[hn_throwaway_99]

It's exactly this. Our company got a great, large dedicated office space during the peak of Covid for a pretty great deal. Note at the time it was still one of the most expensive options, but the location, amenities and quality of the office space made it worth it.

When it came time to renew they tried to more than double the rent. We then downsized to a space less than a fourth the original space - just a couple desks and a small meeting room. That worked out great - most employees are now firmly remote anyway, but we have a good space, and anyone can use our block of credits, so if we need to have a bunch of folks onsight for an in-person meeting we just book a large meeting room and it works great.

I think WeWork was horribly mismanaged by Neumann, but I still think they'd be in giant doodoo even if they had great management. The pandemic really fundamentally changed work patterns forever.