Co-Working in New Orleans: Impact of COVID-19

Co-working in New Orleans
New Orleans has seen an influx of entrepreneurship in recent years, and as a consequence,
beautiful coworking spaces are flourishing. Self-employment is on the rise. According to The
Bureau of Labor Statistics by 2020, about 65 million Americans will be entrepreneurs,
freelancers, independent contractors and temps – and they will make up 40 percent of the
workforce. As telecommuting and freelancing become more common, coworking spaces in
New Orleans are turning into a viable alternative to working from home, a coffee shop or a
traditional office. Even if your company is based outside of Louisiana, you can benefit from a
number of state tax credits by opening an office in NOLA. Many startups have benefited
from the Louisiana digital media tax incentive which provides a 35 percent tax credit on
payroll for in-state employees, and companies can get 25 percent back on what they spend
on production.
All these spots offer a range of options for all kinds of professionals, from those who need a
private office and meeting space to the freelancer who is tired of spending hours at the
neighborhood coffee shop. In addition to providing a desk, these places also offer members
access to programming with focus on wellness, networking, professional development, and
more. A recent global study has found another reason to give coworking ago: it has a
positive effect on freelancer incomes. A Global Survey by Desk Mag found that 50% of
individuals who attend a coworking space said their income had increased, and 74% of them
said they felt more productive.
Impact of COVID-19
The increase in the number of people working from home or remotely owing to COVID-19
lockdown limits the growth of the market. For instance, in March 2020, many companies
working from home owing to COVID-19 pandemic, operators of coworking spaces have seen
an almost 50% decline in footfalls. Furthermore, according to Business 2 Community
publication in April 2020, the number of people working remotely has grown by 44% in the
last five years, with 7 million people (3.4% of the population) were working remotely in the
USA before the arrival of COVID-19. Nevertheless, the number of people working remotely
is tremendously increased owing to the coronavirus outbreak over the last few months.
Consequently, declining the revenues generated by the coworking spaces market during
2020.
Work from home (WFH) might look appealing as a concept initially. Yet, in due course, most
of the challenges that employees often face when working from home, ranging from
technology cankers, to large family setups and limited spaces at home, might pose as
consistent difficulties and significantly affect operational efficiencies and productivity.
Besides, the mental health of employees might emerge as an area of concern as they
struggle to balance deadlines with home duties. Add to that the lack of immediate
psychological support with all peer groups limited to virtual networks. Not just that,
exchanging ideas or coordinating tasks become way smoother and easier at the workspace
and might become extremely challenging when working remotely. In a nutshell, work from
home is often accompanied by challenges beyond comprehension. In an attempt to make
working from the office more comfortable and less susceptible to health hazards or
infections, major businesses and corporations with densely populated offices will create
less-crowded workspaces, moving a sizeable portion of their workforce to co-working
facilities, thereby addressing the issue of remote working and creating a sparsely populated
office space.
Market Size
The United States is still leading as the biggest market with over 3,700 shared workspaces
across the country. After analyzing over 3,000 requests between February 2020 (pre-
lockdowns) and May 2020 (post-lockdowns), space utilization is beginning to recover
and shift toward private offices (as the type of space most commonly requested), longer-
term contract durations, and higher capacities (of desks needed).
Such preliminary data shows:
26% higher number of seats per request
96% longer contract terms
76% higher share of requests for private offices compared to individual seats
In a post-COVID-19 world, these statistics make it easy to predict that coworking will
become even more mainstream, especially since companies are shifting to remote-first
workforces.
Demand will mainly come from larger organizations and enterprises looking to decentralize
their workforces into smaller branch offices and remote teams into private flex offices. That
demand will be led primarily by private offices, followed by dedicated desks, while hot desks
and meeting rooms (for non-members) will take the longest to fully recover.
In the long run, all offices will potentially turn into flexible, on-demand spaces and in spite of
the challenges faced by many operators in 2020, the potential for the coworking industry to
grow and evolve has never been higher.
Competition
Launch Pad
Founded in 2009, Launch Pad is a collaborative workspace and community of entrepreneurs,
creative professionals, and freelancers. This space occupies multiple areas throughout the IP
Building in downtown New Orleans and it can handle 70 companies and up to 170 people.
The memberships available are any available desk, a permanent desk, and a private, closed-
door office that fits up to 18 people. Workers pay between $250 to $1,000 per month for
the workspaces. Some of the amenities included with a membership include a full kitchen
stocked with coffee & beer, unlimited black & white printing, discounts to local restaurants
& facilities, free conference room usage with Apple TVs, and free yoga classes on Mondays!
The Blue House
Located near the O.C. Haley corridor, this shared space is a bit more intimate than the
others—it feels like working in, well, someone’s nice house, hardwood floors and all. Two
ground-floor rooms and three second-floor rooms offer communal and private spaces, with
four membership options, starting at a $20 day pass. The Blue House puts an emphasis on
the community aspect of coworking, and hosts a variety of programming such as Fika, a
coffee hour that features a different speaker each week.

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