By Reed K. Thompson, CEO, Deskworks

Commercial real estate brokers do not need another lecture about whether a flex office is a “real” office. They need a clear view of what their clients are already demanding.

Coworking and flex office are not the same. Both are growing because office users now expect shorter commitments, faster occupancy, better amenities, and more choice in where and how their people work.

I have toured more than 30 commercial buildings over the past year—primarily conventional commercial assets, not coworking properties. Virtually all had some meaningful form of flex: furnished suites, short-term offices, spec suites, shared meeting space, a shared kitchen, tenant amenity floors, managed offices, or flexible lease structures.

That is not a trend on the edge of the market. It is the market adapting. See table below: 

Coworking: Shared Space and Community

Coworking began as a solution for freelancers, entrepreneurs, startups, and small teams that wanted a professional workplace without taking on a traditional lease.

Its core value is shared infrastructure and community:

• Shared desks, dedicated desks, private offices, lounges, kitchens, phone booths, and meeting rooms.
• Membership-based access, often with daily, monthly, or short-term commitments.
• A mix of independent professionals, remote workers, startups, and smaller companies.
• Networking, programming, events, and a hospitality-led member experience.
• Immediate access to a workplace without furniture purchases, office buildout, or a major capital commitment.

Coworking changed the market because it proved that customers value more than square footage. They value access, convenience, experience, professional presentation, and the ability to use office space when it makes sense—not because a lease requires it.

Flex Office: A Business Solution

Flex office is the larger category. Coworking is one type of flex office.

Flex office is built around adaptable occupancy. It can include:

• Private offices and team suites.
• Furnished, plug-and-play space.
• Shorter-term leases and licenses.
• Managed offices customized for a single company.
• Enterprise suites within a flex operator’s portfolio.
• Spec suites that are ready for immediate occupancy.
• Day offices and on-demand meeting rooms.
• Satellite offices and regional hubs.
• Building-operated flex space and tenant amenity centers.
• Multi-location workspace access.

The primary difference is simple:

Coworking is a shared-workplace and community model. Flex office is a flexible way for companies to consume office space.

Coworking can include private offices. Flex office can include shared space. The lines blur in practice. The customer’s real question is not, “Is this coworking?” It is, “Does this solve my business need without creating unnecessary cost, risk, or delay?”

What Customers Want Now

Certain customers still need conventional office leases. A headquarters, specialized buildout, secure operations center, life-science facility, major regional office, or a stable long-term occupancy requirement may justify a traditional lease.

But far fewer businesses want every workplace decision locked into one model.

They want the ability to:

• Open a market quickly.
• Support teams outside headquarters.
• Add space during a hiring cycle.
• Reduce space when conditions change.
• Provide offices closer to where employees live.
• Give remote staff access to a professional workspace.
• Host clients and team meetings without maintaining underused space.
• Avoid long construction cycles, furniture procurement, and upfront buildout expense.
• Test a location before committing to a larger or longer-term lease.

The “work from anywhere” shift does not mean the office is gone. It means the office must earn the commute and justify the cost.

For many companies, the answer is not headquarters or remote work. It is a portfolio: headquarters, hubs, managed offices, memberships, meeting space, and home-based work.

Why This Matters to Brokers

Flex should not be viewed as competition to brokerage. It is another tool in the broker’s toolkit—and often the right first step in a larger client relationship.

A client that begins with a 10-person flex suite may become a 50-person conventional tenant. A company entering a market through a flexible location may later commit to a full-floor lease. A tenant using flex space as swing space may need permanent expansion. A company that cannot make a five-year decision today may still need space immediately.

If the broker’s answer is only, “Here are the traditional listings available,” the client will find flexible alternatives without them.

The broker who understands flex can advise at a much higher level:

This is not about recommending flex in every transaction. It is about understanding when flex is the better answer—and recognizing when it can lead to a conventional lease later.

The Building Is Becoming a Service

Traditional commercial real estate has historically been driven by location, square footage, lease term, tenant improvements, and rental rate. Those remain essential.

They are no longer enough by themselves.

Occupiers increasingly assess a building based on how quickly they can use it, how well it supports employees, whether it offers modern amenities, the quality of the service experience, and how easily the space can adjust as their business changes.

That is why landlords are introducing:

• Prebuilt and furnished spec suites.
• Flexible terms and simpler deal structures.
• Shared conference facilities.
• Tenant lounges and hospitality desks.
• Building-wide amenity programs.
• On-demand meeting rooms.
• Move-in-ready offices.
• Flex-space partnerships and landlord-operated workplace offerings.

The label does not matter much. The capability does.

Buildings that offer only traditional long-term space are narrowing their addressable market. Buildings that offer a range of occupancy options can serve companies at more stages of growth and capture demand that might otherwise be lost.

Technology Is Part of the Product

Flex workspace is not merely a leasing format. It is an operating business.

A credible flex offering must manage the full customer experience: inquiry, tour, agreement, move-in, access, meeting-room reservations, billing and payment collection, support, and ongoing changes in space needs. The customer is not simply leasing an office. They are buying a service experience that must work from the first interaction through daily use.

For brokers, that matters. The quality of the operator—and the technology behind the experience—can determine whether a flex solution strengthens a client relationship or creates unnecessary friction. A well-run operation makes it easy for a customer to occupy space quickly, manage access, reserve rooms, receive support, and adjust as the business changes.

Technology is not the headline. But it is part of what makes a flexible office credible at scale. When it works, the building is easier to buy, easier to use, and more valuable to the customer.

The Bottom Line for CRE Brokers

Coworking created a more accessible, shared, community-oriented workplace model. Flex office applies the same underlying principle—choice and adaptability—to a far broader range of office users.

Commercial real estate is not being replaced. It is being forced to become more responsive.

The brokers who win will not treat flex as an inconvenience, a temporary fad, or a separate category. They will use it to solve real client problems: speed, uncertainty, distributed teams, changing headcount, underused space, and the need for a better workplace experience.

The market is already moving.

The question is not whether flex office will matter in commercial real estate. It is whether your clients will see you as the broker who understood it early enough to help them use it well.

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Reed K. Thompson is CEO of Deskworks, a workspace management solution built by people with deep experience operating coworking and flexible workspace businesses. Deskworks provides flex office software for managing members, spaces, reservations, billing, payments, access, reporting, and multi-location operations.