The two problems every shared space has
A coworking space sells inventory: seats, desks, rooms or hours. That makes it closer to a small hotel than to an office. Two things go wrong when the inventory is tracked by hand. Two people book the same seat. Or a payment comes in and nobody can say which booking it covers.
- Bookings in a calendar, payments in another app, members in a spreadsheet.
- Seats held "for a minute" that never get paid for.
- Prepaid packs tracked by memory, so balances drift.
- Guests who visit once with no record of who brought them.
- No one view of what happened in the space this week.
How we'd set it up for a coworking space
We'd usually start with three decisions the owner makes, because the system can only enforce rules you've set.
- What you sell. A specific seat on a floor plan, any open seat, or a room by the hour. If members care where they sit, the booking should show the floor plan and lock the seat they pick.
- How they pay. Pay per visit, or prepaid hours that are drawn down as members book. When the payment and the booking happen in one step, the books and the schedule can't disagree.
- What a hold means. How long a seat stays held without payment, what reminders go out, and when the owner hears about it. You set it. The system follows it.
Then the rest connects:
- The website sign-up creates the member in the CRM and the member portal in the same step.
- A member pipeline runs from inquiry to member, with a notes timeline.
- Guest passes, so a visitor has a record from their first day.
- One weekly report to the owner instead of checking four apps.
What we built for Stillroom
Stillroom is a focus lounge in Irvington, NY. Members pick a specific seat on the floor plan and pay with prepaid hours, so two people can never book the same seat. It is live and taking payments. See the build →
- The marketing website's sign-up form creates the member account. The visitor lands in the CRM and the member portal in the same step.
- A member CRM with a pipeline from inquiry to member and a notes timeline.
- A payment credits the member's hours and books the held seat immediately, with a confirmation email.
- If a held seat isn't paid, reminders go out at 15 minutes and 24 hours, then the owner is alerted.
- Abandoned-booking recovery, guest passes, a Slack email assistant, and a report to the owner every Monday.
What we don't do
- We don't set your prices, hour packs or hold rules. You decide them and we build around them.
- We don't promise that every booking or payment tool connects. We check yours first.
- We don't chase members with messages you haven't approved.
Related
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Book a free 30-minute review →Coworking questions
How do you stop two members from booking the same seat?
The booking writes to one schedule. At Stillroom, members pick a specific seat on a floor plan, and the system won't let two people book the same seat.
Can members pay with prepaid hours?
Yes. At Stillroom, a payment credits the member's hours and books the held seat immediately, with a confirmation email. Payment and booking happen in one step.
What happens when someone holds a seat and doesn't pay?
You decide the rule. At Stillroom, an unpaid held seat triggers reminders at 15 minutes and 24 hours, and then the owner is alerted.
Does a website sign-up create the member record?
On the Stillroom build it does. The sign-up form creates the member in the CRM and in the member portal in the same step, and the member then moves through a pipeline from inquiry to member.
How does the owner keep track of the week?
Stillroom's owner gets one report every Monday of what happened that week, plus alerts when something needs a person, such as a held seat that wasn't paid for.