Having the right kind of office is vital to the success of a business. Whereas in the past we only really saw one kind of office available to rent, today there is a whole range of different setups that can be used, with businesses able to choose the best one for them.

One such office rental set-up is the serviced office space.

What is a Serviced Office Space?

A regular office space rental would see the tenant renting an empty building, which is then equipped and maintained by the business itself. In contrast, a serviced office space will usually provide all of the office equipment as well as maintenance and cleaning services. Whilst for some businesses this may be beneficial, others may find this more stifling, inflexible, and not suitable for their business’s needs.

Some of the services that are normally provided in a serviced office space include:

• Desks, chairs, and other office furniture
• Fully-equipped kitchen
• Reception teams who can take phone calls and direct visitors
• Maintenance of the building and provision of the staff who will do this

In addition to these, sometimes serviced offices can offer features such as:

• Stocked tea and coffee facilities
• Fully-equipped games rooms and chill-out areas
• Meeting or conference rooms

The Advantages of Using a Serviced Office Space

If you are considering moving to a new office space – or, indeed, looking to get your first office as a start-up, there are several advantages to getting a serviced office compared to a more traditional office. These can include:

Known monthly overheads – Due to the fact that a serviced office space requires you to pay for everything in one go, you know exactly what your rental and maintenance costs will be. This can be useful for budgeting, giving you the knowledge of exactly how much you will be spending regularly. Your rent will normally cover the space as well as contents and services that you are using, in advance.

Everything is organised for you – When you rent a serviced office space, all of the organisation is done for you. This could be everything from choosing what desks to have, to where to put them, through to fixing a broken pipe and organising office cleaning. For many businesses – especially smaller ones – this can give you more time to carry out the value-added work that is required.

Ready to go – Moving offices can be time-consuming and require a lot of effort. Even more so if you are moving to an office for the first time. Spending time and money on equipping your office may not seem to be a good use of your time and can be expensive. If you are moving into a serviced office space, this extra work can be taken out of your hands, with you having an office ready and waiting for you to move into.

Forget about maintenance – One thing that many serviced office-users like about it is that the maintenance and cleaning are left up to the managers and not themselves. This means that sorting out a leaking pipe or electrical problem is down to the building’s managers and not the tenants.

Networking – For many people, networking is an important part of their work. Given that many serviced offices are shared between several different businesses, this can then be a useful environment to network.

The Advantages of Using a Non-Serviced Office Space

Although a serviced office might be the best option for some businesses, for others, a more traditional rented office may be the answer.

Personalise – One of the biggest downfalls to having a serviced office space is a lack of flexibility over interior decoration, branding, and office identity. If you are renting a serviced office, for example, you might not be able to put business signs above the door or decorate in a way that fits with your business’s branding. By renting an office space in a more traditional manner, you will have a lot more flexibility over the design of the area.

Flexibility – Renting a non-serviced office space also gives you a great deal more flexibility when it comes to office layout and how you want it to work. You can choose how many people you wish to have and where, what furniture you want and where it’s put, as well as how you want your office to look.

Your own facilities – Renting an office that is not serviced means that you are more likely to have your own facilities such as toilets and kitchens. Although this means that you will normally have the responsibility of keeping them clean, it does mean that you will not need to share them with any other businesses, so there is less of a chance of them getting crowded and having to share equipment.

Flexibility over contract length – It is often the case that renting a serviced office can tie you into a longer-term contract compared to the flexibility of renting an office that is not serviced. Often more traditional office renting arrangements can be for a shorter (or longer) amount of time and arranged at short notice.

Control over staff – If you are renting an office that is serviced, often receptionists are provided within the price. If, however, you decide to rent a non-serviced office, all of the staff will be yours, giving you greater control over aspects such as who they are, their hours, how they greet customers and answer the telephone, for example.

Price – It is usually the case that non-serviced offices work out to be less expensive than a serviced office. You will normally pay more for the ability to pay ‘all-inclusive’, whereas, if you can shop around, you can often get much better deals.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to renting office space, every business has slightly different needs. It is generally the case that serviced office spaces can be more useful for very small businesses with limited numbers of personnel. As businesses grow, however, the flexibility that renting a self-managed office is often more preferable.

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