While WeWork faces stumbling blocks, Accor is doubling down on its partnership in co-working brand Wojo, which will expand beyond France by opening a Wojo Site in Barcelona. It will be the sole tenant of the new Sancho de Avila 65 office building in Barcelona's 22@ business district, which houses companies like Amazon, eBay and Facebook. The anticipated opening date of the facility is the second quarter of 2020.
The Barcelona location will feature workstations, meeting rooms, a concierge service and activities to encourage interaction with others working there. A terrace on the sixth floor will offer a view of the Sagrada Familia basilica and the Mediterranean Sea. "Our ambition is to be the leading player in 'workspitality' by developing all over the world a large network of places; to create unique work experiences with a full range of services, designed to be pleasant; to encourage performance; and to bring talents together," said Wojo CEO Stephane Bensimon.
Hotels and co-working are natural partners, and many hotel properties now include co-working spaces on-site. Such locations are particularly attractive to younger business travelers, Global Business Travel Association director of research Jessica Collison told The New York Times in a January 2019 article.
A 50/50 joint venture between Accor and real estate company Bouygues Immobilier created Wojo n 2015. Accor plans to make Wojo the largest co-working brand in Europe by 2022 by opening 1,200 spaces. Those will add to the more than 100 existing Wojo Spots and Wojo Corners, mostly located in Accor hotels, and the 10 existing Wojo Sites. Wojo Spots offer Wi-Fi in hotel lobbies, restaurants and bars. Wojo Corners are dedicated co-working spaces designed for uninterrupted work and sheltered from public areas. Wojo Sites are standalone spaces in dedicated buildings, combining communal zones like bars, lounges and kitchens with shared spaces, meeting rooms and dedicated offices. Ten Wojo Sites are open in Paris, the Ile-de-France region and Lyon.