Right-Sized Coworking: How Emerging Operators Can Thrive in a Shifting Workplace Landscape

Guest post by our partners at Yardi Kube 

The coworking industry is entering a new era of growth. As companies reimagine the office and employees embrace hybrid work models, flexible workspace providers, especially startups and smaller operators, have a unique opportunity to expand. Yardi’s latest whitepaper, “Right-Sized Coworking: Growth Strategies for Emerging Operators,” explores this transformation and introduces technology solutions designed to help smaller operators scale efficiently, compete effectively and capture demand.

Coworking’s Comeback: A Market on the Rise

The global shift toward hybrid work continues to reshape corporate real estate. According to Gallup’s 2025 workplace data, over half of companies offer hybrid schedules, and nearly a third allow fully remote work. Organizations like Allstate, Amazon and Atlassian are turning to coworking to provide employees with flexible, professional spaces closer to home. Even the U.S. General Services Administration is experimenting with shared government-owned workspaces for federal employees.

This widespread adoption is fueling a national boom. By early 2025, the U.S. counted over 7,800 coworking spaces, a 25% year-over-year increase, representing roughly 140 million square feet of space, according to Yardi Matrix. Notably, 85% of the market remains fragmented, dominated by independent operators rather than large brands like WeWork or Regus.

This fragmentation creates enormous potential for smaller operators but also exposes them to challenges. Without institutional backing or advanced systems, many rely on manual tools like spreadsheets or QuickBooks. As Yardi’s Michael Everts explains, “Manual systems may work for 10 members, but they become unmanageable as the business grows.”

Technology Designed for the Right Size

To address these growing pains, Yardi introduced the Yardi Kube Early Stage Program, a streamlined version of its powerful coworking management software. The platform delivers automation and efficiency across bookings, billing, member management and marketing, all within a simplified interface that’s scalable as operators grow.

Yardi’s Will Sandford, director of coworking, emphasizes accessibility: “We have the most configurable system on the market, but small and new-to-market operators need a simplified version that can scale with them. Our goal is to help them launch faster, operate smarter and compete more effectively – all at a nominal cost.”

The program offers several key advantages:

Premium Visibility: Early adopters receive enhanced online exposure, with listings featured prominently on Google, CoworkingCafe, CommercialSearch, Deskpass and Hubble.

Built-in Training: Access to Yardi Aspire, a learning platform that trains teams in pricing, layout, customer service and billing, which is free for the first year.

Optimized Marketing: Pre-configured website templates and analytics to improve lead conversion.

Integrated Accounting: Automated financial reporting that ties every transaction to the correct ledger and location.

Cost-Effective Launch: Special first-year pricing ensures affordability for startups.

Technology in Action: The 25N Coworking Example

For 25N Coworking, a regional operator with locations in Texas and Illinois, adopting Yardi Kube was transformative. Chief Operating Officer Meagan Slavin recalls the difference: “We were on manual spreadsheets at first, but Yardi Kube allowed us to run our operations much more efficiently. We now have data at our fingertips that we never had before.”

By integrating Yardi Kube into its website, 25N enabled self-service booking, reducing administrative costs and attracting more members. This capability is increasingly vital as smaller companies, those with fewer than 500 employees, plan to expand the coworking space share of their office footprint to as much as 25%, according to CBRE’s 2025 Office Occupier Sentiment Survey.

CBRE’s Julie Whelan summarizes the trend: “Companies want to give employees more choice over where they work and more access to on-demand meeting space.”

Customer Experience as a Competitive Edge

As coworking becomes more mainstream, user expectations are shifting. Office seekers increasingly expect real-time online booking and transparent pricing, not back-and-forth emails. Operators that rely on outdated, manual processes risk losing members to competitors with seamless digital systems.

The Yardi Kube Early Stage Program directly addresses this gap. Its integration with Yardi’s listing services, like CoworkingCafe and Deskpass, ensures that space availability updates automatically across platforms, making it easier for members to discover and reserve space instantly. “If I need coworking space, I’ll choose the operator that lets me book it right away,” said Sandford. “In most markets, that convenience is what wins business.”

The Cornerstone for Scalable Growth

For many small operators, the challenge isn’t building space, it’s filling it quickly enough to generate revenue. “At the end of the day,” Sandford notes, “what kills coworking is the inability to fill space fast enough to start paying off the initial investment.” By improving visibility, simplifying operations and automating marketing, the Yardi Kube Early Stage Program helps operators achieve stabilized occupancy faster and position themselves for long-term success. It’s a “right-sized” solution designed for the realities of emerging businesses – powerful enough to manage growth but simple enough to implement immediately.

As the flexible workspace market accelerates, small operators equipped with modern technology have the chance to not only keep up but lead. With Yardi Kube, they can focus less on spreadsheets and more on what really matters: building communities, growing revenue and shaping the future of work.

Click here to download the full Yardi Kube whitepaper “Right-Sized Coworking: Growth Strategies for Emerging Operators”.