-working spaces,
incubators, accelerators and more—represents less than 1% of
the world’s office space. Nevertheless, co-working and the
broader category of flexible workplaces are important trends
worthy of owner, investor and occupier attention.
In the early days of co-working, these trendy, collegial spaces
primarily housed entrepreneurs, small businesses and
freelancers .But as awareness of this new workplace alternative
has grown, so has the attention of corporate occupiers. Driven by
demand factors, including new-generation work styles and the
desire for real estate portfolio agility, C-suite executives from
human resources, operations, real estate and finance are
increasingly interested in how co-working affects their work
practices and policies—and how they need to design, manage
and operate their workplaces .On the supply side, co-working
offers landlords and owners with excess space a new type of
occupant that can reinvigorate older properties. Even hotel
chains, retailers, libraries and restaurants are getting in on the
action.
The topics covered in our paper are as follows:
1) Abstract
2) Introduction
3) Literature Review
4) Global Trends in Co-working Space
5) Rise of Co-working space culture in India
6) Marketing Tactics
7) Conclusions
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Launching a business is a tough experience. Most of
entrepreneurs start thinking on their own, taking challenges
alone. To help them to structure their ideas and benefit from a
friendly and innovative environment, co-working spaces were
created in the US and exist now in many different countries.
Co-working spaces consists in renting a desktop in an open space
for a very flexible period. The space is shared by other people
coming from very different backgrounds: entrepreneurs,
associations, artists, students, researchers… The “co-workers”
can interact so that everyone brings his own talent to a project,
improving the outcome. The co-working space is based on
important values: participation, sharing and open-mindedness.
Commercial "desk share" spaces have been around for a while,
providing a professional setting for independent contractors to
meet clients and get things done. But co-working is a different
animal, one that draws inspiration from open source software
precepts and the lessons of the dot-com boom and bust. For
atomized freelancers sick of Starbucks and longing for human
interaction, co-working offers plug-and-play collegiality.
The co-working space has been inspired by open source software
precepts and dot-com boom. The number of one-person
businesses rose from 16.5 million in 2000 to 20.4 million in 2005
according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Typically, independent
contractors, freelancers, entrepreneurs and work-at-home
professionals were sick to work in isolation and were looking for
human interaction. They were seeking an alternative to coffee
shops and café buying endless cup of tea to benefit from the free
Wi-Fi.
Commercial “desk share” spaces already exist since a large time.
But co-working space is a different concept. “Co-workers” want
to make connections, fostering collaboration and sharing
 2

knowledge. Co-working gathers people who work independently
but who share values and look for the synergies that a common
space shared with talented people can bring.
The co-working space is essentially dedicated to lonely
entrepreneurs seeking socializing opportunities. “According to a
2007 CDW survey of over, 2000 workers showed that 79% of
workers employed in the private sector and half of workers
employed in the public sector were worried about feeling isolated
and missing human interaction if they were to start a
telecommuting”.
Some entrepreneurs who dare launching their own business can
now share their experience thanks to the co-working space. This
movement has been enhanced with the freelance culture of Web
2.0, starting building communities. The co-working is an
example that the online relationships can translating into face-to-
face interactions: “it’s social networking in meat space”
Charles Planck, CEO of Articulated Impact said: “You find that
if you are at home too much, you lose your edge in dealing with
people”. This differs from a café like Starbucks where people
generally don’t know each other and consumers don’t have their
own reserved area.
This kind of space is mainly used by freelancers, web
programmers, entrepreneurs, every kind of profession that can be
done online. Co-workers choose this concept because most of the
time they are too creative for corporate environment. The mix
between dorm lounge, ad agency style and cybercafé is suited to
their way of working.
More dedicated spaces co-working spaces are being created to
match with specific demand. For example, Geff DiMasi launched
a space gathering designers, journalists, architects and online
developers called Junto inspired by a club for mutual
improvement that Benjamin Franklin established to explore
questions of “Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy.”
To conclude, users’ first direct benefit from the co-working space
is the fact to join a community. Co-workers value the support of
the organization and the advice from their colleagues. The
community is the key competitive advantage of co-working
spaces where collaboration and participation are clearly
expected.
If you are co-working space, it is time to grow and
branch out.
C. Additional Out of Box Services: As per the latest Co-
working trends, shared office spaces have started to
provide many additional services to their co-workers
just like a big corporate company provides its
employees. Some ongoing trends in co-working spaces
for 2019 include babysitting, a chartered accountant for
your start-up, making office space pet-friendly, bank
tie-ups for a loan, business account etc. If a co-working
space is missing out on these basics and does not go the
extra mile for its clients, it might soon start losing out
customers to newly opened spaces.  
D. Niche Co-working Spaces: There are cities in the world
that house over 100 co-working spaces and most of
them are fully occupied. The trend of niche co-working
has already been introduced and is sure to grow further.
An example that just imagine – a co-working space for
artists, only for females, for developers and coders, co-
working space especially for writers, etc.
E. Connection to Nature: Trends suggest that co-working
spaces are getting more inclined towards greenery. A
space that has ample plants, flowers and well
maintained green walls are somehow more attractive to
co-workers. Co-working trends suggest that new design
concepts have also started to include an artificial
waterfall, stones, beaches like structures and other
things that depict nature within the space.  

III. GLOBAL TRENDS IN CO-WORKING SPACE

A. Technology: Co-working Trends in 2019 suggest that

space owners are more focused on technology.
Technology has taken over in such a way that there will
be no need to hire even a single manager to take care of
the co-working space. Access cards, co-working space
management software, booking system, attendance
system, automated invoices, time trackers etc. have all
become advanced. All human interference and hassles
have been outgrown.
B. Multiple Locations: As per co-working trends, people
tend to opt for a space that has more than 1 location
within a city since they get a choice to work at any of
the locations. Frequent travelers or businessmen tend to
opt for co-working spaces that have multi-city locations.

F. Community, Culture & Classes: People come to co-
working spaces to work but as per recent trends in co-
working culture, there much more than workspace that
is needed. From weekly lunch to events and from yoga
classes to meditation sessions, all are becoming a part of
the co-working concept.
IV. RISE OF CO-WORKING SPACE CULTURE IN
INDIA
Co-working spaces have disrupted the traditional work
environment today, witnessing an enormous growth in the last
five years. The demand continues to gain momentum across
India so much that about 13 million people are expected to work
out of co-working spaces by 2020.
India’s budding start-up community and steady economic
development are drivers of growth of the flexible workspace
industry. India is the second-largest market for flexible
workspaces in APAC, second to China. A staggering $3 billion
has been injected into co-working spaces in Asia-Pacific in the
past four years, according to CBRE research.
Co-working spaces have also grown rapidly in recent years,
reaching a total footprint of almost 40 million sq. ft. as of H1
2018 in 16 major Asia Pacific cities including Bengaluru,
Mumbai and Delhi NCR. These cities have also emerged as the
hub of the co-working culture in India. In June 2018, Delhi NCR,
Mumbai and Bengaluru had approximately 2.9, 2.8 and 4.1
million sq. ft. of space available respectively, which averages to
about 2.83 percent of the total real estate available for those
cities.
An emerging and swiftly growing sector, the market for co-
working spaces doubled in 2017. The growth sustained in 2018
and is expected to persist this year.
Key Trends in Indian Co-working Space:
A. Large enterprises will embrace agile workspaces
Startups have been early adopters of co-working spaces,
but the upcoming year will see corporates tapping into it
as well. Some big names such as Amazon and Starbucks
are leading this trend. They are realizing that working
alongside young, energetic and like-minded people
outside the traditional office set up can lead to
innovation, boost in productivity and employee
satisfaction.
B. Traditional industries to switch to co-working options
While technology and ecommerce companies have been
flag-bearers of co-working spaces, more traditional
sectors such as banking, insurance, manufacturing, etc.
will fuel the growth of agile workspaces this year.
Corporates today want to represent themselves as new-
age companies with more modern culture to attract
young talent. Providing flexible work options is an
effective approach.
C. Niche co-working spaces to emerge
Co-working options are modern workspaces with latest
amenities such as fast Wi-Fi, conference rooms, snack
bar, game zone, etc. and yet generic in nature. They are
3
G. The Corporate Shift: Earlier co-working spaces were
meant for freelancers, solo entrepreneurs or small
businesses but now day’s even corporate companies are
exploring co-working spaces for their employees. This
shift is happening for the good as it is building more
trust in co-working spaces.    
meant for all kinds of people irrespective of their work
or personality.
D. Tier II markets will see major growth
The industry has reached tier II cities in the past couple
of years, and we believe this trend will continue in the
future as well. While Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru
have the maximum number of co-working spaces in
India, cities such as Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kochi,
Indore, and Jaipur will see the chic agile spaces
mushrooming in the coming years.
With office rents continuing to increase across India, the
total area leased by co-working spaces in Tier I and Tier
II cities could touch 6 to 10 million sq. ft. by 2020.
E. Consolidation of players in the sector
Co-working spaces in India have witnessed more than
350 players fighting for the share of pie to be ahead in
the sector and become sustainable in a short period of
time. With more and more shared office spaces entering
the sector, consolidation is on the cards. A few large
operators will rise-up and build an association with the
smaller firms for better economies of scale.
F. Automation and expansion of service offering
Most of the spaces host tech companies, but they
themselves rely on manual processes. Co-working
spaces will become tech-savvy themselves in the near
future. Booking a seat or a conference room, generating
an invoice, paying for services or maintenance bill,
tracking attendance – all operational aspects will be
automated. Office management will become seamless,
eliminating human error or bias in the coming future.
Agile workplaces will also offer services beyond what is
being currently offered including host investor meetings
for start-ups, provide financial guidance, etc.
G. Productivity and collaboration efforts will increase
Productivity may be another aspect that will see a major
shift at these spaces. Various facilities such as crèches
and yoga classes will be incorporated to enable
productivity.
Additionally, collaboration initiatives will be boosted to
help people network and work together in a cohesive
workplace. Events, workshops, seminars, and meet and
greets will be hosted by co-working places.
Smartworks’ ‘Smartweekenday’ programme provides
networking and collaboration opportunities through its
array of regular events, ranging from pet therapy, indoor
games and tournaments, and stand-up comedy, among
others.
H. Multi-location spaces to witness more growth
The jet-setting crowd prefers to rent co-working spaces
that offer the flexibility of being leveraged in multiple
locations. Travelers are opting for membership that can
 4

be used on the go. Keeping with this trend, a lot of co- B. Membership Scheme: Have a scheme in place where
working brands are planning to open up in newer perks are being provided to members. Create a member
locations. referral program: give discounted rent or membership
I. Quality of co-working spaces will get better fees when members bring in a successful referral such
The design, comfort and overall look and feel of co- as Cafeteria access, Gym Subscription or even a Health
working spaces is also likely to improve. The coveted Insurance Program. This will attract the customers to
Google, Facebook vibe will be the new normal. Modern sign up for the Co-working Space.
interiors, trendy furniture, standing desks, and big Once or twice a month, allow members, and even non-
screen TVs will be incorporated to grab a larger share of members, to come work in your space for free (and
the co-working tribe. Recreational rooms will also be include free internet usage). Keep these days limited to
elaborate this year. continue to bring in profit, but make sure to have them
to bring in new members as well as continue to keep
J. Clean-tech and greener spaces will be an order of the your old. Strategize your schemes with customized
day incentives depending on the durability of the members.
We believe spaces will move to cleaner solutions to
reduce their carbon footprint. Solar-powered energy,
copper ACs, etc. will be used to make the space more
efficient and curtail damage to the environment.
Co-working, a fast-evolving vertical, was a completely
new idea just a few years ago. The industry has seen
innovation being built in year-on-year. The above trends
will make co-working even more fascinating as we see
it grab a larger pie from traditional workplaces. The
flexible workspace industry will further disrupt, and this
year is definitely going to be exciting.

C. Social Media Strategy : You may use localize targeting

V. MARKETING TACTICS by using Google Ads and Facebook Ads and ensure that
A. Quality Website: It’s important to start with the basics. there is a page dedicated to the page. You may also use
A good quality website which states the mission of the other alternate platforms such as Twitter and Instagram
Co-working space as well as rates which are to showcase the building design, pictures of the
competitive in nature. It’s also important to include a members and events being conducted. Develop a social
blog or a newsletter, posts of which have the potential to media calendar and stay up to date by using it on
connect with the growth of the prospective organization. weekly basis. Post about workshops, promotions, co-
You are constantly letting customers know why you are working space events and community updates.
different and the value you can provide to them. Your List your co-working space on “Google my business”.
message should be reflected briefly on the site. Your Simply listing and verifying your spaces with Google
site is a representation of your brand and usually a My Business you can greatly enhance your visibility for
customer’s first impression of your workspace. Getting FREE. Google automatically shows your local
the website up and running is half of the battle. We need workspace to customers looking for your services,
to make sure we invest the proper care and specifically in your area. Ask users to rate your space on
consideration when optimizing your website for the Google, social media, directories like yellow pages and
search engines. If our website performs poorly, loads yelp.
slowly or is not mobile optimized we are going to have
trouble showing up on the search engines. A brief
checklist of the essentials below:
1. SSL Certification On the Website
2. Implementing the correct Title Tags, Metadata,
URL and Target keywords on the site
3. Uploading website property to Google Search
Console
4. Creating .xml sitemap
5. Add Google Analytics to the website
6. Ensure images and content are compressed and
being properly cached on the website
D. Partnership with Local Businesses: Collaboration with
local shops to provide their brands – such as coffee
shops or corporate gift cards. This can be a good

advertising opportunity for the Co-working space.
Inbuilt a social and local proof and reputation
management thus potential leads will see your space
working for like-minded people, thus they will be more
likely to try your space out. It also shows that you truly
care about your concept and your customers. Nothing
can be better than having the local co-working
community experience what your co-working space has
to offer.
Ideas to promote local business:
1. Get involved with the town’s chamber of
commerce.
2. Host charity and non-profit events to enhance
local impact.
3. Bring in industry influencers who can teach
workshops and spread valuable knowledge to
help local business.
4. Partner with incubator or create your own to
help companies afford space in the beginning.
5. Organize community beginnings outings to
send business to local merchants and vendors.
E. Host Events : You may rent our your Co-working space
to not only your members but to also host local events,
art galleries, celebrity parties and concerts. This can
bring the community to the building and thus more
probability of prospective customers coming on board.
Hosting events will also give your co-working space a
press outreach which can attract journalists who can
cover about your business and thus craft a suitable pitch
for every valuable stakeholders in the event. Promote
your business showcasing the type of benefits being
provided like provision of healthcare schemes, day care
benefits. Rents your business to weddings, college art
galleries, local pop-up boutiques, band competitions,
entrepreneur conferences, photography sessions, even a
weekly food truck roundup.
Hosting events, in general, are great, especially ones
like hackathons where people spend long enough in the
place, and invest enough emotional energy, that they
feel connected to the space after they leave.
F. Advertise Toward Commuters – You can reach out to
travelers and commuters by putting up posters on taxis,
popular hotels and Metro rail. There are directory
syndication websites that can post your local listings to
hundreds of local directories like Yahoo, Bing,
foursquare which exposes your website to far end
commuters.
Use platforms like Meetup and Eventbrite to attract new
members and increase the turnout of your events. Take
the time to listen to your members and provide value
rather than just “space amenities”.
Engage your community to whom you want to reach out
to cause it is imperative to frequently communicate and
inform them and then take their valuable feedbacks.
Target nomadic commuters which will be ideal ones for
the business and can generate more recognition and
revenue. Make sure to offer a flexible membership for
5
them since they may only be in town a few days a
month.
VI. CONCLUSION
As the shared workspace format gradually gains acceptance with
the mainstream occupier, it is being regarded as positive
workplace experience and slowly acquiring an aspirational
quotient with the occupier and the employee. With industry
leading paymasters such as Google, Microsoft, Oracle and
Twitter engaging their top talent in large co-working spaces
successfully, the co-working space is well positioned as a “Cool”
place to work and is a significant attraction for prospective
employees. Some co-working operators are going above and
beyond the conventional amenities offered by the co-working
industry by providing free beer, health club facilities and even a
Jacuzzi to acquire the coveted “Cool” tag. Recent entrants such
as WeWork, CoWorks and Smart works have been pushing the
limits and merging the services offered by pure play co-working
spaces, serviced offices and business centers and these elements
are fast coalescing into modern shared working environments
that are collectively represented as the co-working phenomenon.
Going forward, with the advent of major co-working players in
India and an increasing number of such facilities coming up
across cities to cater to the demand of start-ups and SMEs, the
co-working sector is expected to thrive and could prove to be a
significant disruptor on India’s commercial real estate market.
While co-working companies accounted for just under 0.2 mn sq.
mt (2 mn sq. ft.) of the 3.8 mn sq. mt (3.8 mn sq. ft.) annual
commercial office space transactions volume, the expansion
plans of major players and the increasing appetite for this format
from occupiers, property owners and co-working operators
should see annual transaction numbers triple from current levels
over the next 3 years. Currently, Bengaluru, Mumbai and NCR
house most of the co-working stock in India followed by
Hyderabad and Pune.
However, it is still early days for the co-working segment and not
all the co-working operators are likely to be able to hold their
own in the long run, owing to their inability to mitigate risks in
their business models or have enough stronghold in nonprime
markets. Globally, maintaining occupancy levels is the most
challenging task of a co-working operator and the Indian market
will be no exception. While the aggressive pricing being used
currently will address this to an extent, the financial strain could
lead to compromises on service delivery resulting in poor
customer experience and could prove to be the biggest risk for
the industry today. This would expectedly result in consolidation
among co-working operators and the market would be divided
amongst a handful of large players. The rapid growth of co
working facilities and more particularly providers, will inevitably
lead to casualties and also drive consolidation in the sector as
recently witnessed with the merger between Naked Hub and
WeWork.
Key findings:
1. Due to the changing perceptions of the office, the
workplace is now being looked at as an environment
that needs to be managed and optimized. It is being
 6

viewed as an instrument that could drive a dynamic and President, Research; Yashwin Bangera Assistant Vice
vibrant culture of corporate productivity impacting the President, Research; Pradnya Nerkar Associate
financial, cultural and environmental ethos of the Consultant, Research. Knight Frank Research Reports.
organization. This far reaching agenda warrants an “Co-Working: Office of The
element of specialization. The co-working operator is Future”.https://content.knightfrank.com/research/316/d
filling this niche and is fast being regarded as a ocuments/en/india-office-market-co-working-the-
specialist in workplace management who can cultivate office-of-the-future-5637.pdf
an environment of collaborative enterprise that yields [6] Prof. Anil Gupta.IIM A Publication. “The Co-Working
tangible benefits to the occupier. Space Concept”.
https://www.iima.ac.in/c/document_library/get_file?
2. A co-working operators’ need to outperform market uuid=029aa576-2508-4974-808c-
rents also tends to improve the prospects of the entire 91df12ab6c5c&groupId=642050
property they occupy. This has also led the landlord to [7] Kay Sargent. Hok Publication. “Co-Working: A
consider the operator as collaborator rather than a Corporate Real Estate
competitor. Perspective”.https://www.hok.com/ideas/publications/c
oworking-a-corporate-real-estate-perspective/
3. The number of Co-working spaces across the globe has [8] Robin Chhabra. YOURSTORY. “How coworking
grown by 3,050% since 2010 while the number of spaces have become a hot property for office real estate
people working in these facilities has exploded by close sector”.https://yourstory.com/2019/04/how-coworking-
to 8,000% in the same period by growing from 21,000 spaces-have-become-a-hot-property
seats to 1.7 mn seats, according to Statista Dossier.
[9] Cat Johnson. “Creative Ways to Market Your
Coworking Space: Tips from the
4. India is at the cusp of a co-working revolution with
Pros”.https://catjohnson.co/16-creative-ways-market-
several large players spread across the country. There
coworking-space/
are close to 200 co-working operators running an
[10]Dodd Caldwell. Moon Clerk. “10 Coworking Space
estimated 400 shared workspaces across the country
Marketing Tips to Drive More
today.
Members”.https://www.moonclerk.com/marketing-
ideas-for-coworking-spaces/
5. While co-working companies took up a modest 0.17 mn
sq. mt (1.8 mn sq. ft. ) in 2017, the first quarter of 2018 [11] Namita Sonthalia. Blog@sneed. “Effective Marketing
itself has exceeded the annual tally of 2017 at 0.19 mn Strategies For your Coworking
sq. mt (2 mn sq. ft.). Space”.https://sneed.in/blog/effective-marketing-
strategies-for-your-coworking-space/
6. The co-working phenomenon is gaining wider [12]Ananya Bhattacharya, qz.com .Scroll.in. “Why co-
acceptance with the mainstream Indian occupier as big working spaces are becoming popular in metropolitan
corporates today constitute approximately 50% of the india”.https://scroll.in/article/905564/why-co-working-
overall client roster. This share can go as high as 80% in spaces-are-becoming-popular-in-metropolitan-india
the more premium priced offerings. [13]Research reports,
CBRE.https://www.cbre.co.in/en/research-
7. The expansion plans of major players and the reports/india-research-archives
increasing appetite for this format from occupiers,
property owners and co-working operators should see
annual transaction numbers triple from current levels AUTHORS
over the next 3 years.
Abha – Abha Pilli, Student, IIFT and abha_d20@iift.edu.
Anjela –Anjela Prakash, Student, IIFT and anjela_d20@iift.edu.
REFERENCES
Preeti –Preeti Anjali Barwa, Student, IIFT and
[1] Work Design Magazine. https://www.workdesign.com preeti_d20@iift.edu.
[2] Coworking resources. Shraiya – Shraiya Mathur, Student, IIFT and
https://www.coworkingresources.org shraiya_d20@iift.edu.
Valliammai – Valliammai RM, Student, IIFT and
[3] All Work. https://allwork.space
valliammai_d20@iift.edu.
[4] Coworking mag. https://coworkingmag.com Vishesh –Vishesh Srivastava, Student, IIFT and
[5] Dr. Lee Elliott Partner, Department Head, Commercial vishesh_d20@iift.edu.
Research; Dr. Samantak Das Chief Economist and Piyush – Piyush Vijayan, Student, IIFT and
National Director – Research; Vivek Rathi Vice piyush_kd20@iift.edu.
7