Serviced Offices in Berlinfrom St. Oberholz

One advantage of the serviced office is that companies can get a fully furnished office without much effort and lead time and do not commit themselves financially to a property in the long term due to the flexible term. You can first see whether the office concept meets your needs in the longer term. The often very prominent location in business districts at central and easily accessible locations as well as the numerous bookable services are further advantages of the serviced office.

However, this is directly accompanied by the disadvantage that offices of the serviced office type are significantly more expensive than coworking spaces, for example, due to their location and the sole use of a renting company. Since serviced offices are designed for a broader pool of customers, the furnishing style is also less individual. A special, inspiring flair is therefore not necessarily to be expected.

For whom is this office concept worthwhile?

As an office concept, the serviced office is particularly worthwhile for larger, already established companies. Since the office space usually extends over several rooms, sometimes even over entire floors, a certain financial background must already be available. For freelancers, self-employed people or small startups, the costs are usually simply too high, so office sharing would be a better alternative here. The idea behind the serviced office principle is often that entrepreneurs want to bring their departments together in a separate location. There is no contact or exchange with other tenants.

Differences to the Business Center

Business centers are similar in principle to serviced offices. However, the biggest difference is that in a business center there are several offices and conference rooms that are used by different parties. This means that in one complex there can be several companies that benefit from the services of the company providing them. Accordingly, business centers are less costly than serviced offices and are also suitable for freelancers, self-employed people and startups.

In this way, workers from different fields also come into contact with each other, but may have to come to terms with working in open-plan offices where concentration is made more difficult due to the higher noise levels.

Of course, there are several alternatives to the serviced office concept. The question is always what a company’s intention is with its concept. In addition, the costs also play a role. If money plays a subordinate role and you want to provide your employees with a technically optimally equipped workplace where they have few distraction options, the serviced office is certainly a good choice. If you value communication and cross-departmental exchange or have a little less financial leeway, shared offices and coworking spaces are certainly worth considering.

Shared office or coworking for small businesses

Small businesses benefit from office concepts such as shared office or coworking because they are much less expensive to begin with. The rent for the office space and workstations is shared with other parties. In the case of the shared office, the basic idea is a community of purpose. Companies that have excess office space find someone to sublet to save costs. However, the workplaces are clearly demarcated from one another.

Although shared costs for rent also play a role in coworking, this is rather subordinate. The social factor is even more important here: the companies working side by side here are supposed to form a community of values. The core values of coworking are openness, collaboration, sustainability, community and accessibility. Many people from different areas work side by side here in large, open spaces. Productive exchange between departments and companies is clearly desired in this model.