A quiet spot in Hong Kong for the price of a coffee? TheDesk’s co-working booths are coming to a mall near you

The size of a typical phone kiosk, theDesk’s booths or studios come equipped with a desk, bar stool, power sockets and Wi-fi access
The initiative has been launched in partnership with Link Reit and the booths will eventually be set up in 18 districts in shopping centres managed by the trust

Hong Kong property

Cheryl Arcibal

Published: 7:30am, 20 Aug 2021

Why you can trust SCMP

Working from home and in a dire need of a suitable space to get some work done without distractions?

Booths launched by Hong Kong co-working space operator theDesk in malls across the city might just be what you’re looking for.

The size of a typical phone kiosk, these booths or studios come equipped with a desk, bar stool, power sockets and Wi-fi access. And, as part of a pilot programme, access is free as of now. Users just need to download theDesk2Go app, register and book a booth.

“It’s free of charge for this starting phase,” said Bernard Shek, marketing director at theDesk. “We will continue to monitor usage to determine when to begin charging. But the price per hour will be close to that of a cup of coffee.”

The coronavirus pandemic has created the need for flexible arrangements such as working from home and hybrid and remote work policies, as companies implement social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the disease. More than a year on, organisations are still trying to figure out their real estate requirements and ideal working arrangements for employees.

02:07

Japanese capsule hotels turned into office units to revive businesses knocked out by Covid-19

“We all know that online meetings are held almost every day under the new normal brought on by the pandemic. We observed very early on that many Hong Kong people, especially employees, do not have access to a quiet space appropriate for conducting online meetings, without the usual distractions of children, pets and even construction noises in the background,” said Thomas Hui, CEO and co-founder of theDesk. “In view of this, we decided to break some new ground by rolling out hourly mobile co-working studios, which offer a creative and practical choice for employees, while still supporting a more integrated community.”

The concept is not entirely new, at least in Asia. In Singapore, JustCo has also launched Switch with booths across various locations. It currently charges between S$3.60 (US$2.65) and S$10.80 per hour.

For the idea to succeed, it may need some tweaking, said Martin Wong, director and head of research and consultancy, Greater China, at Knight Frank. “The home environment is still likely to be better than this booth,” he said. “And work from home in Hong Kong still faces the problem of not having enough space. People still want more space for their working environment.”

TheDesk’s initiative was launched in partnership with Link Reit, Asia’s largest real estate investment trust, and the booths will eventually be set up in 18 districts in phases, in shopping centres managed by Link. The first set of booths have been launched in seven shopping centres, including Homantin Plaza in Kowloon City and Nam Cheong Place near Sham Shui Po.

“Our booths are currently situated in seven malls across Hong Kong,” Shek said. “Each mall has one to two booths for the starting phase – we will increase the quantity based on future usage.”

The concept could prove to be lucrative for theDesk amid a period of volatility for the segment. Several major players, such as WeWork and KrSpace, have closed their operations in Hong Kong or significantly reduced their footprint. Australian co-working company Victory Offices closed its Hong Kong operations in December, just a little over a year after it had started, because of high rents and the pandemic.

Eventually, theDesk expects to charge about HK$40 (US$5.13) per hour for the booths, or just about the price of a cup of coffee. This would translate into HK$7,040 a month based on eight hours of use 22 working days in a month. That is about 64 per cent more expensive than a private office membership at theDesk’s co-working space, which starts at HK$4,300 a month.