Flexible workspace provider WeWork is launching WeWork Go, a line of office pods — some roughly the size of old-school phone booths — that are aimed at professionals seeking private spaces in high-traffic locations.
They will be placed at airports, convention centers and other busy destinations where “productivity often competes with noise and distraction,” WeWork said Monday. Design elements include enhanced soundproofing, ergonomic seating, high-speed wireless internet and curated lighting.
The move by the New York-based firm follows similar steps by other companies to provide small-privacy areas catering to post‑pandemic hybrid and remote work patterns. It comes as WeWork has been searching for often smaller, more profitable office spaces since emerging from bankruptcy protection in 2024.
WeWork is debuting the product this week at the Semafor World Economy conference in Washington, D.C., an event that attracts global leaders in business as well as government. That's an audience that reflects the type of user WeWork Go is targeting, a company spokesperson told CoStar News.
The spokesperson declined to specify terms of WeWork’s arrangements with venue partners. For new customers, WeWork Go functions with a pay-as-you-go model similar to WeWork’s on-demand spaces.
“The workday is no longer static; it doesn’t start and end at a desk,” WeWork CEO John Santora said in a statement. “It happens in a busy terminal, between flights to your regional office; when you need to host a client meeting while attending a 1,000 person conference; or when you’re on the go and have to take a call in a busy hotel lobby."
He referred to the product "a powerful extension of our platform and another bold step toward delivering real estate solutions designed for the way the world works today.”
WeWork Go will be offered in three forms: a single-user format for independent work, a multiuser option that can host up to four people and a model compatible with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The launch also marks a notable turn for WeWork: The firm pulled thousands of in‑office phone booths out of service in 2019 after elevated levels of formaldehyde triggered health concerns, according to media reports.
Lines blur between work, travel
Other flexible workspace providers seeking to capitalize on growing demand from professionals working on the go include Regus and Spaces parent IWG.
They have invested in Jabbrrbox, a provider of privacy pods at locations including John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. They are partnering to open 3,750 Jabbrrbox and Regus co-branded units globally over the next three years, the companies said in November.
"The transition towards hybrid working is clear and compelling for companies of all sizes and their employees with positive impacts on productivity, lower costs, increased flexibility and above all significantly enhanced worker happiness,” IWG CEO Mark Dixon said at the time.
JustCo, billed as Asia’s leading flexible workspace provider, has also opened a coworking hub inside Singapore’s Changi Airport as airports increasingly add charging stations, private pods and other productivity-focused amenities.
“The boundaries between professional life and travel are blurring, and airports are quickly adapting to accommodate the needs of modern professionals, including digital nomads and frequent travelers,” workplace design and consulting firm CTI Working Environments said in a study. “Privacy is a precious commodity, especially when traveling for business.”
For WeWork, the move also marks another step in its return to growth mode since exiting bankruptcy protection, saying WeWork Go marks its first new product launch since the July 2022 introduction of WeWork Workplace. That's space management software it built in partnership with Yardi, a firm that emerged as WeWork’s majority owner through its bankruptcy process. WeWork also has inked new office leases in New York.