Coworking Spaces Create Opportunity for a New Kind of Guest

The coworking phenomenon is growing not just because there's a rising population of freelancers, as often cited, but because many people are craving variety, flexibility, and a chance to focus without interruption during their work day. This growth is increasingly blurring the line between office space and hospitality. Except, for people who want to work on their laptops remotely on a regular schedule, whether they're traveling or working locally, the choices are limited. There's always a Starbucks or other coffee shop with Wi-Fi, but after a while people start feeling guilty about taking up a table for a couple hours. So you order another $6 coffee, tip well, and assuage your guilt for a moment. But even then, the music is loud, people are talking on their phones, staff is moving chairs and banging dishes, kids are squealing, and there's all kind of random movement behind your back, so you never really get in a zone. Of course, all of this is contingent on you finding a place to plug in. The other choice is renting access to the growing number of cowork spaces, but that's expensive for many people, running hundreds of dollars for a four-foot section of communal desk space. They're also not generally applicable to travelers. Although companies like WeWork are expanding nationwide, so its members can use WeWork-owned spaces in