How To Develop A Shared Office Finding App? A Complete Guide

As it comes to hunting down a nice space for your office, the struggle can be real, isn’t it? We realize that the idea of co-working office space is great but the searching process for it is not so great. It involves wandering around the city for several hours and for several days until one finally zeroes upon a good working space.

However, what if you have a mobile app to find a coworking office space? Well, it makes the entire process way much easier and convenient. As then one is not required to go place-to-place in search of the space, as it can be done easily via the app. And once you zero upon a good space in the app that suits in terms of rates, location, distance, and everything, you can choose to pay a visit for the final look and book it then and there.

Today there are a number of businesses that have embraced the idea of shared workspaces and this is why there are many other businesses coming up more and more with this app idea and show interest in getting them developed. This way the interested folks get to choose the service that best fits their needs and workstyle.

How Does Coworking Space Finder Apps Work?

To begin with, there can be two sides to this idea, first the ones who need a place to work, and second are those who have an extra office space to share. The app can help both the kind of users, to find the space as well as to share the space.

The coworking office space finder app can do wonders in a number of ways like it makes it easier to nearby coworking office spaces, and one can look for the amenities offered by them within the app itself and find other useful information related to the spaces. The app makes a lot of things super convenient, which will be discussed ahead.

Market Statistics For Coworking Office Space Finder Services & Apps

Despite the pandemic, there is no getting down for the demand for coworking office spaces and the number of such spaces all across the world seems to have already reached 20000 in the year 2020. And that is in the year when pandemic affected the entire world so drastically. As per research by Allwork, by the year 2024, this number is expected to double and surpass 40000, and also it is expected as per the same research that by 2022, there will be 13 percent of businesses outside the US that is going to be using the shared workspaces. In the year 2019, there were 3 million coworkers worldwide, and this number is expected to double by 2022.

Before the pandemic hit, the co-working spaces were seen as the fastest-growing type of office space in commercial real estate. Even though at the moment this industry is less than 5 percent of the market, but is expected to hold the place of 30 percent by the year 2030, as per a CNBC report.

What Is The Reason Behind The Popularity Of Coworking Office Space?

For better understanding, a “co-working” space is where the people come together in a neutral space where they can independently work on different projects, or even in groups on the same projects. What differentiates this from a typical office workspace is that people in a coworking environment do not work for the same firm. However, the basis here is the same as even in the coworking spaces the people are offered the same amenities found in traditional offices and even a lot more.

What mainly sets a coworking office space apart from the traditional office spaces is the “flexibility” that comes along, as here one is not required to sign a long-term lease in a coworking space, and every such space has basics like printers, WiFi, and even a conference room. Not to miss, there will also be tea, coffee, snacks, and a lot more available. The amenities will most differ from space to space. The best part of coworking space is that they are much more affordable so works really well for the startups, small teams, or even the freelancers, who simply need a nice space with good WiFi and coffee.

How A CoWorking Office App Can Be Beneficial For You?

Ok, so if you are a business looking to make a mark in this domain, then first start by getting a good app developed by getting in touch with a coworking office space finder app development company. You can sit with them and discuss your requirements and expectations from the app and get it built accordingly.

Through the app, you should be able to maximize your time better and streamline the coworking space’s operations. Among the many benefits, a few we have discussed here:

Ease To The Users

Once there is an app for finding a coworking office space, it becomes easier for the users to download the app directly from the app store and then find a nice office space. Apart from that, once the user becomes a member by settling for space, they can then use the app to book the meeting rooms, make their payments from the app itself, get the advantage of in-app messaging member-to-member, find the location easily via the GPS functionality, and much more. In all, it makes the handling of things a lot easier.

Productivity

Having an app will allow the members of the coworking space as well as the management team to be more productive. As the members use the app, the app business gains granular data regarding how space is being used in real-time. This way, one can easily find opportunities to improve further and also scale & upgrade the offerings.

Management Of Meeting Room Bookings

The app would allow the meeting room booking system to be controlled & managed by the members of the coworking space. This way the members can instantly verify the meeting room availability and book the room with just a few taps, invite the colleagues. The app also allows to pre-schedule the meetings. Invites can also be sent to the attendees who are not a member of the coworking office space. It can be done simply by entering their email address so they receive a notification email, along with the option to sync it with their calendar.

Enable Desk Bookings

In coworking spaces, desks usually fall into one of two categories, i.e. Flexible Hot Desks or Permanent Dedicated Desks. However, the app even allows to manage one more option of Desk reservation. This way the members can have the option to book into this specific desk on-demand or they can even reserve one in advance. With Desk Booking, members get the assurance that the desks they choose will be vacant and waiting for them upon arrival. This enables the venue manager to track the areas of the coworking space that are most popular. At the same time, one can even ensure that they are not accepting more drop-in members than allowed by the venue with minimal oversight.

Fast Payment Collection

With an app, Invoices can be integrated directly and displayed on the member panel of each member and the members can make quick payments by registering their cards.

These were the few benefits of having a Share Office Finder app for your business, however, the benefits are endless, and it can do wonders to have one.

Monetization Opportunities In Shared Office finder app

Featured Listings

In this monetization model, the app business can charge for featuring a shared office space in their listing of offices. This way the shared office business gets the opportunity to be promoted while in return the app business gets to earn a good sum of money.

Commissions

In this monetization model, the app owner can earn a commission from both the parties, i.e. i) Shared Office Space Owner ii) Shared Office Space Finder.

Ad Management

The app business can choose to display advertisements on the app and earn a great deal of money in return.

Popular CoWorking & Shared Space Finder Apps

There are many websites and mobile apps that help professionals finding coworking office spaces. So some of those shared working space finder apps are Croissant, LiquidSpace, WeWork, myHQ, Breather, CoPass, DeskCamping, WorkFrom, and CoWorker.

General Features of A Shared Office Finder App

User Panel

• Sign In/Sign Up via email or social media platforms
• Browse shared office spaces by locations
• Sort and Filter based on Property Type
• Map View of CoWorking Spaces
• Details of Property Amenities
• Recommendations of coworking spaces based on user location
• Account Verification
• Compare rent of coworking spaces
• Check Paid/Unpaid Amenities of shared offices
• A 360-degree tour of coworking space
• Connect or chat with the coworking space owner
• Give Ratings, Reviews, and Suggestions
• Online Payments for Coworking spaces
• Reserve coworking spaces and meeting rooms
• View events, special offers, and discounts
• Manage profile
• View history of past coworking space reservations

Admin Panel

• Secure Login
• Add New Coworking & Shared Office Space Listings
• Manage property details such as adding amenities, rent, and other features
• View reports for earnings and user engagement
• View ratings and reviews
• Run discounts on shared office listings

Advance Features Of Shared Office Finder App

Social Login/Signup

Integrating this feature in the app would allow the users to easily signup and login into the app each time without having to fill in the long details. The users can simply log in from their social media accounts.

360 Degree Tours Of Work Space

This functionality will make it easier for the shared office finders to look for the spaces without actually visiting the space. The users would get a 360-degree view of the place and this would make finding and finalizing the space much easier, saving a lot of their time and efforts.

Push Notification

Urgently need to send information to the app users, well this can be done easily with simply a tap on the mobile phone when the push notification functionality is integrated into the app.

Recommendation Engine

This functionality would be useful for the users as it will show them recommended office spaces that would suit their requirements, in terms of pricing, distance, locality, amenities, etc.

Multiple Payment Options

The users would find the idea of having multiple payment options very convenient, so they would be able to make payments via Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Credit/Debit Cards, etc.

In-App Doc Scanner

This functionality allows the app users (mainly shared office space employees) to easily scan the documents from within the app.

In-App Doc Management

It is crucial to managing the documents well, and this functionality allows the app users to easily and efficiently manage the documents, without the worrying of loss or theft.

Behaviour Tracking

This functionality tracks the behavior of the app users, so this way it would be possible to identify where the app needs improvements and offer better services accordingly.

CMS Integration

With the use of this functionality (Content Management System) the app owners can track and manage the content provided on the app and make improvisation as required.

CRM Integration

It is crucial for the success of any business to have a good relationship with its customers (users), and here the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) functionality can prove to be greatly beneficial.

Marketing & Promotion Tools

Every business has to be seen and heard of in order to attain success and the marketing and promotion tools do just that.

In-app Navigation

This is one crucial feature for a shared office space finder app, as this way it would be easier for the users to locate the business.

Review & Ratings

This functionality allows the users to rate and review the services offered within the app itself. Accordingly, steps can be taken to improve the experience.

Chat Support

With the use of this feature, the app users will be able to chat with each other to discuss work and office handling from within the app itself.

Technology Stack Required To Develop CoWorking Space Finder App

• For Frontend Development: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, WebAssembly
• For Programming Languages: Java or Kotlin for Android, Objective-C or Swift for IoS
• For Toolkit: Android Studio & Android Developer Tools, Apple XCode for IoS
• For Software Development Kit (SDK): Android SDK, iOS SDK
• For HTTP and Proxy Server: Nginx
• For Payments: PayPal, Braintree, Stripe, eWallets
• For SMS, Phone Verification, Voice: Twilio, Nexmo, Push.io
• For Maps: Google maps API
• For storage purpose and caching with CDNs: Amazon S3, AWS
• For Frameworks: Ionic Framework, React Native + JavaScript/TypeScript, Cordova/PhoneGap
• For Tools: Xamarin + C#

Required Team Structure For Shared Office Space Searching App Development

Finding the right set of technical people to get the app developed is very crucial and once you find the right app development company to create an on-demand coworking office space, things can get way easier, as then the firm is entirely responsible to manage the development team. Meanwhile, the app development team mostly consists of:

Project Manager

He/she is entirely responsible for the completion of the app project, as the communication with the app owners and the developers as well as the design team and the testers. This person has to ensure that the development work is being carried effectively and efficiently.

Developers

Here the team consists of software developers, web app developers, mobile app developers, front-end and back-end developers. They are responsible for the development of the app.

UX/UI Designers

This team of designers takes care of the look and feel of the app. The need to ensure that the app is appealing enough for its users as well as is user-friendly.

Quality Analysis Experts

These people test the app thoroughly to find any bugs or errors if found while functioning. Once the app gets a go-ahead from the QA team, it is then ready to be made into a complete project that can be delivered to the app owners.

What It Costs To Develop A Coworking Office Space App

There are a number of factors on which the cost to develop a Shared Office Space finder app would depend on many factors such as:

Hourly Rates of the App Development Company

Usually, the hourly rates to develop an app differs as per the geography, like the region the app development firm falls in. For instance, the hourly rate to develop an app will be much higher in regions, like the USA, Europe, South Africa, whereas the hourly rates are much lower in the Indian region.

Platforms & Devices

The more platforms and devices you choose the develop the app for, the higher the cost gets. Like if you choose to get the app developed for the Android devices or for the iOS devices, then the cost will be lesser for a single platform, however, in case you choose to get the app developed for both Android and iOS devices, then it would cost much.

Features & Design

More features integrated into the app means more will be the cost. Same way, the complex the app design, the more the cost to develop the app.

This way, to create an on-demand shared office space mobile app for a single platform with the basic features, the cost should be somewhere around $25000-$35000, whereas to integrate more advanced features and to create for more platforms, the cost would be double.

Wrapping Up

So, we hope that this post has provided you information on how you can go about developing an app for people to finding coworking and shared office spaces. You can brainstorm for ideas to make this coworking space finding app unique and for the technical aspect hiring a reliable app development company is a good idea.