The office version of Airbnb

Short-term property leasing may be associated with furnished apartments and holiday homes through online platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway, but the service is fast expanding into the office market as well, where needs are equally large and require flexible solutions. In Athens there are already 20 buildings offering fully operational and well-equipped office spaces that can be rented per person, per day or even per hour.

For instance, the IWG group is already operating five such business spots in the Greek capital through its Regus and Spaces brands. In July Spaces launched its second center of flexible office spaces at the Green Plaza building in the northern suburb of Maroussi, while its first was opened at the Tournikioti Arcade on Ermou Street in the city center.

Property service company Arbitrage Real Estate says in a survey on the sector that IWG is planning the development of 15 new business centers across Greece in the next couple of years. It is also planning to develop two properties, one on Solonos Street in Athens and the other in Thessaloniki city center together with OTE Estate, the Greek telecom giant’s property management subsidiary. Besides the country’s two main cities, the company is eyeing other locations in Greece like the western port of Patra, Iraklio in Crete, Volos on the eastern mainland’s coast and Rhodes in the southeast Aegean.

“Such spaces in Greece are preferred by freelance professionals, small developing companies and startups, by technology companies and generally by firms whose identity is defined by the modern working environment,” says Arbitrage. “Available spaces are also geared toward branches of major multinationals that need to house new and more innovative business departments.”

The pricing policy for flexible office spaces depends on the range of services they offer and can be calculated in days, months or even years. It also depends on the number of people that will be using said office, as well as the kind of space it is. For instance, in downtown Athens rates can range between 5 and 350 euros per person per month.

Source: ekathimerini.com