Ayala expands coworking space network, opens BGC unit

A new coworking space under Ayala Land Inc.’s “Clock In” brand has opened in Bonifacio High Street, offering flexible office address to freelancers, start-up entrepreneurs and corporate teams who do not want to be tied to long-term leasing contracts.

This is the third of Clock In coworking space to rise while three more are expected to open by next year, offering up to 1,400 square meters (sqms) split into its small offices, meeting rooms, individual desks, and adaptable open spaces. This hub can seat 307 people, whether doing a quick writing gig or embarking on a full-scale app development.

At the opening of the newest hub in BGC, Ayala Land Offices head of project development Patricia Gail Samaniego said the footprint of Clock In would expand to 6,600 square meters next year once branches in Vertis North (Quezon City), Ayala Malls The 30th (Ortigas) and the forthcoming mixed-use complex Ayala North Exchange near Makati Medical Center are opened,

Clock In Vertis North will have a footprint of 800 sqms and The 30th will have 1,000 sqms. The hub at Ayala North Exchange is the biggest in the pipeline with 1,800 sqms, Samaniego said.

Last March, the first Clock In hub opened in a 400-sqm space at the Makati Stock Exchange building in Makati.

In October 2016 or prior to the launch of Clock In, BGC developer Fort Bonifacio Development Corp.—which is likewise spearheaded by Ayala Land—opened its own 1,200-sqm coworking space under the brand Square One in Bonifacio Technology Center. This business has been rebranded to Clock In.

The merger of the two brands, Samaniego said, “creates more impact and more benefit to our clients.”

Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. (FBDC) assistant manager Christine Novera said about 900 sqms of office space in the newest branch in BGC had been activated, covering 27 rooms and 139 seats.

The growing chain of Clock In coworking space also allows clients who get an office account or subscribe to one-month membership to access other locations.

For as low as P2,000 a month, a start-up entrepreneur can get a virtual address to register his or her business at Clock In and get access to coworking space.

“We’re going to standardize our packages,” said Carol Mills, vice president and head of Ayala Land Offices. She estimated the highest package—one that gives seats in dedicated rooms—at around P10,000 per month. “It’s flexible. You don’t have to sign a long-term lease and you don’t have to fit out,” she said.

“It’s quite good,” Mills asked, when asked about the clients that Clock In has so far been attracting. “It’s a combination of start-ups and subsidiaries of companies coming up with new business lines which temporarily (set up) office with us. Basically, (we attract) small and medium enterprises and even big companies.”

Coworking, a growing trend in the office market, is also designed to allow people who are self-employed to share not just an office and equipment but also ideas and knowledge with like-minded people. It seeks to provide freelancers and digital nomads a more conducive workplace than what traditional cafés offer. They enjoy extra perks like free meeting room and hot desk use every month alongside reliable and fast internet connection, free-flowing coffee, printing and other amenities.