Airports are joining the work-from-anywhere party

If you’ve ever tried to take a work call while trapped at an airport, you know it’s the absolute worst.

Constant overhead announcements, screaming children (and adults), and general chaos make it nearly impossible to get quality work done on the go.

Plus, as more people gain access to airport lounges with credit card perks and post-pandemic travel booms, lounges are getting less exclusive.

To solve for this, coworking companies are moving into airports to give flyers more space to concentrate. And they’re moving quickly — the number of airport workspaces has nearly doubled in the last year.

• Minute Suites has spaces in 10 US airports that can be used as offices or private rooms for a quick nap.
• Jabbrrbox makes compact pods complete with desks, charging stations, speakers, and mood lighting.
• Coworking company Beehive operates spaces around Germany, including one — with entire conference rooms — in the Hamburg Airport.

And the trend is just getting started: Workspace company JustCo recently partnered with Singapore’s Changi Airport to open Asia’s first pay-per-minute airport coworking space.

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport opened a second Spaces facility, a coworking lounge complete with cubicles.

Airports might be the latest to the coworking craze…

… but they certainly won’t be the last.

While WeWork’s business is most often referenced as a cautionary tale, the idea behind creating functional spaces outside of our homes has stuck.

And other businesses are racing to make sure you can work from absolutely anywhere:

• Coworking operator Convene brings flex spaces to empty office buildings, department stores, and apartments.
• Members-only social club Soho House launched a workspace membership called Soho Works.
• Equinox teamed up with coworking company Industrious to open a workspace in New York’s Hudson Yards.

With the global coworking market estimated to be worth $50.1B by 2028, we’re guessing this is just the beginning.

The only downside? Now travel days aren’t a valid excuse for missing Slack messages from your boss.