Tampa embraces nontraditional office spaces with low prices

The presence of office landlord company Regus helps makes Tampa one of the most affordable coworking spaces in the country, according to a new report. 

In a study from CoworkingCafe that compared 82 metropolitan statistical areas, Tampa tied with 13 other MSAs for most affordable coworking spaces. The city, according to the report, has a median price of $93 for a monthly open workspace subscription, defined as a flexible space with unassigned desks. CoworkingCafe is a subsidiary of real estate management software firm Yardi. 

Balazs Szekely, writer of the CoworkingCafe study, attributes this mostly to Regus’ subscription model, which provides access for the same fee for all locations in the company’s portfolio.  

“Therefore, a high number of locations with the same price within the same market increases the likelihood of that particular price setting the median, even if that price is not considered “moderate” for that area,” Szekely writes in an email to the Business Observer. “Prices are, to a great extent, influenced by the market conditions. However, Regus’ influence is undeniable in Tampa Bay’s case, where their $93 monthly flat fee made up more than a third of the open workspace options.”

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When it comes to other types of coworking spaces, Tampa Bay fared differently. The median monthly price for dedicated desk subscriptions is $273. Indianapolis claims the most affordable title, at $204. 

Tampa Bay also proved to be the most expensive MSA in Florida for virtual office subscriptions, at a median price of $79 a month. 

Szekely says flexible workspaces inventory has been on the rise since 2010 at an average annual rate of 23%. By 2024, the number of flexible office spaces is expected to hit over 40,000 to support roughly five million workers worldwide.