Global Workspace Association

President’s Message

obcadmin — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:32:52 +0000

by John Jordan, BusinesSuites

In late April, your Association and the workspace-as-a-service industry were highlighted in a session at the CoreNet conference in San Diego. CoreNet is the association of corporate real estate executives focused on workplace initiatives, technology, and trends. Over 200 corporate real estate executives and real estate brokers attended the session where we discussed the “Consumerization of Corporate Real Estate,” highlighting how employees of large companies are choosing to become consumers of workspace-as-a-service because it provides the flexibility they desire financially as well as geographically in terms of staffing. I was fortunate to represent our Association on the panel, alongside associate member Mark Gilbreath from LiquidSpace and corporate real estate leaders from Adobe Systems and Accenture. Our panel was well received and generated a thirty minute Q&A period.

By the end of the two-day conference, two things were clear to me: (a) corporate real estate executives know very little about the workspace-as-a-service industry and (b) to meet their goals of innovation, flexibility, and employee satisfaction, they really need what we have to offer. This is a conundrum, isn’t it? So how do we address it?

Getting recognition and a speaking role from CoreNet is just the beginning of a very long process of education and awareness. And while we have begun investing in an active public relations effort, your Association can’t do it alone. So, here’s my prescription: each of us needs to become an evangelist for our industry. I’m not talking about just selling our services to the people who walk in your door, I’m talking about a ‘shout it from the mountaintops, tell anyone and everyone who will listen, and light up the Internet’ type of evangelist. GWA Member Ray Lindenberg of Select Office Suites comes to mind as such an evangelist. Ray’s enthusiasm is contagious and is an example of the best sales tool we have – ourselves. Ray’s online columns are inspiring to me and would be, I’m sure, to corporate real estate executives. The more people we have spreading the message in as many forums as possible, the greater chance we have of getting our message to that important target.

Whether you are selling meeting room time, virtual offices, private offices, or co-working, business people everywhere need to hear about the options available to them through the workspace-as-a-service industry. I challenge each of you to embrace the role of evangelist for your industry and stand alongside your peers and proudly let people know what we do and what we can do to help them succeed.

Registration Now Available for GWA’s 26th Annual Education Conference – Meeting Addresses Industry’s Hottest Topics

obcadmin — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:00:57 +0000

Read the conference program and register for the conference now!

GWA’s 26th Annual Education Conference, held at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, September 19-22nd, will feature the hottest, most exciting and relevant education sessions for attendees ever. This year’s conference will feature general sessions on The Future of Work and Workspaces; The Community of Work; Conflict Management and the Sales Process; The Consumerization of Real Estate; and The Future of Technology.

Breakout sessions will be held on SEO with Social Media; Analyzing Potential Locations for Workspace-As-A-Service; Meeting Rooms and the New Corporate Hospitality; Optimizing Your Space and Design; How to Vet Virtual Clients and an interactive Operations and Best Practices forum.

GWA thanks our Gold Sponsors, Instant, Wun Systems; Our Silver Sponsors, CDR-DATA, Cloud Virtual Offices, Core Telecom-IConverged, Davinci Virtual Office Solutions, Evo Technologies, LiquidSpace, Preferred Office Network and SkySuite; and our Bronze Sponsors, Office Suite Strategies and SITE REsolutions.

The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront sits on the water’s edge of Baltimore’s beautiful Inner Harbor. Attendees will enjoy spectacular views from the hotel, as well as easy access to the city’s finest shops and restaurants located in the Harbor East neighborhood, which boasts an array of top options within blocks of the Inner Harbor hotel. With 732 luxury guest rooms and suites and superior meeting and event space, attendees will receive white-glove synchronized service, while diners will experience culinary superiority while reveling in luxury.

“We take great pride and care in the content of our sessions, the fun networking events and a trade show that allows owners/operators and vendors to spend significant face time with each other” said GWA Conference Chair, Harsh Mehta, of Office Links.

Annual Conference Hotel Room Reservations Are Available – Earlybird Deadline Fast Approaching

obcadmin — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:15:12 +0000

Hotel room reservations are now being accepted for the 2012 GWA Annual Education Conference & Trade Show. The education sessions will be held Thursday and Friday, September 20th and 21st. GWA’s dinner gala event will be held Thursday night.

The Earlybird registration deadline of June 29th is fast approaching. Wednesday evening’s First Time Attendee Reception, and President’s Welcome Reception as well as Thursday evening’s reception and dinner gala event are included in the registration fee. (Registration fees will not be refunded. The earlybird deadline will be strictly adhered to.)

This year’s annual conference and trade show will be held at the beautiful Baltimore Marriott Waterfront at the Inner Harbor. Room rates at the resort are $209 per night single/double for GWA conference registrants based on availability. To reserve your hotel room and receive these rates please contact the hotel directly at 410-385-3000 and note that you are with “GWA”. These rates are significantly lower than the hotel’s current rates and are available on a first-come, first serve basis for conference registrants only. Rooms at last year’s conference host hotel sold out, so register today! The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront will honor these rates three (3) days prior and three (3) days following our conference dates, based on availability.

The conference is sponsored by: Gold Sponsors, Instant, Wun Systems; Silver Sponsors, CDR-DATA, Cloud Virtual Offices, Core Telecom-IConverged, Davinci Virtual Office Solutions, Evo Technologies, LiquidSpace, Preferred Office Network, SkySuite; and our Bronze Sponsors, SITE Resolutions and Office Suite Strategies.

Associate Members: Complete New Profile ‘Pop-Up’

obcadmin — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:30:07 +0000

Associate Members – Please complete your new Resource Page Profile Information for GWA’s new Associate Member ‘pop-up’ profile page. Each GWA Associate Member company will have their own profile pop-up that will be accessed by members on the Association’s newly designed Resources section of the website.

Complete the form

View a sample Associate Member ‘pop-up’

Take the Industry Financial Survey — Participants Receive Steep Discount on Results

obcadmin — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:00:47 +0000

Participate in the 2012 Financial Study

Members: Take just 5 minutes (per workspace location) of your time to complete GWA’s 2012 Financial Survey! By taking the quick and easy survey now, you will be entitled to purchase the results of the study for a steep discount. Copies of the study are $249 for members only – but discounted to only $99 for members who participated in the survey. Non-member prices for the survey are $499 and $199 respectively. The short survey has questioned that are specific to both OBC’s and coworking spaces.

The GWA Financial Study represents the most complete, accurate and up-to-date database of workspace locations’ financial and operating data published anywhere. The Survey annually compiles key financial and demographic information for workspace locations worldwide.

Why Participate?

The survey is brief with less than 14 questions per location and should take only five minutes per center assuming you have your financial information available.
You will receive a complimentary, confidential Company Performance Report Card which presents your company’s ratios and data alongside statistics directly from the industry survey as well as “grades” for your performance based on the quartiles of the industry. This valuable information will be provided to you at no charge and allow you to easily assess your center’s performance without having to spend time and effort making the calculations manually.
If you participate, you will have the option to purchase the full report and analysis at a discounted price of US $99 for GWA members and US $149 for non-members. The price for non-participants will be US $249 and US $499 for members and non-members, respectively.

Last year GWA Financial Study surveyed representing 400 independent locations – and this year’s survey promises to be even larger.

The survey will identify a group of high profit centers which are the top 25% ranked by profit margins. These high profit centers have a profit margin three times that of the average center, and the survey provides comparable data to help operators unlock some of the secrets of these high profit centers.”

The deadline to complete the survey is July 7th.

Members who purchased the 2011 Financial Study were effusive in their praise.

Take the 2012 GWA Financial Study survey right now!

Purchase the 2011 Financial Study

GWA Press Releases Available for Member Use

obcadmin — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:30:08 +0000

Members – you are encouraged to tailor GWA’s press releases to your markets by editing the Association’s press releases as appropriate for your company and to your press contacts. GWA’s most recent press release (April 25th) focused on the contrast between workspace-as-a-service growth contrasted with traditional commercial real estate stagnancy.

Read GWA’s recent press releases:

Alternative Workspace Offerings Fostering Small Business Growth
Read the Press Release (4/25/12)

Study Reveals Workspace Operators Outperform Traditional Office Landlords
Read the Press Release (1/10/12)

Office Business Center Association International Changes Name to Highlight Leadership in Rapidly Evolving Workspace Trends
Read the Press Release (11/8/11)

Tossing Out the Traditional Office Solution for a Virtual Office
Read the Press Release (7/13/11)

GWA Social Media Roundup

obcadmin — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:00:53 +0000

Members – are you connected to all of GWA’s Social Media Tools – including our new Facebook/Conference page? If not, please join today!

Here’s the checklist:

…. And don’t forget the following too!

New Ambassador Program To Enrich First-Time Conference Attendee Experience

obcadmin — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:20:33 +0000

GWA has moved to enhance the experience of first-time attendees to this year’ annual conference, held September 19-22nd at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront at the Inner Harbor. A new Ambassador Program will match new members and first-time attendees with experienced members in order to maximize new members’ experience. “The Ambassadors will make the new members feel welcome by reaching out to them ahead of the convention, introducing them to other GWA Members, answering any convention-related questions they may have, and generally helping them navigate through the convention programs, highlighting the social activities and where to go and with whom,” said Ann Senski, American Executive Centers and a member of the Conference Host Committee who, along with Amanda Schuss of Ballantyne Business Centers is spearheading the program.

Additionally, Ambassadors and the Board of Directors will host a ‘First-Time Attendee’ Reception at the conference this year on Wednesday, September 19th from 5:30 – 6:00 pm.

Would you be interested in being an Ambassador this year? “We would be grateful for your help, and a new member would have a much more enriched convention experience as a result”, said Schuss. Interested members may contact Anne Senski to volunteer for the program.

Virtual Offices – Away We Work!

obcadmin — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:45:09 +0000

“According to the 2011 GWA Financial Study, virtual office revenues represented almost 9% of total revenues for office business centers in the US. The study also showed an almost 14% increase in virtual revenues in 2010 compared to 2009 overall and identified virtual office revenues and meeting room revenues as one of the main factors that generate net profits for OBCs. So – statistically speaking, virtually every workspace operator should embrace the virtual office business!” Martin Senn of Davinci Virtual Office Solutions blogs on virtual offices in GWA’s latest blog entry.

Read Martin Senn’s blog

Read the latest blogs from GWA

Interview with Derya Öz of SwissOffices in Istanbul

obcadmin — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:00:03 +0000

Derya Öz

Derya Öz is the Operations Manager at SwissOffices in Istanbul. She has been with the company since January 2011, and joined GWA a couple of months later. Derya gave us a glimpse into her world and talked to us about the local market in Istanbul, being part of this new center’s team, and some of her hobbies.

Why did you join GWA? How have you benefited from your membership so far?

We joined GWA to take advantage of the industry experiences, the network, and the education programs. The Webinars in particular have been an excellent learning opportunity for us and the things we’ve learned have helped us improver our operations.

What makes SwissOffices stand out from other office business centers in Istanbul?

Our dedicated and well-trained team and the quality of the services we provide to our clients make us stand out from other business centers in Istanbul. We have so many happy and thankful clients that they have been using our center since we opened.

What service or product has the most potential for growth at Swiss Offices?

Virtual offices.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy working in an international environment with a unique team.
What is your proudest accomplishment with Swiss Offices?

Having helped create and build a dedicated and cheerful team.

What is your greatest challenge over the next year or two?

Making SwissOffices “the market leader” business center in Turkey.

How do you spend time outside of work? What are your hobbies?

I really like reading personal development books. In my spare time I try to spend time with my friends and family. I am an amateur painter of Ebru, which is an old Turkish painting in which you paint on water.

What was the last movie you saw in a theater and loved?

One Day, which was directed by Lone Scherfig.

Who’s your favorite singer or band?

Evanescence.

What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?

Watching the TV series of One Man One Woman. It is a Turkish production about the behaviors of men and women with each other. I can watch couple of episodes online in one go.

If you could meet any famous person or historical figure, who would it be and what would you ask or tell him/her?

Nelson Mandela. I would ask him, what gave you the strength to endure?

What’s your favorite quote?

“Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving,
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Even if you have broken your vows a thousand times
It doesn’t matter
Come, come yet again, come” – Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi