Companies prepare for new normal office rental market

CEBU, Philippines — International Workplace Group (IWG) and AppleOne Properties Inc., (API) are working together to meet the demand for office spaces post-pandemic.

In a briefing titled “Onwards and Upwards; IWG and API on the New Way of Work in Cebu,” IWG country manager for the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and South Korea, Apas Lars Wittig said there is a need for Cebu to prepare its office leasing facilities to the hybrid working style and that its partnership with API will kick off Cebu’s readiness for the new normal office rental market.

According to Wittig, the pandemic brought about the “biggest flexible workspace experiment, and Cebu is good example for this.”

Wittig mentioned that IWG has just added a million customers to the network amid the pandemic with another million committed.

API chief operating officer (COO) Joy Veloso said that with the improving scenario in Cebu being able to contain well the virus, “people are slowly getting back to their normal lives, workers going back to the office, business are starting to open up, and ultimately restrictions are less rigid and investment opportunities remain strong.”

Both Wittig and Veloso agreed that the current work-from-home trend may not necessarily be the ideal long-term solution considering that many businesses rely on traditional face-to-face model in their operations.

Consequently, companies of all sizes had already been moving towards the hybrid way of work even before the COVID outbreak, and this pandemic had just merely accelerated its adoption and demand, Wittig said.

Moreover, the issues of WFH like internet connectivity interruptions, distractions, and WFH fatigue, among others pushed people seeking to go back, out from their homes and into their office spaces again.

Wittig and Veloso believe that the WFH arrangement is certainly the future of work, rather an aspect of it.

They foresee that the office of the future is a hybrid office with employees spending part of the time at home, part of the time also from a local office, as well as central headquarters.

According to Wittig, all industries are planning for a hybrid future, where employees spend part of the time in an office, which is important for collaboration and which was later on  supported by research showing that three times the number of listed businesses are looking to use a hybrid office model compared to those looking to carry on in the same way as pre-pandemic.

The formation of Regus here in Cebu is a proactive move by API. Regus Park Centrale, in IT Park provides wide ranging services, every business need and work-style can be catered to.

Veloso explained that being aware of the business market in Cebu, API did anticipate the need for flexible office spaces to arise long before the pandemic happened.

API foresees the hybrid work model as the solution to the growing workforce in the city.

Regus’ continuous operations, despite the pandemic, has proven to be advantageous for the business and good balance to the API portfolio, Veloso added.

There are two Regus location in Cebu City, at the Cebu Business Park and in Cebu IT Park.

As part of the expansion strategy between API and IWG, more Regus locations will be opened in the Visayas region, along with other IWG brands like HQ and Spaces.

IWG, is one of the largest flexible workspace providers. It pioneered the flexible workspace industry in 1989 by Mark Dixon. Currently it has presence in 120 countries.

Regus is the leading brand under IWGs multiple office space portfolio.