It feels dirty to say it… but everyone in the coworking market knows it happens, so here it is: broker fees for placing you as their client are not created equal. Which is why the existence of incentives and enhanced fee positions can be one of the biggest hidden coworking broker red flags. And why you don’t usually hear about them. 

How impartial is impartial?

If you’re considering a location like, for example, the City of London, there might be over 300 coworking locations to choose from.

A whole lot won’t have the right availability for you. Another bunch will be the wrong look and feel, or slightly outside of your preferred transport radius.

But generally, if you’re starting with 300+, then chances are there will be 20 or 30 left over that can give you what you want.

It’s unlikely you’ll have the time to see all 30.

So you rely on your broker to recommend the ones they feel might be best.

Now let’s say that 10 out of those 30 are offering the broker double the fee for putting clients in there… or a holiday… or a swanky dinner?

Will they still recommend the best ones for you? Or will they be swayed by increased fees?

Coworking broker red flags: transparency.

We all know incentives exist. Not just in serviced offices, but everywhere. Anything that relies on intermediaries to recommend stuff is probably influenced this way behind the scenes.

The issue is that you don’t know about it.

And even if you ask about it, you might not be given the whole picture.

Coworking is a very competitive market, but your search should not be affected by things behind the scenes which are out of your control.

Information up-front is a good thing

Imagine you are being sent office recommendations, and next to each one is a disclaimer for how much they are paying the broker.

Will it make a difference to the way you behave?

Probably not. And that’s the funny thing. Obviously there are incentives out there. It’s business, after all.

I think the answer will be different though if all of the recommended offices were paying more than normal.

Then you’d have suspicions about whether the recommendations are influenced by the fees.

Don’t be afraid to ask

Don’t forget: you are the client. If you don’t take an office, the broker you are using doesn’t get paid at all.

So take ownership of the process. If you ask for clarity regarding increased fees or incentives then you should get it. Choose the agent that is open and honest with you about how they work and what they recommend.

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