Shopping malls emerge as ideal flexible workspaces 

Shopping malls are ideal locations for flexible workspaces mainly because of free parking, according to the findings of a survey conducted by real estate consultant Colliers as reported by BusinessMirror.

Colliers said the survey involved about 300 respondents who took part in its Philippine market briefing. Majority of its respondents regarded shopping malls as ideal sites for flexible workspaces.

The company said flexible workspace operators should consider occupying space in transit-oriented retail developments to entice more mall goers to take up flexible workspace. 

“It also appears that developers need to continue offering flexible and extended payment terms to drum up interest in Metro Manila’s primary market, especially with nearly 30 percent still opting for a condominium unit within a central business district as their next residential investment.”

Developers should also continue to be “aggressive” in offering innovative and attractive promos to re-ignite interest in the Metro Manila pre-selling condo market, Colliers said.

The survey also showed that about half of its respondents were likely to travel to Palawan over the next three months, outranking other popular destinations such as Cebu and Boracay. Colliers said proposals to expand and modernize the Puerto Princesa International Airport should further raise Palawan’s travel and tourism competitiveness.

“Hotel operators should remain active in capturing demand from domestic tourists that are enticed by impulse travel. Property firms should explore building either hotels or leisure-centric residential enclaves in popular destinations across the Philippines.”

Last May, IWG Senior Vice President Lars Wittig said the work-from-home arrangement “helped tremendously” in driving the demand for hybrid working solutions.

“Because it was a lesson for the employers that you don’t need to measure your employees by a timesheet,” Wittig said, adding that employees now would “want to be measured by results. And they proved that they were very trustworthy and very capable” during the work-from-home era.

IWG, a Switzerland-based provider of hybrid working solutions, said it is targeting to increase the number of its flexible workspaces in the Philippines.

The company said it is banking on the country’s young workforce population and the preference for short-term office spaces to fuel the demand for hybrid work arrangement.