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WeWork may seem like a vestige of pre-pandemic office trends, when employees were drawn to perks like endless coffee, beer on tap, and the potential to play ping-pong in the middle of the day.
But the embattled company is hanging on, thanks to the enduring popularity of coworking spaces, which still hold appeal for remote or hybrid workers. WeWork has a new CEO, John Santora, who took over after the company emerged from bankruptcy, and recently reported rosier earnings after shrinking its global footprint.
WeWork is now betting that a partnership with ClassPass can further boost its business. ClassPass, which allows users to book services like fitness classes and spa appointments with credits, recently announced that members can now reserve WeWork coworking spaces through its app.
Mixing work with wellness. ClassPass tested the partnership with WeWork in several markets, including Chicago and Amsterdam, before officially launching, according to Jeff Bladt, SVP for pricing and marketplace with Playlist, its parent company. Members now have the option to book space in nearly 200 WeWork locations, including in Singapore, Paris, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.
Bladt described a growing interest in mixing work with wellness, something he hopes will enhance the partnership. In an ideal world, a ClassPass user might take a fitness class before heading to work from a WeWork location, and then pick up lunch in the same area—all using services available on the app.
“Our hope is that we’ll see users twinning some of these activities within the same day,” Bladt said. As of June, 25% of users who booked a WeWork reservation with ClassPass booked a different service with the company on the same day, according to statistics shared by ClassPass.
The perks of being a coworker. The pandemic fundamentally changed office-going trends, with visits to US offices 32% below March 2019 levels during the same month this year, according to Placer.ai data. While many companies have called workers back into the office at least some of the time, others have moved to smaller locations, including co-working spaces.
At the same time, total rewards teams are seeking to boost worker wellbeing with enhanced benefits like mindfulness programs, group fitness classes, and onsite lunch or meal delivery stipends.
Newer coworking spaces reflect this integration of work and wellness. One high-end example is Springline, in Menlo Park, California, where workers have access not only to office spaces, but also gyms, a grocery store, and a high-end golf simulator, among other perks. Seizing on a similar trend, the fitness company Life Time now operates Life Time Work coworking spaces from locations like Minneapolis and Chicago.
ClassPass has been in the corporate benefits space since 2018, with companies like e.l.f. Beauty and J. Crew offering it to their workers. Bladt said he believes the addition of WeWork bookings will appeal to distributed companies that offer ClassPass as a benefit, and employ workers who don’t have access to an office.