Yes Regus does this and is profitable - given Regus is valued at $3 bil It might make sense to buy them instead of pumping another $3 bil into WeWork that doesn't look like it will ever make a profit.
Yes but sometimes even for companies in their position they say enough is enough to the losses and choose to let them go into administration instead. I'd say its unlikely SoftBank will choose this but it is an option for them.
They can kinda do something half way in that direction just by waiting. The lower WeWork's cash on hand gets, the harder of a position Neumann is in. Of course, it's not clear if it's a credible bluff since Softbank isn't in a great position either.
I don't see how two massive profitable companies with more members and locations and revenue are somehow worse as a brand than WeWork because of something as silly as a brand name. Perhaps WeWork is meant for those who look at such superficial details when dealing with office space but it's not the majority.
Anyways whatever brand they had has transformed from asset to liability now when 75% of the valuation evaporated in 2 weeks. An overinflated bubble investment with no serious metrics or leadership is not clearly anything of reference.
On the financial side, yes, there's a tremendous opportunity to be hugely profitable. In 8 years, WeWork is now bigger than IWG after 30 years. Where do you think think the upside lies?
Regus does something similar, but slightly different.
Regus is geared towards small businesses anticipating a long-term home. WeWork is geared towards individuals and companies that don't know if they'll be around in one year.
As a freelancer, Regus is too large of a commitment while WeWork is more manageable.
Working out of a Spaces office - I'd have to disagree. Services not provided include microwaves, coffee, reliable Wifi, working Ethernet ports, comfortable office temperature, remotely competent staff, reliablly being able to unlock your office door, an ability not to throw away personal belongings in the kitchen, breakout areas (they're turning > half of every kitchen into another office and they're already tiny compared to WeWork's), clean toilets, clean kitchens, any events, any sort of help with letting guests into the building.
We use Regus in NY and LA. 4 and 10 person offices, changing daily or weekly depending on where the sales team is meeting. Works great for us. Everything is clean and it's always quiet. Kitchens are well sized and stocked. We know the reception staff in each location and they do everything we ask.
WeWork was much more expensive and a much noisier and busy environment, especially if you don't get your own dedicated office space, and if you're going to do that then major cities all have tons of subleases which are much more attractive.