Regus (IWG) have been doing this for nearly 20 years. Apart from the slightly funkier interior decoration, what's the big difference?
Regus has 2.5 million customers but WeWork has only about over a quarter of a million. I live in a public housing estate in Singapore and there's a Regus Business Lounge in our estate's public library. We aren't even talking about the central business district, here.
I think WeWork has a lot more to catch up on in terms of scale and reach. Right now they're just building up hype like a tech company but really, they're just in the property space.
This is the key "problem." WeWork is a boring real estate business that is trying to frame itself as some massive scale startup. Add in growth fueled by a ton of VC money (not earnings), tons of leverage, not even for owned property, but leases, some questionable deals with the CEO, insane hype and trying to redefine accounting metrics, and in the end you have a "boring" business dressed up in a pretty hype coat made of red flags.
The main factors for our startup choosing the Regus office in San Francisco were price and privacy.
Regus was vastly cheaper when we evaluated the two options. I'll have to check with the CEO for the exact numbers, but it ended up being several hundred dollars cheaper per month. Also, WeWork offices generally have glass windows, while Regus offices are still traditional closed rooms with doors.
In terms of other benefits: - meeting rooms tend to be easier to book at a Regus location, since they don't seem to be used much. - WeWork offers a bunch of consumable amenities: all types of milk, coffee, tea, kombucha, (previously) beer. Regus only has very limited options for coffee and tea. - WeWork spaces host social events frequently. Regus maybe once a month? Our building management tend to host more events than Regus, interestingly enough. - Noise level. Common areas in WeWork are similar to a coffee shop if there are lot of members in that location, whereas it's usually quiet in the kitchen & common areas on Regus floors.
This might read as an IWG support post, but I still miss the social aspect and youthful energy behind WeWork, as one of the sibling comments alluded to. But does it make sense for a seed-stage startup to pay for the cost differential? No.
I will need to find coworking space in a couple months and will be looking at Spaces due to my less-than-optimal experience at WeWork.
So essentially, in far fewer locations, WeWork has more customers.
Saying what's the difference (valid question not pointed toward you) with Wework vs. IWG is like saying 'why a Porsche vs. a Chevy' or even 'Why a 911 vs. a Corvette'. It's not explained by things other than emotion over a brand. I say this as someone who has purchased many 911's and wouldn't touch a Corvette with a 10 foot pole. Doesn't matter the price or the performance. It's all in my head but that head is pretty emotional about that type of purchase.
(One other thing is it's likely that the people makeup of a wework office is much different than that of a IWG office (I am making a guess here I don't know but suspect it is). As such it's the same as 'why starbucks vs. dunkin donuts' for coffee. Very generally the people sitting and getting coffee at starbucks appear physically different than the ones sitting in a dunkin donuts.