Spacious: Future of the Digital Office?

[VagabondWahine]

For those of us who have jobs/income on the road (and those who'd like to) here is info on a new company, 'Spacious.' Now only in NYC & SF, Spacious plans to expand to other cities. What they arrange is finding un- or under-used restaurants & bars to open their doors in off-hours to people who need a reliable WiFi (& coffee) to work, look for work, or otherwise utilize the Internet.

Spacious is a 'membership' program, but I thought, "Why couldn't our VanDweller Community make our own arrangements with restaurants & bars in the towns where we gravitate most often? Seattle & Portland in the NorthWest; Cottonwood in N. Arizona & Quartzite in South AZ; cities most often visited for weeks at a time in Florida, Texas, Canada, etc. I can see advantages over libraries, where we must be quiet, and busy truck stops & restaurants, where it is too noisy. 

Here is a clip from NBC Nightly News from Sept. 15, '18: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/16/spa...could-be-coming-to-a-restaurant-near-you.html

What are your thoughts?

 

[QinReno]

Never ever work. Spacious might work because there is a localized and at least semi-permanent community that would "regularly" use the places in off-hours. OTOH, anyplace sponsoring nomads, even Quartzsite, will likely have totally random hit'n'miss usage.

 

[VagabondWahine]

Yeah, I can see that's true. Might work in the winter, if well advertised. Just watched a YouTube short documentary, 'Million Dollar Shack,' about housing prices in Silicon Valley to San Francisco. Where will it end? My parents used to rent a large property in Los Gatos, then bought a very nice house in Cambrian Park. Makes me wonder how much that house is worth now … unless it's been torn down for another freeway. I have a friend in San Jose who bought her 'manufactured home' years ago for over $100,000. I thought she was crazy! She could sell it now for 6 or 7 times (maybe more) what she paid. Her space rent & utilities cost her more than my entire Social Security. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world!

 

[Dingfelder]

With the reputation of nomads always an issue, I don't think many owners would bite at the opportunity to have more of them around at minimal profit. Nor would their insurance companies, who are often far stricter than any of the businesses they insure.

 

[VagabondWahine]

Yes, it was a long shot. I just know I'd rather 'work' with great WiFi, possibly good food or drink, and larger space than Starbucks & less noise than McDonald's. ("Never mind" ala Gilda Radner)

 

[QinReno]

Libraries may be your best bet.

 

[Jack]

Libraries may be your best bet.

And we have a winner!  No membership required.

To be productive, I have to admit that it sounds like a great idea at first.  A few moments of thought is all it takes to see all the potential problems.  I think the idea would do well if they aimed it at the busy, static, S&B crowd though.

 

[VagabondWahine]

And we have a winner!  No membership required.

To be productive, I have to admit that it sounds like a great idea at first.  A few moments of thought is all it takes to see all the potential problems.  I think the idea would do well if they aimed it at the busy, static, S&B crowd though.

I'll be interested to see where they go next. Portland? Houston? Atlanta? Definitely wherever Amazon's 2nd headquarter lands. Interesting, fresh idea. Like the name they chose.