Voice from America - The changing face of office space
November 27th, 2007 | by Mike Sullivan
Here is my first article for the Choregus office space news site. Discussing the changing face of office space use, its an interesting article I think you will agree.
One of the goals of Choregus is to provide more information to office space seekers about the Serviced Office industry. It is important to have this independent voice, because the industry faces a significant challenge on many levels: 1) for centuries the vast majority of businesses have set up an office through buying or leasing space, therefore it is very difficult to change this tried and true behavior; 2) since the industry is highly fragmented with thousands of small operators, consumer education through mass marketing is difficult due to small marketing budgets and campaigns with differing & sometimes contradictory messaging; 3) very little awareness in the media and almost no third party coverage (except of course Choregus!).
An example of the effects of a fragmented market is seen in what we call our industry – in the UK and throughout much of Europe it is called “Serviced Offices”, with the physical locations often called “Business Centers”. In the US, they are sometimes called “Serviced Offices” but more often called “Executive Suites”, which really isn’t that descriptive of the industry. Furthermore, four leading US company websites, including Office Suites PLUS, each call them different names in their primary navigation scheme: one is simply “offices”, another is “full-service offices”, a third is “executive suites” and last, “office suites”. Traditionally, this terminology issue is a difficult challenge to overcome, but is especially so in today’s world of search engines and their increasingly important role in industry awareness.
A quick online search for “executive suites” results in a number of brokers and operators (and a few hotels), but no third party sites (like Choregus), articles in prominent publications, or other concept validators. A similar search for “personal assistant” results in a number of businesses which offer personal assistant services, plus a multitude of (non-industry) sites that validate, educate and even inspire the use of personal assistants. Examples include articles by Princeton Review, Wikipedia.com, and videos on Youtube.com.
And, arguably, the US has an even bigger challenge than the UK and much of Europe, as the awareness among businesses seems to be very low, almost to the point of no awareness.
By Mike Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at Office Suites PLUS.
—–
About Office Suites PLUS
Office Suites PLUS rents individual furnished offices and provides a full range of telecommunication and business support services, including personalized telephone answering, reception of all visitors, package and mail receipt, and clerical support. Companies that want a professional image and a high-tech infrastructure for their telephone, technology and administrative support needs are able to save money and avoid the commitment of a long-term lease.
For those who want a professional image but do not need a full-time office, Office Suites PLUS also offers the Professional Image Package – a virtual office which combines phone answering, mail forwarding and use of meeting rooms and guest offices – at an attractive price.
Office Suites PLUS clients benefit from its facilities in seven states. In addition to our newest suite in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Office Suites PLUS currently operates 25 other suites located in: Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Indianapolis, Indiana; Lexington, Kentucky; Cary, Charlotte, and Raleigh, North Carolina; Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; and Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee. An additional suite is scheduled to open in January near Atlanta, GA.
Subscribe to Choregus
2 Responses to “Voice from America - The changing face of office space”
By Nancy Yang on Nov 27, 2007 | Reply
Great article. I wonder why they are called executive suites over in the USA? Always found that very strange.