Eight common misconceptions about serviced offices

Despite the huge popularity of serviced offices, there are still some common misconceptions which may be dissuading you from considering using one. If you’re worried about any aspect of renting serviced office space, we hope this will put your mind at rest.

1 Serviced offices are expensive

When assessing the cost of renting serviced office space, you need to bear in mind that you’ll usually get an all-inclusive deal that includes a lot of facilities and services you’d normally have to pay extra for. So rather than just comparing the monthly rental, take into account the fact that the serviced office rent is also likely to include:

• WiFI
• Use of kitchen
• Use of breakout areas
• Furniture
• Reception and admin services
• Business rates
• Utilities
• Insurance
• Cleaning
• Repairs and maintenance

If you were to rent a separate office and take these responsibilities on yourself, consider how much that would cost your company in terms of both bills and administration time.

2 Working in a serviced office will be too distracting

Far from it. If you’re worried about not being able to get any work done because you’ll be surrounded by people, think again. Everyone around you will be highly motivated, and with a large proportion of business owners renting offices or desk space, the hard-working professional atmosphere they’ll create will encourage you to work better and smarter. You’ll have many more people to talk to and network with, which frequently results in an increase in productivity and a higher likelihood of doing business with at least one of the companies you’re sharing space with.

3 You’ll be in a bad location

The only way serviced office providers are going to attract businesses is by being in the right place! So, whether you’re looking for a central location, somewhere in the middle of The City, somewhere trendy, or somewhere out of town, there’s bound to be an office space that’s in the perfect location.

4 Serviced offices are only for start-ups

While serviced offices are great for start-ups and host many small businesses, it’s not true that you can’t take advantage of their benefits if you’ve been in business for years or even decades. The size of a serviced office is dictated only by the size of the host building, so if you’re an established business looking to make a move, it’s well worth considering a serviced office.

5 Serviced offices are a temporary solution

Many people believe that serviced offices are great as a temporary solution but are not places to become established. It’s quite the opposite in fact. The beauty of serviced offices is that they are flexible, giving you the option of upsizing or downsizing at short notice, but there’s nothing to say that you can’t settle down for a long and happy stay, in a place that will give you all the stability you need.

6 Serviced offices are only open during office hours

Many serviced offices are accessible 24/7. Entrepreneurs and business owners need to work flexibly and sometimes long and unsociable hours, which is why they need a working space that’s as flexible as they are.

7 Serviced offices have bigger security risks

In fact, serviced offices are often more secure because, through economies of scale, they are more likely to be covered by CCTV, reception and security staff.

And for shared WiFi to work well enough for all the businesses that will be using it, a serviced office needs to provide a high quality, fast network, which is likely to come with better cybersecurity measures than a company may be able to afford on its own.

8 You can’t put your own branding on a serviced office

This is also a myth. Most serviced offices will be happy for you to brand your office space in any way you like. All they’d ask is that if you do decide to move on, you remove your branding to leave the space ready for the next tenant.

If you are looking for a serviced office in London, discover our different office spaces and get in touch to enquire!