While furnishing your space, decorating it, and brainstorming a cool, catchy name can be enjoyable, understanding what motivates your members to join is even more crucial to your growth. Handling the business aspects, such as designing coworking membership levels and time passes, may not be glamorous, but they are essential for the success and growth of your coworking community.
One of the most important decisions you will make is how to design your membership levels. The right prices and formats will allow you to attract customers, generate a stable income, and grow your business.
We distinguish between two categories of coworkers: those working with a Membership (i.e., those who pay a fixed monthly fee, regardless of how much they use the space) and those using Time Passes (i.e., "pay-as-you-go" models).
Coworking Memberships
A significant and stable source of revenue often comes from members or coworkers with recurring memberships. This is crucial because the occupancy of your space can fluctuate throughout the year. Freelancers who set their own hours may visit less frequently during pleasant weather or holiday seasons. However, coworkers with recurring memberships maintain their membership even during off-peak seasons, even if they're not utilizing the space.
To maximize stable revenue, you should convert intermittent users into recurring members. This involves offering membership plans that cater to your coworkers' diverse needs. Offering too few plans may drive potential coworkers to find alternatives. Conversely, offering too many options can make decision-making difficult for coworkers and tracking these plans cumbersome for you. As a safe bet, offering between 3 and 6 plans has proven to be optimal.
Fixed Desk Vs. Flex Desk
A Fixed Desk provides great value to coworkers and can command the highest fee. This desk setup is reserved for one individual, who can leave their personal items there. Their fixed desk is always available whenever they visit the space.
Despite the revenue and high demand for fixed desks, they do have some disadvantages:
- Fixed desks can generate substantial revenue but consume a significant amount of resources, particularly space.
- These desks cannot be shared with colleagues, used by drop-ins or guests, or removed to accommodate events.
- Moreover, a space primarily filled with fixed desks can lead to stagnation and isolation as the same individuals continually occupy it.
This could unintentionally create a stifling, community-free office environment–the exact atmosphere coworking spaces aim to avoid. After all, that's not why you entered this business!
A Flex Desk is a workspace shared by multiple coworkers. No one claims a specific desk but selects any available one upon arrival. A downside to this arrangement is that individuals cannot store personal items at their desks. However, this issue can be addressed using lockers or rolling containers.
While you can't charge as much for a flex desk as a fixed desk, you can sell 15 flex packages for 10 available desks. Overselling your flex desks, akin to airlines overselling seats on their flights, is economical since people seldom fully utilize their memberships. Furthermore, as these desks are unassigned, you can rearrange them for events or experiment with room layouts. For instance, we created different-sized desk clusters around our space, promoting interaction and collaboration among our coworkers.
Full-Time Vs. Part-Time
As with fixed desks, full-time plans give your members the flexibility to work whenever and as much as they like, giving your space a strong revenue stream. These plans don't skimp on resources: they often include things like unlimited printing, access to a top-tier resource (like a larger room), or another amenity, plus greater ease of access.
Part-time plans are ideal for people who don't need somewhere to work every day but still want to benefit from the focused space, resources, and community that coworking spaces offer. They're the ideal choice for folks just trying to work out or looking for a place to work when their desk at home becomes too noisy or monotonous. There are many reasons to work part-time from a coworking space, and it's a good idea to tailor a couple of these options to cater to different profiles.
For example, consider a part-time plan with meeting room access for freelancers who want a snazzy but professional environment to meet with their clients and partners.
Another member may be looking for a spot to work on a side project and will only want a distraction-free place to focus on their hours after work. Helping them achieve their goals can also generate a win-win for your space: discounting off-peak hours can keep your space buzzing well beyond the hours of nine to five.
Only some people will be looking for a place to work, so a community-dedicated plan is a great way to give people the same community benefits with an even lower cost of entry. Networking events, discussion groups, and skills development workshops are just a few of the things that can create value for the coworking unconverted and you.
Time Passes
Time Passes, or drop-in plans, are the least commitment-intensive options available. We rarely used them in our space and chose not to advertise these plans. They only contributed marginally to our revenue. This was intentional: our goal was to transition these drop-ins into regular members, not vice versa.
The problem with day passes (or half-day or hourly passes) is that they eliminate the need for a membership. With membership comes a sense of shared identity and ownership; as the day passes, people never really belong to the community. From a business and a community point of view, this is not desirable, so our advice is only to offer and promote the use of day passes if you have a good reason.
Some of our Cobot customers offer discounts for purchasing multiple passes to prompt new drop-ins to view themselves as part of the community. Additionally, you could provide a "micro-plan" (like our "3 days per month for 25 euros" plan) to create a low entry barrier for the same group that might be interested in a bundle.
Free Plans
Free plans? Yes! If you are part of a network of spaces or you have initiatives to support interns, early-stage entrepreneurs, or unemployed people, you may find that you want to offer free coworking plans.
Another option is something akin to a "Co-pass" or "Coworking visa." This generally offers three free coworking days to anyone with a membership in any participating space.
Some spaces have plans for unemployed people. They open their doors once a week and let those looking for a job do so from their space and have access to their network of members. This is a great idea to bring your space into your community. When an unemployed person gains employment and decides on a permanent space later, they will not forget which community welcomed them when they needed help.
Designing the right membership structure for your coworking space is essential for balancing revenue stability and community engagement. By offering a mix of fixed and flexible desks, full-time and part-time plans, and strategically managing time passes, you can cater to a wide range of coworkers while fostering a thriving community.
To streamline membership management, pricing, and access control, leveraging coworking management software like Cobot can simplify operations and improve the member experience. Try it for free today or book a quick call with one of our friendly representatives in your preferred language.
FAQ on Coworking Memberships and Time Passes
Why does membership design matter so much?
The right plan mix helps you attract the right people, stabilize revenue across seasons, and grow a healthy community instead of one-off usage.
How many membership plans should I offer?
A safe range is 3 to 6 plans. Too few limits fit, too many creates decision fatigue and complicates operations.
What is the difference between a fixed desk and a flex desk?
Fixed desks are assigned to one person and command higher fees but use more space and can reduce vibrancy. Flex desks are shared, more adaptable, and enable layout changes and events.
Can I sell more flex memberships than seats?
Yes, moderate overselling works because most members do not use the space daily. Monitor usage to keep availability comfortable for members.
Full time vs part time memberships, which should I choose?
Offer both. Full time supports heavy users and stable revenue. Part time fits people who need focused space a few days per week or off peak, and can include perks like meeting room hours.
Should I offer community only plans with no desk access?
Yes. Community plans provide a low cost way to join events, groups, and workshops, and can convert curious locals into future desk members.
Are day passes a good idea for revenue and community building?
Use day passes sparingly. They are low commitment and can weaken the sense of belonging. If you offer them, bundle passes or create a micro plan to nudge conversion to membership.
Do free plans ever make sense for coworking spaces?
Yes, in specific cases. Examples include a coworking visa with a few free days for visitors, or community initiatives for interns, early stage founders, or job seekers to build goodwill and future demand.