TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The workplace is changing with more and more staff working remotely, giving rise to new business opportunities that were unimaginable a few years ago.
Many remote workers now find themselves in need of “private” spaces that allow them to do everything from participate in conference calls, podcasts or live streams, or conduct informal meetings. Furthermore, internet technology is making the booking and payment of such facilities seamless, with new bookings processed in less than one minute.
“Our most popular spaces are in high-traffic areas such as Nanjing Fuxing, across from a nearby MRT station. Many people need to find quiet and convenient spaces to meet in private,” said Happ. co-founder and Chief Business Officer Chang Wen-hsin (張文馨).
Happ. operates 300 spaces in the Taipei area, 11 in Taichung, and nine in Tainan. There are plans to expand across all of the major cities in Taiwan.
Cozy private space
“Rather than meeting at a coffee shop, Chang says, “some people opt for their space when sensitive information cannot be discussed in public or when the individuals involved may be easily recognizable to the public.”
“Many people will rent our spaces for things like tutoring lessons, therapy sessions, or simply for friends to get together after a day of shopping,” she added.
Chang explained that the rental process is simple and streamlined, with users choosing different spaces from a map with detailed images of the interior, including a list of furnishings, and after making a payment online, a numbered passcode is sent to their phone right away.
Upon arriving at the location, one simply enters the passcode into an electronic panel on the door, which opens and provides access to amenities such as a table, chairs, whiteboard, extension cords, projector, and WiFi. Each room is cleaned shortly after use, and occupants are encouraged to keep rooms clean and leave with their garbage to be deposited in bins located in the hallway.
A room near MRT Dongmen station. (Happ. photo)
The COVID pandemic led more companies to experiment with remote working, creating new opportunities and new work models that broke traditional geographical boundaries. Chang said the main users are typically tech-savvy young people aged 20–40, though her company is making inroads into older demographic groups who may use the service to book rooms for gatherings with friends and family.
“Aside from giving workers more freedom to choose to work from home during the pandemic, it also allowed companies to save on business rent and create a lean and efficient business culture. It also showed that office work does not need to be confined to office buildings.”
Chang said start-ups were the first organizations to embrace Happ.’s space-for-hire business model, followed by international corporate and tech companies that needed “project offices” for longer periods, such as a few months or a fiscal quarter.
“We learned that workers still like to meet person-to-person, and our company provides this service for companies.”
A colorful meeting space near MRT Dongmen station. (Happ. photo)
Tough times during COVID
Happ.’s original name, “Treerful,” was inspired by the English term “cheerful,” and the intention was to create a cozy environment with each space consistent in design.
Each newly created room has to pass an internal review process to qualify as an available rental space. While most spaces pass, there are always one or two adjustments that can be made based on suggestions from reviewers. “We have a review process for each room where we take into account things like comfortability, lighting, and other issues.”
This attention to detail has improved the overall experience of Happ.’s users and helped the company rise to the top of the temporary space rental market in Taiwan. The company’s Mandarin name has become synonymous with the service it provides, quite an achievement for a company founded just eight years ago, modeled after a similar space-for-hire company based in Montreal, Canada.
Chang admitted there has been a loss of competition in the market, while a large number of companies were unable to weather the challenges brought about by the COVID pandemic. This led to three years of declines in business volume.
This led the company to seek new ways to offer new properties. This led to more partnerships and profit sharing with property owners rather than direct leasing of spaces.
“At the beginning, we just rushed to get the spaces ready in the most cost-effective way. We did this by just leasing many of our spaces from landlords,” said Chang. The company later modified its business model by partnering with property owners, allowing it to grow to more locations, albeit slower, across Taiwan.
The company also experimented with a greater diversity of spaces it offers, such as tiny phone booth-type spaces suited for single people requiring a private space for a conference call in busy urban areas such as Zhongshan Station. Happ. is now offering 16 overnight spaces near Taipei Main Station, which can be used day and night, also providing a short rest service for travelers who need to catch a late-night train or flight.
The overnight option charges just NT$190 (US$6) per hour; it’s an affordable option for those who require a few hours of rest rather than a full day of amenities provided by a typical hotel.
One of the Happ.’s overnight spaces. (Happ. photo)
Making it happen
The backbone of Happ. is an IT system that automates everything from space registration to payment to consumer contact. Chang says all of the software has been developed by company co-founder Jimmy Huang, who has a software engineering background.
While much of the company’s operations are automated, there is no escaping the fact that human labor is often involved in the cleaning and maintenance of each space for hire.
“For our industry, it’s a major accomplishment if we can automate more than 50% of our operations. We need to clean some of the rooms three times a day as our costs are not as cheap as some people may think.”
Another downside of this emerging industry in Taiwan is the number of platforms offered by competitors such as Pickone. “After we started the brand, many other operators have learned how to do this business from us,” said Chang.
In East Asia, two leading brands in the space industry are Spacemarket and Instabase, both of which are publicly listed space rental platforms in Japan. They offer a variety of spaces for activities like birthday parties, photography, and meetings. Their business model involves charging transaction fees.
In response to a growing demand for small conference call meeting spaces in some business districts, one innovation that Happ. began to offer workbooths, which allow a single individual to go into a small space complete with a power source, WiFi, and a door that provides privacy. The phonebooth model was popularized in Japan and can now be found at many JR stations, where they are called “telecubes.”
(Happ. photo)
Chang believes that such innovation is vital for all companies working in this industry segment. “We need to do what we can to provide a good user experience. We need to find out if the space is comfortable. For example, is this desk suitable for work?” Brand differentiation is a big challenge to the company, which is developing a customer loyalty program.
“We have a lot of off-line workers that we depend upon to maintain our spaces and do other duties such as supervise new construction or oversee our interior design.”
Chang said that after being in business for a few years, the company began taking a long, hard look at its corporate image, which included a new corporate logo and a corporate identity pack detailing all of the design specifications for each new space, website design, and other materials.
“It’s now a little bit of a game for us to see what interview on TV or the internet was conducted in one of our spaces,” Chang said.
Readers and new customers get 15% off with the discount code “Happnews85” available until August 31, 2024. Click here to book a space.
