We are current tenants of Spaces and have renewed for next year. In the past, we have rented coworking space at WeWorks near the White House so have some comparison in this analysis. Overall what I'll say is that both have their pros and cons- so it is really what you prioritize as a business that will make the difference for you. We chose to renew at Spaces due to the office space size and location.
Spaces is like Spirit Airlines. It is an attractive facility (great common area and outdoor patio) and has the basics that other coworking spaces have - office space, access to a gym, kitchen with complimentary coffee and tea. However, customer service is limited and anything extra- expect to pay for it- and higher than market price.
Office Space: Spaces is notably larger per person and slightly less expensive than WeWorks.
Printing: Spaces: printing is not free and above market price; WeWorks- you have a quota each month that is free and after that the prices for printing are about market price.
Conference Room space- weworks offers you a quota every month of free conference room space which is online reserved. For Spaces- they have opened this up to one free hour a day over the last year, but have to reserve same day and inperson so can't plan ahead. Anything extra is above market price for a tenant.
Common Area- Both spaces and weworks are really nice- both indoor and outdoor. I'd say weworks have a variety of common area both inside and outside so it never feels too crowded whereas spaces often gets filled up fast with their one indoor common area.
Complimentary Food and Activities- both have free coffee and water; WeWorks is a lot higher quality providing free la Columbe coffee as well as fresh flavored water (they put real fruits in it daily). If you'd like the higher quality coffee at Spaces- then you have to pay extra. Both have small events in the common areas with free food every now and then which is fun and festive!- but again the difference is really in the quality- Weworks for example will bring in Georgetown Cupcakes (a dc favorite) or full chicken and waffles breakfast, and spaces will bring in off-brand Cheetos, hotdogs, ice cream, etc. (again shouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker for anyone- just pointing out).
Mail: weworks sends you an email immediately when you have mail or a package. Spaces requires you to ask the front desk daily (which we didn't know this rule and actually had mail discovered to be in their storage for 4 months after it was delivered including client checks- which we just assumed got lost in the mail. Packages- Spaces now delivers them to your office which is really nice
Dogs: Spaces allow small dogs under 30 pounds. Weworks allows dogs of all sizes.
Renting space for events: both you can reserve the spaces common area(s) and patio for free. However spaces requires in person request which allow for error- we reserved the outdoor patio and common area for this past weekend almost 3 months in advance. 5 days before the event we were told they confused the days and an external group who was "paying" had the common area reserved. When asked in 2 emails what the indoor space backup was, we didn't get a response back until less than 24 hours before the event. We had to make a decision 2 days before the event whether to change (which we did tell Spaces) bc of catering and guest notification. Point being- if you are just looking to rent the external space and not be a tenant- you will receive priority over tenants. Additionally the extras- ie using the outdoor heat lamps cost $75 a heat lamp plus the cost to have staffer turn them on for the event- (which is way over the market value since heat lamps cost $100 to purchase on Amazon and propane cost $20 at the local Hime Depot to fill a whole tank). Weworks- there is an online booking system for events- so we never had this issue in the past- and always had an easy and confirmable paper trail. Anything that was in a space- was open to use at no extra cost.
Customer Service: WeWorks has Stellar customer service- I'd equate it to what you get at a Kimpton Hotel- customer is always right, we'll bend over backwards, experienced in traditional office setting expectations, stick around til 6/7. Spaces is a work in progress- like a 3 star hotel...it's fine. However you can get attitude from staff and they have limited understanding of traditional office setting expectations, and always gone exactly at 5.
Cleanliness- Weworks- always clean; Spaces- front kitchen clean, back often dirty for long periods of time and has mouse traps. read more