What distinguishes it from coworking is privacy: the space is yours, behind a door, rather than shared. What distinguishes it from a lease is that you are buying a service rather than taking on a property interest, so you are not managing fit-out, contracts or dilapidations.
Enterprises typically use serviced offices for the awkward cases a headquarters lease handles badly: a new market where headcount is uncertain, a project team for eighteen months, or a small satellite where a lease is not worth the overhead. The trade-off is cost per desk, which is higher, against speed and exit.
Managing several of these alongside owned space is where the reporting problem starts, since each site keeps its own arrangements. HybridHero runs unlimited locations under one tenant with consolidated reporting. See space management software.
Common questions
What is included in a serviced office charge?+
Typically furniture, utilities, cleaning, reception, connectivity and building services in a single monthly figure. Meeting rooms and printing are often charged on top.
When does a serviced office make more sense than a lease?+
When headcount is uncertain, the horizon is short, or the site is too small for the overhead of a lease and a fit-out. It buys speed and exit at a higher cost per desk.
Is a serviced office the same as an executive suite?+
Broadly yes. Executive suite is the more common term in the United States for the same arrangement.