Since its beginnings in 2010 and as the first major co-working space in the country, WeWork has been changing minds about what is possible in the office space of today. In less than a decade, it has grown into a multi-billion dollar company with over 200 WeWork office spaces all over the world and thousands of individual business tenants and clients. As a recent report from CB Insights notes, WeWork’s success appears to be another in a series of recent disruptors to the entire commercial real estate industry. For that reason, brokers and agents are taking a new look at the WeWork model in an effort to try to get ahead of several trends that are affecting every sector of the commercial real estate market thanks to WeWork. Why WeWork? WeWork early on seized on major demographic shifts that were happening at the generational level. In the lifetimes of millennials, war and economic distress have had a deep impact on work styles. Years of record-level unemployment forced many millennials fresh out of college to come up with new ways to earn money. That began with laptop companies started by individuals sitting in coffee shops across America. Those café images were a punchline about the seeming aimlessness of millennials but WeWork saw something else. As factors like the economy was forcing viable, well educated W-2 workers out of the workforce, the growth of independent contract work and freelancing began to take shape. It was no longer only millennials using laptops to carve out a new employment path; it was everyone looking for work. WeWork provided a real space for them to begin to grow their independent businesses. Over the years, they have gleaned important information about the work preferences of the most sought after sector of the workforce now and is using that information to influence the office market overall. 5 Trends Influenced by WeWork’s Model Not all millennials began in coffee shops. Many started their contract businesses from home. Used to the comforts of home and a flexible work schedule, this generation for one thing, prefers a more relaxed office environment that mixes the comforts of home with the office. Because of their greater independence, freed from the strictures of the typical 9 – 5 job, these workers have upended the traditional office tenancy. The WeWork model is inspired by granular details like these amassed over the last decade and incorporated into their office spaces. According to WeWork, that amounts to a savings of $18K per year on average for small businesses with up to 4 employees. Startups in a WeWork office have a 12% greater chance of success than traditional startups based on the first three year survival rate. And nearly 90% of those surveyed are happy with their co-working space. Globalization, the urbanization of the workforce, the unique demands of millennials, and technology are all conspiring to revamp the office environment of today. Attracting talent alone will require getting ahead of these 5 trends thanks to WeWork: #1: Finding New Partners – Only co-working spaces modeled like WeWork offer different companies the opportunity to co-mingle and have serendipitous encounters with each other, sparking new ideas and concepts. #2: Coming Up with New Ideas – In addition to finding new partners, shared office spaces that offer shared break rooms, classes, relaxation areas, etc. create a community that help each other come up with new ideas and improve the overall happiness of tenants. #3: Inspiring Other Co-Working Offices – WeWork is inspiring businesses large and small to consider modeling their offices on the WeWork model. Giants like Regus in the traditional office market are now coming up with their own co-working offices. #4: Creating Unique and Comfortable Office Environments – The mix of home and office is a trend influencing office spaces everywhere, mixing work with pleasure and lifestyle amenities. #5: Motivating More Flexible Leasing Options On the downside, short term leasing is proving to be a bit of a problem for WeWork as of late. They are angling to find more long term leasing opportunities as their model has already had the biggest influence on the trend toward more flexible leasing options.

Management apps are not just convenient to have, they save thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of dollars each year. Companies from all over the world are competing for space among those startups honored last year by the Stockholm based Memoori Business Intelligence for their innovations in Smart building technology. Holistic Approaches to Commercial Building Energy Management The highest ranked startups in the Smart building sector include energy management apps for commercial real estate buildings. Some companies like Schneider Electric are taking a fundamental approach to energy management beyond apps. They promote building energy management through proprietary Smart panels and meters. Another holistic approach is being taken by Blue Pillar to combat the problem of pulling together disparate legacy systems to operate within a modern energy management system. Their technology allows upgrades to new energy management technology without paying the expense or going through the trouble of destroying old systems. CBRE is testing an energy management system controlled entirely through IoT LED lighting in it’s Amsterdam offices next year. The network of LED lights will be able to both control energy systems throughout the building as well as simultaneously collect and analyze data from sensors and beacons. 6 Energy Management Apps For small and medium sized businesses, the most cost effective innovations are happening in energy management apps. Unlike the holistic approaches above, apps allow small systems to be totally upgraded or replaced at minimal expense for the same types of results. Here are just 6 of the dozens of building energy management apps to watch for over the year.   #1: Enlighted Like some of the big system-wide programs, energy management apps attack the issue of building energy management from different angles. Enlightened is a platform build-in that turns any building into a “brilliant” building, offering, space, energy, lighting, and HVAC system management. #2: 75F Just 8 years old, 75F was among the top 15 companies named by Meemori as a Smart building startup to watch last year. Primarily focused on managing building HVAC systems through technology, 75F  system apps are aimed at optimizing indoor air quality and airflow in and around commercial buildings of all types with remote monitoring and mobile app controls. #3: BuildingIQ One of the most advanced energy management apps in commercial buildings to date is made by BuildingIQ. This platform app is engineered with machine learning technology enabling HVAC systems to automatically adjust based on real-time, historical, and predictive energy demands. Plus this system needs only to be deployed once and can be upgraded or modified at any time. #4: Camio For building security, the Camio app is making on-site surveillance much smarter. Able to connect and sync with an existing security camera system, Camio video footage is stored in the cloud and “learns” over time which data is most useful, how to conserve energy, and when to send summaries and alerts. #5: Growing Energy Labs, Inc (GELI) Specifically made to manage all energy systems within a building, the Growing Energy Labs, Inc. or GELI app uses web-based software to analyze real-time data about energy use including solar energy system storage over peak hours. This app smartly targets the growing number of companies looking to capitalize on solar energy management for commercial and industrial use. #6: View Like the GELI app, View combines solar technology and machine learning capabilities to capture data through its proprietary Smart windows in order to better manage building energy consumption. These Smart windows are able to amass and analyze data about glare, heat, and sunlight over certain hours of the day, how much energy is consumed based on those numbers, and adjust systems automatically to achieve ideal indoor comfort while conserving energy.  

- By Turner Levison, Co-founder and CEO of CommissionTrac We’ve all probably heard the term “big data” by now, but let’s talk about this HUGE concept in the realm of commercial real estate. Big data is the “in” thing for real estate technology. For all the talk of its benefits and various applications, what real estate agents and brokers really want from big data is to improve their bottom line. That's accomplished by either, a) more deals, or, b) bigger deals. How can big data play a role in improving commissions? Targeted marketing Marketing is one of the big real estate expenses. Here, big data improves your return on investment and reduces marketing expenses. Through predictive analytics, big data can identify a real estate agent’s contacts or prospects most likely to sell, lease up, or buy in the next year. Stop wasting your money mass-advertising communities or email lists. Focus efforts, spend less, and win more deals all thanks to big data. Ask yourself, how are you incorporating data into your marketing decisions? Better data on pricing Listing the property for right price attracts buyers and closes contracts quicker. Agents know cultivating a reputation as a closer attracts more deals. Additionally, having the right price for a property helps target its marketing to qualified prospective buyers. Big data provides a better understanding of neighborhood comparables, trends, and sale prices. This information informs agents on target list prices most likely to close the deal. Specifically we’ve seen NAR’s product RPR make big strides in this department! DO NOT SLEEP ON RPR, it’s a free solution for NAR members and affiliats and it could be be a game changer for your business! Better neighborhood and location insights Beat your competition to the next great trend. Track your searches to see what neighborhoods gaining interest or what features are in vogue. Nothing says “industry leader” than being on the ground floor of a new development or up-and-coming area. Reducing investment risk While no real estate project is ever a sure thing, we can use big data and predictive analytics to reduce the risk for clients. This information helps pinpoint the right development opportunities for lots and buildings. Predictive analytics forecast which business would suit a particular retail center best or where a new mixed-use development could attract the right tenant mix to fill the ground floor. Each successful development is a win for you and attracts more business from that investor or developer in the future. When you pitch a client, how do you incorporate data into helping them understand you’re on top of managing their risks and exposure? Efficient workflow Turn big data internal. Through daily activity tracking, you can identify which practices are most likely to close a deal. See how you spend your days and if this is truly an efficient use of your hours. Additionally, big data reveals the entire deal pipeline, including email marketing, cold calling, and client meetings, to identify practices that work to close deals. Stop wasting time on activities that don’t generate deals and more time on those that will boost your commissions. Once those deals are done and commissions earned, do you have a commission management platform that is automatically building your own internal comps database? If not, consider this my shameless plug for CommissionTrac; we help get brokerages and brokers paid faster with a streamlined deal approval process and easy accounting workflows for the back office to manage receivables and commission distributions! Back to Big Data; leveraging data and gaining important insights is how the modern real estate agent and brokerages reduce their expenses and wins more business. The insights provided by the predictive analytics prove to your clients that you know your stuff. When clients are confident in your work, they will continue doing business with you and recommending you to their partners. More deals means more commissions. Thanks for reading! Gratefully, Turner Levison, Co-founder and CEO of CommissionTrac Enjoyed reading this article? Read more from Turner Levison, here.