Serviced Office vs. Traditional Office Spaces - KMC Expert Talks

Thinking of starting a business in the Philippines? In the first part of the KMC Expert Talks' series on commercial office spaces, Associate Director Anna Marco discusses the main differences between serviced office and traditional office spaces and provides some tips to make it easier to decide on whether to invest in your own space or to opt for leasing a plug-and-play serviced office.

Video Transcript:

Hello there! Thank you for joining us here at KMC Expert Talks. I'm Anna, and today I will be sharing with you some thoughts and insights about commercial spaces in the Philippines, which might help budding investors or companies thinking of moving their business in the country. 

What's the difference between serviced offices and traditional office spaces?
Essentially, the main difference between serviced offices and traditional office spaces, is how they fit the timeline of a business or a  project.

Serviced offices allow you to start your operations literally the next day. A serviced office offers a plug-and-play setup meaning that - it's immediately ready for occupancy. The serviced office set up is the ideal choice if you own a startup company or a business that needs fast results within a tighter budget. If you want to start tomorrow, this is the right type of office for you.

On the other hand, locating in a bare office space needs a lead time of about 1 to 2 months before a business or your office can be up and running. You would need more time for fit out and permits, which covers setting up the office's utilities, furniture, IT infrastructure and everything else that your business needs.

Another basic difference between serviced and traditional offices is the required capex and lease terms.

In a serviced office, you won't have to think of the capex, just your regular monthly opex. At the same time, it allows you to test the waters and see if moving to the Philippines is right for your business, since serviced office lease terms only require a minimum of usually 6 months. It also offers more flexibility in growth because you could gradually increase your seats as needed and as your business grows.

A traditional office space, on the other hand, calls for a larger capex. It therefore becomes a company investment as it requires long-term occupancy (usually a minimum of 2 years) making it better for large-scale companies who are more established with more defined long-term plans, and predictable employee growth. 

So that will be all for this episode. Thank you for watching, and we hope you tune in to the next episode where we will be talking about some of the business districts that we recommend for your business -- and some tips in opening up or setting up your business in the Philippines.