International Workspace Group (IWG), the leading global flexible workspace provider, and AppleOne Properties, Inc. (API), Cebu-based property developer, came together for an exclusive briefing at the Regus Park Centrale, in I.T. Park, Cebu titled “Onwards and Upwards: IWG and API on the New Way of Work in Cebu”. The two organizations presented thoughtful insights about the direction of work post-pandemic in the city, given the emergence of flexible workspaces in suburban areas such as Cebu, in light of the “hybrid work” model.
Mr. Lars Wittig, IWG’s Country Manager for Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea and VP for Sales ASEAN, South Korea, began by stating that the pandemic brought about the “biggest flexible workspace experiment”, and “Cebu is a good example of that”. In line with this, Mr. Wittig also mentioned that IWG has just added a million customers to the network amid the pandemic with another million committed. “We’re signing big deals with multi-nationals including our biggest in our 31- year history with NTT for 300k and Standard Chartered for almost a 100k.” he added.
Ms. Joy Veloso, API Chief Operating Officer, continued on by describing the current scenario in Cebu. Among the many points mentioned were that Cebu has been able to contain the spread, people slowly getting back to their normal lives, workers going back to the office, businesses are starting to open up, and ultimately restrictions are less rigid and investment opportunities remain strong.
With these, Mr. Wittig and Ms. Veloso agreed that the current work-from-home trend may not necessarily be the ideal long-term solution considering that many businesses rely on the traditional face-to-face model in its operations. Both have also argued that companies of all sizes had already been moving towards the hybrid way of work even before the COVID outbreak, and this pandemic had just merely accelerated its adoption and demand. They foresee that the office of the future is a hybrid office with employees spending part of the time at home, part of the time from a local office and part of the time from a central HQ.
The formation of Regus here in Cebu is a proactive move by AppleOne Properties. They believe that with Regus’ wide-ranging services, every business need and workstyle can be catered to. Not only that, Regus has even proven to be advantageous for the business and a good balance to the API portfolio because it never ceased operation despite the pandemic.
Our Regus centers are strategically located at the progressive hubs in Cebu City, one at the Information Technology Center (I.T. Park), and the other at the premier business district (Cebu Business Park), allowing businesses a platform to work better, more flexibly and more efficiently.
